Bob E.-Gone on Ahead

I received the call Sunday evening. Bob E. had suffered a heart attack and died a few hours earlier. He and his wife were the church custodians. They had been youth leaders in another church we belonged to. People never spoke of Bob without speaking of his wife, Joyce. They have two daughters, two sons-in-law, and five grandchildren.

Because of the suddenness of Bob’s departure from us, we are all in shock. Men who had been in the youth group several years ago have called their family members to find out what had happened. Our son received an email from one of his high school youth group friends who relocated to Houston Texas, making sure he knew.

The words don’t come easily. We all have received another lesson in how quickly life can change. Life is precious. As people of a faith community we believe from a spiritual standpoint Bob was ready to go. We are thankful he didn’t suffer.

Peace with God

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,”

Romans 5:1 (NIV)



When we invite Jesus to come into our lives, He blots out our sins and cleanses our heart. He looks at each of us ‘just-as-if-I’d’ not sinned. We place our faith in Him and grow closer to Him.

We gain peace with God. After we learn that the state of our hearts is due to our new relationship, we relax and let Him lead us. The Lord begins to have control over our hearts, minds, and tongues.

We receive peace through Jesus. This tranquility keeps us safe through the hardships of our earthly life.

No matter what the world throws at us, if we ask God to help us, we can experience a new found serenity. If we allow this, our new poise becomes our new persona.

When I was a young teenager, I got a new dress-store bought. My mother used to sew most of my clothes. But this dress was different. I wanted to show it off. I remember putting it on and walking across the alley to a neighbor’s house. This couple had grandsons a little younger than I. When she came to their back door I told her I wanted to show her my new dress. We talked a bit and I returned home. When my mother came home from work and asked me what I had done that day, I told her. She shook her head and told me it wasn’t ladylike to draw attention to ourselves in that way.

I later learned it’s not Christ like to bandy about what God has done to make us more like Him. It’s not for us to say, “Look at me, I’m a Christian.” Rather, it is our job to display those qualities He plants in our hearts.

The Balm of Peace

“Then he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’

Luke 8:48 (NIV)



The woman followed the Master as he walked through the crowd. She desired to be healed of her long standing ailment.

“If, I can touch the edge of His garment, I will be healed,” she thought as she inched her way toward Jesus.

He knew instantly that someone had touched Him. All the people around Him denied doing it. Peter tried to explain about the crowd.

At last, the woman spoke to Jesus and explained what she had experienced for twelve years.

The Lord told her, ‘Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.’ What did Jesus mean by telling her to go in peace?



● Don’t worry. Don’t feel guilty about interrupting my trek through the city. God was at work when my healing powers went from me to you.

● Don’t be overly concerned. There will be those who doubt your healing. Remember, our talk and focus on that. Those who disbelieve cause distraction and bring down others who have been healed. Your faith has healed you.



We will have times when God, will instruct us to exercise our faith. Be it a physical healing, an emotional healing, a job, or the mending of a relationship or a marriage, faith is a factor in how we handle the outcome.

It is our aim to enjoy serenity in our loves. Jesus tells the healed woman to go and live in peace.

Where is the Peace?

Sometimes in our Christian walk, we receive news that saddens us and causes us to pause and go back to the basics of our faith.

The middle of July, I lived the scene described above. A lady from our church was told, as she was being released from a hospital, that she had Cancer.

In times like this, all we can do is pray for the person. But we don’t always know how. Do we pray for that person to get well? Do we pray for divine healing, that God do his miracle for that person in Heaven? Do we ask the Lord how to pray?

In January, 2009, another friend had a complication from surgery. We prayed for her to be healed but to be able to remain with us. Several of us told God we knew we were selfish in our prayers. That friend is still with us. It was God’s decision to honor our prayers. We constantly keep in mind that, while we prayed, He could have chosen not to answer our prayer as we asked.

Peace returns to us as we pray, read scripture and reflect on His goodness to those who trust Him. After a good night’s rest and a session of reading scriptural reminders that God will help our friend through what lay ahead of her, I can focus on Him and know he is there for her and her family.

He Gives Peace

“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.



___________________________
  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.

The Blessing of Peace

“The Lord gives strength to his people;

the Lord blesses his people with peace.”

Psalms 29:11(NIV)



Have you ever received a gift that was very precious to you? I’m sure, we all have. For me, it was a dozen long stemmed roses from my husband for one of our anniversaries. What made it special was he had them sent to my work. This was a display of his love for me. Some of my coworkers teased me about it but the night custodian commented about them being “a gift from someone who was really in love.”

God, also, is very much in love with His children. He shows that love in many ways. He blesses us with gifts.

One of those gifts is peace. When we worry about particular issues we become bothered, upset, and even angry. Certain ones of us can become physically ill because of our having to confront these issues.

A friend of mine is dealing with Lung Cancer; she has heard the phrase ‘both lungs involved’, the word inoperable. She appears to have found peace with the thought that she has only a limited time left. While hearing these words and phrases cause most people anguish, she has her routine under control. She manages to remain calm and to smile. When we allow ourselves to approach God’s throne and give our problem over to the Lord, a refreshing feeling washes over our hearts. We call it peace.

Prince of Peace

“For to us a child is born, to us a child is given,

and the government shall be on his shoulders.

And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government

and peace there will be no end.”

Isaiah 9:6-7 (NIV)



Isaiah prophesied about the coming Christ. He told the people of Judah that the Messiah would come as a child and that God would willingly give it to them and, by extension, to us.

The child would be called by various names. I am intrigued about Jesus’ title, Prince of Peace.



Prince-a male child of royal parentage.

Peace- harmony; concord.



Isaiah seemed to save this title for the Messiah for last because God may have wanted his people to remember this part of the child’s character. What would our world today look like if we followed Jesus and his pursuit of peace? Here are a few of my thoughts.



1.) We would have no times of inner stress over interpersonal relationships. (personal peace)

2.) There would be no times of harsh feelings between individuals. (interpersonal peace)

3.) People groups would not harangue over differences of viewpoint. (political peace)

4.) Nations would not feel the need to destroy one another. (world peace)



I know my list sounds a bit naïve, given the stance of our world in my lifetime. But when Jesus becomes in control of each heart all these thoughts will become reality.

When Jesus Christ comes again we will have peace on earth. He is the Prince of Peace.