Tag Archives: peace

ACTS THE SEQUEL…THE SPLIT – 35

Bible Study, ,

“The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭31‬-‭33‬, ‭35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Once again, peace reigned in the early church. Each went his own way…some back to their home churches, others remained in Jerusalem. Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch where they continued their teaching ministry in their home church. 

The time came for the missionaries to be on their way again. Their work in Asia was not finished and there were new fields to work in Europe as they were to discover. 

“Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 

Good idea, Paul! But…there was a stumbling block in this partnership…John Mark. He was the “nigger in the woodpile”! Paul, the rigid, principled, pragmatic leader, didn’t want a repeat of their first foray into Asia. They had enough to contend with without friction between them over a lame duck in their team. 

Barnabas, the gracious, patient, generous uncle, was willing to give his nephew a second chance. 

“Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.”

They disagreed! They argued! Each stuck to his guns! They parted company. Barnabas did his thing…he took John Mark and went off in a huff. Paul did his thing…he grabbed Silas and went his way, back north to Syria and on to Cilicia. 

“Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭36‬-‭41‬ ‭NIV‬

Barnabas disappeared from the scene while Paul, God’s chosen man for the hour, carried on with his calling, accompanied by Silas, Paul’s new partner and fellow-sufferer. 

Two human beings clashed! Although they were brothers in Christ, they were also fallible men. After years of partnership and fellowship, they parted company on bad terms. How did this affect them? How did it affect their ministry? Did they ever reconcile?

These questions remain unanswered but…the work of the gospel continued to prosper. We can conclude, then, that the Holy Spirit did not penalise or disqualify them because of their failure to submit to one another in love. He is gracious towards us when our fallen nature intrudes. Like Peter when he denied Jesus, our failures are part of the journey and a big part of our learning curve. 

This incident encouraged me to realise that God works with and through imperfect people. However great a missionary and apostle Paul was, he was still a fallen human being. He was still capable of being stubborn and pig-headed. He still wanted his own way. 

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. Somewhere along the line, Paul changed his mind. John Mark, the quitter became John Mark, the helpful…and Paul was finally willing to acknowledge that he was not a worthless individual but a man whom God could also use. 

So, we continue to follow Paul, now joined by Silas, on their mission to the Gentile world. Armed with years of experience from his first mission trip, Paul led the charge again, this time pushing deeper into the Roman world, with the Holy Spirit ever present, always leading… until Paul, after many trials and struggles, would finally reach Rome. 

To be continued

JOHN’S GOSPEL… FINAL REASSURANCE – 28

Bible Study, ,

John 16:33 NIV
[33] “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.”

What could Jesus have said to His disciples in this moment of crisis? He knew that He would never have time with them alone again before He went to the cross. How could He reassure them that all was well and that, despite the way things seemed to be heading, everything would also turn out well for them?

Peace! They needed a peace that would hold them steady in every situation, no matter what happened. He had already bequeathed to them His love, joy, and peace, the most priceless gifts He could ever give them in a world of chaos and turmoil.

John 15:9 NIV
[9] “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:11 NIV
[11] “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

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.”

Uncertainty, insecurity, fear gripped them like the tentacles of a clinging vine. How would they be able to navigate the next few hours and the days to follow when He spoke repeatedly of leaving them? For years they had walked in His shadow, secure and protected by His presence and wisdom. What now?

Let’s examine the peace of which He spoke. What is Jeaus’ peace?

Google says…

“The peace Jesus gave his disciples was his own “inner peace” and spiritual tranquility, not the absence of conflict or worldly problems. It was a powerful, internal calm that provided reassurance and freedom from fear, even amidst turmoil and impending suffering. This divine peace is unconditional, permanent, and rooted in a relationship with God, offering assurance of salvation and eternal life, unlike the temporary and conditional peace of the world.”

How could Jesus experience this peace despite everything He endured as a man? “I have overcome the world.”

For Jesus, “the world” implied all the forces of evil in the world system over which His arch enemy had control that attempted to destroy the unity between Him and the Father. The one thing that could break that unity was sin, i.e., acting independently of the Father.

Jesus treasured and guarded this unity even to the shedding of His blood in obedience to the Father. Since He never sinned, His peace remained intact through every temptation, the assurance that He and the Father were always in complete harmony.

So, He offered the possibility of experiencing the same tranquility of heart and mind to His disciples in their current circumstances. Having this peace, to steady them always, depended on two responses…

  1. Faith in Him to remove the sin barrier between themselves and God. Only Jesus could forgive their sin by paying their debt. Once their sin had been forgiven and removed, God was free to accept them as His own children.

Romans 5:1 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

Peace with God! All barriers removed! Fully accepted by the Father!

This part of His peace was a once-for-all reality when they were made alive and transferred, through the power of the Holy Spirit, out of the realm of darkness into the kingdom of God.

Romans 5:2 NIV
[2] “… through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

…a standing in grace!

This means, that God was free to provide for them, (and us), because of His grace…His goodwill and favour towards them…everything they needed to live godly lives.

  1. Faith in Him to carry them through every trial and test. Anxiety and fear are the two great monsters that rise up in daily experience to threaten His peace.

The key is to trade anxieties for His peace.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And THE PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

So, Jesus assured them that He had taken care of their victory as well as His own, by holding steady against all the onslaughtss of the world. Since He had overcome, they could also overcome through His power in them and maintain the trust in Him that assured them of peace.

As long as they held fast to their trust in Him with gratitude for His unfailing goodness, His peace would act as a referee, only blowing the whistle when they trespassed outside the truth that held them steady. Truth and peace go hand-in-hand, peace in the heart always confirming truth in the mind.

So, despite outward turbulence, inward peace was His legacy to keep them from falling apart when their world spun out of control.

THINGS THAT DAVID SAID – 6

Devotion, ,

Psalms 4:8 NIV
[8] “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.”

How well I remember the way David’s words impacted me during troubled times in my country. I was living in a cottage on a smallholding on the edge of town. The windows of my home had no burglar bars and some didn’t even latch securely!

Dogs and cows belonging to the owner would move around my home at night, making scary noises. The property was not fenced, leaving me feeling vulnerable to possible intruders.

I would often lie awake at night, conscious of strange sounds, and fearful of the unknown. I needed the security which the property didn’t offer me…so I turned to the Scriptures.

Every night, as I lay in the dark, afraid and alone, I recited David’s words until they became second nature to me. I began to feel so safe that, in the end, no strange noises and no “what ifs” bothered me.

Such is the power of God’s Word in times of stress and insecurity…in fact, at any time we need the help that no human can give.

Look at David’s words. Peace…sleep…safety! How many of us wrestle with issues in a very real world full of unknown dangers, in a restless and violent society. How desperately we need the reassurance that God is all around us, as near to us as our breath. He is our safe place, our shelter from harm and danger. There is no human bodyguard more able and more equipped to protect His people than the Lord God Himself.

“Why, then,” we might ask, “do bad things happen to God’s people?” I can’t answer for God, but one thing is sure.

Romans 8:28-29 NIV
[28] “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. [29] For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”

Not long ago, I listened to the testimony of the late Dr Helen Roseveare. She served as a missionary doctor in the Congo during the Mau Mau uprising in the 1960’s. As a white lady, she was extremely vulnerable and unfortunately suffered terrible cruelty at the hands of people in transition.

The Lord confronted her with these words, “Can you thank me for trusting you with this experience even if I never tell you why?”

What strange and terrifying words! This is not the way God usually works with His people. The Scriptures are full of reassurances of His care and protection in times of trouble. Take Psalm 91, for example. Innumerable children of God embrace these promises in times of danger or desperation, and find God faithful to His Word.

Why, then, does God allow some to suffer in the extreme?

God’s ways are inscrutible. His has no obligation to explain His reasons, but reasons He has, that make sense to Him, if not to us. There are two examples in Scripture, of extreme suffering, one with no reason to the sufferer and one with a good reason.

Job suffered so much loss that he was left reeling…and forsaken by his own wife and his friends. Did God give Him an explanation? No! However, God completed what He set out to do without Job’s knowledge or permission. The outcome? Although Job questioned God, he never stopped trusting and worshipping Him despite his meaningless suffering.

Paul’s life as a servant of Jesus, was fraught with problems, difficulties, and suffering of every description and from every angle, fellow Jews, treacherous “friends”, and the Roman government. He was hated and hounded from place to place, beaten, imprisoned, and even stoned to death. He survived, but he was fed up with the whole deal. Even his prayers weren’t answered in the way he wanted.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 NLT
[8] “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away…”

However, God had a different purpose and a different outcome for Paul’s predicament. Check the background!

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 NLT
[2] “I was caught up to the third heaven fourteen years ago. Whether I was in my body or out of my body, I don’t know—only God knows. [3] Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body. But I do know [4] that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell.”

Paul had out-of-body experiences so amazing that he had every reason to boast but…

2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT
[7]”… even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God….I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

So, God’s response to Paul’s pleas was…”no” to his request but “yes” to a much better purpose.

9] Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”

God is always working on our character and stripping off every layer of self-sufficiency and independence, honing faith in Him in the worst of circumstances.

Does this mean that we cannot trust God for His protection because He might have some other purpose in mind? Not at all!

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT
[20] “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.”

Even if some kind of suffering is part of His purpose for us, He always, ultimately, honours His promises for our good, and for His glory.

THE SAFEST PLACE!

So, we can weave God’s promises into the fabric of our daily lives, confident that the outcomes will always be for our benefit and His glory.

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 2

Christian Life, ,

Before we examine the pieces of God’s armour, we must first answer the question, “What is our strategy in this war?”

Our position in the battle will determine our strategy.

Unfortunately again, those who believe that we must fight for new ground are mistaken, and their strategies are misleading. We are not in this war to gain new territory. We are participants in this war to protect the territory inside us that Jesus won for us.

What is the territory we now occupy with Him? Salvation, eternal life, the practical ways in which we live under His authority, and the power to overcome Satan’s strategies. Let’s look at what He has done to deliver us from Satan’s domain.

Colossians 2:13a NLT
[13] “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away…”

Did you get that? From birth, Satan has held us captive to sin because…

  1. We were dead to God and could not respond to Him in any way.
  2. We were slaves to sin and could not obey God’s laws.
  3. We were condemned to eternal death and could do nothing to save ourselves.

So, we had a lifetime of charges against us, we were accountable to God, and guilty as charged. Satan had a foothold in our lives we could not shake off and a grip on our inner man we could not escape. We were just like him in nature, doomed to eternal death, and utterly cut off from God. We lived in Satan’s territory, trapped and unable to escape from his power.

Romans 8:7-8 NLT
[7] “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. [8] That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”

Only God could intervene and change the situation. How did He do it?

Colossians 2:13b-15 NLT
[13]”Then God MADE YOU ALIVE with Christ, for he FORGAVE all our sins. [14] He CANCELED the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he DISARMED the spiritual rulers and authorities. He SHAMED them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

He sent Jesus who obeyed God’s laws perfectly then died in our place to take our punishment for failing to obey God’s instructions. He delivered us from Satan’s grip. Now Satan has no power over us because…

  1. God made us alive to Him so that we can hear and respond to Him.
  2. God rescued us from Satan’s domain, brought us into His kingdom, to live under His authority and standards.
  3. God cancelled our debt of disobedience and nailed it to the cross.
  4. God gave us His nature to want to be and do what He wants us to be and do.
  5. We died to sin and our old nature, self. We are free to live in, under, and for God.

Tha battle continues in us because Satan still tries to convince us that God is lying, that He is unreliable, that His promises are not true. He tells us that he is still in charge, that we belong to him, and that we must still do what our old nature tells us to do.

We still have the old nature in us. The desires of our old nature towards Satan and evil and our new nature towards God and good pull us in two opposite directions.

The Apostle Paul realised how powerful this struggle was once he became a believer in Jesus.

Romans 7:9-12, 14-20 NLT
[9] “At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, [10] and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. [11] Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. [12] But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good….
[14] So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. [15] I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. [16] But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. [17] So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. [18] And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. [19] I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. [20] But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.”

How was he ever to escape sin’s grip?

Romans 7:4-6 NLT
[4]”So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You DIED to the power of the law when you DIED WITH CHRIST. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. [5] When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. [6] But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”

By dying to the old life of sin through his identity with Jesus’ death, Paul was made alive to Jesus’ life in him. He died to Satan’s power and rose to a new life in and under Jesus’ rule. He was living in new territory.

Can you see, then, that our struggle is not to gain ground but to hold the ground which Jesus gained for us?
We are to STAND, not to fight for the territory in which we now live… righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17-18 NLT
[17] “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness, (righteousness), and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
[18] because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.”

The Christian’s armour, then, is mostly defensive because our strategy is to STAND against lies by holding on to truth. We are never to give ground in our thinking and believing to the lies we once believed and followed.

Ephesians 6:13 NIV
[13]”Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

To be continued…

ONE LAST WORD – 22

Bible Study, ,

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’s letter to the Ephesians begins and ends with a prayer for grace and peace to permeate the lives of his readers. He also injects another word into his prayer than needs a little inspection… faithfulness, ( Greek – ‘pistis’).

Some versions translate ‘pistis’ as ‘faith’, others as ‘faithfulness’. According to Strong’s Concordance, ‘pistis’ is derived from ‘peitho’ which incudes the concept of credence, i.e., belief in a system of truth.

Our confidence in the gospel, which is the system of truth which brought us both salvation from sin and the transformation of our lives, results in faithfulness to that body of belief to which we hold.

When we study the records of Jesus’ teachings, we discover that faithfulness to Him and His Word is high on His list of priorities and has great rewards. Jesus counts faithfulness to Him to be the qualification for our position in His kingdom when He returns.

‭Luke 16:10-12 NLT‬
[10]“If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. [11] And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? [12] And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?”

‭Luke 18:8 NIV‬
[8] “…However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith (faithfulness) on the earth?”

Again , ‘pistis’, translated ‘faith’, but could it imply ‘faithfulness’?

Jesus had much to say about faithfulness. He told parables to illustrate the importance of faithfulness. For example…

‭Luke 12:42-44 NLT‬
[42] “And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. [43] If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. [44] I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.”

The story of Joseph clearly illustrates the value and reward of faithfulness.

‭Genesis 39:2, 4, 6 NLT‬
[2]”The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master…
[4] This pleased Potiphar, so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned…
[6] So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat!… “

Unfaithfulness is the name of the game in our day. Unfaithfulness is rife on every level of family life and society. I don’t need to go into detail since we have all felt the effects of unfaithful people in our lives, AND we have all taken part in the tidal wave of unfaithfulness that sweeps over our world.

How can we remain faithful to our human family as well as to our Master when the pressure is on? Paul gives us a simple answer.

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

To qualify for the great prize at the end of our days on earth, we must heed the instruction of our Lord Jesus. We must trust the Holy Spirit to grow the fruit of faithfulness that only He can produce in us as we walk in the Word with Him.