The Place Of Peace

[Helen]

Stress, fear, and worry take a toll and people search for relief. Unfortunately the spirit of the age spills over into our Christian life and we become frantic in our effort to serve God as if we had to do something more 'to earn' His favour and approval to find peace, only to succeed in wearing ourselves out “trying” rather than “trusting.”

For a true follower of Christ there is promise of inner peace and rest...a serenity of soul that enables us to find spiritual peace regardless of the circumstances.
At the core of our inner being we find an assurance that God who orders all things according to His plan and purpose has given us an anchor for the soul to weather any storm and remain untouched by the turmoil and uncertainty that leaves other people ship wrecked on the shores of life..... in Jesus Christ!

For the Christian this is the way of peace. *Without inner peace it is impossible to hear God’s voice or sense His presence.

“Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]” .........Colossians 3:15 Amplified.

 

[Frank Lee]

There remains a rest to the people of God. I needed deliverance from spirits of fear and all kinds of satanic things even as a child. Members of my extended family demoed into occult things. My paternal grandmother could lay her hands on a table and cause it to walk around the room they said. She became a Christian thank God.

I didn't understand why I was always fearful and afraid. No Christians so I suffered it until I was 33 when God saved me. I've said this to say that I know the value of the peace of God. I cannot stand it if my peace is messed with.

I've learned much about not giving it away.

I didn't know that when God does great things in your life that you became a greater target for Satan but it's true.

Our dear son that God foretold to us and that we witnessed of a year or more before God opened her womb after 14 childless years, has fought innumerable battles. I can't even talk about this with the majority of Christians. Especially those without the Holy Spirit baptism.

Grace, this is a thread about peace. The kingdom of God is three things only. Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

The righteousness we have bestowed upon us through the gift of Jesus. Peace we can read of in many places in the Scriptures but I especially like Genesis chapter 41 where Joseph tells Pharaoh that God will give him an answer of peace.

The next part of the kingdom of God is joy. The answer of joy can be found in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Ecclesiastes 5:20 KJVS
For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

You see, peace and joy are inseparable twins. One can never be seen without the other. You cannot have peace without joy nor joy separate from peace. It's impossible.

Holding onto your peace, the peace of God, is an eternal struggle.

Matthew 11:12 KJVS
And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

We don't get to float quietly in our little boats for long until a great storm will arise. If we have a firm grasp on RPJ - righteousness, peace and joy, then we may sleep quietly through the storm. If not, we pace the tossing deck, gripping the mast with white knuckles.

We must practice His peace and above all thank Him for it. I can't imagine being without it.

Romans 14:17 KJVS
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

 

[Helen]

Grace, this is a thread about peace. The kingdom of God is three things only. Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. <snip>

You see, peace and joy are inseparable twins. One can never be seen without the other. You cannot have peace without joy nor joy separate from peace. It's impossible.

Holding onto your peace, the peace of God, is an eternal struggle.

Thanks Frank and inspiring post :)

It took me a while to understand that man says 'we want peace in the world'..( which we all know wont happen until Jesus comes)
Yet peace starts first in each of us..before we can even have open eyes to see peace beyond ourself.

But, a life with out peace is hell on earth.
I liked your thought of "peace and Joy"... :)

 

[Frank Lee]

There is another element to this and that's rest. Without peace you cannot really rest.

Hebrews 4:4-11 KJVS
For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. [5] And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. [6] Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: [7] Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. [8] For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. [9] There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. [10] For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. [11] Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Peace is a prerequisite of rest. When you rest in God you have ceased your labors.

 

[Helen]

Again...thanks....good one :)

 

[forrestcupp]

Thanks Frank and inspiring post :)

It took me a while to understand that man says 'we want peace in the world'..( which we all know wont happen until Jesus comes)
Yet peace starts first in each of us..before we can even have open eyes to see peace beyond ourself.

But, a life with out peace is hell on earth.
I liked your thought of "peace and Joy"... :)

Peace in the world works kind of like the unity thing. It starts as a work within you, and then, even though not everyone will experience it, you can do your part to let that peace overflow into other people's lives. We have the power to help make the people around us feel peace, or feel stressed out.

One of my favorite stories of peace is about a painting contest where the official of the contest challenged artists to paint their idea of what peace looks like. People painted beautiful sunny meadows, pictures of flowers, etc. But one person painted a picture of a nasty storm. The scene was of violent winds, clouds, and lightening. But in one of the windblown trees, the picture focused on a nest where a mother bird tightly held her hatchling, protected under her wing from the rain and wind. The idea is that even during the storms of our lives, we can find peace and refuge under the shadow of His wings.

 

[Frank Lee]

Peace vs. Understanding

Also continuing, the scripture that says;

Philippians 4:7 KJVS
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I've seen this understanding as a broken down clunker of a car, rattling, banging and smoking down the highway of life.

Now here comes a vehicle named peace. A low slung very expensive twelve cylinder luxury sports model that passes understanding like it was parked.

Peace passes understanding.

When we need deliverance in some matter I do not need to understand HOW God intends to do it. It is not important. So many don't know this and have neither peace nor understanding. The unwise, the thinkers, the hands on doers pill that sleek vehicle over to the curb and climb into the rattle trap of understanding and lurch off down the highway, gripped with anxiety leaving peace far behind.

We must hold the peace and ignore the understanding. I DON'T CARE how Jesus is going to deliver me. God enjoys doing things His way. Like sending your tax money in the mouth of a sea Bass.

I've always thought that the disciples ran all the way to the water, one rigging a pole while another on his hands and knees dug for a big juicy worm for bait. How I'd love see a movie of that on God's home movie night!

Once, long ago in the 70's, the following chain of events revealed God's deliverance. A series of events that are could not have been guessed beforehand.

Our foreign made car broke down though it was relatively new. The part, the head on the engine had to be replaced and the part was unavailable except from Germany.

Suddenly we had no transportation. Thank God the company I worked for had an old Chrysler which was very long and looked like a Mafia staff car. My boss was glad to loan it to me so we had a ride.

After three months of waiting finally the part came and was VERY expensive. The better part of one thousand dollars! A sum that we did not have. I was forced to ask my boss for the company to loan me the money and thank God he did. A friend drove with me to the car dealer so he could drive the loaner back to our office.

Getting ready to come back the company car would not start. We had to leave it there. That car never ran again and the company decided to sell it. It had served me well for three months but when that time was over curled up and died!

We had our car but still had an outstanding debt to pay off out of every paycheck. A big deal. After much prayer I went in to talk with my engineering supervisor Pat. I boldly asked for an increase in pay since I was by God's grace, a good employee. Pat was sympathetic to my situation but I had recently had a job review that provided me with not only a raise in pay but a bonus as well. This was what made my asking so difficult.

Pat called me into his office one day and said "we've talked it over and even though you've recently had a raise and bonus we're going to give you another bonus and after taxes is just about what you owe the company. Your debt is now paid". I was overjoyed. Who could have understood HOW God was going to deliver me?

Praise God! He loaned me a car while mine was being repaired. Loaned me the money to get it out of the shop and then paid off the loan!

Who could have understood beforehand what He was going do or by what means?

Peace passes all understanding and entering into an living in His rest beyond explantation.

Righteousness, peace and joy after entering into God's rest.

 

[Helen]

. But one person painted a picture of a nasty storm. The scene was of violent winds, clouds, and lightening. But in one of the windblown trees, the picture focused on a nest where a mother bird tightly held her hatchling, protected under her wing from the rain and wind. The idea is that even during the storms of our lives, we can find peace and refuge under the shadow of His wings.

Amen...a lovely picture of the believer dwelling in The Secret Place Of The Most High. :)

 

[Frank Lee]

Peace in the world works kind of like the unity thing. It starts as a work within you, and then, even though not everyone will experience it, you can do your part to let that peace overflow into other people's lives. We have the power to help make the people around us feel peace, or feel stressed out.

One of my favorite stories of peace is about a painting contest where the official of the contest challenged artists to paint their idea of what peace looks like. People painted beautiful sunny meadows, pictures of flowers, etc. But one person painted a picture of a nasty storm. The scene was of violent winds, clouds, and lightening. But in one of the windblown trees, the picture focused on a nest where a mother bird tightly held her hatchling, protected under her wing from the rain and wind. The idea is that even during the storms of our lives, we can find peace and refuge under the shadow of His wings.

Yes amen. A good view of His care!

Your Storm picture is like a very short old movie I watched. A young woman was very sick and barely hanging onto life. Outside her window was a brick wall where a vine a with just a few last leaves grew. Fall had stripped all but a handful. An old artist lived in the building who was her friend and came to visit often.

She told him that she believed she could hang onto life as long as at least one of those meager, frail leaves remained on the scraggly vine.

After days of terrible illness only one of the leaves remained. She gazed at it with rapt attention as she was lying in bed.

She began to improve and soon was out of bed and recuperating. She ventured outside to view this one surviving leaf that had hung on long after the others had fallen and had given her hope. She looked closely at the lone leaf. There on the red brick wall next to the vine was painted a single leaf. Looking at it from her bed the leaf seemed surely to be part of that vine. Her friend the old artist, had painted hope in the form of a single leaf .

In the last days of her sick bed the aged friend had died but not before painting his last and most important thing. A leaf on the bricks.

This story is by O. Henry, the last leaf and can be seen on YouTube in whole.

 

[Helen]

Oh wow Frank ..lovely...pass me a tissue...sniff....

 

[Windmill Charge]

Like the weather, or at least like the weatherhere in the UK, feelings are in a constant state of change, one moment up on the hights, the next down in the dumps.

What is constant is our knowledge of our saviour and that it is he who holds on to us.
It is this that should help us have a constant peace even in the darkest times and enable us to know joy amidst suffering and sadness.

 

[forrestcupp]

Yes amen. A good view of His care!

Your Storm picture is like a very short old movie I watched. A young woman was very sick and barely hanging onto life. Outside her window was a brick wal where a vine a with just a, few last leaves grew. Fall had stripped all but a handful. An old artist lived in the building who was her friend and came to visit often.

She told him that she believed she could hang onto life as long as at least one of those meager frail leaves remained on the scraggly vine.

After days of terrible illness only one of the leaves remained. She gazed at it with rapt attention as she was lying in bed.

She began to improve and soon was out of bed and recuperating. She ventured outside to view this one surviving leaf that had hung on long after the others had fallen and had given her hope. She looked closely at the lone leaf. There on the red brick wall next to the vine was painted a single leaf. Looking at it from her bed the leaf seemed surely to be part of that vine. Her friend the old artist, had painted hope in the form of a single leaf .

In the last days of her sick bed the aged friend had died but not before painting his last and most important thing. A leaf on the bricks.

This story is by O. Henry, the last leaf and can be seen on YouTube in whole.


View attachment 1900

That's a great story. I'm definitely going to look that up and try to watch it.

Like the weather, or at least like the weatherhere in the UK, feelings are in a constant state of change, one moment up on the hights, the next down in the dumps.

What is constant is our knowledge of our saviour and that it is he who holds on to us.
It is this that should help us have a constant peace even in the darkest times and enable us to know joy amidst suffering and sadness.

Absolutely. Another thing that helps is to remember that love is deeper than an emotion. Love is not based on feelings. If love were based on feelings, then my wife and I would love each other one day, and hate each other the next, because there are times when marriage is messy, and we just don't feel good. But since love is deeper than an emotion, we know that we love each other, even when we're not in a good mood. And that's where faithfulness comes from. If you dig very deeply, you'll find that all of the fruit of the Spirit is pretty much linked together like that.

 

[Albert Finch]

2 Peter 3:14 - "With this to look forward to, do your utmost to be found at peace with Him, unblemished and above reproach in his sight."

Observation:

WE WANT A PEACE THAT TEMPORARILY COMFORTS AND CODDLES BECAUSE WE DO NOT LIKE TO BE CHALLENGED OR CHANGED. THE PEACE THAT FLOWS INTO US FROM THE LORD SATISFIES THE SOUL WITH FULL ASSURANCE THAT HE IS STILL FOR US, EVEN AS WE ARE BEING TAKEN THROUGH FIRE - IN WHICH WE CAN BE CHANGED INTO HIS LIKENESS.

2 Corinthians 3:18 - "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

 

[Helen]

2 Peter 3:14 - "With this to look forward to, do your utmost to be found at peace with Him, unblemished and above reproach in his sight."

Observation:

WE WANT A PEACE THAT TEMPORARILY COMFORTS AND CODDLES BECAUSE WE DO NOT LIKE TO BE CHALLENGED OR CHANGED. THE PEACE THAT FLOWS INTO US FROM THE LORD SATISFIES THE SOUL WITH FULL ASSURANCE THAT HE IS STILL FOR US, EVEN AS WE ARE BEING TAKEN THROUGH FIRE - IN WHICH WE CAN BE CHANGED INTO HIS LIKENESS.

2 Corinthians 3:18 - "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Nice to see you post on the site...not just in the Blog :)

 

[Albert Finch]

Nice to see you post on the site...not just in the Blog

Thank you for your love and appreciation.

 

[Frank Lee]

A permanent peace is the only real peace. I know nothing of temporary peace. If the prince of peace rules in your heart then peace is not a sometimes only condition.

The key is being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:11 KJVS
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

 

[forrestcupp]

A permanent peace is the only real peace. I know nothing of temporary peace. If the prince of peace rules in your heart then peace is not a sometimes only condition.

The key is being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 51:11 KJVS
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

His peace is always there, but sometimes we get our minds off of it and lose our awareness of His peace that is always there. Like when Peter was walking on water, and he got his eyes on the winds and the waves, and began to sink. One thing people don't think about, though, is after he cried out to Jesus to save him, they had to walk back to the boat.

 

[Dcopymope]

:cool: Knowing that God isn't the inept, despotic, douchebag many Christians have made him out to be certaintly put me at a much better place of peace than I was just three or so months ago. Oh you have no idea how easy that makes it for me to put my faith in him........hot dammit.

 

[Frank Lee]

It took me decades to see He wasn't like my earthly father!

 

[WalterandDebbie]

Stress, fear, and worry take a toll and people search for relief. Unfortunately the spirit of the age spills over into our Christian life and we become frantic in our effort to serve God as if we had to do something more 'to earn' His favour and approval to find peace, only to succeed in wearing ourselves out “trying” rather than “trusting.”

For a true follower of Christ there is promise of inner peace and rest...a serenity of soul that enables us to find spiritual peace regardless of the circumstances.
At the core of our inner being we find an assurance that God who orders all things according to His plan and purpose has given us an anchor for the soul to weather any storm and remain untouched by the turmoil and uncertainty that leaves other people ship wrecked on the shores of life..... in Jesus Christ!

For the Christian this is the way of peace. *Without inner peace it is impossible to hear God’s voice or sense His presence.

“Let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]” .........Colossians 3:15 Amplified.

I must say that the above is correct as far as this subject along with: John 14:27

27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

But The Place of Peace is at The Father resting place in his Kingdom:

What Does the Bible Say About Kingdom Of God?