“And the peace of God which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
(Philippians 4: 7)
Peace, the word itself, carries deep depth for every human being, but when it is joined with God’s name it transcends all human understanding. It outweighs every human concept of humans who struggle to find peace in their own lives, relying on their own capabilities. The world battles against all odds to bring about peace between nations, cultures, religions, mostly failing as history proves, only resulting in an on-going saga of wars.
When I was growing up our church had a lovely practice of just before the prayers for communion began, the congregation was asked to turn to the person beside you and “pass the peace”. This meant shaking their hand and saying, Peace be with you and they would respond likewise. A beautiful message, but sometimes lost its power as it became routine like saying “good morning” and the real meaning became lost.
David remembered the power of the Lord and reminded the people of where their strength would come from.
“The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.” (Psalm 29: 11)
A wonderful reminder for us as turmoil overtakes our lives and anxiety leaves us troubled and making decisions becomes clouded with fear, we need to accept that gracious offer of peace and ask the Lord to provide it for us.
Jesus himself knew the troubled world was going to be hard for those who chose to follow him and left this blessing behind him not only for the disciples, but for us as well.
“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” (John 14: 27)
And again, he reminds us of his great strength and urges us to accept his gracious gift and to remember that he has overcome the world and his peace is way beyond any earthly power;
“But 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.” (John 6: 33)
Just like any gift, it needs to be received and opened. Too often we feel that we should be able to deal ourselves when difficulties arise and become like my little two-year-old 
grand-daughter, who spurns any help we offer her, but replies, I can do it! By acknowledging God’s beautiful gift, we can rest assured that rusting him will alleviate our fears and allow that incredible peace to encircle us as we walk the paths of life.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3: 5 – 6)
We often read in the media of random acts of kindness, but rarely know of what affect that has on the person who receives them.
immeasurably brighter.
We have been doing a fascinating study in our church on the book of Samuel and with the focus on the life of David. David began as a humble shepherd boy until his famous feat of killing the giant Goliath and eventually becoming the King of Israel. Last Sunday we observed David drifting away from the God he worshipped and committing the sin of adultery and ordering the murder of Uriah. Our pastor pointed out how power can corrupt. David had wealth and power, everything he needed, but still allowed envy for another man’s wife to lead him into sin. Our pastor had this quote about power, power is like drinking saltwater, the more you have the thirstier you become for more, your thirst is never satisfied.
When my brother and I were young, we were convinced that my mother was exactly like the old saying, she had eyes in the back of her head. She seemed to know what we were up to and even if she wasn’t in the same room as us, we would hear her say, “that game is going to end in tears!” and of course she was right. How did she know what we were playing with each other or how did she know one of us was teasing the other and tears probably were going to result?
The Lord knows completely what we have experienced and knows all our social fears and all our insecurity, so what a blessing it is when we seek his company in prayer there is no pretending, we can just be our selves and knowing this gives us more confidence in mixing with others we can even remind ourselves who we are by repeating the line in one of my favourite songs, before venturing out in the world.
that when we were young and were working or had small children or sometimes both! Morning rituals then were chaotic. I was thinking back on my own life and remembering all the changes I lived through. When I was a new young teacher, I had a kindergarten class and one of the little songs they loved to sing (or perhaps shout might be a better description) had these words as the first verse;
As a young mother and also working, my request was probably a plea to get through the day, but as I grew in the knowledge of who Jesus was, my morning prayer time became the most important part of my morning ritual and I became more and more dependent on that precious time.
Others have told me they write a favourite verse out on paper and leave it on the bedside table, so they read it as soon as they wake up.
This week we sang in our church service, probably one of the best-known hymns ever written, Amazing Grace. As I sang the familiar words, once again I was filled with awe at what those words meant, although written hundreds of years ago their impact has never lessened and as we approach Good Friday and think deeply about what those words really mean, our hearts are profoundly touched and just like the author we are filled with gratitude to our Saviour.
advice Peter wrote to the followers of Christ.
Perhaps all of us at birth are filled with zeal for self and the importance of being number one. If you have ever watched toddlers first interacting with other small children, how they relate is fascinating to see, as they wrestle toys away from one another and when they can speak, often accompanied by shouting out Mine and Me First. The poor parents constantly trying to teach that all important word, share, or “it is [your/their] turn next”. We do get taught how to lovingly live with one another from a young age.
When Paul is writing to the new churches, he adds another dimension to what this means. He tells Jesus’ followers to honour one another. I looked up the dictionary to check the meaning of this word and this description stood out for me;
Last week my family with their two young children came to dinner at my place and once we were seated at the table, my six-year-old grandson could hardly wait to tell me what they were now doing at their dinner table every night. At first, I was a little confused when he said, it was about roses, thorns and buds. When his mother explained I was thrilled at what their parents were instilling in their children. Everybody took a turn and they had to look hard at their day and find a beautiful thing that had happened (a rose) then they were also allowed to share what had been not so good (a thorn) then to end with, to find a way to encourage something good to happen for the next day (the bud).
When he is writing to the Philippians, he encourages them to rejoice and find roses to thank God for. This even more startling when Paul was writing from prison while in chains. He doesn’t mention how terrible that must be, but rejoices that amid all his agony his witness for Christ has reached the palace guard and not only that, this witnessing has encouraged other Christians to be bolder in how they share the good news;
Again, a wonderful example for us to follow to pray with joy for our families, our friends our church family
Many years ago, my husband and I bought a holiday cabin for all the family to use, on a remote lake with a water frontage. The property was an acre and was covered in stately pine trees. We fell in love with it when we first saw it. When we moved in, I was reading my Bible and came across this verse in Psalm 16 in which the Psalmist was thanking God for the pleasant and beautiful place God had allowed him to live in. When I read it, it became my prayer for this place we had just bought, and I wrote out the verse in big letters and it remained on the refrigerator the whole time we owned it.
My physical boundaries were certainly different, but emotionally I was surrounded by the Father’s love on all sides. He had surrounded me with a loving family to care for me. Loving friends and a supporting church community. I was bound to him by his love. The Lord had promised to never forsake me so he is one of my boundary lines that can never be moved
a child. I often wondered what they meant by that, was it some excuse for behaviour? Or was it some sort of dismissal of their worth? Was it a reason to ignore their contribution to life and to keep them in the background? The other familiar saying was, children should be seen and not heard. On Sunday morning we were singing one of my favourite songs and the end of every verse was this phrase
control our own lives without consulting him as the much wiser parent.
