Category Archives: Peace

Advocate, Allies, Belief, Bible, Messiah, Peace, Scripture

NO MORE WAR

ZECHARIAH 9:10

“And I will eliminate the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow of war will be eliminated. And He will speak peace to the nations; and His dominion will be from sea to sea, and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.”

The U.S. has been at war with terrorism for a long time – ever since September 11, 2001. The active battles may have subsided, but our country is constantly trying to root out those who want to inflict harm on our country and our allies. So much money has been spent on this effort. It was necessary, but it is difficult not to think how that money could have been used to help millions. One day we won’t have war anymore.

Zechariah continues the prophecy against the land of Hadrach that began in verse 2. I love what He says in today’s verse. He says, “the bow of war will be eliminated.” The Messiah will come and establish peace. He will cut off or break the bows of war. How? “He will speak peace to the nations.” Just as the world was created by God speaking it into existence, peace will be spoken.

APPLICATION

Peace is what we all need. Peace is available to us all but only through one source – Jesus. We can try to establish peace on our own, but it will not last. Once we have peace with God, we can establish peace with others. Colossians 3:15 says, “Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful.”

Let me ask you something. Are you at peace? Jesus tells us in John 14:27, “‘Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.’” Did you see what He said? It is His peace He gives you. That’s the same peace Zechariah referred to in today’s verse.

Peace is yours for the asking. Do you have it? I do, and let me tell you, it’s awesome. Do I still face trials? You had better believe it, but now His peace takes over. His peace calms my fears. His peace reigns in my heart. His peace is real. You can have it. I pray you do. If not, ask for it today.

I know Your peace is the peace that transcends all understanding. Thank You, Lord.

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Accountability, Bible, Commands, Direction, Exhortation, God's Will, Judgment, Peace, Scripture, Truth

CLEAR COMMANDS

ZECHARIAH 8:16

“‘“These are the things which you shall do: speak the truth to one another; judge with truth and judgment for peace at your gates.”’”

I remember many years ago, when I worked at the Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes, that I gave one of the boys in my cottage permission to wash my car to earn a little extra money. The kid was about fourteen, so I just assumed he knew how to wash a car. (A word to the wise – never assume anything, lol). Let’s just say the car wash had a lot to be desired. But he was so proud that he had done it. I didn’t have the heart to tell him how bad it was. So, what did I do? I decided the next week when he asked again that I would help him and direct him. It turned out a lot better, and he learned a new skill.

Clear directions are important. They help us walk with the Lord better, don’t they. Well, in today’s verse we see the Lord telling the people of Israel some pretty clear commands. He says, “These are the things which you shall do.” That’s pretty clear. Then He tells them to speak the truth to one another and to judge with truth and peace. If we could all do that, life would be so much less quarrelsome. God knew that. They were returning to their land. They were completing the temple rebuild. They were starting again. Here were some simple, clear commands to follow.

APPLICATION

Years ago, I was a trainer in Crisis Intervention. One of the skills I taught in that was for the staff to always give clear and concise instructions to the kids they were dealing with. Doing that would often prevent a kid from getting upset and confused. Most crises can be prevented if we practice those things. Our Father in heaven knows that. He gave us just ten commandments to follow, not a thousand. Man took those ten commandments and stretched them into hundreds. Jesus narrowed it down further when asked which was the most important commandment. I have referenced this passage before, but it bears repeating.

Matthew 22:36-40 says, “36 ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ 37 And He said to him, ‘“YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.” 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.’”

Can you follow that? Obviously, you can if Jesus told us to do it. He would never tell us to do something that He would not enable us to do. So, today, strive to follow the clear, simple commands of our Savior. It is total agreement with our verse from Zechariah today. Speak truth, practice justice and peace with all men. That’s my goal today. I hope it’s yours.

Father, I am not able on my own to do anything You ask of me. But through Your power and Your Holy Spirit I can.

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Abiding, Abundance, Bible, Peace, Rest, Scripture

OLIVE TREES

ZECHARIAH 4:3

“‘also two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left side.’”

I can’t recall all the times God has met our needs. They are countless. I do remember going to the mailbox and finding a check to us that we weren’t expecting. Most of those times, it was exactly the amount we were needing to meet our needs that week. God has a way of doing that, doesn’t He?

These two olive trees were there to supply the olive oil to the bowl on the top of the lampstand we talked about earlier. A perpetual source of oil to keep the lamp lit. Isn’t that cool? God put two of them there. Of course, we know the olive branch is symbolic of the extension of peace. Peace was promised to Israel. They were so ready for this.

APPLICATION

We all need peace in our lives, don’t we? God can give you His eternal peace. Jesus said so in John 14:27. We saw this verse earlier. “‘Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.’” Don’t you just love those words?

We find Paul saying something similar in Philippians 4:7. You probably know this verse. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Peace comes from one source – God. True peace – not the kind of peace the world offers.

Peace is a decision you make. You can choose to get upset in traffic or choose to be at peace. You can choose to be at peace with your husband or wife or you can choose to do battle. When you are at peace with God, you will be at peace with others. Let the olive oil of peace bring you peace today.

I have peace like a river, I have peace like a river, I have peace like a river in my soul.

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Bible, Comfort, Contentment, Peace, Rest, Scripture

PICNIC TIME

ZECHARIAH 3:10

“‘“On that day,” declares the LORD of armies, “every one of you will invite his neighbor to sit under his vine and under his fig tree.”’”

People love to go on a picnic. You know, wicker basket full of fried chicken, potato salad, apple pie and sweet tea (of course). The tranquility of those times is precious. You can nap lazily under the shade or dip your feet in a nearby stream. The peace of these moments is hard to beat. Peace, peace, peace!

That is exactly what the Lord was saying here in today’s verse. After all the wars. After all the days of exile, they can now invite neighbors for a picnic under the vine and fig tree. He is telling them they can be at rest now. Don’t you know that thrilled their hearts? Don’t you know they felt that peace for the first time in a long time?

APPLICATION

Micah wrote of this in Micah 4:4. “Instead, each of them will sit under his vine and under his fig tree, with no one to make them afraid, because the mouth of the LORD of armies has spoken.” The same is true today. Jesus told us in John 14:27, “‘Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.’”

Aren’t you tired of the weariness of life? There is no need to continue striving, chasing after the wind, as Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes. Christ offers you the supreme peace. His peace doesn’t end when the picnic ends. Oh no. His peace is everlasting. It will never, never, never end. You can put your complete trust in that.

I am thankful I have the peace of God through Christ. This peace allows me to be at peace with men. Recently, I was starting a trip overseas. My flight was postponed three times before it was finally cancelled. I was rebooked the next day, only to get on board and have about an hour delay due to engine issues. But I was at peace. Why? Because it was His peace, not mine that ruled the day. I pray you can experience the same.

Oh, the sweet, sweet peace of Jesus, that rules my heart and soul.

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Abiding, Bible, Peace, Quiet, Scripture

STILL AND QUIET

ZECHARIAH 1:11

“So they responded to the angel of the LORD who was standing among the myrtle trees and said, ‘We have patrolled the earth, and behold, all the earth is still and quiet.’”

One reason I love to hunt is the stillness and quiet of the forest. You can’t really explain it or show a picture of what I mean. You really just have to experience it. Call me crazy, but to be twenty feet up a tree as day breaks is exhilarating. The feeling is truly unexplainable. The next time I head into the woods, you have to come with me, lol.

The stillness and quiet these angels reported was due to the lack of war at the time. Israel had been hammered by wars which led to their exile. Since returning to Israel, there had been more unrest. But at this moment they were experiencing a little peace. As we will see later in Zechariah, this peace would not last.

APPLICATION

The peace of Christ is the only true peace. Only through surrender to Him can we finally find that peace our soul is looking for. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11:28-30, “28‘Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30  For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.’”

Are you looking for peace? Are you looking for stillness and quiet? Look no further. Place your trust in Jesus. Maybe you are a believer, but you are still struggling resting in Him. Psalm 46:10 says, “‘Stop striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted on the earth.’” Listen to Him. He is offering you exactly what you want – peace and quiet.

I remember my mama saying when we would ask her what she wanted for her birthday or Mothers’ Day. She would say, “A little peace and quiet.” She might get that for a few minutes, but with four kids, it didn’t last long. She’s in her eternal peace now. That is what I long for. One day, we believers will experience that perfect peace. Amen?

Thank You, Lord, for giving us Your peace. I can rest in You.

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Bible, Despair, Joy, Modeling, Peace, Praise, Scripture, Singing

GLOOM, DESPAIR AND AGONY

ZEPHANIAH 1:15

“That day is a day of anger, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,”

Back in the 1970’s a comedy show hit the airwaves of the U.S. entitled “Hee Haw.” One of the songs that was sung regularly on the show was about gloom and despair. The lyrics were:

Gloom, despair, and agony on me
Deep, dark depression, excessive misery
If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all
Gloom, despair, and agony on me

These words may not all fit today’s verse, but they sure come close to how someone who was facing the day of the Lord and His judgment would feel. Of course, it wasn’t about having bad luck. It was all about bad choices – specifically one – rejecting Jehovah in favor of idolatry and rebellion. That choice would certainly bring gloom, despair and agony.

APPLICATION

We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as Lord and Savior have no reason to worry about gloom, despair or agony. Our hope is in Him. Certainly, none of those words describe our Lord. He is joy, light and radiance. He brings peace and comfort. He exudes the glory of God.

So, why do so many Christians walk around singing that old Hee Haw song? They almost act like Eeyore, the donkey from Winnie the Pooh. Every time you see them all you hear about is how bad things are. They are children of the King, but they act like a lowly peasant who has been downtrodden and forgotten.

I choose to walk in victory. I choose to sing a different song. I am redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. He has put a new song in my heart. Will you sing with me? Will you praise His holy name? Let the world know about the joy you have because you have chosen to follow Jesus. They need to hear it and you need to proclaim it.

Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it, Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!

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Abiding, Bible, Comfort, Peace, Rest, Scripture

WAIT QUIETLY

HABAKKUK 3:16

“I heard, and my inner parts trembled; at the sound, my lips quivered. Decay enters my bones, and in my place I tremble; because I must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the people to arise who will attack us.”

I have mentioned before that I have worked with children most of my ministry. Only in the last few years has my focus turned to discipling men (that’s a story for another day). I don’t know how many times I have dealt with children who would not get quiet at bedtime. They just couldn’t rest. You may be that way.

As Habakkuk closes his message to the people, he now reflects on the chastisement of the nation, the terror of their enemies and finally his position in this. He says, “I must wait quietly.” The Hebrew word here means to rest, to get quiet, to withdraw, to get comfort. In other words, in the midst of the trial, Habakkuk felt a peace.

APPLICATION

Rest! It’s not easy sometimes. My wife gets mad at me because I can go to sleep so quickly. I tell her it’s a gift, lol. But I haven’t always been that way. There have been many a night when I could not shut my brain off. I couldn’t rest. I was anxious about things. Stress can do that to you. So can your physical health.

Are you at rest? My brother-in-law, Dr. Wayne Barber, wrote a book about this. It’s entitled “The Rest of Grace.” You can find it on Amazon at The Rest of Grace by Wayne Barber (1998-07-04): Amazon.com: Books. His basic message in the book is for us to rely on the strength and power of God and not ourselves. We have to rest in the grace God has given us.

As I have gotten older, I have learned to do that more. I still struggle from time to time when I pick up those old habits. But for the most part I have learned to rest in Him. There is a peace that is so comforting when I do that. Will you join me in His rest?

Lord, I am thankful for the rest You give me when I place my trust in You alone.

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Bible, Contentment, Peace, Rest, Satisfaction, Scripture

NEVER SATISFIED

HABAKKUK 2:5

“’Furthermore, wine betrays an arrogant man, so that he does not achieve his objective. He enlarges his appetite like Sheol, and he is like death, never satisfied. He also gathers to himself all the nations and collects to himself all the peoples.’”

Some things are never satisfied. Football fans are not satisfied that their team won the championship. They want them to win it every year, and if they don’t, they want to get rid of the coach. Church members want the preacher to preach the perfect sermon every week. If he struggles one week, they start questioning his abilities.

God is still speaking here in verse 5. And He is telling Habakkuk that the wicked man is never satisfied. There is another story I was reminded of when I read this today. God gave the Hebrew children in the wilderness manna from heaven. But they grumbled against it. They tired of God’s miraculous provision and wanted something more.

APPLICATION

Don’t point fingers! We all do the same thing. God meets our needs, but we ask for more. God does a miracle in our life through a healing of us or someone else, and once again we ask for another. Satisfaction in Christ means we are satisfied completely when we receive our salvation. All other things are just the cherry on top of the ice cream. Nice but not necessary.

Paul says is well in Philippians 4:12. “I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.”

That should be our goal each and every day – to be content, to be satisfied. Unlike the pagan described in today’s verse, we should not always hunger for more. True contentment in Christ is sweet. There is no pressure, no worries, no strife – just rest. Don’t you want to rest in Him today?

I am satisfied, I am satisfied, I am satisfied with Jesus. But the question comes to me, as I think of Calvary, Is my Master satisfied with me?

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Abiding, Bible, Comfort, God's Will, Harmony, Peace, Scripture

HE IS OUR PEACE

MICAH 5:5

“This One will be our peace. When the Assyrian invades our land, when he tramples on our citadels, then we will raise against him seven shepherds and eight leaders of people.”

I find peace in the outdoors. When I am fishing (whether I am catching anything or not), I am at peace. When I am sitting in a deer stand or ground blind, I am at peace. I find peace in a quiet morning reading God’s Word or a book that can edify my walk with Him.

Micah declares the Messiah will be their peace. He was and still is. “The Assyrian” here represents all the nations that had and would come against the people. They are no match for their Redeemer. The “seven” and “eight” here are interesting. Of course, seven means wholeness and completeness. When coupled with eight, they mean a countless multitude. What a promise.

APPLICATION

In Isaiah 9:6, Christ is called the Prince of Peace. Paul, in Ephesians 2:14, say, “For He Himself is our peace,…” All through both the Old and New Testaments, we see peace. I have said before in my blogs, that peace cannot really be discovered until you are at peace with God. Are you?

Once your peace with God is secured through the acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, that peace begins to spread. You become a more peaceful person, thus making your other relationships more at peace. It may take some time for that to become your lifestyle, but you learn to rest in Him.

Peaceful may not be the first word used to describe me, but I am surely at peace. I have learned to not sweat the small stuff. I have learned to trust Him with those decisions that are facing me each day. Big ones and small ones, it does not matter. Every decision I make is run by Him, and I allow His peace to be the barometer. If I do not have His peace about a decision, that decision is either no or not now. I wait. Are you at peace today?

Peace like a river, there’ll be peace like a river, peace like a river floods my soul

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Advocate, Battles, Bible, Courage, Fear, God's Will, Hiding, Peace, Protection, Rescue, Scripture, Storms

CRYING TO THE WRONG GOD

JONAH 1:5

“Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried out to his god, and they hurled the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the stern of the ship, had lain down, and fallen sound asleep.”

So many times, we get in a mess and try to figure it out all on our own. Or we enlist the help of others who make things worse. I remember one time I was trying fix something on one of our cars. I struggled for hours to put this part on, but it just would not go on for me. I asked my neighbor for help the next morning. You know what happened? It went on for him on the first try. He had the expertise I didn’t.

These sailors are crying out their gods for help. The problem with that is those gods did not exist. They had no power to calm the storm. This was a God storm. This was one created by Him. Only He could calm it and only when it was time. It wasn’t time yet.

APPLICATION

Who are you crying out to right now? If it is anything or anyone but God, you are wasting your breathe. Why do you think you can’t find the answers anywhere else? Is it pride? Or just plain stubbornness? I know you probably think I am being a bit harsh. I guess I am. I don’t want to offend you, but I do want to move you to the right place.

Jonah was sleeping during this storm not because he was at peace. He was simply ignoring it. He was hiding from God in the stern of the ship, oblivious to what He was doing to get his attention. We do the same thing. We withdraw and hide, pretending the problem will just go away. It won’t.

Thanks be to God that He does not quit. He does not let up. If that storm had calmed down at the cries of those sailors to their gods, they would have thought their gods did it. God was teaching those sailors a lesson as much as He was Jonah. Are you learning anything in your storm?

I hate the storms, Lord, but I do love the peace that comes afterwards. I will trust You through the storm.

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