Tag Archives: peace

PEACE BE WITH YOU – 21

April 26, 2024Bible Studygrace, Love with faithfulness, peaceLuella Campbell

Ephesians 6:23-24 NLT‬
[23] “Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. [24] May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul writes this letter, ‘book’ we call it, between two bookends… peace. The left ‘bookend’ includes a prayer for ‘grace’, the foundation of all God’s dealings with humans. The right ‘bookend’ adds ‘peace’, the outcome of God’s grace… ‘shalom’ in Hebrew, ‘eirene’ in Greek, two words rich in meaning.

Three words encompass the environment of God’s presence in heaven… love, joy, peace. There is nothing that can change or neutralise these three attributes of God Himself in the heavenly realm.

Adam chose, however, in the garden of Eden, to forfeit God’s presence in him for his own way. The result was hell into his soul, a life without God.

‭Ephesians 2:12 NLT‬
… “You lived in this world without God and without hope.”

Jesus came to change everything, to restore what Adam threw away… God’s love, joy, and peace in the soul. This is His legacy for all who believe in Him through His death.

Look what He gave His disciples before His departure.

‭John 15:9 NLT‬
[9] “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in MY LOVE. “

John 15:11 NLT‬
[11]”I have told you these things so that you will be filled with MY JOY. Yes, your joy will overflow!”

‭John 14:27 NIV‬
[27] “Peace I leave with you; MY PEACE I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Jesus is God. He gave to His disciples His own attributes!

‭John 14:16-18 NLT‬
[16]”And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. [17] He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. [18] No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you.”

Think of that! He gave Himself back to them through the Holy Spirit’s presence in them, the fruit of His own life at work IN THEM.

‭Galatians 5:22 NLT‬
[22]”But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace…”

Why is God’s peace so important to us? Why should it be the prayer Paul uttered in every letter he wrote?

God’s peace in our hearts and minds has two great functions.

God’s peace guards our thoughts against deception.

‭Philippians 4:6,7 NLT‬
[6] “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
[7] Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Worry and anxiety are the symptoms of fear. Fear is the product of unbelief – the devil’s way of dealing with the insecurities and uncertainties of life. God’s peace is the antidote to fear.

How do we receive and live in His peace?

Paul’s answer is simple – trade fear for peace by developing a thankful heart in all circumstances. We must choose fear or faith. It doesn’t just happen.

‭1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT‬
[18] “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”

When we choose to believe God by unloading our cares onto Him, all flavoured with fear, He responds with His peace – an indescribable experience of security, calm, and confidence to face anything with Him. Paul says that this peace is real but it make no sense outside of God Himself. This peace shuts out every deceptive thought producing unbelief and fear, and shuts in an unshakeable confidence in God’s love and faithfulness to His promises.

God’s peace guides us in our choices and decisions.

‭Colossians 3:15 NIV‬
[15] “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

Here we have it again… a thankful heart is the environment in which God’s peace works. Every day we are confronted with choices and decisions…to think this not that… to do this, not that… to go here, not there. Every decision and action carries a consequence. How can we know that our decisions are right or wrong? God’s peace! Like the referee in a game.

A thankful heart pushes us towards right decisions, creating the environment, the motivation for doing what works.

For example, I have a prompting towards generosity. I weigh it up. Shall I give or keep for myself? Gratitude to God for His goodness to me pushes me towards supplying another’s need. I give and God’s peace confirms my choice. His peace is actually His Spirit actively producing His fruit in my heart as I do what’s right.

God’s peace also acts, when we go off the path. I do something that is counter to a grateful heart. I speak a harsh word. I believe a lie and act on it. I do something out of selfishness… God’s peace goes. Restlessness, insecurity, inner turmoil replaces the peace.

How can I regain the tranquility that ruled in my soul? Stop! Think back! Where did I lose my peace? Together with the Holy Spirit, I remember. He shows me where I deviated from truth. I repent, turn from my wickedness, make right with another if I trespassed on someone else’s territory. My peace is restored. Peace acted in me to correct my wrongdoing and took over, once again, to rule in my heart.

How essential and powerful is God’s peace in us. His peace helps us navigate, safely, all the hazards we face from ourselves and others in this life. We need His peace to bring us to the haven of eternal peace in His presence.

IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE

February 9, 2023Christian Lifeovercome the world, peace, troubleLuella Campbell

IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (1 John 16:33, NIV)

Where did believers get the idea that we are somehow immune to the bad things that happen to “other” people? Why do we think that we can escape the troubles that afflict the rest of the world? When we experience sorrow or suffering, the first questions that often burst from our lips are, “Why me? What have I done to deserve this?”

Let’s examine the reasons for this unbiblical regard to trouble as an intrusion.

Firstly, Jesus said that in this world we will have trouble. If Jesus warned us about it, how can we think that He was mistaken? If we belong to a fallen race and an imperfect world, trouble will be part of our experience.

Secondly, trouble is God’s way of maturing us. “…We also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5, NIV). Peter recognised trouble as, “trials…that your faith, of greater worth than gold even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine…” (1 Peter 1:7, NIV).

James, like Paul, calls us to “consider it pure joy, my brother’s, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4, NIV).

Thirdly, if we view trouble as punishment from God, we have not understood the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Wrongdoing can only be punished once. Since Jesus took the judgment for all our sin on Himself, for God to punish us again would be unjust, and God is always perfectly just. Jesus paid for all sin for all time. There must be another reason for the troubles we endure.

Fourthly, our hardships are not punishment, but discipline. “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?” (Hebrews 12:7, NIV). Discipline is intended to diagnose and treat everything that hurts our relationship with God as His sons. God wants us to obey Him and, when we disobey, we run into problems that expose our stubborn and rebellious attitudes.

Jesus offered His solution to trouble – His peace. He said, “Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4, NIV). Peace is part of the fruit of the Spirit and real peace in trouble comes from remaining in Jesus, trusting that He knows what He is doing. (LAC)

SHALOM!

November 20, 2021Bible StudyHis hands, His side, peaceLuella Campbell

SHALOM!

“On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you!’ After He said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

“Again, Jesus said, ‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that He breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.'” John 20:19-23 NIV.

Such familiar words! But they conjure up all sorts of pictures in our imagination, as well as many questions.

‘Shalom! Hello!’ The common Jewish greeting but now loaded with new meaning! This was much more than a “Hello! Nice to see you again,” greeting.

Can you imagine what that one little word meant to those eleven fear-filled men, cowering behind locked doors? Every footfall, every sound sent their hearts racing. ‘Have they found us? Have they come to arrest us? Are we to suffer the same fate as Jesus? What are we supposed to do now?”

Jesus did not announce His arrival with a knock on the door or a “May I come in?” He simply appeared, in their midst, just like that! As silent as an owl on the hunt, He came. One minute He was not there and the next He was, in the middle of the huddle of men whispering together in case their hiding place was discovered.

‘Shalom! Peace!’ was His greeting. Peace, the inner calm and confidence that secures the heart in the midst of turbulent circumstances. It was a wish, a prayer, a command, and a promise. He had taken on the adversary and won. He had returned from the grave to tell them that they were back on the road to wholeness. For them, a new life was just beginning.

He had not only won the victory over the devil; He had also set in motion the process of renewal that would come through the Holy Spirit’s presence in them. The Spirit of God who had been removed from the human race when Adam chose against God, and who had only sporadically visited His people since then, was coming back to fill the earth with His presence and to take up residence in the lives of everyone who received Jesus.

Imagine Jesus’ excitement and joy! He was able to tell them that a new era had begun, and they were to be part of the biggest scoop in history. He had played His part in setting it in motion. Now it was their turn to go, and wherever they went, to tell the story and to invite the wayward sons of God to return to the Father’s heart and the Father’s home.

There was one great obstacle to experiencing this new life – the guilt of sin. It was their task to declare to whoever would listen, that God had finally and effectively dealt with sin. No one need cower in the presence of a holy God, ever again. Sin had been atoned for, guilt removed and everyone who believed in Him could face God in the shalom of a new heart and a clean slate.

He had now entrusted them with the precious message of forgiveness. Unless they shared the good news, people would remain in their sin, their guilt, their shame and their fear of death and they would never know that God had forgiven them and that they were free to come home.

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ…” Romans 5:1.

Have you heard their message? What did you do with Jesus?

Acknowledgement

GRACE AND PEACE

February 3, 2021Bible StudyGod's holy people, grace, peaceLuella Campbell

GRACE AND PEACE

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.” Colossians 1:1, 2.

Quite a mouthful in the opening sentence! Unlike our modern communication, ancient letters said it all in the first sentence; writer, recipients, and who they were.

Who were Paul and Timothy?

Paul described himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. He was not a self-appointed or self-proclaimed apostle. We have many of those today. Why do spiritual leaders love titles? Does it elevate them above the rest or give them an edge on spirituality? On what authority do they claim those titles? Those who call themselves Apostle So-and-so or Prophet So-and-so – can they honestly say that they were given that title and office by the will of God?

With a title comes a task – to lead people by example as Paul did. Because he was a God-appointed and Spirit-anointed apostle, he could say, “Follow me as I follow Christ.” How often do those who carry official-sounding titles betray them by espousing people to themselves! They are the only ones who are right and not to recognise that is to dishonour their title.

Who was Timothy? A brother! Timothy was Paul’s young trainee. When Paul found him, he realised that he had found gold – a young believer who had the makings of a fine leader. Paul did not give him the title of apostle. It was not his right to give, but he trained and mntored him to understudy him as a faithful and fully equipped leader. He was able to leave him in Ephesus to care for the church there while Paul went on with his mission to make Christ known where He was not known.

Paul regarded Timothy as his son in the faith. He often accompanied Paul on his journeys and acted as messenger and support during Paul’s imprisonments. He was a comfort to Paul in his suffering and in his old age, a true son upon whom Paul could rely to continue his work when he was no longer there

Who were the Colossians? The ancient city of Colossae was built on a major trade route which ran through the Lycus River valley in the province of Asia Minor in modern-day Turkey. It was famous for its dark red wool cloth called colossinum from where the city got its name. The city lost its importance when the nearby city of Laodicea overtook it as a business centre.

Paul spent two years in the nearby city of Ephesus from where the gospel spread to other centres, carried by converts from Ephesus. It is likely that one of Paul’s converts, Epaphras, was responsible for carrying the message to Colossae. Philemon was a member of that church, to whom Paul wrote a short letter about his slave Onesimus.

Although Paul did not know the people in the church at Colossae personally, he could still address them as “holy people” and “faithful brothers and sisters.” Why? Because, like his Master, he could view them as already complete in Christ. As long as they were in Christ, from God’s perspective, they had already been perfected. “In Christ” is, of course the operative word.

Grace and peace! Grace – a prayer for his readers to experience the ongoing grace of God in their lives, and peace – a normal Jewish greeting – “shalom” but for Paul the result of all God’s mercy to us – His peace that guards our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Infused into this greeting is all the richness of God’s work in the lives of those who are “in Christ”.

This was much more than just a nicety, a polite greeting like we would say when we say “hello” and “goodbye” but, to Paul, it was the expression of his heart and his love for God’s children, even if he did not know them personally.

PEACE THROUGH THE CROSS

November 21, 2020Bible Studybarrier, one new man, peaceLuella Campbell

PEACE THROUGH THE CROSS

For he Himself is our peace who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit (Eph. 2: 14-18).

The great barrier in the ancient world was the conflict between Jew and Gentile. There were many reasons for hostility between these two groups. The Jews thought they were better than the Gentiles because they no longer worshipped idols. Their great suffering throughout their history as a nation cured them of idolatry and turned them against the pagan nations around them. They considered themselves superior to all other people because they were God’s chosen people, and they worshipped the one true God.

They believed that God was their God alone. They tolerated the Gentiles who had turned from idols to become “God-fearers” but they vehemently hated and persecuted the apostles for taking their God to the Gentiles, even if they were propagating the hated message that God was their Father and Jesus was their Messiah.

The pagan world was polytheistic. Greeks and Romans worshipped many gods and even revered the Caesars as god. They despised the Jews for their monotheism, their exclusivism and their superior attitude. Although the Roman government barely tolerated the Jewish religion, the Jews were not welcome in their society.

It would take a mighty act of God to reconcile the two groups and recreate a new race of people who were identified by a higher loyalty than loyalty to their ethnic origins and religious persuasions. Sin was the root cause of their racial hatred. Remove sin and there would be no more cause for the deep-rooted antagonism that drove them apart.

The blood that Jesus shed on the cross dealt with sin in every human heart and removed the reason for hostility between people and people groups. Paradoxically, the death of Jesus and faith in Him, not only drives people apart; it also brings them together and redefines them according to their new citizenship in the kingdom of God.

The reason for this transformed attitude and relationship between people of differing colours, cultures and languages is what Paul calls “peace”. This new state of peace begins between God and man. Since Jesus paid the debt of sin for the whole human race, there is no need for hostility between God and man. Jesus appeased God’s wrath against sin. God has forgiven our sin and cleansed our hearts from its guilt. We have all, whether Jew of Gentile, been brought near to Him. We have been reconciled and restored to fellowship with Him as His sons and daughters.

In spite of the intrusion of sin, we can still see this “echad” in the amazing interconnectedness of the many systems in the world. The heavenly bodies function in oneness and God keeps them in place and functioning together by His powerful word. What we call “ecosystems” are microcosms of harmonious interaction between creatures and their environment. Every element of creation is adapted to function within its environment. People alone have the power to interfere and disrupt the systems which God has put in place, by exploiting and plundering resources for our own selfish ends.

Just as God planned the natural world to function in perfect oneness, so He also created human beings to live together in unity and harmony. Sin interrupted this plan but God put it back on track by dealing with sin. Only through the forgiveness that Jesus bought for us through the cross can He reconcile us to one another and restore the peace between us that is the foundation of oneness. And He did it!

How amazing it is to see ancient enemies come together when Jesus is the centre of their lives – black and white, Jew and Arab, rich and poor, male and female, high-born and low-born – it’s as though we have been born again, and we have. We have made a new start and left behind all our old prejudices and hostilities because of a love that transcends our selfish love.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ (Gal. 3: 28).

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3, eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

My second book, Learning to be a Disciple – The Way of the Master (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing), a companion volume to Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart, has been released in paperback and digital format on www.amazon.com.

Ebenezer Family Church

HE IS RISEN!