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