Monday, December 29, 2014

The Shallom Peace of Jesus

UV 1284/10,000 The Peace of Jesus

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 v 27

Jesus knew that the most valuable legacy He could leave for His followers was peace. The peace that Jesus gives rests on His finished work on the cross. His death was the sacrifice that purchased peace for all mankind. His resurrection and life is what brings salvation to us. No act of man or no religion or practice can give us this kind of peace. It is a peace that the world can neither give nor take away. It frees us from our worries and anxieties as well as from our fears and tears. The peace that Jesus gives is indestructible, irreducible, authentic, real and wholesome. It is not a shallow peace. Rather, it is summed up in the Hebrew word of blessing and greeting, “ Shalom” that means a wholesome peace that includes health, prosperity, longevity, eternal life, salvation, goodness and righteousness.

The peace that Jesus gives is an inner and eternal peace. It does not fluctuate or evaporate with changes in circumstances. He is the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the central part of God’s plan for man. His plan is to redeem mankind and give him eternal peace and love. Jesus rules not through edicts or proclamations or wars or strife but by filling our hearts and minds with His peace. Lucifer by contrast is the prince of strife who rules by creating divisions, by causing grief, by stealing the peace of people, by making people fearful or worried. He derives His power from the power of sin and death while Jesus ensures peace by destroying the power of sin and death in our lives. When we yield our hearts and minds to fear or worry or strife or temptation, we are denying Christ and affirming the enemy of our souls. Our heart attitudes are the sails on our souls that catch the upward wind of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus gives us the peace of righteousness. He is our righteousness and He clothes us in His righteousness. He breaks every curse and removes every limitation. Scripture says that the effect of righteousness is quietness, assurance and peace forever. Jesus not only imparts peace to us but He calls us to be peace- makers like Him. When we have peace with God, we have peace with ourselves and then we have peace with others. We also would naturally reach out to others who are living in a state of strife, worry and fear and point them to Jesus. We are partners with Jesus in ushering peace in this strife-torn world. Yesterday, I received a New Year Greeting card that is remarkable as it showed all the nations of the world marked with words indicating the problems of strife each is facing and that only Jesus is the answer to all the problems. He is God’s answer and provision of peace for a blighted earth.

Prateep V Philip

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