“Peace I give you, my peace,
not as the world gives.”
John 14:27 (NIV)
The words of Jesus always bring us great comfort. What does our Lord say to us here? He offers us peace. Who doesn’t want to be free of stress, heartache, and grief?
He goes further and tells us He isn’t talking about the short term armistice the world offers. Our Savior speaks of lasting permanent peace only found by those who submit to His Lordship.
How can we find this peace? We surrender our hearts and minds to Jesus daily. Things that distract us from our relationship with Him can enter our hearts each day. We have to be alert to the possibility of the enemy finding a toehold and using that one little thought to wreak havoc with our hearts.
How can His peace spread? We have to model it.
●We need to learn to choose our words carefully during our times of anger. Yes, because we are still human, times will come when anger enters our hearts. (Be angry but sin not. Ephesians 4:26a; Psalm 4:4)
●When these times happen we have to deal with the issue quickly. (Don’t let the sun go down on your anger. Ephesians 4:26b)
●We should learn to respond gracefully to all comments directed at us, as an effort to not allow anger to escalate. (A soft answer turns away wrath. Proverbs 15:1)
As I composed this essay, I have learned about myself and how I can do better about modeling Jesus before others, especially those close to me. My desire is that each of us can apply this message to our hearts and allow Jesus to work through us.
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I don't usually do this but my friend Karen Lange at Write Now blog is having a giveaway to celebrate having 300 followers. Click on the link and read about the book she will give one of her friends. Pssst, she said she might throw in some chocolate to go with the book.
His peace is a blessing we shouldn't live without!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I have seen Karen's celebration...
Marja:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind thought. God gives peace; He is peace.
Have a blessed weekend.
When I'm struggling to figure out what I should be doing I always search for where peace comes. Cause when there is peace involved I know God is backing me all the way.
ReplyDeleteThat anger thing is a toughy. I'm sadly one who blows--really blows. I need to follow your advice.
Peace is something I'm always searching for, especially when making decisions that seem to have various ways to go.
ReplyDeleteMay peace find us both the next time our ire gets going. :)
Good points, Cecelia! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Thanks also for the link to my blog. I appreciate the shout out. Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteKaren:
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. We broke a 75 year old record here- 20straight days of temps being 90 degrees or above.
Eileen:
ReplyDeleteWe all have time of anger. It's not always bad. What we do with it is the problem. None of us is exempt from having time of 'losing our cool'.
Yesterday, I found myself being upset with myself. I thought I had lost some money. Prayer helped me realize that,if I had lost it, it was my own lack of carefulness that caused it. But I found it later.
Eileen:
ReplyDeleteAs we go through life, all of us who trust the Lord will find peace for our journeys. We have to be open to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide us.