PART ONE: "Peace! Be Still!" How to settle our soul in the midst of wars and rumors of wars...

You can hardly turn on the tv or get onto social media without be inundated with new updates on the developing wars, threats of wars, the latest natural disasters, famines and threats of food shortage, diseases and developing diseases--if you don't feel like you are seeing this increase in strength and frequency--I may begin to think you are actually living on an island! It is incredibly important to be informed about the current events surrounding us in this world and to not live like an ostrich with our head in the sand. Many of the current events we see today are directly aligned with biblical prophecy for the return of Jesus (how exciting)! Denial, self-preservation, busyness, or selfishness can cause us to justify our reasons for not being 'up to date' on current events--but as Christians, we are called to be stirred with compassion, good works, and prayer for the hurting world around us. We were never meant to live in isolation, only caring about ourselves and our immediate family and friends. The Lord also commands us to be "be alert" or "keep watch" because we do not know the day He will return (Matthew 24:42) but he has told us many things that must take place as sign to "know that His return is very near, right at the door" (Matthew 24:33)! So as we look at all that is going on in the world, how do we not become completely overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, and depression? The answer to this question is so important because as darkness grows in the world, followers of Christ will need to be certain of their hope of salvation so that they can point others to the hope that is within them--Jesus! Peace in the midst of chaos, joy in the midst of struggles, perseverance & patience in the midst of persecution, and unwavering hope when everything appears hopeless--THIS is what will set the Church apart and cause people in desperate need to come running to us for the answer and we can point them directly to JESUS! In Matthew 24:6, when the disciples ask Jesus what are some signs that will indicate He is about to return, Jesus lays it on thick and describes war, famine, earthquakes, and persecution--but a key takeaway is that Jesus said "DON'T PANIC. These thing must take place." So with the mindset that certain things must take place for Jesus to return and we are supposed to be eagerly awaiting this day--let's look at scripture to identify the 'lens' or 'worldview' through which we should filter our entire life--including our own personal struggles and trials. Now I've packed these posts (Part 1- Part 5) with scriptures--but I believe it is vital that you read them with thoughtfulness and allow the Holy Spirit to renew your heart and mind as you mediate on them. He is so faithful to be our source of comfort in all things (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)!

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Perfect Peace is only found by abiding in the Prince of Peace

Before we can have peace in the trials that we face here on this earth, our spirit must first find peace with God Almighty, our Creator. Colossians 1:15-23 says, "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see--such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes YOU who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it."

Our peace with God comes only by faith in Jesus. The blood of Jesus declares us clean, righteous, justified and restores a perfect, intimate relationship with God. We have complete access to the Father by having faith (belief) in the finished work of Jesus (his death, burial, and resurrection). Romans 5:1 says,"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) and He is our only hope of salvation and life for eternity!

When you confess with your mouth that "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our spirit is instantly saved--our eternity is forever secured. When Jesus died and came back to life on the third day, he defeated death, hell, and the grave! Jesus offers this same reality to us as a free gift that we accept by grace through faith, not by our own works or efforts (Ephesians 2:8-9). For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Our peace in this world (peace in our body & soul--mind, will, thoughts, and emotions) is directly rooted in our peace with God (our spirit made right with God) through the free gift of salvation & eternal life offered by Jesus Christ.

John 16:33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.

John 14:27 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.

The Bible teaches that anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior received God's Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation: "And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him" (Ephesians 1:13-14). So if you have received the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation--then you have full access to your new inheritance by the grace of God, through faith (simply believing). Part of your inheritance includes the 'fruits of the spirit' (Gal 5:22) made evident in your life simply by abiding, or putting our hope and trust in Jesus--in Him we bear much fruit, but apart from him we can do nothing (John 15:4-5)! God is our source of all hope! He is the only one who can fill us completely with peace and joy because we put our trust/faith in Him--His grace is then supplied to us by the power of the Holy Spirit who fills us overflowing with confident hope! (Romans 15:13).

Galatians 5:22-23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

John 15:4-5 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Romans 15:13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

See post 'Part Two' for Jesus is ALIVE: knowing Jesus as our Great High Priest