Category: peace

Again: Once More

All these whom we have mentioned maintained their faith but died without actually receiving God’s promises, though they had seen them in the distance, had hailed them as true and were quite convinced of their reality. They freely admitted that they lived on this earth as exiles and foreigners. Men who say that mean, of course, that their eyes are fixed upon their true home-land. If they had meant the particular country they had left behind, they had ample opportunity to return. No, the fact is that they longed for a better country altogether, nothing less than a heavenly one. And because of this faith of theirs, God is not ashamed to be called their God for in sober truth he has prepared for them a city in Heaven.
(Hebrews 11:13-16 J.B Phillips)
 
Linking up with Five Minute Fridays, a place where we are given a word and a challenge to write for five minutes.

 
GO.
Again. I hear a simple, direct voice, say: “I have a plan for your life. It’s meant for your good, not your harm. A future and a hope.”  I am relieved. I go to the book where the words were first written down by a weeping prophet. In this version it says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare, and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV)
 
My eye falls on the word welfare, which has a footnote. Welfare means peace. Peace, well-being, that’s what I want.

Then I wonder, what’s the context? I’ve rehearsed that single sentence to myself for comfort again and again, but I want to know why God said it in the first place. Go back to the beginning of the chapter. Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon. There was some confusion. Was their exile temporary or was it for seventy years? Who should they listen to? Some were saying this won’t last; God won’t really make you stay there for seventy years. Jeremiah sends word to clarify.

Yes, God did say seventy years! And while you’re there, multiply, don’t decrease. Don’t wither up in despair. Live! Get married! Make babies! You are coming back to Jerusalem and you will need people to repopulate the Promised Land. And while you’re in the city of your captivity, pray for the welfare of that city. Because if you do, guess what, it’s welfare directly benefits your welfare.

That’s a real life example of praying for peace for your enemies.

Again God turns everything upside down on its head. Don’t believe the liars or the scoffers. God will keep His promises. Jesus will return again. And in the meantime, pray for the welfare of your city, the place of your exile, while you wait. And live again!
 
STOP.
 
 
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Fruitful: An Abundant Yield

On the ninth day of Christmas my True Love gave to me,
nine gifts for fruiful living.
 

 

 

But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
(Galatians 5:22,23a The Message)

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Sing Praise!

On the sixth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me
six reasons to sing praise!
 
 
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and
bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
(Isaiah 55:10-12 NIV)
 
 
1. Snow: We’re going to have a white
New Year’s Eve!
 
 
2. Bread: Making homemade bagels, a snow day tradition!
 
 
 
3. Word: Going to hide God’s word in my heart in 2013 using the 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart app and Kindle e-book!
 
Screenshot
100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart by Robert J. Morgan
Photo credit:
B&H Publishing Group
 
 
4. Joy: Christmas is forever!
 
 
 
5. Desire: Word of the year! Thanks to Melanie from Only a Breath for designing my free button! Check out her Bible reading printables and other fun stuff on her blog. I look forward to following her in 2013 for creative and spiritual encouragement!
 
 
 
 
 
desire fulfilled is a tree of life
(Proverbs 13:12b)
 
 
6. Peace: Forgiven!
 
 


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Peace: To Become Quiet

Advent{ures}: Let’s Go to Bethlehem

For the LORD your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song.
(Zephaniah 3:17 NLT)
 
 
 
 

Anxiety attacks. Worries weary. Stress increases.

Pause for peace. Peace embraces. Peace calms. Peace blesses.

This peace makes no human sense.

Peace be with you. Jesus promises. Immanuel comforts. Mercy refreshes.

When Jesus enters the room, the disquieting thoughts flee. Heads turn. Do you see Him in the face of a newborn? Or hear Him in the chortle of a toddler? Or notice him in the momentary sparkle of a teenager’s eyes?

Will you pass Him as you hurry from store to store? Will you smile or scowl? Will you see Him sitting at the window of a nursing home, lost in memory? Will emotion overwhelm you when that loved one enters your mind?

When will peace appear? In our moments of quiet doubt? In our moments of loud fears shouting, “Why bother?” Or in the deep joy of knowing everything matters?

Peace will come, always showing up, when we least expect. Peace dispels all fear. It only takes a moment to light a candle in the dark. To sing a happy song.

When Peace enters the room, our eyes meet. All is well once again.
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Signs of Peace

Advent{ures}: Let’s Go to Bethlehem

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
(Isaiah 7:14 NKJV)
 




What comfort there is in calling out “Immanuel.” God with us!
 
The sign of a virgin with child, bearing a son is the Advent promise. God is the God of wonders and signs. He wants to give us reassurance.
 
Today, our friend,  Lynn D. Morrissey, shares a vignette from her storehouse of God stories that poignantly shows how God surprises us with signs of His care, His presence and His unfailing love.

The Christmas Gift
 
“Where, o death, is your victory? Where, o death is your sting? But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— 1 Corinthians 15: 55, 57

 

In the still of winter, death’s darkness enveloped me.  Birdless, leafless trees and my father’s incurable kidney disease testified to death’s stark reality. I was consumed with worry, unable to experience God’s peace and to trust His provision for my father.

 

As I dropped Daddy off at the dialysis center for the third time during Christmas week, I was struck by the poignancy of a naked little tree, bravely defying winter’s onslaught. It was a painful reminder of my father’s frailty and failing health.

 

Then suddenly, as if dropped from heaven, a beautiful red-breasted robin alighted on one of its branches, adorning it like a ruby Christmas ornament. In the bleak winter season, I was amazed to see this little harbinger of spring. I praised God for this unexpected Christmas gift of hope, and for the precious gift of time—another day with my father.

 

Most of all, I praised God for His most lavish Christmas gift, His precious Son, born into this world of sin and death. He would die for humankind on a naked tree and rise victoriously from a wintery tomb. He would defy death and usher in new life, the springtime of eternity.

 

Instantly, I stopped worrying. God flooded my heart with peace and the knowledge that no matter what happened to Daddy, he would live eternally with Him.



(Lynn D. Morrissey, Copyright 2012. All Rights Reserved)


 
 

 

Lynn D. Morrissey, is a Certified Journal Facilitator (CJF), founder of Heartsight Journaling, a ministry for reflective journal-writing, author of Love Letters to God: Deeper Intimacy through Written Prayer and other books, contributor to numerous bestsellers, an AWSA and CLASS speaker, and professional soloist. She and her beloved husband, Michael, have been married since 1975 and have a college-age daughter, Sheridan. They live in St. Louis, Missouri.

You may contact Lynn at words@brick.net.

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