Obtaining Peace: Seek Wisdom

Peace 13

          Peace is a priceless jewel to the man who has none, and a priceless jewel to the man who has some. Whichever way you turn it, its facets reflect beautifully on the face and in the heart of the possessor. But how to get it is the question. Men pursue it desperately and though they sight it, it recedes before their vision as the mirage of an oasis does before the thirsty traveler. The world dangles it as a carrot in front of the horse, promising it via money and pleasure and possessions and chemicals and all manner of things that just never quite seem to deliver.

          God delivers. In the past seven posts we have seen seven different methods of that delivery, seven specific things we can incorporate or do that will produce genuine peace in our lives. Today, we come to the eighth. It is this: peace comes when we get wisdom.

Proverbs 3:13–17

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, And the man that getteth understanding.

14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, And the gain thereof than fine gold.

15 She is more precious than rubies: And all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

16 Length of days is in her right hand; And in her left hand riches and honour.

17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.

          What is wisdom? It is seeing life like God sees it, making your decisions with the omniscience of His perspective. Picture, if you will, standing above a mouse at the entrance of a maze. At the other end is a chunk of cheese. Between the entrance and the cheese are a thousand choices, many of them wrong. But that mouse cannot possibly know, outside of trial and error, which choices are right and which ones are wrong. Your perspective, on the other hand, is omniscient. You can tell the result of every single decision that mouse makes. If he had the humility to avail himself of your perspective he would make correct choices and avoid the incorrect ones. That is wisdom. We are the mouse. Life is the maze. We need the perspective that sees the end from the beginning. We need God’s perspective to guide our choices. What is wisdom? It is seeing life like God sees it.

          Someone reading this will be tempted to drink this week. That would not be a wise choice, from God’s perspective. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosever is deceived thereby is not wise (Proverbs 20.1). Wisdom refuses such hollow offers, and receives instead genuine peace from God when it abstains. Oh, you do not believe me? The people you know who drink the most have the least peace. See?

          Why is it some churches are peaceful and happy while others tear themselves apart in sound and fury, hunting and pecking each other to death? One biblical answer is found in Proverbs 11.30. He that winneth souls is wise. Churches that are after people with the gospel are always happier, more peaceful churches than those who rarely if ever witness. Why? Witnessing is wise, and her paths are peace.

          Would you like a simple guarantee of a constant, never-ending lack of peace? Compete with everyone around you. Turn life into a game in which there are winners and losers and decide at all costs to be a winner. Wait, what? Yeah, the more competitive you are, the more you compare yourself to all and sundry the less peace you will have. We dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise (II Corinthians 10.12). I have zero interest in getting on the internet with all my preacher friends tomorrow and chasing down which one of us had the most in Sunday School today. What a mess that kind of thing becomes. Wisdom avoids comparison, and thus lives in peace.

          I could go on and on and on in this post. Some form of “wisdom” is used 467 times in the Scripture. There is much there for us to avoid and much there for us to incorporate. And as we embrace God’s perspective on our lives and make our choices with His vantage point we will find we walk in paths of peace.  

          Paul told the Colossian church something similar to what Solomon told Rehoboam. Wisdom and peace are connected. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly in all wisdom (Colossians 3.15-16).

          Do you want peace? Do you need peace? Are you desperate for it? Choose the wisdom of God and live by it. I promise you peace will come.  

Obtaining Peace: Exercising the Grace of Hospitality

 Peace 12

The Emmaus Disciples by Abraham Bloemaert
c 1622

Thus far in our discussion of the biblical means of obtaining peace I have been fairly predictable. Methods such as trusting the Lord, developing your relationship with Him and with His church, living right, and enjoying His creation have been mentioned. I am not afraid to be predictable. After all, much biblical teaching is predictable for those who know the Lord well. Having said that, I am also not afraid to be unpredictable if I am convinced I am being biblical. Such is the case with today’s method of obtaining peace. It is not one you would normally expect, I think.

          About six months before Jesus died, He made one final effort at evangelizing Judea. It had never welcomed Him. As the old statement says, Galilee gave Him a home while Judea gave Him a cross. He had systematically preached through it earlier in His ministry, and sporadically here and there in the interval since. But now, just a few months before His death, He organizes His followers for one last stab at the geographical heart of Judaism. Thus it is that He sends teams of advance men throughout the region to prepare for His last preaching tour of it.

          We pick up the story at this point in Luke 10.

 

1 After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.

2 Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.

3 Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

4 Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way.

5 And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house.

6 And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.

7 And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.

8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you:

9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

10 But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say,

11 Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.

12 But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

 

          I do not believe this passage is primarily intended to teach us how to obtain peace. I do believe, however, that we can find some applicable truth here that is often overlooked. Peace comes to our homes when we are hospitable to those preaching the Gospel.

          The Roman era Middle Eastern civilization did not have a structure of hotels and restaurants. In its place, a culture of hospitality formed, a culture that was continually cultivated from generation to generation. To this day, two millennia later, the hospitality of the Middle Eastern peoples is the best in the world. It is part of who they are and a core part.

          In a church context, then, when an evangelist traveled from place to place he did not drive an RV or pillow his head in a three star hotel. He went by faith, believing if he preached the Word that God’s people in that area would provide for him. They would take him into their homes, feed him at their table, and meet his physical needs for the length of his stay among them.

Christ in the House of Mary and Martha
by Johannes Vermeer, c 1675

          It is this to which Jesus alludes in Luke 10. He is readying one last preaching push through Judea. In preparation, He will send teams of men into each Judean hill town. If that town is receptive to the message proclaiming Christ it will be seen in the hospitality they extend to that team. If that town is not receptive to Christ’s message, well then, that, too, will be seen in the lack of hospitality they extend toward that team.

          In 21st century America, hospitality is a dying grace. It has been replaced with the cheap substitute of “entertaining.” Yet even that is largely only found in the business class eager to impress others with the square footage of their suburban McMansion. Such a thing has nothing to do with actual, biblical hospitality. Hospitality is not about impressing people. It is about opening up your home, and using every means at your disposal to make people feel welcomed, encouraged, taken in, and refreshed. It is not display; it is the opening up of yourself and of your life, inviting others into the peace and sanctity and happiness of your family circle. It is relationships grown to the point of being relaxed with one another, not all dressed up at church, but all dressed down at home. It is a practical, encouraging opening of your heart and hearth to God’s children. In short, it is loving your neighbor as yourself.

          It is a tragedy that this has all the appearances of a dying art. It is eminently edifying and entirely scriptural. We are commanded to be given to hospitality (Romans 12.13). We are told to use hospitality one to another without grudging *I Peter 4.9). As in other areas of the Christian life, the pastor is specifically instructed to lead in this. A bishop must be… given to hospitality (I Timothy 3.2). He is told to be a lover of hospitality (Titus 1.8). It builds deep relationships, fosters unity in and between churches, and lowers the guard of the lost.

In addition to all of these comes yet one further blessing: it brings peace. Homes that are hospitable homes, families whose lives are marked by hospitality are peaceful homes and families. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it (Luke 10.5-6).

I have mentioned a time or two in this blog series that when I purchased my home here in Dubuque last year I decided to name it Saint’s Rest. I chose that name because I want it to reflect what my home is to me and mine, yes, but also to all those who come within its walls. I want to live in a peaceful place, but more than that, I want my home to be a place of rest, refreshment, and encouragement for God’s people.

As I write this it is Saturday afternoon. Last night, we hosted two families from our church in our home. We ate a delicious Mexican themed meal al fresco on the deck, and then I built a fire while a group played Ticket to Ride in the gathering dark. Lamps were brought out, music was turned on, and the backyard echoed to the sound of laughter. Later, we all gathered around the flames and fellowshipped late into the night. Tonight, twenty-five or so men from our church will gather on the same deck and patio. We will eat some delicious food prepared by a man in our church who is an excellent cook. We will hear an area pastor give us a thought from the Word of God. Then while some shoot pool, others will gather around the same firepit still warm with last night’s ashes. We will mingle life and stories and food and biblical discussion in the broth of hospitality. And the men will be edified, I hope.

I do not think I could count how many people walk through the front doors of our home for a meal in a year’s time. A couple of hundred, maybe? Maybe more. Some stay a short time. Some stay late into the evening. Some stay until the next morning. Some are family. Some are friends traveling through. Some are preachers weary in the fight. Some are our own church members. Some are neighbors. All are warmly welcomed. I am sure there are saints better at hospitality than Mandy and I are but I am not sure there are saints more sincerely dedicated to it than we are.

My parents are up in years, to put it mildly. But the last time I was in their home in Michigan I found a refrigerator covered in missionary’s prayer cards, each one a family that had stayed in their home, eaten at their table, and gone away refreshed in body and spirit. It has been that way all my life. I hope my children will say the same thing about Mandy and me.

          We are not a perfect family, by any means, but it is no coincidence that we have a peaceful home. It is not because we are wonderful people. It is because God blesses obedience. In this case, He blesses the obedience of hospitality exercised toward His children with the presence of peace in my house.

How does that happen? I do not know, exactly, but I do know it does happen. Further, I invite you to undertake the biblical grace of hospitality. Yes, you have to clean your house every time you turn around. Yes, your grocery budget proverbially has a giant hole in it. Yes, you have purchase more furniture and creatively use space to house and feed people. But what you gain is much more than what it costs.

Elisha Raise a Son of the Woman of Shunem
by Benjamin West, c 1765

Someone reading this somewhere in America is thinking, “Yeah. This is exactly what my pastor needs to do. I hope he is reading this.” If that is the case, may I gently say, you have it all backwards. Hospitality ought to be exemplified by your pastor, yes, but it is to be practiced by all the saints. If he does, copy him. If he does not, let its ministry in your church begin with you.

Open your home, and your heart to God’s people, known and unknown. And do not be surprised when peace comes tripping through the door right behind Bro. and Sis. So-and-So. At some point, they will depart, encouraged, refreshed, recharged, edified. The peace will stay.

Do you need peace? Embrace the ministry of hospitality.     

Obtaining Peace: Living Right

 Peace 11

 

          In this series on peace we are spending the bulk of our time examining different scriptural means of obtaining this greatly desired commodity. We come today to yet another method, namely this: the peace of God comes when we are living right.

          The prophet Isaiah tells us, The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever (Isaiah 32.17). What is righteousness? Doing right in the eyes of God. What does righteousness work in us? Peace. What is the effect of righteousness? Quietness (a sense of peaceful calm) and assurance (confidence and faith in Him). We see here a clear linkage between doing right and having or being at peace.

          This holy wedlock between the two is likewise emphasized by the psalmist. Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Psalm 85.10). At the close of the wedding ceremony I turn to the groom and announce, “You may kiss your bride.” That kiss is symbolic of their union. It is not wrong to say that peace and righteousness are married. They are one flesh. Where you find one, you find the other. You cannot separate the two. No wonder the writer of Hebrews labeled Melchizedek, who was an Old Testament appearance of Jesus or at least a type of Christ, King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace (Hebrews 7.2).  

          Elsewhere in Isaiah the prophet likens peace to a river, and links it again there with righteousness. O that thou hadst hearkened unto my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48.18). What is he saying? Very simply, when I obey God the result is the aforementioned presence of the union of peace and righteousness.

          I live a few hundred yards from the mightiest river on the North American continent. In the two years I have been in Dubuque I have spent much time along its banks. I have learned a few things. A river is constant; its flow is ceaseless. A river is refreshing to all the men and animals and plants along its banks. A river is a smooth path for commerce and travel. A river is a barrier to keep out the unwanted. A river is a delight with its song and its scenery. A river is smooth on top but powerful underneath the surface.

          …and that entire paragraph is true of peace as well, the peace that comes like a river when I keep His commands and live in righteousness.

          The aforementioned psalmist calls our attention to the righteous man. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace (Psalm 37.37). At the close of the day, when the toil we have endured through the heat of the day is laid down, the righteous man is at peace. He has done his duty to the best of his ability. Now he can rest both body and soul. And just as the end of the day so the end of a life. I am, just now, working away hammer and tongs at God’s will for my life. But if He tarry His coming the time will inevitably arrive where I will put down those tools for the last time. My books will be closed, my fingers on the keyboard stilled, my voice will no longer ring out from the pulpit. My life’s work will be done. Will I be at peace then? Will I be content with that life’s work? Will I rest easy waiting at the last finally to go home? It depends entirely on whether I live in righteousness between now and then or not. In the end, we will see. The end always tells.

          One of the mightiest Baptist preachers of the twentieth century was Lee Roberson. Longtime pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church, and the founder of Tennessee Temple University, his ministry was enormous in scope and impact. He has always been special to me for my father trained under him. Many years ago now, I heard him tell the story of the night he surrendered to the gospel ministry. He was a singer and a good one, classically trained, with a bright future ahead of him in radio. When God called him to preach he struggled to lay that aside. It was not easy for him. Yet he did.

The night duly came where he walked the aisle in that Kentucky church, and informed them of his yielding to the call of God. As the custom of the day was, the church formed a line at the end of his service as one by one the members came by to congratulate him on God’s call in his life. An old man lingered long in the auditorium until everyone else had gone. Finally, alone, he walked up to a teenaged Lee, took him by the hand, bent down, and whispered eight words in his ear: “I didn’t, and I have had no peace.” Turning, the old man walked out of that auditorium tormented with the knowledge he would never know peace this side of eternity.

How about you, my friend? Have you yielded to Him? There will be no peace until you do. But as you do, no matter what else there is, there is peace.

 

You have longed for sweet peace,

And for faith to increase,

And have earnestly, fervently prayed.

But you cannot have rest,

Or be perfectly blest,

Until all on the altar is laid.

 

Is your all on the altar of sacrifice laid?

Your heart does the Spirit control?

You can only be blest,

And have peace and sweet rest,

As you yield Him your body and soul.

-E. A. Hoffman

           

Obtaining Peace: Creation

 

Peace 10

 

          In this section of our blog series on peace we are examining eight different ways the Bible tells us we can obtain peace. With this post we come to one that has ministered to me most deeply, the beauty of God’s creation. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness (Psalm 72.3). It may well be that there is in this passage some prophetic connection with the Millennial reign of Christ on Mount Zion. I can see signs of that. But I do not think it takes away from my point here. God’s creation pours peace into the battered soul.
          When God made man He did not place him in a city; He placed him in a garden. It was man that built the first city, specifically Cain. It is almost as if having lost so much of what God had originally designed with his father Adam and his brother Abel, he decided to reinvent things. Ergo, lets thrust man on top of each other and call it good.

          I do not believe cities are intrinsically evil. God Himself loves the city of Jerusalem, and will create a New Jerusalem in the end. But I do know from long experience that cities produce frantic schedules, crowded sidewalks, clogged intersections, a haste for riches, and endless miles of asphalt, concrete, brick, and glass. The stores are open twenty-four hours in the cities. Industry runs full bore in the cities. Music thumps from passing cars loud enough to rattle the dishes. There is endless hustle and bustle, running to and fro. Rudeness multiplies in the city. 

          Some of my perspective here is perhaps colored for me by Meniere’s disease and its side effects, and how difficult it became for me toward the end in Chicago. But some of it is just fact. It is not impossible to live in peace in a city for peace is largely a matter of the heart, but it is more difficult. The psalmist said, Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46.10). There is precious little opportunity to be still in the city, to be quiet. There is almost no chance of serene contemplation. You can cultivate a spirit of inner stillness but it is not the same. At the least it is not near as simple.

          I am a deep believer in setting your eyes upon something God made. It causes us to reflect upon His majesty and sovereignty. It reminds us of how big He is, of how powerful He is, of how eternal He is. It reminds us that when all is said and done the kerfuffle of events will fade and He will still be. Thou remainest (Hebrews 1.11).

          God has been good to bring me deep peace in such ways. I have laid in the black night on the greensward, with nary an electric light in miles, and feasted my eyes on the prodigal jewels of Heaven we call the stars. I have felt the ocean mist on the morning breeze, and heard the surf break on both sides of the continent. I have breathed deep of the scented pines of the northwest. I have craned my eyes skyward beholding the behemoths of the Rockies. I have been surprised by sudden waterfalls springing out of the jungle as the remnants of a hurricane passed through. I have watched the sun come up over the Great Lakes with my young son sitting beside me. I have stood in the desert as the dry wind sucked the moisture out of my lungs, and watched the tumbleweeds whirl by. I have seen some of what God has made and it is good.

          In God’s great goodness, he has brought me at last to live in what is truly one of the beautiful places in our country. Eagles and hummingbirds and turkeys and deer vie for my attention from my deck. Old Man River, the mighty Mississippi rolls merrily on just a few hundred feet from my home. Scores of miles of trails crisscross the county. Rainbows, produced by the rise of vapor up the bluffs along the river, grace the evening sky often. I live in what God has made and it is good. I weep, I praise Him, and I am at peace.

          Do you long for sweet peace? Is your soul a tumbling tumult of noise and uproar? Find something God made, where nothing of man intrudes. Stand there or sit there or lie there or walk there. Stay a good long while. Put your phone away. Listen to the wind, the birds, the creak of the trees and the rustle of their leaves, the play of the brook over the smooth stones. Drink deep of God’s creation, and be at peace.

Obtaining Peace: Fellowship

 

Peace 9

 

          God does not command us to live in peace without giving us the wherewithal to do so. He gives us the strength and grace to do so, yes, but He also tells us how to do so all through the Scriptures. So far in this series we have looked at three of them. We obtain peace by asking Him. We obtain peace by knowing Him. We obtain peace by trusting Him. In today’s post, we will discover that we can also obtain peace by fellowship with His people.

          The sweet psalmist of Israel went through several seasons of deep suffering. One of those periods he endured as an older, mature king. His son, Absalom, rebelled against his rule, subverted his chief counsellors, stole the hearts of his followers, and led the nation to into perversity and revolt. Through the support of a gracious God, and the loyalty of a few reliable retainers, David was restored to his throne. Betrayed by so many of his friends, attacked by his enemies, bereft of his son, a heartbroken but triumphant David penned Psalm 55. Amongst other gems, he gives us this precious statement of thanksgiving. He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me (Psalm 55.18).

          I am a huge believer in spending time with God’s people. It is both commanded and exemplified all over the New Testament. While I maintain active and purposeful relationships with numbers of lost people, all of my friends are drawn from the brethren. I sit with them. I talk with them. I eat with them. I go to church with them. I laugh with them. I host them at Saint’s Rest. It is not wrong to say that I live my life among the community of the saints.

          I find many things in such community. I find accountability. If I am struggling, the people who know me well will both notice and call me on it. I find encouragement. The world is not our friend. It pushes against everything we hold dear and promotes that which we find abhorrent. It is often a lonely task indeed to be a Christian. Or it would be, if it were not for the assembly of God’s people. I find modeling and mentoring here too, living, breathing lessons of what I ought to be and can be as I follow on to know the Lord.

          I also find peace.

          As a pastor for twenty-four years, it has fallen to me to perform many funerals. Some of those funerals have been for people I did not know at all, people who died without a church and without a pastor, sometimes even without the Lord. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I have also performed many funerals for people who not only knew Him, but loved Him and loved His people down here on Earth.

The difference between those funerals is stark. At the former, there is a strained effort to hold back despair, closed faces afraid of contemplating their own mortality and what it means. The atmosphere is cold and lifeless, and the moment the ceremony is over people flee for the supposed sanctuary of their secure little world.

          The Christian funerals of those who loved God and His church are a complete and utter contrast. There is joy. There are tears, yes, but they are sweet tears. There is emotional support. There is laughing as we recall precious memory after precious memory. There is the sheer delight of looking forward to Heaven. Such events are more rightly named a celebration than a funeral, a celebration of a life well lived, a celebration of the present Heaven, and a celebration of the reunion to come on that great day.

          The former had precious little if any fellowship with God’s people. Not surprisingly, there is precious little if any peace at their funeral.

          Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the 20^th century’s premier British preacher, referred to his church once as a preaching station. He bemoaned the numbers who flooded in to hear him orate, but refused to become an integral part of the actual church assembled there. I share that frustration with him as the technology and events of our day have only exacerbated the problem. I am weary of God’s people feeding their desire for God’s Word on YouTube preachers. I am indescribably frustrated with couch church, so much so that I stopped our church’s internet stream whole cloth, pandemic or no pandemic. 

          God did not design the Christian life to be lived in isolation; He designed it to be lived in community. He designed us to be together, to assemble. So get off the couch and go. Go early. Stay late. Force yourself to stick around and fellowship with God’s people. Open your heart and life to those around you. Laugh with them. Weep with them. Put your shoulder to the wheel with them. Love them. Serve them. Allow them, in turn, to minister to you.

          Like David, you will be in a battle someday. Like David, you will discover who your real friends are. I am convinced that when/if that battle comes to my life I will find hundreds and hundreds of sincere people at my side, ministering grace and comfort and counsel and support. I have built those relationships over time, with time. I have refused the alluring ease of isolation. Consequently, I am not alone. I am rich in relationships. And amongst all the other blessings that come here, there is a wealth of peace. 

Drink deep and long and often from the well of fellowship. And you will find peace. 

Obtaining Peace: Trust Him

 

Peace 8

 

          If you are looking for peace you came to the right place. No, I do not mean my blog. I mean the Word of God. It gives us numerous ways or means or avenues to obtain peace. Two weeks ago, we saw that we can obtain peace by asking God for it. Last week, we found that we can obtain peace by knowing Him. Today, we will see that we can find peace by trusting Him. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee (Isaiah 26.3).

          Peace is a precious commodity. It keeps our hearts and souls unruffled during times of uncertainty, confusion, doubt, struggle, and conflict. Peace does not change the external circumstances that swirl around us but it does change how we view those circumstances. When peace rules in our heart our perspective on the events of the day and of our lives is calm even when these events are not calm.

In Mark 4 we find one of the stories that combines faith and peace. Jesus, weary from His work, falls asleep in a ship on the Sea of Galilee. Storms rise quickly on that shallow sea as cold air flows down suddenly across its surface from the mountains along the northern edge. Such a storm arose that mightily disturbed the Apostles but disturbed Jesus not at all. In frantic desperation, they finally wake Him up, shouting at Him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? His answer is classic. Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith? This kind of peace is a byproduct of faith. Peace is not achieved by pursuing peace; it is attained by trusting in our Heavenly Father. This is precisely what Isaiah is saying as well. Let me give you a brief explanation of the context, followed by two thoughts of application.

          When Isaiah 26 opens the prophet is referencing a future deliverance from Babylon. He has just been discussing this in the previous chapter, Isaiah 25. In that day [of deliverance from Babylon] shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks (Isaiah 26.1). Centuries later, both Jeremiah and Zechariah would point to Isaiah’s prophecy here in reference to Babylon.

          Open ye the gates [the gates of Jerusalem, opened up now for the people of the city to return after their deliverance from Babylon by Jehovah] That the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the Lord for ever: For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength: For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; The lofty city, he layeth low; [Babylon] even to the ground; He bringeth it even to the dust (Isaiah 26.2-5).

          I see here two works – our work and His work. What is our work? To rest our mind on Him, whose mind is stayed on thee, stayed here meaning lean, rest, or support. When a weary Moses could no longer hold the rod of God aloft in His hands God’s people began to lose the battle. Tragedy would have resulted had not Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun (Exodus 17.12). Moses was supported by and rested on Aaron and Hur.

Implicit in the idea of the word stayed is dependence upon something or someone else. As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I am sitting on a chair at my dining room table. My weight is comfortably settled in the chair. Solidly constructed from oak, Mandy and I purchased this table and chairs twenty years ago. I know by long experience I can depend on this chair. That is faith. Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee.    

          God is in the dependence business. He is constantly seeking to encourage and build our dependence upon Him. I began that process when I first depended upon Him for my salvation. Not coincidentally, I got my first dose of peace then. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5.1). Mary Magdalene is a precious example of this. Tormented by the townspeople, tormented by her conscience, she found her first peace when she found faith in and dependence on Christ. And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace (Luke 7.50).

          Since there is then this direct correlation between faith and peace the more I rest in Him the more peace I possess. Put another way round, show me a lack of peace in a heart and mind and I will show you a lack of faith somewhere.

          It is not my job to produce the peace in my heart. It is not even my job to pursue peace in my heart. It is my job to pursue dependence and faith. That is my work. As I lead my family, as I pursue my vocation, as I play, as I rest, in the grind of my day to day life I must keep my mind stayed on Him. In financial pressure, in relationship difficulty, in ill health, in seasons of distress and grief, in the trials of life I must keep my mind stayed on Him. That is my work.

          What is His work? Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace. As I write this, President Biden occupies the Oval Office. His work is the administration of the country. The Secret Service’s work is to keep the president safe. Keep means to watch or guard. I do not do the watching and guarding of my peace; He does. I do the staying of my mind on Him, depending on Him in faith. His work is to watch over me.

          There is great peace in knowing I am in His keeping. When my children were little, how precious it was to put them to bed. To dress them in their warm pajamas, snuggle them under the covers, play a silly game or two with them, sing them the family lullaby, pray with them, turn their music on, shut the light off, walk out of the room, and listen as their even breathing signaled how fast they fell asleep. Is that not the child’s prayer? “Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep.”

          A lamb needs to gain a pound a day the first hundred days of its life. The only way it can do that is if it has access to quiet/clear water, good pasturage, and extensive time to browse. Does the lamb protect itself? No, the shepherd does – and when the lamb is convinced it has nothing to fear from wolves, hawks, or even annoying pests it grows. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters (Psalm 23.1-2).

          I want to be that lamb. I want to grow. I want the peace that passeth all understanding to keep my heart and mind. But that peace is His work. I cannot chase that peace. What I can chase, what I can pursue, what I can work on is trusting God.

          How can you obtain peace? Stay your mind on Him, trust in Him, this is your work. He will deliver the peace.  

Obtaining Peace: Knowing Him

 

Peace 7

 

          Last week, we looked at the first means of obtaining peace, namely, asking God for it. Today, I offer you another thought. The peace of God comes when we get to know God. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace (Job 22.21). Eliphaz was wrong about much of what he told Job but he was not wrong about this. There is a direct link between God and peace. If I know Him, I have some measure of peace. If I get to know Him better, I will have a greater measure of peace. The more I acquaint myself with Him the more I will be at peace.

          This is not just a mystical/ethereal idea either. The word “acquaint” in this passage in the original language means to run into danger with. It carries the idea behind it that I know this person so well I am comfortable or confident facing battle with them. They are capable. They are loyal. They are dependable. If you have ever watched Band of Brothers you will understand what I am talking about. By the end of the war, they had been through training, D-Day, Market Garden, and the Battle of the Bulge together. They had crossed the Rhine and taken Berchtesgaden. Their trust in each other was founded on months of ferocious combat, in all kinds of terrain, in all kinds of weather, in all kinds of situations. They knew what each man in Easy Company was capable of. They knew their captain was the epitome of a good leader. And there was great peace of mind in that.

          Paul gave us a similar idea in Philippians 3.10. That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection. To know God is to have confidence in Him. The better I know Him the more confidence I will have in Him. And the more confidence I have in Him the more peace I will have as well.

          God does not scatter peace willy-nilly like lightning bolts out of the blue. He tells us in Scripture how to obtain it.

First, ask Him for it.

Second, get to know Him.

Obtaining Peace: Ask Him

 Peace 6

          The world is not at peace. War, crime, strife, anxiety, worry, and confusion abound. To this problem/s, the world offers several bad solutions. It tells you to blame someone else (psychiatry). It offers to let you drown the unease of your soul in chemicals (alcohol/drugs). The smart ones do this via medication rather than illegal drugs but the aim/effect is eerily similar. Timothy Leary, the 60s counterculture apostle of LSD infamously said, “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.”  In other words, peace comes when you purposely allow your mind to drift into an altered state of consciousness. Still others practically practice hoarding, convinced that their survival skills and supplies will see them through whatever zombie apocalypse arrives. Some prefer to buy guns, the larger and more powerful the better. The world’s “solutions” for peace are as many and as varied as the devil can possibly provide.

          None of this should surprise any of us. After all, the lost world is going to act like unsaved people act and think like they think, by definition. What concerns me more is Christians who do not have peace. As God’s people we are called to it. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body (Colossians 3.15).  Everything I know about God tells me He is a just God. If He commands He explains how to obey and makes available to us whatever we need in order to fulfil that command. If we are called to let His peace rule in our hearts then how can we? What provision has He made? I do not mean the counterfeits offered by the world; I mean the actual provision of the genuine article by our Father. How can we obtain the peace of God?

          Over the next eight weeks on this blog I intend to answer that question. Today, let me offer you one simple idea: the peace of God comes when God gives it to us. 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 (John 14.27). The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace (Numbers 6.26).

          Too often, we underestimate the simple method of asking God for peace. Thinking there must be some deeper or wider answer, like the alchemists of former ages, we pursue some magic formula, we search for some holy grail, we seek for some distant city of gold. In the next two months we will find many keys to obtaining the peace of God in Scripture, but surely the simplest and most basic one is to simply pray for it. Ye have not, because ye ask not (James 4.2).

          To be sure, you cannot violate biblical principle and obtain the peace of God. Understanding that, if we lack peace, beseeching the Lord for it ought to be our first and constant resort. John R. Rice, the twentieth century’s mightiest pen, said, “All of our failures are prayer failures.” I will take John Rice over Timothy Leary every day of the week.

          Are you harboring iniquity? Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me (Psalm 139.23-24). No? Then may I ask, how much time have you spent lately asking the Lord to give you His peace? Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1.17). Peace of mind and heart, the peace of God, is certainly a good thing, is it not?

          …so ask Him for it.

He is Our Peace

Peace 5

 

          Paul loved peace. He loved when the Lord brought it to him and when the Lord used him to bring it to others. He knew its blessings inside and out, and he desired such blessings for all of God’s people. In his peerless epistle to the Ephesian church he opens with it and closes with it. Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1.2, 6.23). He also dwells on it extensively in between.

          In his day, there was tremendous discord between the Jews and the Gentiles. This was caused by the anti-Semitism of the Gentiles and the racial/religious superiority of the Jews. This racial tension is repeatedly illustrated in the Gospels, and nearly destroyed the Early Church. When Paul would go into a city to start a church he would go first to the synagogue. If he could convert men to Christ there he could be way ahead in the church planting game. Such men knew the Bible, were loyal to it, and generally lived lives of charactered accomplishment. The problem, in this context, is that all those men were Jewish. And Paul was not about to limit his church plant to Jewish converts. Ergo, as he reached Gentiles and brought them into the new church too fireworks would ensue.

          So how does Paul address it?

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh (Ephesians 2:14–17).

          What is the solution to a racially motivated church split? Get both sides to Christ as fast as possible for He is their peace.

          If I have a piano that is in tune with a pitch pipe, and an organ in tune with the same pitch pipe, then the piano and organ will be in tune with each other. The same thing is true of a marriage, of a friendship, of the parent/child relationship, of the pastor/people relationship, of every relationship. If both sides would get in tune with Christ they would be in tune with each other. They would be at peace.

          The problem that inevitably comes in at this point is this: it is impossible for me to ensure that the other party in a fuss will come to Christ. I can come, but I cannot make them come. They can come, but they cannot make me come. Relationships are peaceful ones when both sides are rightly related to Christ. He is our peace. But what do you do when one side of the relationship is not rightly related to Him?

          I propose to you the answer is still the same – He is our peace.

          Allow me to illustrate.

          Music, especially classical music, is peaceful to me. I listen to a lot of it. Violins play a large part in most classical music, and the most expensive violins come from the little town of Cremona, Italy. There, in the early 1600s, a man named Nicolo Amati, who came from a long line of distinguished violin makers, took on two apprentices. Those apprentices, Andrea Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari, would eventually establish the best violin making shops in the world.

          In 1791, a German nobleman, Count Trauttmansdorf, who had heard music played upon one of these famous Cremona violins, sought to buy one but was rebuffed. Although he offered fabulous sums, he could not find one for sale anywhere. Some weeks later, an unknown man carrying a rather worn and shabby violin case appeared at the count’s castle, seeking admittance. When the servants refused him he said, “Tell your master that heaven’s music is waiting at his door.” The count agreed to receive him.

Upon entering the count’s presence, the old man took from his case a gracefully aged violin. It had been made in the early 1600s by Jacob Stainer, also a student of Nicolo Amati, and a peer of Guarneri and Stradivari. Picking up the bow, the old man played so beautifully Count Trauttmansdorf offered to purchase the Stainer violin on the spot. The old man countered with a curious offer. He agreed to sell the violin but only if the count agreed to let him play it once a day for the rest of his life.

Over the next two weeks, they hammered out a deal. The count agreed to pay the nominal sum of $150 at once, shelter for life, free light and wood, one new suit of clothes and two barrels of beer a year, a half-bushel of wheat and three dollars every month, a measure of wine daily, and all the rabbits the old man could eat. In exchange, the old man played that Italian Stainer violin every day for the count and continued to do so for twenty years until his death in 1811.

When Christ comes in, He brings with Him Heaven’s music. No, I may not now or ever be at peace with someone on the other side of a relationship. But with Christ in me, the hope of glory, I contain peace for He is my peace.

If you have Him you have peace. Around you? Not necessarily. Between you and someone else? Hopefully, if you both walk in tune with Him. In you? Absolutely.

Regardless of what is going on around you, bid Him speak peace to your soul. Most assuredly, He will.

You Will Never Have Peace

 Peace 4

          Thus far, in our blog series on peace, we have defined it eight ways. Peace is organization and order. Peace is the absence of armed conflict. Peace is the absence of noise, the presence of calm and quiet. Peace is the absence of worry. Peace is harmony in our personal relationships. Peace is freedom from unsettling thoughts or emotions. Peace is a quiet confidence that God will take care of you. Peace is our final rest in Heaven.

          Wicked people will have none of that wonderful list. None. There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked (Isaiah 48.22).

          This is not because God does not long to bring them peace. It is not that God is incapable of bringing them peace. Rather, it is that they will not follow the simple commandments through which God brings peace to men. O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! Then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea (Isaiah 47.18). A river flows continuously, through all kinds of terrain, through all kinds of weather, day after day, week after week, month after month, assuming it is constantly being fed by springs or rain. That is what the saint’s peace is like – continuous, quiet, through all kinds of weather, assuming he is walking with the Lord and obeying Him. But if you do not obey His commandments, if, instead, you embrace a wicked lifestyle, you will have no peace.

          How does this happen? What robs the wicked man of any hope of peace?

          The first reason is that their conscience bothers them and the Holy Spirit convicts them. Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another (Romans 2.15). Our conscience is the God-placed innate sense within each of us that there is right and wrong. When we behave wickedly this conscience gets uncomfortable. It begins to hassle us. Quietly at first, but with gradually growing ferocity, it attacks our peace of mind and heart.

          We understand, scripturally and practically, that the conscience can be strengthened or weakened, corrupted or purified. But when the wicked weaken, corrupt, or sear their conscience in an effort to get some internal peace the Holy Spirit picks up the slack. When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16.8). The wicked person lives in an internal uproar that will not be stilled, stirred up by his conscience and the Holy Spirit.

          The second reason the wicked man has no peace is he imagines pursuit where there is none. The wicked flee when no man pursueth (Proverbs 28.1).

          Regardless of how the wicked man attempts to justify his wickedness, to find some rational reason to assert that it is not wickedness, he knows better. His conscience and the Holy Spirit tell him the truth. Deep on the inside, he knows he is guilty. When you are guilty, you are conscious at all times that justice just might catch up with you.

          The fight-or-flight response, first identified in the 1920s, teaches us that our bodies respond to stress by secreting certain hormones. These hormones enable us to better fight our way out of danger or run away from danger. I believe wicked people live with constant stress. They are always conscious that they may be attacked at any moment. They need to be ready to fight at any moment. They need to be ready to run away at any moment. No matter how much alcohol they ingest or illegal drugs they consume, they cannot rest. No matter how many guards they have, or how many layers of protection they think they have incorporated between themselves and being found out, they cannot relax. It is not that they are found out and must deal with it; it is that they are constantly worried about being found out.

          There is no peace here.

          The third reason the wicked have no peace is they are not doing what they were made to do. Paul tells us in I Corinthians 1 that he was called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. He says this is the will of God for his life. I believe for each of us, God has a specific, ongoing path He wills for us to walk. When we refuse to walk in that path we will not be at peace for we are violating the intent for which we were created.

          In my decades as a soul winner I have knocked on thousands of doors. It is quite common for a dog to begin to bark immediately and continue through all attempts of his owner to shush him. Why? That is his nature. He was made to warn. He was built to bark. If you try to quiet him, to muzzle him, to channel his nature in a way he was not built to go everybody will be frustrated. Can you train a dog to be quiet? Sure. But on the inside, he will still be barking. He will quiver and shake, even if he holds himself perfectly still. He is violating his nature and there is no peace inside of him.

          Every time I come face to face, personally, with an out-and-out homosexual or transgendered person I think of this. I hurt for them. In following their deceitful heart into sin they have twisted their nature or attempted to twist their nature into one impossible bend after another. There is always an air of desperation about them. No matter how cool and calm and collected they seek to portray themselves, it is not hard to see through. They are unsettled in their core. Their life, their heart, and their mind are in a constant never-ending uproar. They are violently violating what God made them to do and be, and they will never be at peace.

          The last and most important reason the wicked have no peace is very simply that God is after them. He will not allow them rest. The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace. They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord (Jeremiah 12.12-13).

          In our current state of cultural declension the police departments of America have a target on their back. Literally. More than at any other time in history, criminals are emboldened to assassinate police officers. Yet even this illustrates the point. When a police officer is wounded or killed, no rest is taken until he/she who committed the crime has been tracked down. Such fools purchase to themselves the open, active hostility of entire police departments. They picked a fight with the wrong enemy.

          The parallels are obvious, are they not?

          The verse I opened the post with is one of the rare verses in the Bible that is repeated, word for word, elsewhere. Why? Because God intends to emphasize the point – there is no peace for the wicked. It does not matter what you do, what you buy, what you scheme, what you invent, what you decide – if you live a wicked life you cannot and will not be at peace.

For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, And he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners. I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; And I will heal him. But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked. (Isaiah 57:17–21)