True Peace

What does it mean to truly have peace? I think most of us grow up with the thought that having peace or being peaceful is being calm and not being stressed out. However, peace is a Person. Peace is Jesus. And what He has so gently been teaching me recently is that the only way to have true, lasting peace is to look to HIM, to set my face upon Him and refuse to look away.

Yesterday was quite the busy and potentially stressful day for me. I had an Old Testament exam that I forgot to study for, I had a study group scheduled with some girls from my history class, I had my history class, I had a few hours in the afternoon to get done the mountain of homework that I have to do this weekend, and then I had my Environment class for 2.5 hours last night. Toward the middle of my day, I found myself worrying and being anxious over whether or not I would be able to get all my homework done. You see, I had a plan. I would spend all of Saturday and some of Sunday if I needed to, to get all of it done so I wouldn’t have to worry about it when I fly out to Colorado next weekend. However, my mom surprised me by texting me and telling me that she was driving down this weekend to visit. So, my nicely, scheduled plan went out the window. And there it was. The bait to stress, worry, be anxious, and take my eyes off of Jesus. And for a while, I gave in. I wondered and fretted about whether I would have time to get everything done that needed to get done. But, right in the midst of this, I got a beautiful text from my friend, Melanie. It is a quote from Oswald Chambers:

There are times when our peace is based upon ignorance, but when we awaken to the facts of life, inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He makes peace…it is a peace which comes from looking into His face and realizing His undisturbedness. Are you painfully disturbed just now, distracted by the waves and billows of God’s providential permission, and having, as it were, turned over the boulders of your belief, are you still finding no well of peace or joy or comfort; is it all barren? Then look up and receive the undisturbedness of the Lord Jesus. Reflected peace is the proof that you are right with God because you are at liberty to turn your mind to Him. If you are not right with God, you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself. But if you try to worry it out, you obliterate Him and deserve all you get. We get disturbed because we have not been considering Him. When one confers with Jesus Christ the perplexity goes, because He has no perplexity, and our only concern is to abide in Him. Lay it all out before Him, and in the face of difficulty, bereavement and sorrow, hear Him say, “Let not your heart be troubled.”’

I read this quote, was convicted, and had a startling realization. I did not have peace at that moment because I was focused on myself. You see, if I had been focused on Jesus, I would have been focused upon Peace, for He is Peace. I would not have been disturbed, because He cannot be undisturbed. Instead, I had turned my focus and my gaze to focus on my needs, my pressing concerns, my overload of homework, my concerns. All the while, Jesus had promised to take care of my needs, if I had simply given them to Him.

Philippians 4: 6-7 says, "Be careful for nothing (in other words: take no thought or care for yourself, but rather spend yourself on Jesus); but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep ( guard, set a garrison about) your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.”

What if, instead of fretting and getting anxious, I had turned to my Source of Peace? What if, I had poured out my worries and concerns to my Bridegroom, trusting Him to take care of all of them for me? I would have received (and did, after I repented and gave them to Him) the peace that passes all understanding. In verse 11, Paul talks about how he has learned to be content in whatever circumstance he is in. Our contentment does not depend on outward circumstances but rather upon the Source of Peace Himself. 

So, friend, look to Jesus today and receive peace that passes all understanding. And once you do, He will infuse strength into your soul to do all that He has called you to (verse 13). 

The Straight and Narrow Way

“Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us be of the same mind.” Philippians 3: 16

The word walk here means, “To proceed in a row of soldiers, to direct one’s life.” Then, the word “rule” means “a rod to which anything is fastened in order to keep it straight.” We are, as Christians, to direct our lives according to one, narrow line. We are not to veer off into the broad way. There is one way by which we are to walk, live, and direct our lives.

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matthew 7: 13-14

So often we give in to the mentality that we can rule and direct our lives ourselves. We call the shots. This is my life; therefore, I can decide what I want to do. However, as this passage illustrates, we are to be conformed to one standard. We are to align ourselves along a straight rod, which is Christ. We are to align our lives with His Word. He is in control of our lives, and we follow down His straight and narrow path.

The word ‘narrow’ literally means compressed and full of difficulty. The Christian life is not an easy one. We could be travelling down the broad way, where most other people are travelling, and life would be a lot easier. We would be living in luxury, we wouldn’t have to deal with the persecution and weird looks from the world (and a lot of times “Christians”), and we could just live our lives the way that we want to. However, this is not the way of the cross.

Mark 8: 34 says, “Whosever will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.”

The way of the cross is denial to self. We pick up our crosses and follow Him down the narrow, hard, difficult way. But what is the promise associated with this way? Life!  What could be better? The way of the world may be easier and more socially acceptable, but it leads to death. Let us look unto Jesus and follow Him, even though it be hard, knowing that He gives life and life more abundant (John 10:10).

Spend it All

In my last post, I talked about what it means to intercede for others, what it means to truly be a servant, as Christ calls us to be, to those around us. However, in a few of the verses from Philippians 2 that I have recently studied, Paul tells us to what extent we are to give ourselves for those around us.

Most of us have grown up with the concept, “Yes, I’m supposed to serve those around me, but only to an extent. I need to take some time for me too, you know. I’m not supposed to give all of my strength and energy. I need to reserve that for others things that I might need it for later on.”

This is not the pattern of Jesus, nor of Paul.

Philippians 2: 15-16 says, “…children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.”

“To run” here means to “exert one’s self, to spend one’s strength in performing or attaining something, incur extreme peril, which it requires the exertion of all one's effort to overcome.”

The word “labor” means to basically spend yourself to the point of exhaustion.

“Poured out as a drink offering” also means to, “one whose blood is poured out in violent death for the cause of God.”

This is the extent that we are commanded to pour out our lives for those around us. Paul held nothing back when he said that he offered himself for the Philippians. He spent every last ounce of strength that he had, even having to overcome extreme peril, in order that the Philippians might have their faith strengthened and built up. He gave himself to the point of exhaustion for these people. And, he was even willing to pour out his life as martyr for them!

It’s amazing to me what he says right after talking about being poured out as a drink offering. He says that he is exceedingly joyful along with them all! Spending himself and pouring out his life as a servant for those around him wasn’t some dourly duty Paul had to do. It was his extreme joy!

This pattern is modeled by Christ Himself.

“Hereby we perceive the love of God, because He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” I John 3: 16

Isaiah 53: 12 says that Jesus “poured out his soul unto death.”

I once heard a man say, “You should go to bed every night utterly exhausted because you have spent every last ounce of your strength for those around you during the day.” I think this captures the life of a Christian very well.

We must trust that Jesus will provide all the strength that we need (Matthew 6: 25-33). He will give us everything we need, but not to spend on ourselves but for those around us.  This is the great joy and delight of a Christian!

College Campus

The Stadium

The cute little "meditation" chapel that is such a blessing!

The chapel

My village :)

My corner of our room 

My beautiful room mate and I at the Luau during Welcome Week

Intercession

Matthew Arnold wrote, “Let the victors when they come, find thy body near the wall.”

The wall is where the hottest part of the battle is.

Then, Charles Spurgeon, the great prince of preachers, said, “Jesus did not pray that you should be taken out of the world, and what He did not pray for you need not desire… Where is honor to be won by the soldier but in the hottest fire of the battle?”

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of this Spurgeon quote. Hebrews 2: 14 describes how He went into the hottest part of the battle. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

According to Philippians 2, Jesus was in the form of God (this word ‘form’ means ‘the whole nature and essence of deity’ and is inseparable from it. It does not include anything accidental in it.). However, Jesus completely emptied Himself of His reputation, willing to forego being ‘known’ as God by those around Him. He took upon Himself the form (same word) of a servant, the lowest place of servitude and wholly gave Himself up to another’s will. He bound Himself to do only the Father’s will. He was made in the likeness of men (this word has an added notion of weakness). Jesus didn’t just stop at being a man, though. He humbled Himself even further and died for these weak, sinful, men who completely scorned Him. And not only did He die for them, He died the worst death ever.

This is what it means to enter the hottest part of the battle. Philippians 2 commands that we take on this same attitude that Jesus took on. How do we enter the hottest part of the battle? We die to ourselves. We pick up our crosses. We follow Jesus. We take on the lowest form of a servant and put others’ needs before our own.

We, as Christians are made strong, not to spend our strength on ourselves. We are made strong that we might spend our strength for those that are weak. This is the principle of intercession.

Our battle is not against flesh and flood. Our battle is against the powers behind flesh and blood, controlling people, and we enter the hottest part of the battle against those powers by interceding on behalf of those who are weaker. Jesus, the most mighty man, interceded for us, when we were weak and loaded down with our sin. Now, we are called to spend the strength He has given us.