Perfect Gifts: Peace

We can all use some more peace on earth.

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Colossians 1:19-20 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.

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The infant child arrived on a night that was just like any other as far as most people could tell. But in this small corner of the world there was a magnificent event taking place. The God of all creation became Immanuel, God with us, hardly anyone knew that the Prince of Peace came as a baby to change our relationship with God and with our fellow man.

Ever since the original sin in the Garden of Eden the world has been in chaos. Satan hated mankind because they were the most excellent part of his creation because we were made in his image. That's the reason Satan hates you so much, God is his enemy and since you are made in God's image, you force Satan to see his enemy everywhere.

So Satan went to work to break the relationship that God enjoyed with man. Maybe he thought that God would destroy us because of our sin but God had a better plan to make a way for us to have peace with him.

The original sin was the beginning of strained relationships, suddenly relationships were tainted by fear, man and woman tried to hide from God in the bushes and from each other by creating clothing to cover themselves.

Peace with God

Romans 5:1,10-11 Therefore, since we have been made right in God's sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. 

Our situation was hopeless and there wasn't any way for us to fix our broken relationship with God. As soon as you were conceived you became an enemy of God, your sin nature put you at odds with him, but he loved you too much to leave you in that condition.

A just God must punish sin but thankfully our God is also a God of mercy and peace. The same all powerful God that is your judge is also the provider of your pardon. Jesus told us over and over again during his three years of ministry that he came so that he could die to pay the debt that we owed for our sins. That was his main agenda.

Peace with Man

Romans 12:16-18 Live in harmony with each other. Don't be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don't think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.  

We are to approach our relationships with our fellow man the same way that Jesus treated us, he didn't give us what we deserve, he didn't seek revenge for those that hurt him, he didn't even raise his voice in anger to defend himself. 

As a follower of Jesus we must put aside our natural reactions to being wronged and allow the characteristics of the Holy Spirit to be our guide. It is amazing that we think that the Holy Spirit can dwell in us and yet we can be so at odds with one another. (Galatians 5:22-23)

"True love never thinks evil of the beloved. It is never suspicious, but always supportive and inspiring. True love bears all things. Nothing weakens or undermines it." -Billy Graham 

We should be able to make peace and live harmoniously with those around us as a result of the peace that we have with God, he went to the extreme to fix relationships and he expects us to do the same. How far will you go to mend a broken relationship?

John 14:27  "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." 

The biblical concept of peace does not focus on the absence of trouble. It is ironic that Jesus taught his disciples about peace on the night before He was arrested and sentenced to die. Jesus didn't give us any reason to believe that this world was going to be easy but he did say that we can have peace in the middle of our trials.

Thank you Lord for bringing peace to our relationship, a peace that affects every part of my life. Help me to show peace to the world so that they will know the Prince of Peace.

Satisfying Relationships

God's word reveals to us the importance of relationships.

Genesis 2:21-25 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the LORD God took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the opening. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib, and He brought her to the man.

23 "At last!" the man exclaimed. "This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called 'woman,' because she was taken from 'man.'"

24 This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one. 25 Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.

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In The Beginning when God created the world he didn't set out to give us the details of how his work was accomplished. All that we really need to know is that God spoke everything into existence from out of nothing. The story of the Bible is so much bigger than knowing any more details about our world than what God told us.

The creation story ends and from this point on the focus of the Bible is about God's favorite subject, it's all about relationships, the relationship between God and man and also the need for mankind to have human relationships.

We cannot imagine how it must have been to be able to relate to God before sin. It must have been amazing to have him walk in the garden and have him talk directly to you, we don't know how long it lasted but I am sure Adam always longed for the good old days.

We cannot imagine how amazing it was to have a marriage that wasn't affected by sin. Have you ever been in a fight with someone and stopped to wonder if the thing that you think is important isn't really what you are fighting about? Probably not. I think that we are clueless about how far reaching the effects of sin are on our world and how much it has damaged our relationships.

Adam had a special relationship with God that the animals couldn't have but God knew that Adam needed more. It is difficult to understand that some religions believe that their clergy should be without a wife because it is supposed to be a more excellent way to live when God makes it clear that it isn't good for man to be alone. If God says that about sinless man living in the most awesome neighborhood ever then it must be way more true now that we are living outside of Eden.

God gave the first bride away to Adam to fulfill his need for a companion, Eve wasn't a subordinate or a slave, she was created in the image of God with equal status and she would have the same work and the same commands to follow.

Many people decide that God's design isn't good enough, some want to make slaves of the woman, make her a lesser being or they want to disregard God's original design by taking a partner for themselves of the same sex.

Ephesians 5:25-27 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.

Throughout scripture marriage is a metaphor for the relationship of God with his chosen people and for Jesus relationship with the church. Marriage is supposed to be a picture of his covenant love for his people. Adam's bride and the bride of Christ both came from their side, from Adam's open side came Eve and from the side of Christ came the church.

The metaphor doesn't work with same sex marriages, two Adam's or two Eve's can never illustrate the holy union and symbolism that God intended earthly marriage to be. If the marriage has two husbands or two wives then who is the head of the marriage that lays down their life for the other? Which one is going to be submissive as to the Lord?

Revelation 19:7-9 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to Him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and His bride has prepared herself. 8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear." For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God's holy people. 9 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And he added, "These are true words that come from God."

The promised future restoration of our relationship with God is beautifully demonstrated in marriage. We will enjoy his presence again as we are united with him in a pure relationship that will never again be influenced by sin.

I have a peaceful relationship with God as his child because of Jesus but our relationship is still a struggle because I am still bound to this sinful world. Because of sin I cannot fully know him and relate to him as intimately as I will some day. I cannot love him or worship him as I will some day when all of the distractions of my carnal nature has been removed.

A husband and wife pursuing the gospel as their goal will grow closer than a husband and wife focused solely on their own happiness.

-Richard Coekin, Ephesians For You

Until that day, I need to show the world the love of God through my marriage, I need to pursue my relationship with my wife just as God pursued me and I need to love her sacrificially just as God has done for me.

My appreciation and gratitude for the grace that has been shown to me through the gospel needs to be lived out daily in a covenant relationship so that the world can see the love of God on display.

RELATED ARTICLES

What Makes Sexual Sin Such A Big Deal? (gotquestions.org)
The Metaphor Of Christ And The Church (desiringgod.org)
Marriage Is A Mirror (thegospelcoalition.org)

The Challenge Of The Eternal City

Heaven is my destination for eternity and it is my motivation for this life.

Revelation 22:3-5 No longer will there be a curse upon anything. For the throne of God and of the Lamb will be there, and His servants will worship Him. 4 And they will see His face, and His name will be written on their foreheads. 5 And there will be no night there--no need for lamps or sun--for the Lord God will shine on them. And they will reign forever and ever.

Titus 2:12-14 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

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At the end of the book of Revelation we see the ultimate end of our existence. We don't have to speculate or search Google to find the answer to the demise of humanity and our planet. Because we do know how it will end and we know that we will be answerable to God for this life we need to consider a few things.

First we looked at the idea that we should be excited to celebrate our final victory in Jesus and feel comfort in knowing that Heaven is in our future. We need to be encouraged to live joyfully so that other people will see the incredible hope and comfort that the world desperately needs.

Second we looked at the cause or the purpose of the eternal city and we learned that Heaven isn't supposed to be our great desire because we will get a more comfortable existence with a lot of great perks. My greatest desire should be to know God in a much more personal way.

Today I am looking at the third way that the reality of Heaven should affect our existence today. I should live a very different lifestyle with a new mindset because of wat has been done for me. I love to travel to other countries but it is always a tiny bit of anxiety while you wait to get through immigration. That anxiety is something that you don't need to have when you arrive at the eternal city.

I know that Heaven is a country where I could never get a visa without some serious help from somebody much better than myself. Since I have received such an awesome gift I should show my gratitude instead of acting like this life is all about me.

The king of the eternal city has a best selling book that tells us how to get through immigration and what is expected of the citizens of the eternal city. He wrote this book for our benefit yet there are many that have purchased the book and have never seriously thought about the author and what his intentions were for writing the book.

God's book makes it clear that the people that are looking forward to a better country are supposed to be patriotic representatives of the better country and it's King. These special people should live differently to promote our homeland and it's interest.

Romans 7:21-25 I have discovered this principle of life--that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. 22 I love God's law with all my heart. 23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.

24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.

The challenge to live to please the king of our new country should create a tension between the new country and the country of birth. The new creation that I am in Jesus demands my loyalty but the fact that I am still stuck in this fallen world in my old carnal body is a conflict that I must deal with for now.

Titus 3:5-8 He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. 6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of His grace He declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life."

8 This is a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial for everyone.

Thankfully I do not have to master this conflict alone! Besides the best selling book that the king wrote I also have unbelievable power to live above the standards of this world because he also gave me the Holy Spirit. When I utilize the power found in the Bible and the Holy Spirit's power I can rise up to the challenge and live in victory.

Jesus knows that the citizens of his eternal city that take his instructions seriously will struggle against the culture and it's attitudes. That is why he gives us good news at the end of the book: “My reward is with Me.”

Will you be ready for great gain or will you suffer great loss? (! Corinthians 3:13-17)

Do You Really Know Jesus?

Church membership, small groups and even faith doesn't mean you really know Jesus.

 

John 14:7-11  If you had really known Me, you would know who My Father is. From now on, you do know Him and have seen Him!"  8  Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."

9  Jesus replied, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don't know who I am? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father! So why are you asking Me to show Him to you?

10  Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak are not My own, but My Father who lives in Me does His work through Me.  11  Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Or at least believe because of the work you have seen Me do.

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Do you know Jesus? I mean really know him? It isn't a strange question. There was a time in the United States when just about everybody knew who Jesus is but those numbers have slowly declined. But just because they knew who he is doesn't mean that they really knew him as a close personal friend.

The Bible tells us that in Jesus' small group they didn't all know him and some of them knew him better than others. We saw recently that Judas didn't get it at all and he wasted three years of his life living a lie. The other disciples didn't really know him fully or they wouldn't react to situations the way they did.

Philip proved that he didn't really know when he asks Jesus "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus has been with them for all this time telling them that he is God (John 10:30-33) and yet they are still confused.

Philip is the same guy that Jesus asked “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” (John 6:5) If he really knew Jesus he wouldn't have any doubt that Jesus could feed them even if there wasn't a basket of bread and fish.

I cannot criticize Philip for what he didn't know, I have to ask myself if I really know Jesus, does the average church attender or small group participant really know Jesus? What level of intimacy is my relationship to Jesus?

The average person in Jerusalem may have had physical or factual knowledge of who Jesus is but it didn't have an affect on their life. Even the people that were against Jesus had this much knowledge of him but because they stopped there and didn't go any further in their relationship with him, out of ignorance they came to the wrong conclusion about him.

We need to know Jesus deeper through a relationship built on faith or else we will be in danger of forming the wrong opinion about him. This is the depth of knowing that scripture refers to between Adam and Eve in Genesis 4:1 and this is the depth of relationship that Jesus uses in John 17:3.

John 17:3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

The apostle Paul mentions a deeper knowing of Jesus in his letter to the Philippians. This deeper knowledge of Jesus causes your perspective of worldly things to change.

Philippians 3:8-10  Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ  9  and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.  10  I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death,

The value of knowing Christ and holding him above any other love in this world is pretty radical. Paul was educated, he had position in the religious system and he was known for being a devout Jew that obeyed the law but none of this was important to him after he received a deeper knowledge of Jesus.

We can be too much like Paul, we know enough about Jesus to make us dangerous, we can come to some radical opinions about him and do some stupid things. We can value our own ability and our social status above the value of knowing Jesus better and allowing him to be in control.

Perfect Unity

John 14:19-21  Soon the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me. Since I live, you also will live.  20  When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. 21  Those who accept My commandments and obey them are the ones who love Me. And because they love Me, My Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal Myself to each of them."

The Holy Spirit, the Son, and the Father takes up residence in the life of a believer!  This is such an incredible thought! Jesus will send the Holy Spirit to be our Advocate, he will live within us and help us know the truth so that we can live in unity with the three persons of the trinity. (John 14:16-17)

John 17:23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.

I need to go beyond just knowing Jesus and take it to a deeper level. The burning desire of every believer ought to be to know God better, to know Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I mean really KNOW them and be a real follower of Christ.

I should be diligent to be "Digging the Word" so that I might know and I should allow what I know to affect the way that I live. Once I began to cultivate this deeper communion with Christ it made me hungry for more, I have no desire to return to my previous shallow life being a careless Christian.

I need to remember Jesus words at the beginning of John 14 and realize that I can live with a heart that isn't troubled if I have faith and if I live it out my faith in obedience to his commands. (John 14:1)

RELATED ARTICLES

Knowing Christ More Intimately (bible.org)

Where You Are

There's no one I love more than You!

I lived

Heart on a wire

Hand in the fire for so long

But You've shown me better

A new kind of love

It's ever the one I want

I'm lifting you higher, higher

There's nothing that I'd rather do

A sweet elevation of praises

There's no one I love more than You

I never knew a love like this before

The kind of life that I cannot find on my own

I've seen the world but I have never been so sure

That I want Your heart

God, I just want to be where You are

Where You are

I just want to be where You are

Your love, like nothing I've seen

My wildest of dreams don't come close

Life never no better than living like this

I cannot resist You Lord

And after all this time with You by my side

I can't imagine what it'd be like on my own

I've made up my heart, this love is all I've got

And You're the only one I know worth living for

A sweet elevation of praises

There's no one I love more than You

Draw Near To God

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 7:25 - He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Hebrews 11:6 - Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who draws near to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

God's Children Know How To Please Him

Pleasing God isn't a big mystery we just need to do it.

1 John 3:22-24  And we will receive from Him whatever we ask because we obey Him and do the things that please Him.   

23 And this is His commandment: We must believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.  24  Those who obey God's commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them. And we know He lives in us because the Spirit He gave us lives in us.

Colossians 1:9-10  So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.  10  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

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Does God seem like an impersonal being that you cannot have a friendly relationship with? If that is your idea of who God is then you have a good reason to not like him. The good news is that your idea of what God is like is all wrong and you don't really know him. You need to know that you can please God.

Very few people, including believers, feel like they are pleasing to God. Most of us feel some degree of forgiveness and acceptance but to think that God is actually pleased with us is a difficult concept. Satan knows that we will not feel close to God if we doubt our standing before him as his children that he loves. So he accuses us in an attempt to drive a wedge between us and God, that has been his plan to get back at God ever since the garden, but God destroyed Satan's plans long ago.

One of the reasons we should be concerned with pleasing God is because it is a requirement for our prayers to be answered. If we do not have any concern for what God thinks about our lifestyle then we have no business asking him to be concerned with our request.

A Sinful Lifestyle Cannot Please God.
Romans 8:7-8  For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will. That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

The Bible tells us that we are so bad off in our old sin nature that we don't have any desire to please God. I need the help of the Holy Spirit to motivate me and change my desires because without his help I am powerless to change and I won't even have the desire to change. I need him to make living in sin an uncomfortable place to be so that I can live in fellowship with God. Can you, like Paul, say that your goal is to please God? (1 Thessalonians 2:4)

We don't have to live in fear wondering how to please God. All of the man made gods that man has worshiped have always left their followers wondering how to please the god. Whether it was the sun god or the moon god or any other god they couldn't have any confidence that they could please him. If it didn't rain for a long time they would have to wonder how they could make the rain god happy. Not so with our God, he didn't leave us in the dark without a clue about how to please him, from cover to cover the Bible tells us how to please God.

Knowing God does not come through a program, a study, or a method. Knowing God comes through a relationship with a Person. This is an intimate love relationship with God. Through this relationship, God reveals Himself, His purposes, and His ways; and He invites you to join Him where He is already at work.

-Experiencing God by Henry T. Blackaby and Claude V. King

Pleasing God begins with knowing God, we cannot create an instant relationship, we have to put in the time to cultivate this relationship. When two people are in love, they look for every opportunity to be together, they delight in the process of getting to know each other and pleasing each other. First we need to know him as our Savior and then we need to know him as our Lord.

We need to know that we cannot do anything to deserve a relationship with God, we need to know that his son died to pay the penalty that I deserved for my sin, that's where your relationship with God must begin.

After we know him as our Savior then we need to make him the Lord of our life. That is a scary thing for a new believer that just getting to know God. It takes time to build a relationship of trust that will allow somebody else to be in control of our life.

Some of the ways that we can please God:

1 Samuel 15:22  But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to His voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Psalms 116:12-13  What can I offer the LORD for all He has done for me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD's name for saving me. Proverbs 21:3  The LORD is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer Him sacrifices. Micah 6:8  No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what He requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. Romans 12:2  Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. 1 Timothy 2:1-3  I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.  Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.  This is good and pleases God our Savior, Hebrews 11:6  And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him. Hebrews 12:28  Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping Him with holy fear and awe. Hebrews 13:16  And don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

God can be pleased without the performance anxiety of other religions. God is never going to owe me anything, I need to prove my love to him through obeying his commands but that isn't going to earn me a place in heaven. I need to please him because of who he is and how much he has done for me.

Even though our best isn't much he is pleased just as a parent appreciates their child's crude Sunday School craft project, God looks at our handiwork and sees a mess, he knows that that's the best we can do on our own. God looks into our hearts and sees the purity of our motives and our desire to please him.

If we are pleasing to God, although we shall not escape trial, we shall find great peace and special happiness. He is not an unhappy man who is pleasing to God. By pleasing God we shall become the means of good to others—our example will rebuke and stimulate. Our peace will convince and invite.

- Charles Spurgeon

Thank you God that we can know you personally and we can learn how to please you. Thank you for allowing me to know you as Savior. Help me to learn more fully how to know you as Lord and live to please you instead of myself.

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Pleasing The Lord (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)

Developing The Desire To Do God's Will (rickwarren.org)

Big Obedience Comes From Big Faith (diggingtheword.blogspot.com)