BIBLE PASSAGE:
You know the message God sent to the people of Israel,
telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ,
Who is Lord of all!
(Acts 10:36)
MEDITATION:
Have you ever reached a point in your life where you felt that peace
was running away from you? Your life seems to be chaotic as you
bounce around from one need or interest to another. You can’t seem
to get organized and there are always things left unfinished. When
you think you are finally getting everything in order, something new
“pops up”.
No matter how hard you try, and no matter how determined
you are to get organized, the more disorganized and ‘behinder’
you become. It’s like pushing a rope up a hill, isn’t it? Your
best efforts just can’t seem to get you into a comfortable and
peaceful lifestyle.
You may have friends who seem to have it all together, but do they?
Could it be that they are experiencing the same frustrations you
have, but they are adept at hiding it? You may have other friends
who openly admit they are having the same struggles you are having.
more than likely this is another ‘tool’ Satan uses to steer our focus away
from the Lord. If he can get us to focus on the “seen” and start ignoring
the “unseen”, then he still has control of some parts of our lives.
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.
(2 Corinthians 4:18)
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door
and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
(Matthew 6:6)
How will you ever escape this quagmire of disorganization so you can
find more peace? Does God have a message for us regarding peace?
Sure He does, and one of those messages is found in Acts 10:36. It is
a brief verse that packs a powerful punch!
In this verse, we are told that it is a ‘message from God’. That should
cause us to immediately sit up and take notice of what He has to say.
Then, we are told that His message is ‘sent to people’ (we are people,
so that includes us). Next, we are told that the message is ‘good news’
(that should pique our interest even more).
Finally, we see that word ‘peace’ (which is something that continues to
evade us). It’s like finding a ‘golden nugget’ isn’t it? We are searching
for it, and God is saying, “Here it is!” There are two important pieces
of information we are given regarding this elusive peace we want.
First of all, peace is ‘linked to God’s Son’, Jesus Christ; He is the Author
of peace. We can read about how He was able to find peace in the midst
of the turmoil around Him.
We need to remember that although He was divine, when He walked the
earth in human form, He experienced many of the same problems we face
today. There were things He wanted to do (in obedience to God the Father),
and He had to overcome many obstacles to achieve some of them.
Imagine for a moment that Jesus had planned to tell a group of people
about the ‘good news’, but suddenly He caught a flu bug and had to
postpone His plans (which could cause conflict with other engagements).
We don’t know if He was vulnerable to illnesses, but we do know that
He had huge demands from those around Him. He understands our
challenges, and as the Prince of peace, He knows how to infuse peace
into any situation.
Secondly, we see that peace is ‘connected’ to the ‘Lord of all’. The
scriptures tell us that we will continue in our struggle to find peace,
until we decide to allow Jesus to be ‘Lord of all’ in our lives.
If we have a plumbing issue, we look for a master plumber we
can trust. If we have electrical problems, we seek out a master
electrician who is trustworthy. If we have a problem with peace,
it seems only natural that we would seek the Master of peace.
We trust the plumber and electrician with ‘all’ of our plumbing
and electrical systems, so we should trust Jesus Christ with ‘all’
of our issues with peace. When we trust a plumber or electrician,
we allow them to have full access to ‘all’ the plumbing and wiring
in our entire house.
When we trust the ‘Prince of peace’, we should allow Him full
access to our entire ‘spiritual house’. We need to ask Him to be
our ‘Lord of all’, and not just Lord over selected areas of our
lives. If we want to give Him control, we need to stop clinging
to some things and stop striving to remain in control of selected
areas of our lives (especially those which are sinful).
ACTION:
Wouldn’t it be great if there was a cure for the troubles we experience?
How nice it would be if there was a vaccine that could fill everyone with
love instead of hate. What a change we could see in our own life and the
lives of others, if we could go to the doctor and get a shot that would
replace greed and jealousy, with gratitude and contentment for what
the Lord has provided for us.
Suppose there was a cure for our past mistakes, failures, and sins.
Imagine the joy we could have, if sin, confusion, and the problems
in our lives could be replaced with joy, contentment, happiness,
and peace!
There IS a cure and there IS a vaccine – it is allowing Jesus to be
‘Lord of ALL’! Are there areas of your own life that you have not
given to Him? Are there some ‘pet sins’ that you enjoy too much
to overcome them in your own strength?
Even though they cause you to feel guilty when you commit these
sins, you continue thinking that you will overcome them eventually
without the Lord’s help. Why do we choose to ‘break the chains’ of
Satan by ourselves, when we know the Lord can accomplish what
we cannot achieve? The scriptures are clear:
If we want peace, then we need to give ALL control to Jesus.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, You know the turmoil in my life and how
I struggle with finding peace. Thank You for Your Word that
gives me clear instructions for changing my life from one
filled with chaos, to one filled with peace. Forgive me for
clinging to some areas of my life, instead of giving You full
control. Thank You for sending Your Son, the Prince of peace,
with the ‘good news’ of how I can build (and increase), my
relationship with You. Remind me that my fellowship with You,
will lead to the peace I keep striving to find. Thank You Jesus,
for loving me so much that You suffered a horrible death when
You took the punishment I deserved. Because of what You did,
I can choose to fellowship with You as my Savior, and with God
as my Father. Teach me how to embellish the gift of love in my
own life so I can be an encourager to others.”
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