Category: finding peace

This Sunday is a great day to go to church!

A little boy was sick on Palm Sunday and stayed home from church with his mother. His father returned from church holding a palm branch.

The little boy was curious and asked, “Why do you have that palm branch, dad?”

“You see, when Jesus came into town, everyone waved Palm Branches to honor him, so we got Palm Branches today.”

The little boy replied, ” Aw Shucks! The one Sunday I miss is the Sunday that Jesus shows up!”

Find a church near you to attend this week.
You would not want to miss out on the Good News!

We are in this together.

Make every effort to keep the unity
of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit,
just as you were called to one hope
when you were called.
Ephesians 4:3-4

Make every effort! Why is this effort so necessary? Well, there are many reasons, but the one that the Holy Spirit points us to in this passage is this: we all share in the same Holy Spirit, who is spiritual DNA that connects us together. The Holy Spirit is at work to create the unity and harmony necessary to help us function together as the bodily presence of Jesus in our world. For that to happen, there needs to be a unity that includes peace. A body can’t function when it attacks itself or won’t communicate between its different parts. So we must all, individually and collectively, “make every effort” to preserve what the Holy Spirit has built and is working to hold together. To do less is to rebel against the work of God!

Father, thank you for
brothers and sisters in the Spirit
who are as close,
and sometimes closer,
than blood relatives.
Please work on my heart
to value the unity the Spirit
has established and to work hard
to keep that unity so that
we may display the character
and compassion of Jesus
to those around us.
In Jesus’ holy name,
I ask for this grace.
Amen.

For the love of God…

Beyond all question,
the mystery of godliness is great:
He appeared in a body,
was vindicated by the Spirit,
was seen by angels,
was preached among the nations,
was believed on in the world,
was taken up in glory.
1 Timothy 3:16 (NIV)

Why would Jesus do it? How did he do it? How was he “God with us” and still in “human flesh”? We cannot fully comprehend it, but he was! The Son of God was also Jesus of Nazareth, born and placed in a manger and crucified on a cross. But he was raised from the dead and shown to be God’s Son with power. He was seen by angels, both on earth after his resurrection and in heaven at the throne of God. He has been preached and believed on by people all over the world. The glory that he has he will one day show and share with us. Understanding godliness begins with Jesus!

Holy and marvelous God,
your plan to redeem and
save a sinner like me,
along with those like me
all around the world,
is incredible.
Your love that led you
to such sacrifice is
beyond comprehension.
I thank you for this
overwhelming grace.
I ask you to forgive
me of my sins.
Please empower me
with your Spirit that raised
Jesus from the dead
so the mystery of your godliness
may be seen in my life today,
in my family,
among my friends,
before my co-workers,
by those with whom I encounter,
and especially in the
presence of my enemies.
In Jesus’ mighty name I pray.
Amen.

A day hemmed in prayer is less likely to unravel.

My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.
Psalm 71:8 (NIV)

Our mouths can be physically filled with wholesome food or junk food. We can also choose for our mouths to be filled with praise for God and his loving grace or our mouths can spew garbage. Our daily conversations can be about many things and speak to many different people about many different subjects. Or… we can choose to declare the greatness, majesty, and splendor of our heavenly Father all during our day. Why don’t we choose to praise God with our mouths and tell him of his greatness and let others know of his grace as we go about today’s activities?

Holy and marvelous Father,
you are God of all creation
and also God of all grace.
Thank you for your kindness
shared with me in Jesus.
Thank you for your powerful
victory over death when you
raised him from the dead.
Thank you for your patience
with me as I sometimes stumble,
but am always desiring to more
perfectly reflect the character of Jesus.
Please help me, O Lord,
to profess and to show my
love and admiration for you
all during this day. In Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen.

 

Who would like to have a second chance?

Jesus brought this Good News of peace
to you Gentiles who were far away from him,
and peace to the Jews who were near.
Now all of us can come to the Father
through the same Holy Spirit
because of what Christ has done for us.
Ephesians 2:17-18 nlt

God’s grace is abundantly available to everyone. Equal access means assured grace! Because of Jesus’ sacrifice and because of the work of the Holy Spirit, we are all welcomed at the throne of grace regardless of gender, social status, or race. This brings a kind of peace that wars can’t accomplish and diplomacy can’t achieve. This is a peace brought to us because Jesus paid the price for the peace and sent the Spirit to give us the assurance that we are loved and heard by the Almighty God.

O God, you are incomparable!
No one can stand before you in arrogance.
I recognize that I can come before you
only because of your desire to cleanse me
at great cost and give me the gift
of the Holy Spirit to bring true peace.
I ask now, for the peace
that surpasses all understanding
and ask that you lead and guide me
in the way I should live in grace.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

Who is in charge?

Christ is also the head of the church,
which is his body.
He is the beginning,
supreme over all
who rise from the dead.
So he is first in everything.
For God in all his fullness
was pleased to live in Christ, 
and through him God reconciled
everything to himself.
He made peace with everything
in heaven and on earth
by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
 Colossians 1:18-20 NLT

We sometimes think we have control over our lives and have the ability to save the day by our own efforts. We must be reminded that God is in control… of absolutely everything. Jesus is the living leader and head of his church. There is no man who has this right. No one but Jesus has earned this position. Jesus is supreme. Even though supremacy is rightfully his because of his divinity, he has earned his supremacy by what he has done for us. He was there before there was a beginning, he was the Creator of all that is, and he was the one who passed through death victoriously for us.

Lord Jesus,
I ask you to take control of my life,
your church, and your Body.
Please glorify yourself in us
and permeate our leaders’
hearts with your will.
We want the world
to see your supremacy
because of our unity
and devotion to you.
And Holy God,
please glorify yourself
in Jesus through the Church.
To you, Lord God,
and to your Son and our Savior Jesus,
be all honor and glory
and praise for now, and forevermore.
Amen.

 

Looking for Something?

“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will
be opened to you.”
Matthew 7:7 NIV

There is a church family near to you that is willing and able to help you find answers. This weekend is a great time to find a place of worship… it is not necessary to look alone.

Down to the smallest detail… perfect!

Jesus is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17 (NIV)

Before there was an earth, universe, or nature, there was Jesus! He was before they were made. He will be after they are long gone. In fact, his power and his presence are what hold our world, our universe, and our nature together. He is the sustaining force, the enabling power, and the generous preserver of life as we know it. So if he could provide us these things and they are but a faint anticipation of what is yet to be, won’t it be great to see him, just as he is, and share in his glory with him!

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. (John 1:1-5 NLT)

Thank you, Jesus,
for your gracious
providence this day.
Thank you for creating this
incredible world in which I live.
You are worthy of all praise,
honor, glory, and thanks!
I look forward to the day
when I can worship you face to face,
and give thanks to our Father
for his wonderful love.
To you, and in your name, dear Jesus,
I offer all my thanks and praise.
Amen.

Unlock Your Potential!

All we want in Christ, we shall find in Christ.
If we want little, we shall find little.
If we want much, we shall find much;
but if, in utter helplessness,
we cast our all on Christ,
He will be to us the riches of heaven.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath;
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear but like a garment
and its inhabitants die like flies.
But my salvation will last forever,
my righteousness will never fail.
Isaiah 51:6 (NIV)

I don’t know about you, but sometimes the Bible is so brutally honest it hurts! We consider our world, our earth, to have been here a long time and assume it will be here a long time more. But God reminds us that it is temporary! We are even more temporary: just like flies, we’re here for a short while, and then we’re gone. But not gone, gone! Christians are just gone from the temporary existence of earth because our lives are caught up with Christ in God’s salvation which lasts forever and God’s righteousness that will never end or fail. The Temple of tomorrow is a house not built by human hands… it is marvelous with splendor and majesty completed by the Lord of Lord’s own hand.

Lord and Savior who hears my prayers
and strengthens me for the journey,
thank you for the assurance that
what I have as a Christian
goes beyond the boundaries of death,
the limitations of my humanity,
and the vulnerabilities of my weaknesses.
Thank you that I am tied to you
and your salvation and
that you see me as your
righteous and holy child.
Amen.

Have you prayed about it?

Hear my prayer, O LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble
I will call to you,
for you will answer me.
Psalm 86:6-7 (NIV)

Sometimes there are no immediate answers for the troubling events in life. We have prayed and cried and tried and gone sleepless and mourned and shouted. Still there are no answers. The days roll by in an agonizing parade of pain. Still there are no answers we can identify. What do we do? We can go to the Psalms. We allow let them raise up our heart’s cry. We are honest with the God of the entire universe and yet we can still anticipate mercy from him. We are convinced that in our troubles, he will not only hear us, but he will also care about what is happening in our lives.

Almighty God,
the only true Healer
of disease and Mender
of broken hearts,
please hear the cry today
of those I love who are
in such desperate situations.
May your will be done
in every one of their lives
with tenderness, grace,
and a sense of your presence.
And Lord, please be near me,
and help me see your
answer to my prayers.
Forever yours in the name of Jesus.
Amen.