August 3, 1999
When someone is impatient, my dad used to say, “Don’t get your shirt in a knot.” After a stressful day at work, my husband often has a few knots in his back. When I’m asked to make an impromptu speech, my stomach knots up.
To a boy scout, knots are over hands, half hitches and sheep shanks but these are knots of a different kind, knots that tell us stress is ruining both inner peace and physical comfort.
Someone made a poster picturing a huge, knotted rope with the words, “Let Jesus untie the knots.” Despite the picture, the slogan is not about over hands or half hitches either. The artist who designed the poster encourages others to find God’s secret for dealing with stress.
So how does God do it? Does He take away the problem? Sometimes. More often than not (no pun intended), He deals with everything from root causes through to painful symptoms.
One root of stress is unwelcome experiences such as a loss, deep pain, unresolved conflict with others, accidents and other trauma. However, the world’s “worry warts” knot up just thinking about them, so another root of stress is needless anxiety. People worry that something bad is going to happen or something good is not. Maybe there will not be enough money to put food on the table or buy a winter coat or pay the mortgage.
Health issues create stress too. Some worry about cancer or heart attacks. Most people fear death. One illness takes a toll; what about two more? These stresses can tie us in knots.
However, even with the basics covered, we can get our shirt in a knot. What if there is not enough money to pay for Susie’s education or Johnny’s braces? What about that new carpet or those winter tires? How will I handle my new promotion? How much more of my time will be eaten by this commitment or that? What will I cook for dinner? What will I wear to the party?
Stress relates to performance. What if my work is not acceptable? What if I lose my job? Deeper still, what if my life has no significance? Where will I go when I die? What if God will not let me into heaven? More knots.
To untie these knots, Jesus offers us an unusual alternative. If we take His offer, we will find ourselves living in two worlds. One is our existence here with all these threats and stresses. The other is residence in the kingdom of God where the rules are not the same. When we allow His kingdom to have the primary place in our lives, His rules override life’s stresses.
For example, in this world, we must work for a living. In the kingdom of God, we live under a promise that He will take care of all our needs. Jesus said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things (referring to the basics) will be given to you as well.”
God ensures we will not go without. If we need a job, He provides it. If we need a raise, He can work that out too. He knows all about us and provides whatever we need. He never leaves us stuck, either with decisions or to do it ourselves. He asks that we simply trust in His care.
In this world, we also experience loneliness and rejection, but in His kingdom we have unlimited love and acceptance. He promises He will never leave us nor forsake us. His Spirit lives in our hearts and we can continually communicate with Him through His Word and prayer.
In this world, we experience pain, illness, and all the stressful negatives of life, yet those who live in the kingdom of God rely on His unchanging promises. He does not allow more than we can handle. He works all things together for our good, even the negatives, to make us more like Jesus.
Just as there are two kinds of “knots,” there are two ways to live; on our own with whatever resources we might have, or in both worlds — relying on His power from one to untie the knots in the other.
Showing posts with label God's amazing peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's amazing peace. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Where peace must begin . . . ................ Parables 568
October 14, 1997
A few months ago, an unusual picture showed up in a daily paper. It was a boy reaching out to shake hands with an adult, not so unique in itself except that the boy was Palestinian and the solder was an Israeli.
People living in this Middle East hot spot have experienced hatred and animosity for centuries. How odd to see that picture. We cannot help but wonder if a child can reach out in peace and touch the “enemy,” why can’t all people establish a lasting peace?
The root of this particular conflict goes back to the ancients, to a man named Abram who was given a promise by God: “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
At the same time God made this covenant promise, He also told Abram to leave home and go to his new land, a land that now includes all or parts of Israel, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
This covenant later included the promise of a son. However, when Abram was eighty-six years old, he agreed with his wife Sarai to follow the custom of the pagan nations around them and took Sarai’s maid, Hagar as his wife. She became pregnant with Ishmael but this was not God’s promised son. Thirteen years later, He reaffirmed his promise, but Sarai was ninety years old and just laughed. Yet God had the final chuckle a year later — Sarai gave birth to Isaac.
God gave new names to Abraham and Sarah, and blessed them just as He promised. Their true son became the father of the Israelites. However, God also honored the other son, Ishmael. His descendants increased until they were “too numerous to count.” He also said Ishmael would have “his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand would be against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
Thus the sons of Abraham have been in conflict. Islam traces its lineage from Abraham through Ishmael. Jews trace their lineage through Isaac. Because of their connection to Abraham, the Muslims, Jews and Christians all claim to be spiritual “children of Abraham” but each do not agree that the others have a lawful claim. Jews and Arabs have been in conflict for years over the land and this issue. Some who claim to be “Christian” also enter the conflict.
As the Jews fight for their promised land and the Islamic people legitimize force to spread their beliefs, Christians need to remember the many exhortations in the Bible to be at peace with one another and as much as possible, at peace even with their enemies. We can do this because Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”
The peace Jesus gives is first a peace with God. With faith in Him, the enmity between ourselves and God is over. We enter into a new covenant that gives us new hearts and promises us a lifetime of relationship with God and an eternal inheritance in heaven.
Secondly, Jesus gives us the peace of God, a deep and settled assurance that God is in control of all things. Even if our enemies overwhelm us, in His time He will win our battles and establish His eternal kingdom. We are responsible to believe His promises and live accordingly. That means abandoning any battle for our so-called rights. It means loving one another, even loving our enemies. It means ceasing to add fuel to the feuds that arise from time to time and instead applying the mercy, compassion and forgiveness that Christ has given us.
The third peace is coming. It is the external peace of heaven where there will be none of the sin that now so easily entangles us and draws us into conflict.
With God’s peace, we can regain a childlike response to people and hold our hands out without fear, even reach out and touch those who threaten our external comfort. They can never take from us what God has put in our hearts.
A few months ago, an unusual picture showed up in a daily paper. It was a boy reaching out to shake hands with an adult, not so unique in itself except that the boy was Palestinian and the solder was an Israeli.
People living in this Middle East hot spot have experienced hatred and animosity for centuries. How odd to see that picture. We cannot help but wonder if a child can reach out in peace and touch the “enemy,” why can’t all people establish a lasting peace?
The root of this particular conflict goes back to the ancients, to a man named Abram who was given a promise by God: “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
At the same time God made this covenant promise, He also told Abram to leave home and go to his new land, a land that now includes all or parts of Israel, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.
This covenant later included the promise of a son. However, when Abram was eighty-six years old, he agreed with his wife Sarai to follow the custom of the pagan nations around them and took Sarai’s maid, Hagar as his wife. She became pregnant with Ishmael but this was not God’s promised son. Thirteen years later, He reaffirmed his promise, but Sarai was ninety years old and just laughed. Yet God had the final chuckle a year later — Sarai gave birth to Isaac.
God gave new names to Abraham and Sarah, and blessed them just as He promised. Their true son became the father of the Israelites. However, God also honored the other son, Ishmael. His descendants increased until they were “too numerous to count.” He also said Ishmael would have “his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand would be against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
Thus the sons of Abraham have been in conflict. Islam traces its lineage from Abraham through Ishmael. Jews trace their lineage through Isaac. Because of their connection to Abraham, the Muslims, Jews and Christians all claim to be spiritual “children of Abraham” but each do not agree that the others have a lawful claim. Jews and Arabs have been in conflict for years over the land and this issue. Some who claim to be “Christian” also enter the conflict.
As the Jews fight for their promised land and the Islamic people legitimize force to spread their beliefs, Christians need to remember the many exhortations in the Bible to be at peace with one another and as much as possible, at peace even with their enemies. We can do this because Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.”
The peace Jesus gives is first a peace with God. With faith in Him, the enmity between ourselves and God is over. We enter into a new covenant that gives us new hearts and promises us a lifetime of relationship with God and an eternal inheritance in heaven.
Secondly, Jesus gives us the peace of God, a deep and settled assurance that God is in control of all things. Even if our enemies overwhelm us, in His time He will win our battles and establish His eternal kingdom. We are responsible to believe His promises and live accordingly. That means abandoning any battle for our so-called rights. It means loving one another, even loving our enemies. It means ceasing to add fuel to the feuds that arise from time to time and instead applying the mercy, compassion and forgiveness that Christ has given us.
The third peace is coming. It is the external peace of heaven where there will be none of the sin that now so easily entangles us and draws us into conflict.
With God’s peace, we can regain a childlike response to people and hold our hands out without fear, even reach out and touch those who threaten our external comfort. They can never take from us what God has put in our hearts.
Monday, March 6, 2017
A Perfect Place to Hide ................ Parables 558
June 10, 1997
Since January, residents of Bangladesh, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Madagascar have endured tropical cyclones. Madagascar was double-whammied by an invasion of locusts.
Floods made headlines in several places such as Winnipeg and the Midwestern States, also including China, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mozambique and Malawi. Also in the past five months, drought struck Ethiopia, Ecuador (also flooded) and Kenya. Earthquakes rocked Iran, Trinidad and Tobago, China, Iran and Peru. Because of these disasters, many people died.
Weather is not the only calamity that hits unexpectedly, taking or changing lives. Traffic accidents, cancer, heart disease also takes their toll. Consider Mark O’Brien. Struck by polio forty years ago, O’Brien lives in an iron lung. Without it, he would not survive, nor would the 118 others who call one of these contraptions home. Even at that, if there were a better place to find protection, all 119 would want it. For them, this machine is both a refuge and a prison.
Polio victims are not the only people who need a refuge. All of us experience difficulties that we cannot handle by ourselves. Sometimes we look for hiding places or shelter when we are in danger or when our world spins out of control.
When calamities happen, many look to God. The psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
The psalmist believed God was always ready to help him. Even if the world was falling apart, he knew that he could find a sense of security in the Lord.
Perhaps it was this psalm that prompted the winning entry for a painting depicting “peace.” The artist thought that a calm sea or a lazy meadow would not make the statement he wanted to make. Instead, he painted a severe storm with threatening waves of the sea crashing against a cliff. In the center, sheltered in the cleft of a rock, he placed a bird on her nest, calm and safe in the middle of the turmoil.
The Apostle Paul knew inner peace is possible in outward difficulties. He wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” He explains, “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Paul knew God is in control. He also knew God uses all things to shape the character of His people, to help them become more like His Son. With that in mind, the tough things in life did not get him down or rob him of his hope. He was able to persevere through them.
When we put our faith in Christ, we too can know God as our refuge in the midst of life’s storms. His Spirit and His presence become a comfort, His truth a peaceful resting place.
Since January, residents of Bangladesh, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Madagascar have endured tropical cyclones. Madagascar was double-whammied by an invasion of locusts.
Floods made headlines in several places such as Winnipeg and the Midwestern States, also including China, Afghanistan, Tanzania, Ecuador, Bolivia, Mozambique and Malawi. Also in the past five months, drought struck Ethiopia, Ecuador (also flooded) and Kenya. Earthquakes rocked Iran, Trinidad and Tobago, China, Iran and Peru. Because of these disasters, many people died.
Weather is not the only calamity that hits unexpectedly, taking or changing lives. Traffic accidents, cancer, heart disease also takes their toll. Consider Mark O’Brien. Struck by polio forty years ago, O’Brien lives in an iron lung. Without it, he would not survive, nor would the 118 others who call one of these contraptions home. Even at that, if there were a better place to find protection, all 119 would want it. For them, this machine is both a refuge and a prison.
Polio victims are not the only people who need a refuge. All of us experience difficulties that we cannot handle by ourselves. Sometimes we look for hiding places or shelter when we are in danger or when our world spins out of control.
When calamities happen, many look to God. The psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”
The psalmist believed God was always ready to help him. Even if the world was falling apart, he knew that he could find a sense of security in the Lord.
Perhaps it was this psalm that prompted the winning entry for a painting depicting “peace.” The artist thought that a calm sea or a lazy meadow would not make the statement he wanted to make. Instead, he painted a severe storm with threatening waves of the sea crashing against a cliff. In the center, sheltered in the cleft of a rock, he placed a bird on her nest, calm and safe in the middle of the turmoil.
The Apostle Paul knew inner peace is possible in outward difficulties. He wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” He explains, “We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Paul knew God is in control. He also knew God uses all things to shape the character of His people, to help them become more like His Son. With that in mind, the tough things in life did not get him down or rob him of his hope. He was able to persevere through them.
When we put our faith in Christ, we too can know God as our refuge in the midst of life’s storms. His Spirit and His presence become a comfort, His truth a peaceful resting place.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Genuine, lasting peace? .......... Parables 508
(no date)
World news seldom features stories about peace. It reports peace talks but actual peace, or at least the absence of war, is not in the headlines because it seldom occurs.
Peace is an illusive quality. Human nature longs for it yet our behavior is counter-productive. Consider two small children in a playpen. One has a toy; the other child wants it. By the resulting noise, one wonders if this could be the beginning of another world war. Even mothers add their own din by shouting, “Can’t we have some peace and quiet around here?”
Playpen battles continue in playgrounds. Older children go on to fight in the streets, in high schools and colleges, in pool halls and later in boardrooms and around conference tables. No location is perfect. People stranded on a paradise island also fight with each other.
Modern educational systems offer courses in Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution but who would offer a course called How to Deal with Peace? If someone did, would it be boring? Would anyone register? Who knows?
Most people define peace as absence of strife or tumult. For them, peace is tranquil surroundings with nothing to disturb or interfere with plans and goals. They say, “If only people would get along or if only everyone would be quiet, then we would enjoy peace.”
Jesus had another idea about this illusive commodity. He said, “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.”
According to the Bible, Jesus was the Prince of Peace. The angels at His birth said “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” However, Jesus’ life was not free of conflict. Noisy crowds pushed to see Him and hate-filled rivals tried to destroy Him. For that matter, “all men” have not experienced peace since He came. For most, it is the opposite.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace because He personally enjoys it within Himself. We demand silence and freedom from conflict but He did neither. We demand personal or corporate wants, and insist on treaties. He needs none of these to enjoy a calm heart. He owns and controls peace; therefore, has no need to demand it. Furthermore, He says He will give it to us.
Paul called this inner calm “the peace of God” and said it “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It comes from Him and because it does, it “transcends all understanding.”
That transcendent aspect of peace surprised me. Early one morning, a frantic call from frantic neighbors jarred my husband and me from our sleep. They reported their child and one of ours (who was sleeping over) and their vehicle were missing. The situation was serious — we lived in southern California (the fruit and nut state) and neither of these two young people could drive.
I did not have time to breathe a prayer before a sudden, strange calm settled over me. I recall thinking, “This is weird...” I usually argue with myself about not worrying. I thought I should be anxious at least, yet being upset was impossible. Unexpected peace controlled me. For the next few hours, it filled my heart and protected my mind. I was free from fear and emotional turmoil. Such peace greatly amazed me, but it should not have; Jesus said He would give it to me.
Since then, I know God’s peace is sufficient. Noise, conflict, danger or problems need not fill His people with turmoil nor should we have any desire to fight with others. God cares for us and although He may not wipe out external conflict or remove troublesome people from the scene, He can prevent a troubled heart. He simply fills it with something else.
World news seldom features stories about peace. It reports peace talks but actual peace, or at least the absence of war, is not in the headlines because it seldom occurs.
Peace is an illusive quality. Human nature longs for it yet our behavior is counter-productive. Consider two small children in a playpen. One has a toy; the other child wants it. By the resulting noise, one wonders if this could be the beginning of another world war. Even mothers add their own din by shouting, “Can’t we have some peace and quiet around here?”
Playpen battles continue in playgrounds. Older children go on to fight in the streets, in high schools and colleges, in pool halls and later in boardrooms and around conference tables. No location is perfect. People stranded on a paradise island also fight with each other.
Modern educational systems offer courses in Conflict Management and Conflict Resolution but who would offer a course called How to Deal with Peace? If someone did, would it be boring? Would anyone register? Who knows?
Most people define peace as absence of strife or tumult. For them, peace is tranquil surroundings with nothing to disturb or interfere with plans and goals. They say, “If only people would get along or if only everyone would be quiet, then we would enjoy peace.”
Jesus had another idea about this illusive commodity. He said, “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.”
According to the Bible, Jesus was the Prince of Peace. The angels at His birth said “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” However, Jesus’ life was not free of conflict. Noisy crowds pushed to see Him and hate-filled rivals tried to destroy Him. For that matter, “all men” have not experienced peace since He came. For most, it is the opposite.
Jesus is the Prince of Peace because He personally enjoys it within Himself. We demand silence and freedom from conflict but He did neither. We demand personal or corporate wants, and insist on treaties. He needs none of these to enjoy a calm heart. He owns and controls peace; therefore, has no need to demand it. Furthermore, He says He will give it to us.
Paul called this inner calm “the peace of God” and said it “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It comes from Him and because it does, it “transcends all understanding.”
That transcendent aspect of peace surprised me. Early one morning, a frantic call from frantic neighbors jarred my husband and me from our sleep. They reported their child and one of ours (who was sleeping over) and their vehicle were missing. The situation was serious — we lived in southern California (the fruit and nut state) and neither of these two young people could drive.
I did not have time to breathe a prayer before a sudden, strange calm settled over me. I recall thinking, “This is weird...” I usually argue with myself about not worrying. I thought I should be anxious at least, yet being upset was impossible. Unexpected peace controlled me. For the next few hours, it filled my heart and protected my mind. I was free from fear and emotional turmoil. Such peace greatly amazed me, but it should not have; Jesus said He would give it to me.
Since then, I know God’s peace is sufficient. Noise, conflict, danger or problems need not fill His people with turmoil nor should we have any desire to fight with others. God cares for us and although He may not wipe out external conflict or remove troublesome people from the scene, He can prevent a troubled heart. He simply fills it with something else.
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