Peace Out

Devotional 12.2.09
Matthew 10:34 "do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did
not come to bring peace but a sword". When Jesus told His disciples
this He was telling the truth. God didn't need to send Jesus to get
peace to His people. He gave His people peace when thy needed it
countless times (read your OT, it's all there). He sent Jesus so that
we could receive His peace without having to sacrifice a lamb or cow
and so that we could experience His peace 24/7 through the Holy
Spirit! In John 14:27, Jesus says "Peace I leave with you, My peace, I
give to you; not 'peace' as the world gives (which truly isn't peace
at all), but fulfilling peace, directly from My Father". He's talking
about the Holy Spirit. It's because of what Jesus DID, not necessarily
because of who He was that we have this opportunity of peace. What did
He do? HE WAS OBEDIENT TO GOD'S WILL! It could be said that Jesus went
through some rough times, no doubt: getting bad mouthed by the
Pharisees all the time, getting tied to a whipping post and having a
couple of brutes slash Him up, being nailed to a cross and left to
die, etc. Do you think Jesus would have gone through ALL that if He
didn't have complete PEACE in God that everything would turn out
better than amazingly because He was Following God's Plan? When we, as
Christians, are in a time of trouble, should we be panicked of what's
next to come if we're following God and He promised we'd make it
through? No! If we're following God through it all, there's no reason
to be afraid: He's supplied us with the Holy Spirit and His Light is
always visible so that we can follow easily. There's peace in
knowledge of that alone.
If you read on in Matthew 10, Jesus tells His disciples (we're His
disciples as well), "He who does not take up his cross and follow
after Me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and
he who loses his life for My sake will find it!" Im sure it's safe to
say that we could insert "My Father's peace" in here. As I was just
saying, when we take up our cross and follow Jesus (Who is following
God), we find life, a life full of peace, even if it seems as though
we're being mocked or whipped. Because if we try to find peace on our
own, it will be the "peace" the world has to offer-the peace that's
not peace at all, and we end up losing ourselves.
Let's strive to find ourselves in Him, this way we'll have peace in
the knowledge that we're ending on top no matter what trenches we'll
go through to get there. He's here guiding us the whole way.
Be blessed!