PEACE

One of the greatest gifts that Jesus left us is the

Gift of Peace….

…..a peace that can bring us joy and comfort despite our circumstances in this life.

This peace is a special gift and blessing made available to us as we continually seek Him in our lives.

To possess His peace is awesome and makes all the difference in our lives.

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Did you ever notice that once Jesus, in His resurrected state and before He ascended into Heaven at Pentecost, visited the disciples, He addressed them with the greeting, “Peace”?

–On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  –John 20:19  (NIV)

–Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”  –John 20:21 (NIV)

–A week later His disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”  –John 20:26  (NIV)

My thought is that in these verses Jesus is preparing His disciples to experience true peace that only comes from Him, not from this world, when He sends the Holy Spirit to them after He ascends into Heaven.

 Photo credit by Glenn Franco Simmons under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

–All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  –John 14:25-27  (NIV)

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The peace we possess should not be based on our circumstances nor on what others think of us.

Yes, we all have troubles in this world, but God’s peace is triumphant over it all.

So, the next time you have a day or week where everything seems to go wrong…

…the kids are all sick

…you get a flat tire at the most inopportune time

…you oversleep and are late for work

…you find out you have some disease….

I hope you dig down deep within and cling to that true peace that only God can provide. The peace that surpasses all understanding. It is His peace that sustains us even during the troubled, hard times as long as we cling to Him. We need to stay close to Him and trust in His ways.

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Do you ever feel God’s peace in this beautiful world that He created for us……..

 Photo credit by Jim Mullhaupt under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

…in the beautiful sunset or rainbow that just took your breath away?

…in the sun rising slowly over the peaceful waters of the ocean?

These things remind me of the peace God offers that we can behold with our eyes.

Try each day to tap into that wonderful power of His peace!

Sunrise at Virginia Beach, VA

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  –Philippians 4:7  (NIV)