APRIL 23

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

***** *****

John 17:27-29

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.  You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I.    And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.”

Revelation 21:4

“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

Romans 5:10

“For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

John 1:12

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:”

Philippians 4:6-7

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Isaiah 9:6

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

***** *****

Our book for this month  is called “100 NAMES OF GOD”  written by Christopher D. Hudson.  Each day we’ll take one Hebrew name for God as given in the Bible to study and relate to.

JEHOVAH – SHALOM

THE LORD IS PEACE

Judges 6:24

“So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace.  To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”

In multiple hot spots of the world, you can find regions known as demilitarized zones.  These are sort of no-man’s-lands between opposing nations or armies.  Though you won’t likely experience whizzing bullets in such places, you will sense a great tension.  The armies aren’t fighting, yet there’s no deep sense of peace.  Why? Because true peace – what the Bible calls SHALOM – is much more than just the “absence from strife.”

SHALOM isn’t merely the absence of conflict; it’s also the presence of fullness and joy, friendship and love.  In truth, SHALOM is life as God meant for it to be.

During a dark time in Israel’s history, Gideon was able to lead his people in defeating the enemy Midianites.  After experiencing victory, Gideon felt great peace.  It was an earthly and physical peace that comes from no longer being threatened and attacked.  It was an inner and spiritual peace that comes from knowing God had called, strengthened, and delivered him.  He was so thankful that he built an altar and called it “The Lord Is Peace.”

How peaceful are you today?  Maybe you live in a safe neighborhood where you don’t fear for your life.  Or perhaps you have enough assets and income to not worry about your financial future.

Those are wonderful blessings, but there’s a whole other level of peace that God makes available to us.  We can have peace with God through Jesus Christ.  By faith we can go from being unforgiven enemies of God to being God’s beloved children.  It’s only when we enter into this peace WITH God that we begin to experience the peace OF God.

As popular bumper sticker sums it up well:  “Know Jesus, know peace.  No Jesus, no peace.”  Do you know Him?

Ask JEHOVAH SHALOM to give you His peace, and He will give you a person, Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

How and when have you experienced God’s peace in your life in ways you didn’t expect?

PRAYER

JEHOVAH – SHALOM, life if difficult and full of conflict.  May Your SHALOM –the peace that passes all understanding – rule in my heart today and always.  Amen

Published by liveinthelightofourlord

View all posts by liveinthelightofourlord