A long, sad story. . . .

So 600 men of the tribe of Dan, armed with weapons of war, set out. . . . and came to the house of Micah. . . .  Then the five men who had gone to scout out the country of Laish said to their brothers, “Do you know that in these houses there are an ephod, household gods, a carved image, and a metal image? Now therefore consider what you will do.”. . . . And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. . . .   And the priest said to them, “What are you doing?” And they said to him, “Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?” And the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod and the household gods and the carved image and went along with the people. So they turned and departed, putting the little ones and the livestock and the goods in front of them. When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan. And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?” And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’ ” And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.” Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home. But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. . . .  And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land. So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh. (Judges 18:11–31)

Reading this result of worshiping idols makes my heart heavy. All this did for them was conflict and murder. Their gods did not do for them what the true God does for His people. This truth is repeated dozens of times in the OT and the NT:

“Is not the Lord your God with you? And has he not given you peace on every side? For he has delivered the inhabitants of the land into my hand, and the land is subdued before the Lord and his people. (1 Chronicles 22:18)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3)
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Knowing inner peace is the epitome of the peace God gives. It is a peace that does not depend on circumstances but on a faith relationship with Him.

A current example of the need for peace in human hearts is on this week’s daily news. Gangs are destroying parts of Mexico and putting terror in the hearts of many who live or are vacationing there. Both those burning vehicles and buildings, and the people hiding in their hotels need the peace of God. What gods are they worshiping? 

And I need this amazing peace too, even just watching this violence on the news.

Jesus, You are the Prince of peace. You said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27) How we need You to give us this inner peace so that our world can experience the freedom of no more conflict. Come, Lord Jesus.

 

Two ways of self-care…

 

Caregivers need to also take care of themselves. Otherwise there is no energy or even no attitude to take care of someone else. I learned this when my parents lived with us for a year. I found a senior’s daycare where they could go five days a week. They enjoyed their outings and the visits they had with like-minded others. And I enjoyed the break from meeting their daily needs.

My wounded hubby is not as demanding, yet the anxiety I have about him means taking a break from thinking about his situation and his pain. I’m reading a Baldacci mystery, absorbing and being engaged in a complex plot is an escape. So is the 1000-piece puzzle on our dining room table, definitely the most difficult one so far. This puts my mind in ‘blank’ mode, almost. This morning I was praying, drinking tea, and talking to Jesus about our needs while putting pieces mostly in the wrong places.

Today’s devotional says there are always two attitudes of mind toward anything between which we may choose. One is on the flesh side of things; the other is on the spiritual, spoke of often in the NT:

So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11)

Paul goes on to explain the importance of making that choice:

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:13–14)

I tried that during puzzle solving. I know this is a form of mental escape and also that this is not something Jesus did. If He was tired, He slept. If He was pressured, He withdrew and prayed. Making the right choice and thinking the facts in these verses helped my attitude from sliding into a “poor me” and pulled it back to presenting myself to the Lord — to do whatever He required of me rather than trying to escape.

The devotion suggested to take no interest at all in the old nature and its desires. I need to say my self-centered choices and that old nature is dead, foreign and not of interest. Deny it and its demands. But does that negate self-care? Likely not, for the Bible also says:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28–31)

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28–30)

God’s rest is not a mystery or a puzzle to be solved. It is an answer to prayer, a restoration for those who wait on Him, drawing closer and choosing His way rather than the way of the flesh.

His rest is a bit of a mystery though. When I come to Him and pray about everything…

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6–7)

…His peace does not make sense when life is not offering much peace, but when waiting on Him, and coming to Him, and praying about all things with a thankful heart, and doing His will by choice rather than trying my own efforts — His peace goes beyond making sense; it is just there no matter what might be happening.

PRAY: Lord Jesus, how persistent is my old nature to try and solve things. Forgive me AGAIN for being so self-ruled rather than yielded to You. I know these things and know that You and Your will are what this terribly slow-learner needs. Thank You for your amazing patience, and for Your remarkable peace that defies my rational mind as it sets it to rest.

Christ Is Our Peace

 

My loaded-up to-do list sometimes gets me down. It seems like a mountain with steep walls and lots of slippery shale. Yesterday’s Scripture message put me on top of the mountain.

It was about the biblical teaching on work and reminded me that Jesus is my boss, and I do my work first and foremost for Him. How can I forget that, but sometimes I do. And when that happens, I know my own strength and abilities are insufficient and I become overwhelmed.

The young pastor who presented this message is a peacemaker because he restored to me that profound sense of peace that comes with trusting Jesus for everything. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).

Still, such peace is possible only because of Christ’s atonement. He made it possible to be at peace with God and with that reconciliation, I know His peace. This is far beyond any other peace; think of it — God is never the slightest bit ruffled over His to-do list!

Christ provided the forgiveness and righteousness that allows me to join hands with God and be involved in what He is doing. Not only that, He does His work through the work that I do. First and always, I need Him to deal with the sin issue. God did that: “Therefore, since I have been justified by faith, I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) His sacrifice is sufficient:

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him . . . . (Colossians 1:19–22)

Jesus paid the supreme price to give me that precious gift of peace with God and as He holds my hand, I also experience the peace of God and can say this:

For by grace I have been saved through faith. And this is not my own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that I cannot boast. For I am his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that I should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8–10)

Sunday’s message restored my sense of what I am doing and why I am doing it. This mountain is not about anything else but working for Jesus in His strength, and bringing His incredible presence into a dark and unhappy world. It is not about being a preacher, an evangelist, or a missionary, but being an ordinary person in whose heart the Prince of Peace reigns.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:27)

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

What does this look like? It is about being filled with the Spirit and submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:18–21). It is about letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, joy and with thankfulness in my heart to God (Colossians 3:16). It is about not being anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let my requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6–7). It is about being kept in perfect peace because He is always on my mind and I am always trusting Him for everything (Isaiah 26:3). It is about bringing rightness and beauty to dark places in love and with joy.

Jesus, this peace is also about looking at You instead of the mountain, or the storm, or the mess, or all the problems of life. It is Your peace, not a check mark beside each to-do item. It is like my daughter once said, “Mom, you don’t have to hurry on the inside.” I thank You for the peace of heart that comes from knowing You. My to-do list is not shorter, but that sense of it being too much has shriveled up into, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Wow, how I love You!

READ Philippians 4:4–9 and try not to forget any of it as I tackle today’s tasks that God has given me, and do them as if Jesus is doing them. May I deeply desire to bring peace into the lives of those who need it.