11-15-2014

         Good Morning All,

          John 16:33; “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

        Maybe you have played a word association game where someone would say a word and then you would respond with the first word that comes to you.  For example if someone says “dog” you might answer “cat”.  It gets interesting when you use a word with many choices like “black”; you might answer “white” or “blue” or “cat” or “jack”.  The way you answer gives a clue to your thinking process.   If you want to make it more of a game, try and think of what is the opposite of the word given.  So if the word is “light” you might try “dark” or “heavy.”

    We kind of need to play a word association game to understand our verse.  We see Jesus telling his disciples two different ideas.  First we have “peace” but we also have “tribulation”; how can we have both?   How can you have peace and tribulation, it would seem that these are opposites.  Yet they are not complete opposites as we can look at peace and see something a little different.  “Peace” or “shalom” is not the opposite of war or fighting or battling.  “Peace” here is more about being secure, or at rest or whole.  Peace does not define our life in this world rather peace defines the condition of our relationship with God.

    Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, our broken relationship with God has been made whole; it is completed by the payment that Jesus made for our sins.  With this payment being made, our account is settled and our future is secure.  We have the knowledge that our eternal salvation is all set.  God’s grace and mercy allows us to see that we are all set.  We have no worries about tomorrow; we can rest assured that we are God’s redeemed children; loved by the Father.

    So no matter what the world tries to throw at us, we can have peace with and from God.  The pain of life that can occur does not and cannot take us from God’s loving hand.  We are in his eternal embrace.  Nothing can pull us from God’s love so we have peace.  We are complete in God’s grace, secure in our salvation and because of this we can rest knowing that the God of all creation is the God of love who loves us dearly.  We are safe in his arms.

    So as the world, still broken by sin, will have tribulations, pains that sin will always cause; these can spill over into our life.  We are still part of creation; we are still impacted by the sin of the world but it does not control us.  It does not have to keep us in terror.  We have salvation; we have God’s Spirit to remind us of his wonderful love and grace.  We can have peace, total peace with God and because we have peace with God; we can peace within our own heart knowing that, as forgiven children of the heavenly Father, our hope is secured.  Shalom to you in the name of Jesus.

Father, you give us a peace that the world can never give.  Keep us strong and content in the peace that passes our understanding.  Father, we know that many suffer from a lack of peace.  The devil and the world confuse them and lead them astray.  Bring them home and lead them to know your peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret