Grace and Peace (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes. I am writing to God’s church in Corinth, to you who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.”
1 Corinthians 1:1-3 NLT

In his greeting to the Corinthian church, Paul finished with “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace”. Yesterday we considered grace, as we receive it in bountiful measure from our Heavenly Father, and as we show it to others as we meet and greet others in our churches and fellowships, and extend it to those in our societies. Today we are going to consider “peace”. Jesus said to His disciples as He was preparing them for His departure from the world, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27). Anything that Jesus said or did was important, but this was a gift to the men who had been with Him for the past three and a half years, a gift of enormous value, a priceless legacy, as they would find out in the years ahead of them. 

One meaning of the word “peace” is the absence of war. As I write, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East continue, with the added danger of Iran being drawn into conflict. But in addition there are ethnic battles going on in other parts of the world, including the strife bubbling up between supporters of different religions and political groups. Even here in the UK trouble breaks out through marches and other forms of protest, emotions running high and police being needed to “keep the peace”. A constant debate goes on in our universities and on social media as to what constitutes “free speech” and what has crossed the line into hate or racial crimes. “Peace” in our societies seems absent and elusive, and men and women everywhere are fearful, for their future and the future of their children and grandchildren. People become anxious and worried, a state of a lack of peace, when they are unsure and uncertain about the outcome of what is happening around them. In fact, some people become fearful when they take a plane journey or even when they try and cross a busy road, even to the point that they stay at home, as happened during the Covid pandemic, afraid of all sorts of outcomes, most of which are statistically unlikely. The more resilient and optimistic amongst people try and rationalise their feelings by putting their trust in their wealth, possessions and even governments, but there still remains nagging doubts and a plethora of “what if’s”. 

In the Old Testament, the concept of peace was well known. There are verses that support the idea of a lack of conflict between nations, between people and between God and man. When all three boxes were ticked then the Jewish people lived in a state of “peace”. It was, and still is, the custom of the Jews to use the greeting “shalom” when they met with each other. We see its use in scriptures such as 1 Samuel 25:6, “Peace and prosperity to you, your family, and everything you own!” This verse was a forerunner to the episode where David asked for supplies for his men from a man he had been protecting, a man called Nabal. Instead of showing them favour, Nabal shouted insults at David’s messengers and sent them away empty handed. Nabal’s wife saved the day with a truckload of supplies, and David’s response was, “ …  Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you to meet me today! Thank God for your good sense! Bless you for keeping me from murder and from carrying out vengeance with my own hands … Then David accepted her present and told her, “Return home in peace. I have heard what you said. We will not kill your husband” (1 Samuel 25:32-33, 35).

Peace was an important state to be in, and ever since the Fall, peace has been in short supply. But Jesus wasn’t meaning a kind of worldly “peace”. The best kind of “peace” that the world offers just doesn’t remove feelings of anxiety and fear. Worldly peace is never with us for long, if at all, but the peace that Jesus offered is eternal. Hebrews 6:18-19, “So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary“. Back in John 14, the chapter starts with Jesus’ words, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me“. God has promised us that in Him we can find the peace that we need in our souls. But it requires faith to believe His promises. The terrible worriers amongst us will always be lacking peace, but that is really a display of a lack of faith. In John 14:2-3, Jesus followed His statement about not letting our hearts be troubled with, “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am“. Regardless of what this world throws at us, in God we have the source of peace, eternal peace. Jesus Himself. 

As pilgrims, we therefore walk by faith, not by sight, and we believe and apply the advice Paul wrote in Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful“. So when we start to become fearful through world events, we instead turn to the Source of peace, God Himself. He will never let us down. Psalm 46:1-3, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!“

“When peace like a river” was a hymn written by Horatio Spafford after his four daughters were lost in a shipwreck. The words continue, “whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, “It is well, it is well with my soul“”. That’s God’s peace in action. Could we have written that hymn? We must pray that we become so assured in Jesus and His peace, that we too can weather the storms of life. If God is our strong tower (Proverbs 18:10), then what do we have to fear? In God we can find the peace that our souls yearn for, forever.

Dear Heavenly Source of Peace. We praise You today, and pray for more faith and grace in our lives so that we can sing the hymn with conviction – “It is well with my soul”. Amen.

Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
John 14:27 NLT

There is much in the Bible about “Peace”. The Jewish word, “Shalom”, meaning “peace”, amongst other things, is well known and adopted by many as a greeting, along with a hug, kiss, or handshake, according to the culture. Paul started off his letter to the Ephesians with, “May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace” (Ephesians 1:2). Jude included such an introduction in his short letter, “May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love” (Jude 1:2). Letter writing convention today sometimes concludes with a blessing of peace.

In a world of wars and chaos, people desperate for an oasis of peace somewhere try to find it by visiting churches and monasteries, or joining a pilgrimage to a place previously associated with a move of God or where a particular saint or other holy person used to live. But much searching after peace is destined for disappointment because a worldly solution cannot be found for the yearnings for peace within. Everywhere we look there is a deficit of peace, a deficit that extends from a national and international level all the way down to family relationships. The impact of sin and devil-induced wickedness seems never-ending. 

But in it all there is a ray of hope. Jesus was not referring to a worldly peace. Even with an absence of such a peace, there is still the inner turmoil and strife that can afflict all people facing the worries and anxieties of life. At the end of a war there is jubilation and relief, now that the conflict has ended. But soon such feelings are replaced by the reality of living with the economic and societal consequences and realities of life, an external lack of war replaced by the internal wars in people’s souls. 

Jesus reassured His disciples that they would never have to feel again the chaos of a lack of peace within them. He told them that He was leaving them with a gift of “peace of mind and heart”. Kingdom peace is nothing like worldly peace, which never lasts very long. Jesus’ gift of peace was to be a permanent presence in the lives of believers for ever. The disciples experienced it and so can we pilgrims. There is no war and strife in God’s Kingdom. Instead there is a positive environment of love, joy, righteousness, and all the wonderful spiritual attributes we find in God’s presence. So the world around us will be dissolving into a chaotic panic while we calmly continue to trust in God who has the solution. Jesus came to this world to bring peace to mankind, as prophesised many years before, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Through His gift of forgiveness of sins, Jesus, by His death, introduced an opportunity for the salvation of people everywhere, people otherwise riven by a lack of peace, and His gift continues to be available today. 

Paul, an Apostle treated so badly by the world around him, could write, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Paul understood the same and eternal peace that is available to us as well, that peace promised as a gift by Jesus, “peace of mind and heart”. Fellow pilgrims, are you in a storm of chaos and a lack of peace just now? If so, there is a gift awaiting for you that will provide a remedy. It won’t necessarily take away the worldly situation you are facing, but God’s peace will somehow provide the strength and positivity to carry on, step by step, towards our Heavenly goal. 

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise and worship You today with thankful hearts. Your peace floods over us in strife-ridden times. Amen.

Lingering Doubts

Posted on by korgrocker

“Then he said, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.” The disciples said, “Lord, if he is sleeping, he will soon get better!” They thought Jesus meant Lazarus was simply sleeping, but Jesus meant Lazarus had died. So he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. And for your sakes, I’m glad I wasn’t there, for now you will really believe. Come, let’s go see him.””
John 11:11-15 NLT

Did Jesus have a sense of humour? I can just imagine Him chuckling to Himself with the thought of what He was about to do. But in the meantime He was perhaps teasing His disciples a little. They probably struggled a bit to keep up with all that their Master and Lord was doing, and they took what He said at face value. Quite correctly, they pointed out that if Lazarus was sleeping then he was on the mend and would soon be up and about. But Jesus then dropped a bombshell – Lazarus was dead and He, and His disciples, were going to go to Bethany to raise him from the dead. That was the only conclusion the disciples could draw. And Jesus added that if the disciples had any lingering doubts, then this was going to blow them away. Only God had the power to raise someone from the dead.

There were several occasions when the disciples displayed their doubts over their faith and Jesus’ power. There was that time when Peter jumped out of the boat and walked on the Sea of Galilee towards Jesus. We can read the account in Matthew 14, “Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” “Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”” (Matthew 14:28-31). Then there was the time when Thomas received the tag “Doubting”. John 20:24-28, “One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!””.

Do we pilgrims have any doubts over our faith? If we are honest with ourselves then the answer must be “Yes”. There are dark times when we gaze up into the heavens wondering why there is no answer to a prayer or an anguished cry for help. These are the times when all we have to rely on is our faith and the memories of previous times of wonder when God brought about a miracle in our own lives. I regularly think back with a grateful heart to such times as those. But sometimes we echo the cry of the father whose son was demon possessed. We read in Mark 9:23-24, ““What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!””

Sometimes our minds find themselves wandering through corridors of human reason and logic, and can soon find themselves in a cul-de-sac of doubtful thoughts. But at such times as these, we pick up God’s Word, the Bible, and read it. “Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). In God’s presence all our doubts will disappear like the mist before the morning sun.

Dear God. Your peace is precious and we can receive it every time we feel doubts start to rise. We are so grateful. Amen.

Feeding the Crowds

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!””
John 6:5-7 NLT

There are a few questions we can ask about this passage. Why would Jesus want to feed all these people? And why choose Philip out of the Twelve to discuss the catering with? Was Jesus teasing Philip, who perhaps was a bit gullible? Why didn’t the crowd of people plan ahead so that they wouldn’t go hungry? But regardless, we can shut our eyes and imagine all these people dressed in the Middle Eastern way, making their way across the landscape, whatever it consisted of, trying to find Jesus. Men and women, with children as well. Perhaps singing, talking, carrying some who were disabled or sick. They hadn’t left their homes and villages without a good reason. They were looking for Jesus.

But Jesus, compassionate as ever, wasn’t just concerned with teaching them about His Kingdom. He also attended to their physical conditions, healing the sick, casting out demons, and doing miraculous works that benefitted those who found Him. And His beneficence didn’t end there. He was going to send them home with full stomachs. That is how much our Heavenly Father cares for us. Jesus was a real life manifestation of the God we read about in Psalm 103:2-5. The Psalmist wrote, “Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!” Jesus was interested in the whole person.

So, Jesus asked Philip how they could find enough food to feed all these people. Philip was overwhelmed with the scale of the task, imagining many months of work to generate sufficient money to pay the tab when it came. But do we pilgrims, like Philip, also sometimes look at a seemingly insurmountable problem, thinking of a natural solution and then imagining what it would take to bring it about? We think about the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, active as I write, and wonder how they can ever be “fixed”. We can, closer to home, think about an unexpected bill that has just landed on our doorsteps. Or an announcement of redundancies. Perhaps we are a parent looking on at a sick child, riven by an apparently incurable condition, and wondering how and when the suffering will ever end. All situations that can bring about a heart-stopping despair, until we involve our wonderful compassionate God in the situation we are facing. He has the bread we need when hungry. The finances when we are desperate. The medicines when sick. All from His treasure chest of resources that know no limit. 

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippian church, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Of course, we take note that Paul was referring to “needs” rather than “wants”, but to the crowd making their way across the Galilean countryside, sufficient food to sustain them on their return journey was a necessity that Jesus was aware of.

When it comes to the “giants” that we are facing, the remedy pivots upon our faith and trust in our wonderful Heavenly Father. We pilgrims are men and women of faith tramping our way towards our ultimate “Promised Land”. And all the obstacles we encounter in our journey will bow the knee before God as we pray, in faith, for His provision. Paul wrote a helpful instruction to the Philippians, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Father God. We are overwhelmed with Your compassion and provision. We are so thankful and worship You today. Amen.

Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace. Your sister church here in Babylon sends you greetings, and so does my son Mark. Greet each other with a kiss of love. Peace be with all of you who are in Christ.”
1 Peter 5:12-14 NLT

Peace seems to be an elusive word in and on 21st Century Planet Earth. The world around us is tearing itself apart with wars. Even closer to home, a lack of tolerance and understanding brings people onto the streets to have a “peaceful” demonstration, but it is inevitably full of hatred and vitriol rather than “peace”. This weekend there are planned marches in major British cities in defence of the Palestinian cause. Social media-stoked misinformation, and anti-Semitic rhetoric abound and destroy any hopes of peace in our UK communities, at least for the time being. Good people, and God’s people, stay at home, hoping the storms of non-peace will pass them by. But all this mayhem is an external manifestation of peace, or a lack of it, and not the sort of peace Peter was finishing his first letter with. Peter was writing about an inner peace, peace with God and our fellow believers. Achieving such a peace will spill over into peace in our communities and nations.

Paul wrote famously the verses in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. It is a true fact of life in modern times, that the peace Paul and Peter were writing about is in short supply. The lives we live can become corrupted by worry and anxiety, spawning feelings of anger and distress. Lashing out at perceived, often distorted or mistaken, “injustices” can partly mitigate the inner feelings of conflict. But instead of marching on the streets, prayer is a better solution. 

Jesus came to this world bringing peace. Remember the angels’ song to the shepherds near Bethlehem? “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased” (Luke 2:14). Isaiah prophesied the coming “Prince of Peace” in Isaiah 9:6, “For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. And Jesus Himself mentioned how God’s blessing will fall on the peace-makers, “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9). 

Paul wrote that our inner peace is so important that it must become a driving force within us. We read in Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful”. How is our inner peace today? Do we pilgrims feel turmoil and stress, combining to displace the rule and reign of Christ within us? If that is the case, we need to pause on our life-journey and take some time sitting in God’s presence and allowing His peace to flood over us. We give thanks for our progress on the journey. And we pray about whatever is conflicting our very souls. We look up and see God in His throne room, smiling upon us, encouraging us, blessing us, and as we embrace His Son, the Prince of Peace, we will find restoration and peace once more. The journey will still be there tomorrow, or the next day. But now is the time for God and our peace.

Dear Heavenly Father. You have created us within us a need for peace. You know what is best for us, and we pray for Your grace to help us align ourselves to how You would have us be. So we thank You once again, and worship at Your footstool. Amen.

Trust in God

Posted on by korgrocker

“For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.”
1 Peter 4:17-19 NLT

Peter completes the fourth chapter of his letter with the reminder and encouragement that we must “trust [our] lives to the God who created [us], for He will never fail [us]”. These are words that will sustain us through even the most desperate of times. The Bible is bulging with God’s promises. They burst out of every page and Peter reminds us that God will never go back on what He has promised. As we overlay our lives on the Scriptures we will find encouragement and wisdom for every situation that we face. 

The Bible mentions a few real-life situation faced by believers, and I’m reminded this morning of Stephen. Some Jews were upset by his wisdom and the Spirit behind him, and they concocted lies about him, that resulted in him being arrested and brought before the Jewish High Council on a charge of blasphemy. He made his defence and His potted history of the Jewish nation was an amazing feat of memory and presentation, no doubt Holy Spirit inspired, and we can just imagine the Jewish leaders nodding away in agreement as he spoke. But then he dropped in a bombshell as we read in Acts 7:51, “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you!” He pulled no punches and pandemonium broke out, ending with Stephen being dragged out of the city and stoned. Right to the end he trusted God for his future, confident that God would never fail him.

What situations are we pilgrims facing into today? I know someone, a believer, who is stressed by an aggressive neighbour who keeps harassing them with lies and general nastiness. But they are trusting that God will support and protect them, because He said in Psalm 46:1-2, “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” We all face troubles and hassles as we counter-culturally live our lives the Jesus way. And although we might never experience a situation like Stephen, in our own ways we will be stressed and distressed by the actions of those around us. I sometimes wonder, when I see the loads carried by unbelieving friends and neighbours, how they survive without God in their lives. No wonder there are so many issues with mental health these days. But we pilgrims have the answer. It may not be a correction to their troubles, but it will bring comfort into a situation that otherwise may seem hopeless. Ecclesiastes 4:12, “A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken”. As we stand with our troubled friends, whether or not they are believers, we can pray for them and introduce the love of God, the third strand, into the situation. Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus“. Amen?

Dear Father God. We know that You love us and care for us. We are so grateful. Amen.


God’s Peace

Posted on by korgrocker

“And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.”
Romans 15:33 NLT

This verse, the last in Romans 15, is almost as though it’s Paul signing off from his long letter. He’s said all he wants to say and this is his “Yours sincerely” moment, or something similar but less formal. It’s the sort of statement that would be made by a minister at the end of a church meeting, before walking to the exit door to say his goodbyes. And it’s not unusual for Christians to say to someone on the way out of our home, “May God be with you”. On my business card I have included the verses from Numbers 6:24-26, “May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favour and give you his peace.”

But two things emerge from this verse, Romans 15:33. Paul asked that God was with all his readers. Why would he say that because God is with all His followers. It is in fact a form of greeting with which he encourages the Roman believers. In those days of severe persecution, knowing that God was with them would have brought a smile to their faces. It would have reassured them that their trials were all worth going through because God was alive and well. Isaiah 41:13 was a verse with which the Jewish exiles were similarly encouraged. They too were going through a difficult time in a land where they didn’t want to be. We read, “For I hold you by your right hand— I, the Lord your God. And I say to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you”. Whatever situation we pilgrims are in just now, we too can be encouraged by the reminder that God is with us.

The second piece of encouragement from Paul was the reminder that God is the Source of our peace.  In John 14:27 we read Jesus’ words about peace. He said, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid”. A Christian isn’t so much concerned about peace in its worldly sense. We might of course pray for peace, and particularly about the war in Ukraine. But the peace Jesus was referring to was something far more important and beneficial. It describes the peace we have with God because we are in a right relationship with Him. As our bodies, souls and spirits line up with God and His ways, we find that we are experiencing a precious gift from God. Jesus taught about it. Paul reminded the Roman believers about it, and we experience it too. In Philippians 4:6-7 Paul wrote about some practical help to those who are anxious and worried. He wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”. The remedy for the sickness of worry is firstly prayer, and then thankfulness, leading to “peace of mind and heart”. 

Just a few words at the end of Romans 15 would have had a profound impact on the readers of Paul’s long letter of teaching and encouragement. We too can read these words, perhaps at the end of a day, as we head into a night of restful slumber, secure in God’s peace.

Dear Father God. We thank You for Your real and precious presence with us. We praise and worship You today. Amen.