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"Not As The World Gives Do I Give To You" |
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March 6 th, 2009 |
Volume 4, Issue 7 |
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If you want to encourage, donations of any amount are appreciated - GH |
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In This Issue
- Think It Through: How Does The World Give Peace? - Take It To Heart: How Does God Give Peace? - Take It To The Street: The Peaceful Kingdom Within - Idols of Personal Peace and Affluence by Francis Schaeffer (video) - Prince of Peace, God of War by John Campea (a full length video presentation) - The Personal Peace of "Stuff" - In memory of George Carlin (video) - Covenant of Peace by Willard M. Swartley (Book Preview) - The Making of Culture by Andy Crouch (video) - Church and Culture by Andy Stanley (video) - Peace, Shalom, Salaam Aleikum (music video) Blogs An Evangelical Christian for Peace by Ron Sider from Bill Moyer's Journal (For clarity's sake, Ron Sider is not a dispensational evangelical or "pro-Zionist" evangelical. I am a dispensational believer [believing in "times and epochs" that God has fixed in history by his own authority], as was Jesus [Acts 1:7], and an evangelical who believes both Israel and the Palestinians should be at peace with one another and stop shedding innocent blood against one another per God's will [Genesis 9:6; Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17; Proverbs 6:16-17; Qur'an, 2:208; 4:29; 5:8; 10:99]. The children of Abraham, through Isaac and Ishmael will find peace in Abraham's redeeming seed, Yeshua Hamashia , and it is in God's Prince of Peace that the Mideast will find their peace, in the cross of Christ [Galatians 3:16]. - GH Is Pacifism A Legitimate Response to War from Evangelical Village
News Pray first of all for all men - one article at a time [1 Timothy 2:1]. Read an article and pray in light of it.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem [Psalm 122:6] - one article at a time. Read an article and pray in light of it. Pray for the Leaders of the World at World Political Leaders (Choose a country pray specifically for the peace of Christ to enter the hearts of the latest leaders in the world today at the bottom of the list of names- 1 Timothy 2:1-8)
Articles
Peace from Baker's Dictionary of Evangelical Theology
Audio
How to Handle Conflict by George Sanchez, courtesy of DiscipleshipLibrary.com Right Click and choose "Save Target As" to download How to Handle Conflict - Part 1 by George Sanchez How to Handle Conflict - Part 2 by George Sanchez How to Handle Conflict - Part 3 by George Sanchez How to Handle Conflict - Part 4 by George Sanchez How to Handle Conflict - Part 5 by George Sanchez How to Handle Conflict - Part 6 by George Sanchez How to Handle Conflict - Part 7 by George Sanchez
Book Preview Covenant of Peace by Willard M. Swartley Culture Making by Andy Crouch
Video Download Prince of Peace, God of War for Free ("How did the command to “Love Your Enemies” get so complicated? This was the question I had for years both when I was a minister in the church and ever since I left it. It seemed to me the religious right, more a political force than anything else, who embraced policies of violence, killing and destruction, all in the name of a God they claimed to follow seemed to be at odds with the teachings of the founder of their faith. ... So, in 2006 I decided to travel across North America and talk to scholars, historians, authors and religious leaders on both sides of the issue (not the cheap Bill Maher tactics of only talking to crazy people on whichever side he stands opposed to) to understand why some believe the Christian faith allows for killing and others in the exact same faith believe that to truly follow the faith, one must never take life. The result was this project “Prince of Peace - God of War” - John Campea, amateur documentary film maker
Peace in the World - Internal Desires Everybody's Working for the Weekend - Live 2007 by Loverboy
Peace in the World - External Desires "Stuff" ["R" rated stuff] by the late George Carlin (The hardness of Carlin's heart is difficult to endure when you hold godly Christian convictions. You become as "provoked" as Paul at the idols in Athens [Acts 17:16] or as "vexed" as Lot before his own townspeople in Sodom [Genesis 19:6-7; 2 Peter 2:7-8]. Carlin is a good example of what Paul meant in Romans when he quotes the Psalms, "Their throat is an open grave. . . . Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness" [Romans 3:13-14). Carlin's views on death and religion explain why he really never cared whether you liked his language or not. But the fact that he can evoke a good laugh from us says more about us than about Carlin. We laugh to offset the truthful horrors that Carlin openly throws in our face. We laugh to agree with the truths Carlin mentions in the midst of his blatant unbelief and distaste for the hypocrisy in the church. But we cringe in distaste at his blatant blasphemy and spite toward all we believe in. But laughter does not give us peace from our pain and suffering. It only distracts us for a brief time, just like other stimulants to our flesh give a brief pleasure as we pursue them. But in the final analysis, Carlin is a deceased example of what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians 2:14 - "But a natural [Gk. soulish] man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." Carlin was a good example of a jester making fun of what was foolishness to him. I wonder if he is laughing now? In light of our biblical convictions, we should weep in memory of George Carlin and for millions who have not passed away as yet. There is nothing to laugh at whatever - Luke 16:23-31. Only God knows if there is any peace in his rest - GH) Peace in the World - Prideful Boasts We Want World Peace by Trevor Dougherty (This is a great example on a small scale of what human efforts around the world can do "in the name of" an ideal while accomplishing very little in the process. But without the real that will change every human heart [Romans 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:13-16, Colossians 1:19-20], the ideal can only be discussed and associated with around efforts and events exalting an ideal of peace. We should not decry man's longing for world peace. It is a noble ideal. But only the real basis of peace will ever make it a reality [John 14:27].) No Peace on the Streets - Northern Ireland (YouTube comment on this video - I moved from Northern Ireland 3 years ago to Canada. Watching this video was a reminder of what my childhood was like, although, I was a middleclass rural Protestant, I never suffered like the Catholic and Protestant youths of the 80's. I remember vividly watching the news every night with my dad as we sat down to eat our dinner, bombs, murders on both sides and bodies missing. I even had nightmares as a 5 year old, watching the news coverage of the Eniskillen bombing in 1987.)
Peace Anthem for Palestine by Tim Minchin (Laughter also eases the pain of geopolitics and the struggle for peace. But laughter is not strong enough to make war go away.)
Jihad Watch: The "Islam is Peace" Campaign Who Wants Peace in the Middle East? , a CBS 60 Minutes Special
Moment Ripe for Peace Talks - January 28th, 2009 by Inside Story (An introduction to George Mitchell as President Obama's U.S. Ambassador to Israel)
420 Revealed - A Day of Peace from ABC News (This is a defense of marijuana use as a means of peace through "spirituality" by HIGH TIMES Editor-in-Chief Steven Hager. He argues that a "national holiday" of a marijuana "spiritual" drug culture is as viable as early Christianity was. Cannibus is their sacrament. He calls it an "emerging counter-culture" suffering persecution since the 1970s just like early Christians.)
Colman McCarthy - Teach Peace - Colman McCarthy of Georgetown University Law Center presents the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's 7th Annual Frank K. Kelly Lecture calling for a significant change in our educational system. The Smithsonian magazine said McCarthy is "a man of profound spiritual awareness." A liberal democrat, McCarthy is honest about his biases while truly interested in peace in the world and its teaching in education. And no, I am not a liberal democrat just because I put one with good intentions in my newsletter. - GH) Note that to "the world" outside of a biblical worldview, if you are for peace you are considered "spiritual." Whether it is social peace by drug use or political peace by vote, the world has redefined "spirituality" in a secularized medium as an ideal of non-conflict and non-violence. The Christian faith roots all non-conflict and all peace in the cross of Jesus Christ. And this stumbling block [1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 5:11] is the very stumbling block the world as a whole, outside of faith in Christ, rejects as the ultimate means of peace on earth. Why? Because of a true spiritual blindness that only God can remove coupled with a Christendom throughout history that has not been led by the Spirit of Peace in Christ at all. - GH For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him [Jesus Christ], and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven. Colossians 1:19-20 The cross of Christ is God's means of global peace on earth. Not the church. Not religion. Not a secular spirituality of common self-denial for the sake of non-violence and non-conflict. It is the cross of Jesus, and all it stands for, that gives true peace to the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity. Ephesians 2:13-16 The cross of Jesus is much more than just a place for personal peace before God by troubled souls. The cross of Jesus is God's solution to world peace on every level. - GH Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:1-2 Music
You Are Holy (Prince of Peace) by Michael W. Smith Peace in the Valley by Elvis Presley Peace, Love and Happiness by G. Love and Special Sauce (Everybody wants it. Some of us have it by grace alone.)
Online Libraries "I know no author who is worthy the honour of being followed absolutely and without reserve." John Newton (1725-1807) Christian Classics Ethereal Library The Evangelical Christian Library
Free Bible Study Software Bible Explorer (with over 200 Free Books)
Peaceful Easy Feelings But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing and shall have wonderful peace. Psalm 37:11
History would be far different if we did not tend to hear God most clearly when we think He is telling us exactly what it is we want to hear. Madeleine Albright, The Mighty and the Almighty
True Christians do not know vengeance. They are the children of peace. Their hearts overflow with peace. Their mouths speak peace, and they walk in the way of peace. Menno Simons
When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. Jimi Hendrix
He that is not a son of Peace is not a son of God. All other sins destroy the Church consequentially; but Division and Separation demolish it directly... Richard Baxter
If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. Moshe Dayan
What is peace? Is it war? No. Is it strife? No. Is it lovely, and gentle, and beautiful, and pleasant, and serene, and joyful? O yes! Charles Dickens, Bleak House
Every kind of peaceful cooperation among men is primarily based on mutual trust and only secondarily on institutions such as courts of justice and police. Albert Einstein
It is important to remind young people that peace is the only victory. Scarlett Johansson
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. St. Francis of Assisi
People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace. They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them. The irony is the only place they ever needed to search was within. Romana L. Anderson
Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other, and in the home begins the disruption of peace of the world. Mother Teresa
Our generation has the ability and the responsibility to make our ever-more connected world a more hopeful, stable and peaceful place. Natalie Portman
A peace above all earthly dignities, a still and quiet conscience. William Shakespeare
The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend. Abraham Lincoln
I have to keep reminding myself: If you give your life to God, he doesn't promise you happiness and that everything will go well. But he does promise you peace. You can have peace and joy, even in bad circumstances.
There are weapons that are simply thoughts. For the record, prejudices can kill and suspicion can destroy. Rod Serling
There are many things that are essential to arriving at true peace of mind, and one of the most important is faith, which cannot be acquired without prayer. John Wooden
But I do know focusing on the exterior doesn't make me happy. If I want peace and serenity, it won't be reached by getting thinner or fatter.
Compassion is sometimes the fatal capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else's skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. Frederick Buechner
The business of peace requires more than showing up with paint brushes, foodstuffs and an oil pipeline or two.
I've been there and done all that, sold millions of records, and that doesn't bring you peace.
God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
It is no little wisdom for a man to keep himself in silence and in good peace when evil words are spoken to him, and to turn his heart to God and not to be troubled with man's judgment.
Satan is neither omnipotent nor free to do everything he pleases. Prince of the world he may be, but the Prince of Peace has come and dealt him a death blow.
For where there is true love, a man is neither out of measure lifted up by prosperity, nor cast down by mishap; whether you give or take away from him, so long as he keeps his beloved, he has a spring of inward peace. Thus, even though thy outward man grieve, or weep downright, that may well be borne, if only thy inner man remain at peace, perfectly content with the will of God.
Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens, and you will serve God according to his good pleasure and rest in him.
Blessed are the single-hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. If you refuse to be hurried and pressed, if you stay your soul on God, nothing can keep you from that clearness of spirit which is life and peace. In that stillness you will know what His will is.
If we let ourselves believe that man began with divine grace, that he forfeited this by sin, and that he can be redeemed only by divine grace through the crucified Christ, then we shall find peace of mind never granted to philosophers. He who cannot believe is cursed, for he reveals by his unbelief that God has not chosen to give him grace.
Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.
For me, having come to study and understand some of the Bible and finally getting saved made a huge difference in me, because my wife was a big influence on that. I saw in her, when I first met her, a person's soul at peace with everything and everybody around her.
But he is unworthy the name of a minister of the gospel of peace, who is unwilling, not only to have his name cast out as evil, but also to die for the truths of the Lord Jesus.
Where I once constantly lost my temper, I found myself arriving at a crisis and experiencing peace.
The Almighty Lord states in the Holy Book (The Quran): “O you who have found faith, enter peace wholly.” (2:208)
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Jesus left us with a peace that the world does not know - a peace that stills the troubles and fears of the heart. But without God's presence to provide this stillness of heart, the world must strive to seek this peace through various substitutes. Only the God of Peace can give a true peace that remains.
Personal Peace By Indulging Internal Desires? Drugs, alcohol, sex and other great feelings of the flesh give immediate pleasure without any lasting return on their investment. I can get off on any of these but I cannot get from them what only God's Spirit can give - love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control [Galatians 5:22-23].
Lust is not love. Getting juiced is not joy. Passing out is not peace. Pacifying passion is not patience. Immediate gratification is not goodness. Killing all threats against me is not kindness. Following to be accepted is not faithfulness. Joking to demean others is not gentleness. Self-satisfaction is not self-control.
No one gains peace by peaceless personal gains. In fact, the ancient psalmist and prophet describes the way of people who seek happiness by always pursuing something to stir up their internal passions in this way.
People in a constant state of self-indulgence cannot rest. They are antsy, anxious, foot-bouncing, finger-tapping, ready to go somewhere, can't relax, and "stirred up" all the time. You can see why such people would be constantly claiming they "can't sleep" at night. They have what the psalmist and the prophet Isaiah speak of - a needy greedy drive to never be at peace about anything. They are consumed with anxious drives with "the need for speed" lest they stop long enough to contemplate the value of their actions. This is why "a party" is always exciting and motivating. Parties stimulate the senses to the max - depending on how much alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, ecstacy, sexual stimulants and other recreational flesh stimulators are provided. The world lives for the next fleshly rush to give itself meaning and purpose. Let's rave - and rant if we can't. Peace for the self-indulgent is some form of self-imposed stupor. Yes, it is a form of escape from the pressures of routine and responsibility. There is a reason why "stupor" and "stupid" come from the same root word, stupere, "to be greatly dulled" or "to be numb."
Parties are great as tension relievers and healthy social gatherings. "Living to party" is something totally different. The peace of self-indulgence is an incessant drive to never stay focused and always be distracted, finding no peace at all - never being able to come to rest in self or upon God.
Personal Peace By Indulging Material Desires? The financial crisis in the U.S. and around the world is directly related to consumerism, or what the Bible calls "the lust of the eyes." Material wealth has risen in the Western world and an expectation of material status in the culture goes along with it. Some homeless in the U.S. are still able to collect monthly support checks from the goverment that they consume at the first of the month with drugs and alcohol as they wait the last half of the month for their next taxpayer supported check to arrive so they can begin the cycle over again month to month. This is directly related to a culture of entitlement built into the economy. The insurance industry changed the major insurance approach in America from an insurance ideal based upon savings [Whole Life] to insurance based upon no savings that allow for immediate expenditures [Term Life] because that is the way the consumer culture wanted it. The fact that people were buying homes, automobiles and other consumables they could not afford is another evidence of the consumer "lust of the eyes" that grips America and the rest of the world. The need for major bailouts by banking sytems and the legal rape of American investment capital by CEOs is yet another example.
Entitling Next Generations for Economic Enslavement Positive material gains began in the post-World War II baby boomer years by responsible managers of wealth coming out of a major economic Depression and the self-controls and personal disciplines of going through two World Wars. But like all spoiling parents do, these post-war Baby Boomers [1950-1980] established next generations that followed in an expectation of continued consumer status based upon an attitude of entitlement. Expecting to live just like mom and dad without any of the frugality built into mom and dad by scrimping and saving to get through economic hard times, next generations have been given loans based upon their new credit status without any consideration of their maturity in character or faithfulness in paying those loans back. In effect, our contemporary credit structure, and its bottoming out need for bailouts for economic salvation, has proven the Bible correct in its ancient cultural principals of money management while turning an entire generation and its children into economic slaves as debtors.
The personal peace of material gain and ease has done to us exactly what the scriptures predict it will do.
The common sense solution [what we used to call "wisdom"] of course is to simply live within one's means and not borrow money that will enslave us to debt. But the lust of the eyes, inside and outside the church, "in the name of family status " or "in the name of Jesus," is an effort to create a heaven on earth of personal peace and affluence. We sell our souls to keep up with the Jones's next door.
The prophet's truism that "The steadfast mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You" [Isaiah 26:3] is exchanged for an imperfect peace by trust in Nike, Microsoft, Dell, AIG, Fannie May and Freddie Mac, the U.S. goverment and a long line of lesser corporate gods to which we attach our identities. Our imperfect striving after material peace becomes our lack of peace as we take our minds off of the true God of Peace.
Personal Peace By Pride in Political Power?
War is not peace unless peace is defined as having it your way over others. But without a common icon of peace for all to identify with, people will always choose sides of identity to war over "in the name of peace." Consequently, as cultures fragment, people will grasp for security by whatever means they feel will give them ultimate peace. And if that means powermongering over others to gain personal peace, so be it. "King of the Hill" is not just a children's game. I am glad to have had the personal peace in my life and nation because America has had the guts to stand up and be a leader for democracy in the world in opposition to dictatorial slavery of many kinds [racist, facist, etc.]. Have we always done it in the right way? No. Do we fail ourselves and our children when we stoop to the same tactics our enemies use to accomplish our goals. Yes. Does such behavior come back to haunt us in time. Yes.
The God of Peace Hates War (Biblically Speaking, "Shedding Man's Blood") God hates war as a means to peace [1 Chronicles 22:8-9]. God is truly the God of Peace. He works through wars for His perfect purposes among men. But the wars themselves come by the evil desires of men for power, position, and possessions. God is a realist. Until the hearts of men are redeemed by the God of Peace and changed by the Spirit of Peace entering into them, God works through the powermongering pride of men in spite of themselves. God gives victories and takes them away in this fallen world for His own grander purposes which we are not privy to just because we want to know [Acts 1:7]. But it is the hard hearts of men driven by irreligious and religious pride of conquest that create wars in the world - not God. So don't blame God for the wicked heart of mankind. God doesn't like it any more than you do. The Jewish-Arab Peace Song (with English Subtitles)
Some would say, "But He is God, can't He make all wars stop if He wanted to?" Of course, if He wanted to. But from the beginning of time God's attitude toward senseless killing has been established.
God feels the same way about men killing men that a Jewish and Arab mother or an Irish Catholic and Irish Protestant father feels when the child in his/her image is shot or blown to bits. His image on earth is being foolishly and senselessly slaughtered. But what is the punishment for such senseless blood shed recorded above? What you sow you will reap. Your judgment for blood shed that kills the image of God on earth will be more blood shed in return. God's hatred for the blood shed of war and all the injustices that accompany it is made clear in the book of wisdom in the Old Testment, Proverbs.
Is God for warring in any way - not at all. He hates it as an abomination. He hates it as much as any other abomination mentioned in the Bible. It is man who brings war after war upon himself by continual blood shed, not God.
Will It Ever Stop? We are told that God will stop all wars one day [Revelation 17:14; 19:11, 14-21]. But we forget all too easily that the sinfulness in mankind is its own judgment on sinners before God. Wars are a self-made curse upon Adam in his rebellion against God in his flesh. God delivers us over to ourselves because of our lack of focus on Him [Romans 1:18-23, 24, 26, 28]. Only by coming to the end of ourselves in seeking many forms of false peace in the world - whether, material, social, political, technological or whatever - will man be exasperated to the point of looking to God's solution for peace in the world. The cross of his resurrected Son and the Spirit of Peace that enters into hardened hearts by faith in that cross and all it represents concerning the rebellion dwelling in the flesh of men is God's solution for global peace - nothing more, nothing less.
"All things . . . whether things on earth or things in heaven" is a pretty comprehensive statement for a beyond global peace initiative. The cross of Jesus Christ and the resurrecting Spirit that comes by faith in that cross has always been God's means to global peace in the world. And as Jesus clearly says, anyone who climbs up some other way is a thief and a robber of the peace that God wants to give the world [John 10:1-18]. God's way, as revealed in His Son, is the only way to world peace.
Global Peace Without the God of Peace in Christ- Idealism Without Realism in Christ to Back It Up?
Identification with the things that are common in the goodness of man against those things that are evil in mankind is not evil in itself. We should not disdain the hunger in the world for global peace and a desire to seek out peace initiatives. Men of peace are honored in the Old Testament [Psalm 37:37] and blessed by Jesus himself [Matthew 5:9]. But identification with the goodness of man in the flesh does not deal with the rebellious nature of mankind in his flesh. As long as mankind is trusting in himself as "one family under God," the world will only have a shallow peace based upon an idealism that promotes peace from without among people with very real and honest differences rather than a realism rooted in a heart changing from within by God's Spirit of Peace in Christ alone. This longing and hunger for peace is not evil or illegitimate in any way. But if there is not one Way, one Truth, and one Life for all to ascribe to for such a peace, such a peace will not be possible in any real sense [John 14:6, 27]. It will remain an idealistic longing until the eternal God of Peace places His Spirit into every heart. But that Holy Spirit of Peace cannot enter in where there has been no cleansing from the selfish injustices and evils of mankind first. And that is what the cross of Jesus Christ is all about. Global Peace Festival 2008
Take It To Heart: How Does God Give Peace?
The Promise of a Prince of Peace God promised a Messiah of Peace who would rule the world with peace in righteousness. His government by peace would have a continuing increase. But only those who interpret "war as the means to peace" see the Messiah as a conquering ruler first. It never crosses the power-minded person that God would establish His kingdom first and foremost from the inside-out in the hearts of men and women on a global scale that stems far beyond a geopolitical space on a little plot of land somewhere in the Mideast. God's peace plan has a much larger scope to it.
But what if God began his kingdom reign through a Prince of Peace by first gathering subjects for His kingdom throughout time and then taking care of the geopolitical kingdom location much later? What if the God of peace planned putting the Prince of Peace into everyone's heart by faith first as they looked to a future when the Prince of Peace would reign on the throne of David? What if the establishment and upholding of this kingdom "with justice and righteousness" had nothing to do with imperial palace guards and loyal nationalist armies exercising power over others so as to "keep the peace" by force? What if God bypassed all the judicial systems in the world and went straight to the heart of the matter when it comes to justice and righteousness in the world? Instead of conquering people's lives from the outside-in by a forced religious domination, what if God's plan all along was to conquer mankind's heart from within - one peaceful takeover at a time - until a kingdom of citizens were created whose entire motives as a people were to be the "Israel of God" on earth wherever they were located until such time as the Messiah located His kingdom geopolitically in its rightful place?
Note the prophets conviction. It is the God of peace that establishes His peace, not us. God's peace does not come by a forced submission to His rule. God's peace comes by a willing submission that confesses His rule from within. God's plan was to have His Prince of Peace make citizenship in His kingdom a simple acknowledgment of God's means of personal relationship with men and women by faith. God would provide the place of this relationship. God would provide the means of this relationship. And God would call all of mankind to a relationship with himself, the God of Peace, in a single icon of peace which all the world could acknowledge as the single uniting factor of peace among men - a cross that points to the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
Who are the "both groups" mentioned above that God was going to reconcile in the blood of Jesus Christ's death on the cross? Jews under the Law of Moses and Gentiles [non-Jews of every kind] without Law or under a law of their own. God was going to first send His Messiah to die on a cross for the forgiveness of all of mankind's sins [John 1:29, 3:16; Hebrews 9:26]. Then he would raise His Messiah from the dead and take him home to heaven to wait upon members of his kingdom to enter that kingdom by faith in what their Messiah had done to bring the forgiveness of God for all sins to the hearts of all men who believe in God's means of salvation over their own efforts. Through the cross of the Christ, the Anointed One of God, God would fulfill his prediction in Isaiah of a kingdom of righteousness established and upheld by a Prince of Peace that would have no end to its increase. The Anointed One's death and resurrection would be the basis of a peaceful kingdom that would rise up in the hearts of every man, woman and child who put their trust in what the Messiah had done for them. God's righteousness and justice "under Law" would be totally fulfilled in the work of God's Prince of Peace innocently dying for the sins of the whole world by the judicial judgments of both Jews and Gentiles in their own court of Law. His sacrifice, as the Lamb of God, would be God's means of global peace throughout the world, a peace that was not gained by political dominance and force over others. God's peace would be obtained willingly by faith as the purpose of the Messiah's death before God became clear and submission to the Messiah's death and resurrection was internalized by receiving God's Spirit of Peace into the heart by faith in God's Son, Jesus the Christ.
The cross of Jesus Christ is God's means of global peace in the world. And God's kingdom continues to increase globally in the hearts of men, women and children daily, as people put their trust in that cross over time.
The God of Peace Sets Us Apart So where does global peace begin from God's perspective? From within the entire person in their intimate personal relationship to Jesus Christ. As we look forward to Christ's return one day to bring a geopolitical peace to the earth, the God of Peace is at work in us to set us apart to Himself in our spirit, our psyche [soul], and in the use of our bodies.
"Complete preservation without blame" is what God is doing today to bring global peace to the world. And notice, it is the same in the early church as it was in Isaiah 26:12-13. It is the God of Peace who sanctifies, not we ourselves. It is the God of Peace that sets our spirits apart to Himself. It is the God of Peace that sets our souls apart to Himself. It is the God of Peace that sets our bodies apart to Himself. And as this process continues to increase in believers throughout the world, global peace from within increases around the world. Not an idealistic peace that ignores true differences, but a realistic peace that dissolves unnecessary differences in personal relationships because of a mutual Spirit of Peace shared among all those "in Christ Jesus."
Only the sanctifying [setting apart] work of God in believers through the blood of the cross and the Spirit of Peace from within brings global peace to the world until Jesus comes to bring geopolitical peace.
The God of Peace Is Equipping Us and Working His Pleasure In Us
Equipping for every good thing comes from God for His good pleasure, not from ourselves. If we are looking to ourselves to accomplish what only God can accomplish in us, we are deceiving ourselves with self-righteous efforts "in God's name" or "in Jesus' name." Both the work of sanctification and the equipping of all of God's holy ones [saints] is by the Spirit of peace from within. To try and steal from God, what only His power in us can accomplish, is shear nonsense and foolishness. Every human effort at peace without the cross of Jesus Christ as the doorway to that peace, may be well intentioned and in the best interests of all mankind. But it will ultimately fail because it does not have the power to change the human heart as the Spirit of God can through faith in Jesus' death for the sins of all mankind.
The Canon of the Cross Equals Peace from the Inside Out
Many Christians boast in their denominational allegiance. Others boast in their Bible knowledge or commitment to the Ten Commandments or Law of Moses. Others boast in their theological tradition as a Calvinist or Arminian, or in some other favorite Christian doctrine or formula that sets them apart from other believers. Others boast in their associations with "big names" of leadership in the fundamental/evangelical world. And even more boast in the pop culture of Christianity at any one time in its history [pre-Constantine, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Traditional, Emergent, and Emerging]. The apostle Paul uses the strongest statement in Greek he can find [emoi me genoito, may it never be to me], to say that he will boast in nothing but the cross of Jesus Christ as a believer. Why? Because the cross is the standard of God by which God measures everything now. The cross is the way of the God of Peace. The cross is God's canon ruler for everything - not our traditions, our trends, our well-meaning theologies, our well intentioned efforts, or our honest and good hopes. The cross is literally the cross-hairs for every aim in and outside the Church of the living God. To fall away from the power and purpose of the cross for any other centralized purpose in or outside the church in the flesh of mankind, is to fall away from God's kingdom rule over the earth through the death of His Son for sin and the resurrection by the Spirit unto life and peace.
And the promise of God and the apostle is that everyone who lives by the standard of the cross alone will be covered by God with peace and mercy. Are there denominational sins? The Cross forgives and cleanses them, bringing peace and mercy to denominations. Are there sins of theological tradition? The cross forgives and cleanses them, bringing theological peace and mercy to minds renewed by the spirit of God in Christ theologically. Are there sins among the "big names" of fundamental/evangelical leadership, the cross forgives and cleanses them, bringing peace and mercy to Christian leaders in the world. Are there sins in the history of the church from its inception to our present day? The cross forgives and cleanses, bringing peace and mercy to the church as it is - not what it was or shoulda, coulda, and woulda be if only . . . . But let's take the power of the Cross further. Are there sins among nations through religious powermongering, child abuse, sexual slavery, racial hatred, tribal conflicts, family incest, drug abuse, alcoholism, greed, lust and pride of every kind? The Cross of Christ forgives and cleanses, bringing peace and mercy to the world as it is - not what it was or shoulda, coulda, and woulda be if only . . . .
The Cross is God's means of global peace through forgiveness and purifying love by His Spirit alone manifesting itself in the hearts of men, women and children everywhere. It is what the world hungers for, cries out for, protests war for, marches for, and rallies for in numerous idealistic ways. The cross of Christ is the root and ground of peace and mercy inside and outside the church and as soon as we take our eyes off it in relation to ourselves or the world around us, our peace disappears and our mercy for each other as a channel from God before a watching world disappears. We dry up as a channel of God's peace and mercy in the world and become useless to God and the world at the same time - all because something other than the cross became our reason for being. All because we fell away from our "first love" for something related to it in the world like political allegiances, doctrinal differences, "big names," and historical traditions.
Prayer As The Path to the God of Peace
"In everything by prayer" and never by anxiety. Wow! Aren't we all wrestling with that one? It feels like I am really doing something when I am anxious about it. It feels like I really care about the issues when I worry about them. Climbing up on my soap box with my panties all bent out of shape has got to be the expression of real commitment and care, doesn't it? It feels so right to be so concerned in my anxious fears. Yes, I suppose that is how anxieties make us feel. But these feelings demonstate a total lack of faith in a God who has the power to set things aright without our help. Prayer says that we believe there is a God who is really there. And the reward of our belief that there is a God who is really there [Hebrews 11:6], is His peace overwhelming our comprehension of the circumstances and calming us mentally and emotionally through absolute trust "in Christ Jesus." Prayer is the path to the God of Peace.
Character Development as the Expression of the Presence of the God of Peace
These are the words of a man writing from prison chained to a Roman guard. Could you have peace in prison, knowing you were innocent and charged for trying to set people free with a knowledge of God's global peace initiatives for the world through the Cross and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah of Israel and Prince of Peace for the world? Who are your mentors for peace? Who are you learning peace from? Who are you receiving peace from? Who are you seeing peace in? Whose practices of peace in the world are you emulating? The God of peace is with those who are at peace in their character by means of true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and good reputations. Can you make a list of such people in your life? Could you write an essay of what you have learned, received, heard and seen practiced by them? Why should we think we will be people of peace if we are not mentored by people for peace? The God of peace is with such people.
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The Peaceless Kingdoms Without
Have you considered that it is "peaceless" people in the world that is the real problem when it comes to global peace? Those who want to stir up trouble by sowing seeds of discord in deceptive ways are the real peace stealers in our world today [Proverbs 6:14, 19]. |
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These kind of people can be found in neighborhoods, in businesses, in churches, in families, in government leadership, in Christian and nonChristian leadership, and many other places of influence that continue to keep people "stirred up" all the time instead of living with an attitude of peace in a quiet atmosphere. They have existed through the ages and since the beginnings of church history [Galatians 2:4-5].
The Christian is called to "lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty" by first and foremost a prayer life that focuses on all men, including political leaders everywhere [1 Timothy 2:1-2]. Since God's means of passing the peace on is the introduction of people to the good news of His Son's death and resurrection [1 Timothy 2:3-6], Christians are not called to be rabble rousers and disturbers of the peace in their local communities. A godly character is a peaceful character.
The Peaceful Kingdom of God from Within
Psalm 37:37 Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright; For the man of peace will have a posterity.
Rom 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
Heb 12:14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.
Rom 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
The Scope of a Peaceful Christian - All Men
What is the scope of a peaceful Christian? To be at peace with everyone as much as possible. Drawing lines of distinction for definition is not Christian - even if those lines exist by personal convictions. Identifying our Christianity by what we eat or do not eat is not Christian. Setting ourselves apart from others based on what we drink or do not drink is not a Christian act born of God's Spirit of righteousness, peace, and joy. God's kingdom of peace does not operate this way.
But many would rather promote their own righteousness instead of God's righteousness in Christ. They want people to know their rules "in Jesus name" so they can set themselves apart from others as better in religious pride. But this is not the sanctification of God by the Holy Spirit. Others are quick to make their dieting habits a definition of who they are. But none of this is of God's Holy Spirit. It is simply of the flesh "in God's name" or "in Jesus' name."
Adapting, As Needed, to All Men in Peace
It may be necessary to adapt to others dietary laws in some faiths to maintain a healthy peace and respect for other's convictions as much as possible [1 Corinthians 9:19-23]. But the Christian is not "under law" now [Romans 6:14-15; Galatians 5:18]. He or she is only bound to a justice that loves others peacefully. If that means self-denial for the sake of another's conscience [1 Corinthians 8:7-13], so be it. But as a rule of life, all Christians are free to be at peace with all rules of conscience among all men, as long as they remain under the law of Christ in the process [Romans 10:4, 1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 2:16, 21; Philippians 3:9].
Remaining Free in the Peace of Christ
All things are lawful for a Christian living out God's kingdom from within [1 Corinthians 6:12, 10:23]. But such freedom scares some believers to death because they have to exercise such freedom by faith in the power of God's Spirit over leaving a safe prison cell of self-made rules of behavior. The problem with many believers is that they really don't believe in a Holy Spirit that guides us into all truth [John 16:13] so that we will not come into bondage to things that can addict us if we participate in them.
Still living under the legalism of their fleshly fears, some Christians adopt self-made rules of behavior that displace the power of God's canon rule in the Cross of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit [Galatians 6:14-16]. It is the blood of Jesus to cleanse our conscience [Hebrews 9:14] and the Spirit's self-control [Galatians 5:22-23] that keep us "unmastered" by anything as we exercise our freedom in Christ to build up others rather than tear them down with man-made rules of division that engender only warring divisions instead of peace.
In the history of the Church in all ages, even at the highest levels of church authority from the beginning [Galatians 2:4-16], there has been varying forms of legalistic behaviors to divide the body of Christ. But the kingdom of God arising from within by the Spirit of Peace and Grace does away with these hypocritical barriers by means of God's righteousness, God's true peace, and God's joy.
The God of Peace in the Church Which Is in the World
Psalm 29:11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.
God wants His people to have strength and peace. These are His gift and blessing to us. This is why striving for strength and/or peace is totally unnecessary. If we lack strength or peace, it is God we need to seek above all things, not His by-products. His gifts and blessings come from Him, not from themselves. The world around us believes that changing conditions of alliance and allegiance among the peoples of the world will bring strength and peace. Not at all. Only as a deeper relationship with God Himself grows for each individual will the strength and peace of God manifest itself into the world through people.
Act 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
The context of Acts 9 is that of the persecutions upon early Christians by Jews and Romans brought about by a Hebrew trained as a Pharisee in one of the finest schools of Hebrew learning at Jerusalem. This intellectual star of David led the political oppression of Christianity as a Jewish sect - before he came face to face with the resurrected Jesus, the Christ, on the road to Damascus [Acts 9:1-3].
After meeting Jesus and then using his keen mind to defend the Christian faith with Jews in Jerusalem, which amazed everyone, Paul was freely expressing his intelligent faith in Christ throughout Jerusalem, as an orthodox Jew of the highest order. The fact that Saul, who was now Paul, was preaching the very faith that he was once persecuting was the equivalent of Osama Bin Laden becoming a Christian and going on an evangelical preaching tour with Billy Graham around the world.
Do you see how relieved, and yet amazed, Jewish and Gentile Christians in Jerusalem and its surrounding areas would be? God himself was establishing the Christian faith in His own personal way and this was bringing peace of mind to all persecuted believers in a conflicted culture of dual religious persuasions. The God of Peace can bring peace to his church by personally changing the most adverse people to Christian faith from the inside out.
But this tells us the part Christians play in bringing global peace in a world of divided religious allegiance. How many leaders in active opposition to the Christian faith throughout the world and in your local community do you have on your prayer list for their conversion? If Global peace through the cross of Christ is God's means of taking over the world from within, how much do we need to be on our knees for those in the greatest opposition to us? Study 1 Timothy 2:1-8 in light of Paul's conversion experience to Christ in Acts 9. Then get out a pen and piece of paper and begin making your leadership list of "kings and all who are in authority" who need "one God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus" [1 Timothy 2:5].
Remember, scripture makes global peace God's responsibility through Christ, not our responsibility through compromised allegiances of interfaith. We must respect the longings of those of various faiths in their honest desires for global peace. We want global peace as much as they do - or we should. But we have to stay true to God's canon rule for global peace - the cross of Jesus Christ [Galatians 6:14-16]. So the key leaders of various nations and religions around the world should be on our prayer list for those we want to come to Christ. It is the God of peace who makes peace begin in the hearts of all men, not us. Do you believe this? Then act on it.
The God of Peace in All the Churches of the Saints
1 Corinthians 14:33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
The context of 1 Corinthians 14 is that of Christians stepping on one another in spiritual pride as each one tries to show off his spiritual gifts in the worship assembly. Such a worship service was a sham and shame to the God of Peace who does all things "properly and in an orderly manner" [1 Corinthians 14:40, the concluding verse of the chapter by the way].
Worship assembly's given to a lack of order, so anyone can speak up when they feel like it and disturb the peace of the meeting as a holistic sharing time, is not of God according to Paul. And those Christians who treat it as such are ignorant of their Bible's direction in this [1 Corinthians 12-14] as well as belligerent in their practices of climbing all over each other "in the name of Jesus."
But besides Paul's clear teaching concerning this as an apostle of Jesus Christ, think of the embarrassment to Christ and the jokes the world makes of Christians throughout history because of our willingness to supposedly "let the spirit move" people as they please in the meeting place. Such practices are not born of the God of Peace in any of the churches of the holy ones [saints].
Public sharing among believers is a part of true worship assembly [1 Corinthians 14:23-33]. The clamming up of the body into complete silence before a stage of performers is an extreme in the opposite direction of what the Corinthians were practicing in church. But such sharing, when it is done, has healthy organic rules of respect built into it that reverences God and others over selfish opportunities to command and demand personal attention "in Jesus name."
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
There is much packed into the context of 2 Corinthians 13. It is rich. But fortunately, the verse above is a summation verse to the whole book, commending the Corinthians to the spirit that should control the church as a whole. It is a great verse to close this focus on the God of Peace in the Church. It tells us exactly what must characterize any church in order to have the God of love and peace in attendance.
Wow! Have you considered that God may not be attending your assembly of Christians at all? And He has specific reasons for not doing it!
1. Rejoice!
A joyful assembly of believers is not possible without God's Spirit of joy giving life to the body. If there is no effort at rejoicing, God must not be there.
2. Be made complete!
"Be fitted out" or "completely furnished" by means of "accomplishment" [See Vines Expository Dictionary]. It is the Word of God that thoroughly furnishes and equips every true man of God to accomplish His purposes in the world[ 2 Timothy 3:16-17]. The completion could be in time, space, or manner. The idea is this - transformational change over time that achieves God's purposes in the world is to be part of the character of every church or God will no longer show up. If people are not actively growing in their application of truth within the culture, they are not being led by God at all. They are simply running a social club of friends and family in attendance. If God wanted to go to a social club, He would join the Lions Club or Rotary International.
3. Be like-minded!
Would you want to go to a church where no one agreed on anything? Neither does the God of Love and Peace. A body of believers with God in regular attendance is in general, of "the same mind." Single-mindedness is a strength for people and groups. God thinks so too. Divisions, splits, debates, quarrels, and constant "stirred up" issues are not characteristic of any church a God of Peace and Love would attend.
4. Live in peace!
Peace marks the church fellowship where the God of Peace and Love is a faithful member.
The God of Peace Defeats the Devil Under Our Feet
Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
Here we have another book of Paul's writings where he ends the last chapter with the God of peace taking action in the church in some way. The book of Romans is all about the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people [Romans 1:16-17] and its meaning, purpose, and outworking into the world. So when Paul concludes the book, he lets the church, given over to the Gospel of Jesus, know how God plans to defeat its worse enemy. He is going to crush the devil under their (our) feet.
Note who does the crushing - the God of Peace Himself. Once again, the God of Peace is the one acting on behalf of His people. It is not about God's people forcing some kind of arbitrary peace on others. The God of Peace does not fight fire [Satan, the Destroyer or the Devil, the Divider] with fire [more destruction and division]. This is not the way of the God of Peace in Christ.
Let me give you a picture of what this verse says the God of Peace is going to do with the devil as the Gospel of Jesus is spread through planted church after planted church in the world. The word "crush" means "to bruise" or "trample under foot." Now imagine a fiery red devil, your classic red devil with horns and a tail, turning black and blue as Christians bring the Peace of Christ to every warring, divided and destructive location throughout the earth. God never wants people beat black and blue - never. But the devil? Welcome to real spiritual warfare in the world of the God of Peace.
As this is done, God's word to the Devil before Adam and Eve and Christ's words to the Church are fulfilled from place to place.
Genesis 3:14 The LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life;
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel."Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
Revelation 12:10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.
Revelation 12:11 "And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.
The Holy Spirit douses the fires of war in the world with godly peace through holy ones [saints] given over to a peace rising from within their hearts. This is how the kingdom of God brings worldwide peace to the nations - through the Cross of Christ and the real presence of God in His people revealing itself in single-minded peaceful fellowships testifying to Christ from place to place throughout the globe. Have you been to church with the God of Peace lately?
Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Romans 15:33
Gary Hinchman
The Idol of Personal Peace and Affluence - Part 1
by Francis A. Schaeffer
This series from How Shall We Then Live [1977] is here for those Christians who enjoy thinking culturally about their faith in Christ and how it relates to popular culture. This is 2009. In 1977, Francis Schaeffer sought to give an honest critique of modern men and women who think without the God revealed in the Bible as their reason for being.
The Making of Culture by Andy Crouch
Prince of Peace, God of War [1:00:26]
by John Campea
John Campea has created a documentary film on the issue of being a Christian in relation to war through interviews with evangelical theologians from a variety of different positions.
Church and Culture by Andy Stanley
Peace, Shalom, Salaam Aleikum