Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please once again take the time to take in a video of an anonymous chorus singing the old hymn Wonderful Peace proclaiming our pursuit for the peace of God which can only come down to us from our Heavenly Father.
Highlight Passage Colossians 1: 19-20 [NKJV] …
19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
… All things are reconciled unto Him by His blood.
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Highlight Context - Colossians 1: 15-23 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK …
… All things were created by Him for Him and to have peace in Him.
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Reference Passage #1 - Isaiah 26: 3 [NKJV] …
3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.
… Our peace of mind can only come through our focus on our Lord.
Reference Passage #2 - John 16: 33 [NKJV] …
33 “ …These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
… Jesus promises His peace to overcome the anxieties of His followers.
Reference Passage #3 - Romans 5: 1-2 [NKJV] …
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace WITH God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
… We have peace WITH God only through the atonement for our sinfulness which came from His shed blood and our repentance in faith.
Reference Passage #4 - Philippians 4: 6-7 [NKJV] …
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace OF God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
… The peace OF God can only come in a close, abiding relationship and communion with Christ.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread author, Jennifer Benson Schuldt, in discussing our need for peace in this hectic, noisy world, used the Kamppi Chapel of Silence as an illustration. Constructed in 2010 in the busiest area of downtown Helsinki, Finland, the chapel is so constructed to shield any who are inside the chapel from all the noises of Helsinki. You can GO TO THIS LINK to read about the chapel online from Wikipedia.
Author Schuldt, in today’s ODB entry, points out that many, if not most, people these days seek peace from the onslaught of information, noisiness, and the clashes of violence all over the world. Jesus’ Disciples were in a place of discord and tribulation, learning that Jesus was going to “leave them;” and in John 16: 33, Jesus, though telling His dear inner followers that they would continue to have trials and troubles from this world, promised them (and us) that they could overcome the world and have peace by trusting in Him.
Isaiah, hundreds of years before Christ came to give us peace WITH God, declared (in Isaiah 26: 3) that we, as believers in God, could find peace by focusing our minds and hearts on our Lord; and the Apostle Paul centuries later declared clearly that we could also find the peace OF God, if we used prayer/communion with our Lord as the vehicle to achieve that peace which surpasses all human understanding [see Phil. 4: 6-7].
I think we all could use some more peace in our lives; … don’t you think so?!! … Well, let’s just trust our Lord and seek that peace from a deeper, more abiding relationship with Him. Go to Him today and beg Him to help lift the anxieties of this world. Focus on HIM during the day today; and pray that He’ll lead you to a place of peace.
My Prayer Today: Oh, my Lord, … You are my hiding place; and I come to You for peace. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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