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His Peace

/ pastorpete51 / 1 Comment

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 KJV

Notice in today’s verse Jesus didn’t tell us to be peaceful. He also did not ask us to find peace. Instead He comes saying, “I am giving you My peace.”  So what kind of peace belongs to Jesus?

First it is a peace that has nothing at all to do with our circumstances. Jesus was telling His disciples about this peace just hours before His betrayal and arrest. How could Jesus have peace? It was because He knew where He came from and He knew where He was going. That is what He offers us.

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Secondly Jesus gives us a peace differently than the world does. The world’s peace is like what I feel when I put the payment for our car in the mail. For a short moment I feel relief, but next month a new bill always shows up in my mailbox!

Last, Jesus giving us peace that doesn’t mean the battle is over, though some days I wish it were! “Perfect submission, all is at rest.” goes the second verse of Blessed Assurance. For me that offer of peace part but  the submission part…well not so much. But all through our struggles Jesus calmly waits. He has a peace to give that will stand guard like a sentry over our hearts that once we fully  trust Him in the driver’s seat of our life, He will take the wheel and leave us His peace that will carry us through any battle!

 

 

 

Sanding Off the Rough Edges

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As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.               Proverbs 27:17 NKJV

Sharpening begins with a tool hard enough to wear down the imperfections that have dulled the blade of a knife. It reminds me a little of a bunk bed building project for underprivileged children where I recently spent two hours sanding 2 by 4’s. Smoothing down those scrapes and gouges reminded how God has used friends to wear off some of the roughness in my own life.

“You’re just an expert on everything!” my boss Al said sarcastically one day, as he threw up his hands in disgust. His words stung because they were true.  Because we moved a lot when I was a kid I tried being smarter or at least cool enough to be accepted by others. Without my being aware of it this left me a bit of a know-it-all until that day when Al pointed it out. As much as his words hurt, they started me on the path that I needed towards change.

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None of us much like criticism but that is the first step that God uses to sharpen us. But we hold the key to how things turn out in our hands. We can get angry and reject any kind of correction from others or we can allow God to put to take off our rough edges. Correction hurts but if we allow it, God will sharpen us and restore us to the purpose for which we are made. We have a decision to make. We can remain dull or we can allow our Father’s hand to sharpen us for His use.

God is not Far Away

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And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Luke 17:17-19 KJV

To understand this story we need understand a little about leprosy in the Bible. Far from being just an affliction of the poor, those with leprosy ranged from generals and kings to even a man named Simon who was one of Jesus’ closest friends. Because of both the law and its contagious nature, those with leprosy were required to live separately from others.  Without divine intervention eventually lepers all ended up outside of town with no companions except for their fellow lepers. That is where Jesus met the ten men that day. When they first saw Jesus they shouted at the top of their lungs for help from a distance. They had heard how Jesus had healed others and hoped that He would do the same for them.

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Don’t we all pray like that some days? God seems far away; but we hope that if we ask loudly enough, maybe He will listen. What we need to know is that Jesus is actually a lot more willing to help us than we think. In fact just as healing the ten lepers was the main event for Jesus that day so your request and mine matters deeply to Him right now. He knows our hearts and He chooses to come close even when others stay away. But transformation from leprosy to health is only the beginning of what God has in mind. What He really wants is to be close and for us to fall at Jesus’ feet and be made whole as we give thanks!