“And (Jesus) arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
Jesus and His disciples were in the midst of the Sea of Galilee in Peter’s little fishing boat. A storm came up and the disciples feared for their lives. Jesus was asleep on the stern of the boat when the disciples woke Him up and asked: “Carest thou not that we perish.” Of course Jesus cared; He just knew that this was yet another test of their faith, for He said to them: “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” It’s interesting that Jesus made the statement about their fear and faith after He had stilled the storm. As we go through the storms of our lives, we need for Jesus to say “peace be still,” and He will give us peace when we call on Him. When does Jesus say “peace be still”? Jesus says “peace be still” when we are in seemingly helpless and hopeless situations. (I used the word “seemingly” here, because when Jesus is in our lives we are never hopeless or helpless.) I have been on a ship in the middle of the South China Sea in a typhoon, or hurricane. It was an exciting ride for several days, but it was certain that we were helpless to do anything about it, but ride it out until it was over. We come across times like this in our lives. It could be some kind of sickness, a divorce, a church problem, a family problem, or whatever, but in the middle of these storms, we can’t find a way out. When Jesus is involved, He will be with us while we ride it out, or He will say “peace be still.” Jesus is there with His peace no matter how He chooses to give us the calm that we need. We just need to understand that Jesus cares and that He is at work in our lives to help us. Our problem is that sometimes we don’t hear Jesus say “peace be still,” and we think that we are still in the storm. Call on Jesus today and listen for His “peace be still.” You are not helpless. Jesus says “peace be still” when we are in a sea of trouble. The first thing that we need to do when we are going through troubles is ask ourselves if we did something to get ourselves into this situation. If we did, the first thing that we need to do is to repent and ask for forgiveness. It is a step of faith to recognize our own responsibilities and call on Jesus for forgiveness before we ask Him to bring calm into our lives. Otherwise, we need to realize that Jesus is stronger than the strongest storms, and He is stronger than our largest troubles. I know that this is difficult to ascertain when we are in the middle of a storm of trouble, but it is Christian reality that Jesus is in the “boat” with us while we are riding out the storm. We just need to listen with our hearts and minds for His “peace be still.” I ministered to prisoners for several years from 1988 until I retired in 2010, and those prisoners who found peace in spite of their troubles were those who had repented of the sins that got them in prison and sought the peace that only Jesus could bring. Jesus says “peace be still” when the contrary winds of controversy blow about us. We are living in troubled times today. There is so much anger and vitriol in Washington. We are reminded every day of the desire for radical Muslims to kill us in the name of Allah. Sin is no longer recognized as sin, even in some mainline “Christian” denominations. We need to realize that this has always been the crisis of Christians throughout our history. We are “in the world but not of the world.” Jesus promised us that the world at large would oppose us, because the world at large, under Satan’s control, opposes Jesus and the Bible. The good news is that Jesus knows all about it and has said “peace be still.” It will all work out in the end. Bro. Joe
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“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
I hear people talk about how Christ came to bring peace on earth. Please don't misunderstand me, because I don't believe that Jesus ever failed, but if that was the case He failed. In fact, He told us that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars until He comes again. He even declared at one point that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. What He meant was that people would have to make a choice about who they were going to obey - Jesus or someone, or something, else. But Jesus did come to bring peace to people. He came, lived a perfect life, was crucified, arose and ascended in order for us to have peace in our hearts. John 15:27 gives one of the greatest promises of peace from Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, and us: “My peace I give unto you.” Remember, the peace of Jesus is the peace of God. We personally have God’s peace, we just need to claim it. How can we claim it? Philippians 4:6-7 illustrates this for us: "Be careful for nothing ("do not be anxious about anything"), but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Now, this is the peace that the New Testament is all about. It is peace that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and from a prayer relationship with Him. Paul simply declared that if we want peace, we just need to pray. He didn't mean that we should utter a few words in the direction of Jesus, but to really get in touch with Him personally. In James 5:16b James wrote that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” This was in reference to healing, but it would certainly be true of a prayer for peace as well. If we want the peace that Jesus gives, we really need to touch His throne with great fervor. I’m referring here to prayer that comes from a heart that really craves His peace. Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" because He offers great personal peace to us in our daily relationship with Him. People who don't have that relationship will not have that peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) He also promised: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) It is true that we will have trouble in this life, and this is as true of Christians as it is of anyone else. Do you remember Lynn Anderson’s song: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”? Please notice that Jesus promised us his peace in the midst of trouble, not a trouble-free life. Often we think that our troubles are because of something bad that we have done. That could be true, because our sins can cause us problems, but we will inevitably confront troubles in this life because we live in a fallen world. Adam and Eve gave up “paradise on earth” for us when they sinned. We can’t go back to Eden, but we can run to Jesus and have peace in spite of the troubles that we encounter. Whatever your troubles are right now do not have to defeat you unless you want them to. You have the promise of personal peace planted deeply in your heart from Jesus. Do you realize that from the texts used here and the things that I have written that Jesus really wants to give you His peace? It is true, and you can have His peace at this very moment. How? Go back to the second paragraph and read Philippians 4:6-7. That is your ticket to Christ’s peace – get your ticket punched. Bro. Joe I hear people talk about how Christ came to bring peace on earth. Please don't misunderstand me, because I don't believe that Jesus ever failed, but if that was the case He failed. In fact, He told us that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars until He comes again. He even declared at one point that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. What He meant was that people would have to make a choice about who they were going to obey - Jesus or someone, or something, else.
But Jesus did come to bring peace to people. He came, lived a perfect life, was crucified, arose and ascended in order for us to have peace in our hearts. Philippians 4:6-7 illustrates this for us: "Be careful for nothing ("do not be anxious about anything"), but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. 7. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Now, this is the peace that the New Testament is all about. It is peace that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, from a prayer relationship with Him. Paul simply declared that if we want peace, we just need to pray. He didn't mean that we should utter a few words in the direction of Jesus, but to really get in touch with Him personally. Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" because He offers great personal peace to us in our daily relationship with Him. People who don't have that relationship will not have that peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) He also promised: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) This is is a description of real Christian peace. Bro. Joe “Sing to the Lord, you saints of His, praise His holy name. 5. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
These verses remind us of what our response should be to God no matter how trying life has become. When things are not going well for us, we have a tendency to blame God. We might not consciously admit this, but in the back of our minds we think that God owes us more than we are getting. Blaming God for hardships will get us nowhere. We live in a fallen world and that is the way life is in a fallen world. Trials and tribulations are part of living, and they can be tests of our faith. The question is what is our response to God when things are tough? These two verses from Psalm 30 will tell us what our response should be – regardless. “Sing to the Lord, you saints of His, praise His holy name.” What God wants from us at all times is to praise Him. Praise was not always easy for David and other psalmists. The psalms are full of complaints to the Lord because of what life was handing them at the time. Yet the psalmists also remind us time after time that we are to praise God. In psalm 35:28 David wrote: “And my tongue shall speak of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.”If we praise God “all the daylong” we will surely, at some point, praise Him in the midst of trouble. Asaph wrote in psalm 50:15: “And call upon me in the day of trouble; and I will deliver you, and you shall glorify (praise) me.” I looked up “praise” in my Strong’s exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, and I found passage after passage about praising God. The Bible is full of the praises of God. I know that life can be hard, and that some things that happen to us are awfully hard to overcome, but it does us no good to give in to self-pity or grumbling and complaining. What we need to do during these times is to “sing to the Lord…praise His holy name.” You will be a better person for it, and you will feel better about yourself. “His anger lasts only for a moment, but His favor lasts a lifetime.” This is a good reminder for us that God is not against us. He might be against the way we are living at a given time, as we are told: “His anger lasts only a moment,” which does mean that He gets angry with us. That anger comes because He knows that we can do better. When you feel God-forsaken, and think that God is not doing anything in your life, remember that you have His favor. We need to be careful with this word “favor.” We can get the idea that when things are not going our way, we have lost God’s favor. Read it again: “But His favor lasts a lifetime…” There are times when we feel God’s favor more than at other times, but God always wants the best for us, and when we forget that fact we stray from what the Lord Jesus wants of us. We do well to remember His favor, especially when we are going through difficult times. “Weeping may endure for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” There are four words that have come to mean a lot to me over the years, and they are: “this, too, shall pass.” That is what David meant when he wrote: “Weeping may endure for a night…” We need to remember that nothing lasts forever. Whatever you are going through right now will come to an end, and at the end of it there will be joy and rejoicing. Sometimes it seems that woes will never end, but they do. What we need to focus on is not the weeping but the joy and rejoicing. The choice as to how we will respond to the “weeping” is really up to us. We can pout and simmer, but that will only prolong the weeping. We just need to remember that when “morning” comes there will be joy and rejoicing. Grab a hold of this truth, and make it a way of life. The right response to the Lord is to praise Him, remember His favor and accept the joy that He sends “in the morning." Bro. Joe “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
“And above all things put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.”
I saw three things in this text today that I had not noticed before. In preceding verses, Paul had called them to forgive each other, to kindness, humility, meekness, patience, and to “bear with one another.”( Verses 12-13) But along with these virtues, Paul called them to add love, to live in “the peace of Christ,” and to be thankful.(Verses 14-15) It is obvious that one could not live and practice the virtues of verses 12-13 without the practice of verses 14-15. We need all of these to be effective witnesses of Christ. Let’s look a little more closely to them. Love – This is the translation of our old friend, the Greek word “agahpay.” This describes the kind of love that Christ had for us when He went to the cross, e.g., it is compassionate and sacrificial. Under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul did not suggest that they love, but actually commanded them to love – which Christ also commanded in John 15:12. Which makes loving each other ultimately important. This is one virtue that is sorely needed in our churches and Christian work today. Think about it: Do you love the people that you go to church with each week? This does not mean that they have to act lovingly for us to love them- just love them. Well think about it? Do you love people period? Well,,,,,,,,do you? Peace of Christ – Just as we are to love like Christ, we are to have His peace. The “peace of Christ” is given in John 16:33: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation (trouble). But be of good cheer – take heart – I have overcome the world.” This is the peace of heart and mind given to Christians as a gift from Christ. We need to ask at least two questions about this peace: Do we live in peace, and at peace, in our own hearts? Do we live at peace with our fellowman? I must confess that I approached this question in fear and trembling. This peace is so important that we cannot ignore it… . Thankfulness – Along with love and peace, thankfulness is an important Christian virtue. The Greek word translated “thankful” is “eucharistos.” “Eucharist” is one name for the Lord’s Supper. In light of this, we are to be thankful for all that Christ did for us on the cross, and for all that He does for our lives. We should also live thankful lives as a witness of Christ’s presence in our lives. Are you a thankful person? Take some time today and think of love, peace and thankfulness in your own life. Do it! Bro. Joe “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passes understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
This is one of my favorite “go-to” texts. I actually mentally quote it sometimes just to remind me of the benefits of prayer that are contained in it. I want to share these benefits with you, and hope it will be a great encouragement in your own prayer life. First, the text tells us that prayer is a cure for anxiety. (“Careful” can be translated “anxious.) Many people are anxious today and need to be reminded that they do not need to be anxious because they can go to the Lord of the universe, and shed their anxieties on Him. We will find Him ready and willing to help. There is no need for a Christian to be anxious. Second, there is the benefit of supplication, or petition. There is nothing that we cannot talk to Him about, and there is nothing that we can tell Him that He does not already know. We can share our concerns about other people with Him. I offer petition every day for my family. I offer petition for my fellow ministers. I offer petition for churches. There is nothing that we cannot share with Him. For example, the Bible tells us to pray for our enemies and the Lord will help us to accept them and not feel hostile toward them. This hostility is a real stunt to our Christian growth. You can pray for all people in your life. Thank God for the benefit of supplication. Third, there is the benefit of “requests.” Those who attend prayer meetings will be familiar with prayer requests. The greatest comfort that I had when undergoing serious illness, was that people all over Georgia were lifting up my name in prayer to the Lord. Praying for others is not just nice to do; it can also be a matter of life or death. We can also petition Him on behalf of our problems, etc. that we are having in our lives. There is nothing that is troubling that you cannot take to the Lord..Remember when you pray that the Lord is in the forgiving business and, like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, you will find Him waiting for you, to forgive and cleanse you. Fourth, there is the benefit of peace. When we make our requests to Him in true confession and repentance, He will forgive us and give us peace. The peace that God gives is not just a nice thing, it is life changing. It is “peace that passes all understanding.” If you want peace today take your concerns to God in true confession and repentance, and the “peace that passes understanding” will be yours. In fact, I challenge you take all of your burdens to the Lord. The “peace that passes all understanding can be yours. Take advantage of these benefits of prayer today. Bro. Joe “And (Jesus) arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”
Jesus and His disciples were in the midst of the Sea of Galilee in Peter’s little fishing boat. A storm came up and the disciples feared for their lives. Jesus was asleep on the stern of the boat when the disciples woke Him up and asked: “Carest thou not that we perish.” Of course Jesus cared; He just knew that this was yet another test of their faith, for He said to them: “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?” It’s interesting that Jesus made the statement about their fear and faith after He had stilled the storm. As we go through the storms of our lives, we need for Jesus to say “peace is still,” and He will when we call on Him. When does Jesus say “peace be still”? Jesus says “peace be still” when we are in a seemingly helpless and hopeless situation. (I used the word “seemingly” here, because when Jesus is in our lives we are never hopeless or helpless.) I have been on a ship in the middle of the South China Sea in a typhoon, or hurricane. It was an exciting ride for several days, but it was certain that we were helpless to do anything about it, but ride it out until it was over. We come across times like this in our lives. It could be some kind sickness, a divorce, a church problem, a family problem, or whatever, but in the middle of these storms, we can’t find a way out. When Jesus is involved, He will be with us while we ride it out, or He will say “peace be still.” Jesus is there with His peace no matter how He chooses to give us the calm that we need. We just need to understand that Jesus cares and that He is at work in our lives to help us. Our problem is that sometimes we don’t hear Jesus say “peace be still,” and we think that we are still in the storm. Call on Jesus today and listen for His “peace be still.” You are not helpless. Jesus says “peace be still” when we are in a sea of trouble. The first thing that we need to do when we are going through troubles is to ask ourselves if we did something to get ourselves into this situation. If we did, the first thing that we need to do is to repent and ask for forgiveness. It is a step of faith to recognize our own responsibilities and call on Jesus for forgiveness before we ask Him to bring calm into our lives. Otherwise, we need to realize that Jesus is stronger than the strongest storms, and He is stronger than our largest troubles. I know that this is difficult to ascertain when we are in the middle of a storm of trouble, but it is Christian reality that Jesus is in the “boat” with us while we are riding out the storm. We just need to listen with our hearts and minds for His “peace be still.” Bro. Joe “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope , through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
In the midst of Paul’s explanation of the inclusion of the Gentiles, he wrote this verse that points out three essentials of all who believe – Jew or Gentile. He wanted Roman believers, and all believers through the ages, to be filled with “joy and peace in believing,” and to “abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” I do not think that I am taking this verse out of context to say that those who believe in Christ will receive joy and peace, and through the Holy Spirit are filled with a hope that only God can give. These three essentials of joy, peace and hope are available to you if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. The first essential is joy. Joy is essential, because of the promise that Jesus gave in John 15:11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” When Christ comes into our lives by faith, we are guaranteed of His joy. It is a lasting joy that gets us through all of the troubles of life. In spite of life’s trials we have His joy. Claim this joy today, because it is yours, or can be yours. The second essential is peace. All who receive Christ by faith, have the peace that Hepromised. Jesus promised this essential in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation (trouble): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” In spite of the troubles of this world we can peace of heart and mind. This is a promise of Jesus that will enable us to withstand all of the trouble, disappointments and ailments that we may have to encounter in our lives. Jesus wants His people to be at peace. As we face all that life might bring, the promise of Jesus that He has overcome the world remains true. Rejoice! The third essential is hope. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives when we are saved, He fills us with the hope that only He can give. In fact, the Holy Spirit helps us to “abound in hope.” To abound in something means that we have plenty of it; therefore we have plenty of hope in Christ. If you feel hopeless, you need to claim Christ’s hope, for He has given you a lot of it. Like with joy and peace, we have hope in Christ in spite of what we might be facing in our lives. In all things that we face in life, Christ is at work getting us out, or through, whatever it is we face. Put your trust in Christ, and He will bring you through. Give all of your burdens to Him. As the old hymn reminds us: “Jesus will carry you through." Joy, peace and hope are yours in Christ. He promised so you can have them – period.Claim them! Bro. Joe |
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