The Peace of God

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Philippians 4:7: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

You will hear me, when I preach, end my sermons with this sentence. Yet do you know what these words mean?

The key phrase for us is "the peace of God." It is not man's peace. Mankind's idea of peace is when no one is getting hurt by someone else. We talk about peace treaties, peace in our time, and the like. What phrases like this mean is, "As long as no one is bombing, shooting, and knifing anyone, things are good.

The problem is, all's not good because that peace never addresses the heart and the mind. We are still in turmoil on the inside. The surface may be calm, but underneath is not any where close. And that is where, and when, peace goes out the window.

Now I can't describe what the peace of God looks like. It is a condition of life that is. The peace of God, which continues to surpass all of our knowledge, does keep you centered, keeps you clear and focused on the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. It is a condition, an experience, based upon faith in what Jesus did for you. Let's pray.

Father God, through Your Holy Spirit pour Your peace into our hearts and minds so that, when the world around us is topsy turvy, we are calm and focused based upon Jesus and what did for us. Lead us to rely more and more upon You and Your peace for our lives. We pray this in Jesus' name. And all God's children say...