Peace

Dear CBC Family,

2 Thessalonians 3:16 May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. (ESV)

He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God. All other sins destroy the Church secondarily; but division and animosity demolish it directly. We sometimes think that there are two kinds of peace. One is internal and the other is between us and others. However, they are one and the same.

Peace is one of the greatest things that we can ever receive from God which is why He tells us to pursue peace, to make it a real priority in our lives. How peaceful is your life right now? In your heart of hearts is there peace, or is there turmoil?

Are you filled with an overwhelming sense of the peace that Jesus promised in the face of persecution and temptation, or are you deeply troubled by something? If it’s more the latter, there is a Word from Scripture that I want to give you today.

Paul is closing his letter to the church in Thessalonica. In these final verses we find God wants us to have peace … His peace … at all times, in every way. Paul speaks God’s peace over them, which is what I’m doing now with you. Are you ready to receive it? Will you believe it?

If true peace only comes from Christ, and it does, then the obvious question is: How do you and I actually lay hold of His peace when we need it the most? When your emotions, your circumstances, your relationships are full of turmoil – when you feel like a cork being tossed around on a stormy ocean – what you desperately want is solid ground beneath your feet … peace. True peace. God’s peace. But how do you lay hold of it?
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. (ESV)

First notice the “what”. We are not talking about the world’s peace. Not our own attempts at fabricating peace. But true peace, the peace of Christ. And in the very next verse, the Holy Spirit gives us the “how”:

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (ESV)

In other words, get the Word of God into you however you can – teaching, admonishing, wisdom, singing. Get the Word of God into you. And not just a little bit, not just now and then, and not in a small way. Listen to Paul closely: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

What a statement! Let the Word of Christ dwell in you, abide in you, influence you … richly, abundantly, to the point of overflow. What a tragedy that so many Christians in desperate need of peace never receive God’s Word into their hearts.

Peace is the mark of the redeemed because it is a Godlike trait: God is called the God of peace several times in the New Testament. He took the initiative to establish peace with rebellious men, and He is the author of both personal peace as well as peace between men. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit and therefore an evidence of His working in our lives. Let His peace reign and rule in your hearts.

This week we are in Romans 10 for one last study before we forge ahead into chapter 11. I believe you will be greatly blessed by it.

His peace to each of you,

Pastor Scott