Peace in Our Time

There’s a great many blessings of God that are far off. We long for the day when there will be no more pain and no more tears. We long for the time when there will be no more night and the Lord will be the light for His people. We hope beyond hope for the death of death and for the final defeat of evil. We pray for relief from the burdens we carry, the fear of the future, and the worries of tomorrow. We cherish the forgiveness we find in Jesus. We cling to His promise of reconciliation and sanctification. We share the grace and mercy we’ve received with others so they can find in the Lord salvation and hope.

These will come. Some have in part, some will not come until the end. For these we wait in hopeful anticipation at the coming of the Lord on the last day. We know beyond knowing and believe beyond believing in these promises of God. But they are lacking. They are incomplete. They are not yet.

We need something for today. Jesus tells us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” We need something not just in the distant future, but we need hope and assurance now. The beauty of the promises of God is that He doesn’t just give us something for tomorrow, but He gives for us today just what we need.

We know we’ve made mistakes. We know we’ve lived in sin. We know we’ve failed to obey. We know of ways we’ve failed to love. God doesn’t just give us promises for us to wait on, but in the promise of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we can have peace now. Jesus bears our burdens with us not just in the future but today. Peter writes, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7). In Hebrews we are reminded, “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Heb. 13:5). These promises come from the word of the Lord in Deuteronomy 31:8, “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

And Jesus Himself gives us the assurance, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” (Mt. 6:26). And Jesus keeps His promises.

So when we find ourselves in need, let us remember to pray. Let us remember the family we have here in our church that loves us and cares for us. When we are worried, let us bring our heart to God for comfort and strength. We have a great many things on our minds that work to bring us down. Our Lord builds us up and keeps us and protects us. He had made us many promises that we look forward to being fulfilled one day. But let us not neglect the blessings He gives us each and every day. 

Unity

When Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household” in Matthew 10:34-36, He may not have had in mind the same dividing factors that we might.

In today’s world, it seems we are ready to divide over just about anything. This, of course, has its roots in the current rejection of the word of God as relevant, powerful, effective, and authoritative in people’s lives. Therefore, each person is taking it upon themselves to construct for themselves a certain moral code or ethical standard by which they will live and also expect others to follow suit. Naturally, with the subjective nature of human perception, the limited view we have of others, the exalted view we have of self, and the inability to truly know what is good apart from God all of this hand-wringing serves only to create more division, strife, tension, and animosity even among people that claim to be following God.

The truth is that many people aren’t all that interested in being consistent, honest, or humble in their studies. The result is a different set of beliefs that work however strenuously but ultimately insufficiently to support a view that helps them the most. Worse still, these conclusions are often held up not before but in place of the standard of Scripture and therefore determine with whom we can fellowship and call a brother or sister in Christ.

The dividing factors Jesus considered had to do with His identity, His Gospel message, and His reign. But people are very good at elevating their own ideas to the level of division. In the early church, Paul was helped by the Spirit to write letters to the churches to help resolve these disputes and recalibrate the fellowship so that it would be a Christ-centered community.

In Ephesus, there were struggles with race, class, background, status, and even religious understanding. In Ephesians 4:3-6, Paul shows the importance we should place on unity: ”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; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” The oneness that Paul reminds us of here should help us see that quite often, there are “bigger fish to fry” when it comes to division and our efforts are often made towards proving our argument right rather than striving to be unified before the Creator.

Paul in Ephesians describes Christians that should be marked by peace. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:13-18)

Let us then be very careful in what we elevate, exalt, and honor when it comes to the faith. Let our faith always be rooted in Christ and His teachings and the teachings of the apostles by the Holy Spirit. Let our thoughts and hearts be shaped and molded by the Lord as we strive every day to live up to our calling. Sometimes, division must come that the truth may be seen. Let’s just make sure it’s the truth about Jesus that is our standard.

More Than A Feeling

The great story of all of history is that of a loving God that loves a people that don’t always love Him in return. Yet, despite this adversity, the Lord continuously reaches out to His people. This is the mark of a loving person: one that never gives up. Or maybe: one that does whatever it takes. Or maybe: one that cares enough to correct. God, who is love, loves us enough to overcome our shortcomings and failures. Our sin, that very thing which we might think to be too great for forgiveness, is overcome by the loving mercy of our God. In His love, He never gives up, does whatever it takes, and cares enough to correct.

In the beginning, we were with the Lord but through our own selfish desires we failed. We fail and fail again. We find sin attractive. We find it tempting. We see the allure of it. We see an appeal in it. And, because we are weak, we break the law of God. A loving creator-God who has given us the glory of His Word of Truth has revealed to us right and wrong, good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness. In His justice, He promises that evil will be forever destroyed. In His grace, He offers to make us holy. In His love, He has shown us compassion and direction but will we follow?

The challenge we have today is that what people say and do are different from one another. People say they love God but they deny Him by their actions (Titus 1:16). People say they love God, but they harbor bitterness towards others (1 John 4:20). People say they believe Jesus is Lord but it is mere lip-service (Mt 15:8). People say they are disciples but their lifestyle doesn’t resemble the life of Christ (1 John 3:18).

The challenge we have today is that people believe that love is a feeling and they think that belief is a thought. However, what the Lord desires is that you truly love Him. And when you love, you act. We would never look at a one-sided marriage and call that love. Marriage is a give and take, for better and worse. When we see one or the other spouse doing all the giving and the other doing all of the taking, we know without much thought required this marriage is falling apart.

Why is it different with our Lord? We are always ready to take, but are we giving? We are ready to receive, but what are we offering? We want, but are we wanting to give or only to get? Love isn’t just a feeling. Love is something we do and something we are.

The challenge we have today is that people live like love stops, rather than begins, at the heart. Paul had to confront the attitude in the early church. They seemed to think that one could believe one way and live another. In Romans 2 he writes, “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Rom 2:6-8).

God loves you despite your sin and offers you a way out of judgement: a life changed by Jesus Christ. Our challenge is to learn to love like Jesus loved: with action.