29/04/13

Peace - Jesus' Resurrection gift


The observance of Easter has passed and it’s not yet time for the ascension.  I can’t imagine how the disciples must have felt after Jesus died, and how awesome it must have been for them to see Him resurrected and to hear Him say “Peace be unto you”.  John 19:21.

Before He was crucified He 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 heart be troubled nor let it be fearful.”  John 14:27.    Now He has returned in the flesh to tell them again.

This ‘God’s Peace’ is the real deal, it’s quietness of soul, unmoved by circumstance. 

Jesus understood peace in different ways from the way we do.  In English, peace means the absence of war, but for Jesus, peace was considered more from a Hebrew perspective.  In Hebrew, the noun ‘shalom’ or peace has the literal meaning of being a state of wholeness.  Jesus does not give us lives without internal terror, but He can give us internal wholeness and peace with God.

While it might be difficult to always experience external peace, as we keep our eyes on Jesus we can know an inner calm, built on our faith in God.

It’s my prayer that you will know God’s ‘real deal’ Peace in your life, right now, today and tomorrow.



    …...Roger Matthews




Bulletin 28th April 2013 here