Tag Archives: Peace of God

Strength to Change

Living in the Spirit

October 18, 2022

Scripture Reading:

Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22

Have you completely rejected Judah?
   Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
   so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but find no good;
   for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
   the iniquity of our ancestors,
   for we have sinned against you.
Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
   do not dishonor your glorious throne;
   remember and do not break your covenant with us.
Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
   Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
   We set our hope on you,
   for it is you who do all this. –Jeremiah 14:19-22

We look for peace but are we willing to give up the wickedness that steals our peace? What price is change and are we willing to invest it? Perhaps what we need from God is the consistent affirmation that we have the strength to change our behavior. God created us with that strength, but we must choose to use it. God promises us that the Spirit will be our backup when our strength seems to weaken.

One of my favorite scriptures is Romans 8:26:

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.

We can count on it.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for interceding when we do not have the words to deal with our weaknesses. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.

In God’s Presence

school-on-the-prarieLiving in the Spirit
November 2, 2016

Scripture Reading: Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me,
‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
‘May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.’
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good. –Psalm 122:1, 6-9

Peace begins with entering the presence of God and endures with living in God’s presence. The Homestead Act as applied in Oklahoma allotted land based on who could get to it first and claim the stake that described the parcel. The plots were established in 160-acre lots of four to form a square mile. Every three miles a corner of one of the lots was set aside designated for a public school. My dad attended the school at the edge of my grandmother’s farm. He had a short walk. These buildings were also often used as churches on Sunday. While the school had long ago consolidated into a larger district, the building was my first church. I was very young, the church closed when I was five, and I still have fond memories of it. One stands out. Bible school held every summer was the highlight of my life. When we arrived in good weather, we played on the lawn until a hand bell rung and then we lined up with the youngest first and marched into the building singing I was Glad when the Said Unto Me Let Us Go into the House of the Lord. Even as a preschooler those words centered me in the love of God and they still do today.

The verse is a fitting introduction to a scripture encouraging us to pray for peace. With all the hubbub of the election, we sometimes lose sight of whose we are. Robert Browning may have said it best God’s in His heaven—All’s right with the world!* I prefer Jesus’ words at John 16:33, I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world!’

Prayer: Lord, hold us in your peace as we go about doing your bidding to become one. Amen.

*From the poem Pippa’s Song by Robert Browning see at http://www.potw.org/archive/potw48.html

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.

Pass the Peace

Peace of GodAdvent
December 11, 2015

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-7

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.

It is an interesting image, the peace of God standing guard over our hearts and our minds. In a world that is rushing to buy guns for self-protection having peace be responsible for care of our hearts and minds is a hard proposition to consider, but doesn’t it sound inviting. Why do you suppose we so readily let the bad guys define our lives?

When I was a child the bad guys were the Russians who were going to come and overthrow us so we practiced bomb drills at school and some built bomb shelters and some stockpiled food. It is almost funny now when I think about it: Children sitting under their desks with their hands over their heads as a means of protection against a nuclear bomb.

Evil will never be overthrown by trying to out evil it. Violence only begets more violence. Evil will only be erased from this world when the peace of God overcomes it. That process starts when we each let the peace of God in to guard our hearts and our minds against impulsive responses to the evil that is among us.

Prayer: O Lord, let your peace that passes understanding flow through this world via all of your children allowing it to flow through them. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized 
Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council 
of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights 
reserved.