2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday, I spoke of listening in on conversation between Jehovah Shalom, God is peace, and His children. We looked at citations from Isaiah and the Psalms to see what God was saying and how Isaiah and the Psalmist responded to Him. What magnificent examples of faithfulness these two men were. We can learn a lot from them. This conversation between God and His children surely didn’t stop in the OT. It continues in the NT and today as well. From the time that God asserted that we should love Him “with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our strength” in DT 6: 4-5, and He said, “I will put My law within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people,” in JER 31: 33, Jehovah Shalom’s love and will for us has never changed. Today, we will look at how He spoke through the apostle Paul consistently delivering the message of His love and will for us.
PHIL 4: 4-7, “May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. Do not worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking Him with a thankful heart. And God’s peace, which goes beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.” What a blessing safety in union with Christ Jesus is, when one considers the temptations and ungodliness of the world in which we live! Our natural instincts lead us to go to God and start out immediately asking Him for what we want. Sometimes, when we are in pain or amidst some kind of chaos in our lives, we even get angry and blame God for it. God has never knowingly brought us pain out of meanness or caused chaos in our lives. These things come to us by the action of Satan’s evil. While it is true that God has at times allowed our enemies to bring trouble to us, it is never done with evil in mind. Instead, God has done this to bring us to the point of brokenness, because He knew that it was the only way we would be open to learning to obey Him. When we live “in Christ,” we are protected from that chaos and are made to understand the blessing of suffering now so that eternal life is ours later. God reveals Himself as Jehovah Shalom, God is peace, in PHIL 4: 8-9, “In conclusion, my brothers, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable. Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God Who gives us peace will be with you.”
At the time that Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was in prison. He was troubled by the opposition of other Christian workers toward himself and distressed by the false teaching going on at Philippi. The church at Philippi in ancient Macedonia (northern Greece) was the first Christian church on European soil. There is plenty of evidence to assume that this book was written in late 61 AD. It is interesting to note that the Gospel preachers went down to the riverside were a group of women were gathering for prayer [AC 16: 13-14]. One of these was Lydia, a seller of purple from the city of Thyratira. When she accepted the Gospel, she became the first-known convert to Christianity on the continent of Europe. Perhaps, the continent of Asia would be sending Christian missionaries to Europe and North America instead of the other way around, had not the Gospel taken hold in Europe. Looking at this historical context allows us to see how Jehovah Shalom is bringing us peace today. This is particularly significant when we prayerfully consider the repression of the church going on in places like China today or the lack of Christian churches in Turkey. There but for the grace of God could have been us!
IS 9: 6, “For unto us a Child is born, a Son is given! And the government shall be upon His shoulders, and He will be called, ‘Wonderful,’ ‘Counselor,’ ‘Almighty God,’ ‘Everlasting Father,’ ‘Prince of Peace.’” What incredibly significant words these are to us, for we hunger for the peace that only Jehovah Shalom can provide. Jehovah Shalom consummates this prophecy in JN 3: 16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son; so that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The connections between these beautiful verses from the KJV must be seen for us to realize that Jehovah Shalom has been there with us all along. His will for us is to bring us peace, and we must allow Him to perfect us so that we can receive it. RO 5: 1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Our Messiah is the key to that peace. To live “in Christ,” we must make alterations in our ways of thinking and lifestyles that sometimes are huge challenges for us. We must face opposition and/or physical peril at times to obey God’s commands. Yet, He equips us, just as he did Paul, to do that. He brings us to places that open our vulnerability and force us to deal with the uncomfortable sin in our lives. Jehovah Shalom never does this with evil intent. His will is to bring us to the place where we can receive His peace.
PRAYER: O Lord, we stand before You today with hearts of gratitude. What a gorgeous picture the story of Your presence in our lives throughout history is! The story of how mankind has struggled with You and continues to do so is not a pretty picture. Yet, in Your compassion, patience, and faithfulness, You have never abandoned us. The problem has never been in Your exercise of Your sovereignty. Instead, it has been in our response to it. Your message of love, Your commands for us to trust and obey You, and the guidance You give us has never changed. We acknowledge that the hour is getting late for us to respond in a way which pleases You and allows You to bring us the peace You want us to have. Because You are an always-righteous Deity, we must understand that there is a limit to the time we will have to bring ourselves out of sinfulness that may still linger in our lives. We are grateful for the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross for us and for the gift of the Holy Spirit. Today, we approach You in humility to pledge You our trust, obedience, adoration, worship, loyalty, and praise. We thank You for the love You show us everyday of our lives. We dedicate ourselves to modeling the love You and the Son have shown us in the way we treat others around us. You are our Jehovah Shalom, and we seek Your peace. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will look at some practical ways from the Scriptures that Jehovah Shalom tells us we can be ready to receive the peace He so badly wants to offer us. It is impossible to miss the warmth of our loving Abba’s arms around us. Anyone that does is shutting off his senses and disobediently rejecting the blessings that faith in Him gives. He strengthens us when we must face spiritual warfare, guides us on how to live “in Christ,” and encourages us to remain faithful. Those are the actions of Jehovah Shalom, Who loves each of us with all of His heart. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn