The Gift of Peace

Grace and Peace,

In the book of John 14:27 it states: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (KJV). The Living Bible translation states it like this: "I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.” 

Now generally, when something is given as a gift, it is an expression of love towards and for someone else. Jesus willingly gave us this very precious gift because He knew that in this troubled world we live in, we would need this gift to help us cope with the challenges that we would face in this life.

The disciples didn't understand how Jesus could cope with the raging storm that was going on above Him. During the time when Jesus and His disciples were crossing over to the other side, there arose a great storm of wind, but Jesus was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow. When they finally woke Jesus up, He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still (Mark 4:37-41 - KJV).

Pay close attention to Jesus’ words: "Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith” (vs. 40)? Notice, the key to maintaining your Peace (freedom from all disturbances), is to make sure that you maintain your Faith! I want to challenge you to not set this gift on the shelf or put it on the side, but use the gift of peace on a daily basis to help you navigate through the storms of life.

One last key I want to leave you with in maintaining this gift of Peace is can be found in (Mark 1:35 - TLB): "The next morning he was up before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray." It is in that solitary place that your faith and peace are renewed daily.

Peace Out,

Pastor

P.S. Be on the lookout for the upcoming video "What are we so afraid of?"