Prescriptions For Peace

While many people are preparing recipes for disaster, I thought we could wrap up our peace study with a question and answer session. I read some celebrity answers in book, most were pretty bad, lame or even awful, except for Mother Teresa. So what is the best prescription for peace? Jesus, the Great Physician wrote it.

His peace is a gift. John 14:27

Sow peace if you can, if you can’t, shake the dust and move on.

Blessed are the peacemakers. From the Beatitudes Matthew 5.

Read and study, meditate on His peace.

Rest in His peace.

Find your quiet place.

Make time for Jesus, pursue the Prince of Peace.

You can ask your family and friends what is their prescription for peace. Here are some of my suggestions. Please leave a comment.

I hope you have enjoyed our study. I am including a PDF here of July, It may vary a little. Free to use, just leave my name.

Rebecca Jones Kate Hliznitsova /Unsplash

The Peace Of July

His Peace, Received.

As we near the end of our study on peace, I though it would be nice just to recap a little. You can never have too much peace. Our foundational verse is John 14:27.  And His peace is a gift I can promise you that. As I write this, there is another wrinkle being tossed my direction and you know what, His peace is right here.

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27, from the New Living translation. Although, I do like the ” Peace, I leave unto ones and my peace I give you. ”

There is nothing like His peace. I mentioned that He has dealt with me about peace for over a couple of years. I have to admit that my peace had really been challenged but no more. Not today, devil! Or any day! His peace is my gift and I lay hold to it anytime something starts to bother me.

I want my mind to be focused and stayed or fixed on Him, not the problem, but the answer. Let’s take a look at what Isaiah says…..Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. Isaiah 26:3 What better place for you mind to be than on Jesus when the bills pile up, sickness strikes or you are worn out?

Then there is the beautiful Isaiah 57:19, Peace to him who afar off and peace to him who is near, and I will heal him. Isaiah was a prophet who was happily married but even when his wife died, he was not allowed to mourn. I suppose his calling was to keep prophesying and move on. I’m sure that took peace.

And then there is the verse from Isaiah 53, that we will study about next month. Jesus wore that crown of thorns for my peace and yours. No wonder, it passes understanding. Thick, two inch thorns that were wound tightly and place on His head. No doubt, an already beaten and bloodied Lord, was blinded and perhaps had to wipe the blood away even to carry the cross into more pain and punishment.

I see Him suffering, so I would not have to. Can you? It is why I am so interested in absorbing His peace and telling others about it.  It is why I know that by His wounds we are healed. I hope to portray Christ in words, the horror that He endured for peace and healing.

Keep studying His peace and receiving it, we all have His gift as believers and we have to receive it daily in our walk with Him. It is not something that we can take lightly or ignore as we live in the troubled last days, our hearts will not be troubled as long as we have His peace.

Rebecca Jones pexels or unsplash, I will try to find the photographer’s name.

 

Peace Loving

We are familiar with the verse about the last days in the Bible where people are lovers of pleasure and of themselves more than God. While I have found that to be true, even having been told that you only have one life you might as well have fun, ( if you call drugs, jail, losing custody of children and being homeless fun ) I can assure you peace is better.

I have had so many things happen to me that I did not expect in serving Christ. I was not a missionary or at least there in a hostile country, but that verse holds true here in the States, as people go their way. I found myself relying more and more on His peace. John 14:27.

So many are concerned with the pandemic, financial crisis and other cares, but there are those who go on seeking their own satisfaction and not finding it, because Jesus is truly the only one who can satisfy the soul. I would advise believers to cling to the gift of His peace, if life appears to be a struggle or even a battlefield, He is might to save and a might warrior, God’s name in the Old Testament is El Gibbor, meaning just that. He gave Jesus the name above them all, all the names of God rolled into one and especially, the Prince of Peace.

I pray Psalm 91 protection over us and that we are able to receive the gift of peace as we walk through our lives in expectation of His return. I pray for a safe and happy summer, with lots of joy and fun, but with the Lord’s presence always close by.

And no matter what comes, whether it is illness, worry, a low bank account, or something unexpected even spiritual warfare, angels are working for you, God the Holy Spirit resides in you, and Jesus overcame so we could, that is peace, peace the world does not have or offer.

I love Jesus for what He has done for me but more so for His sacrifice, He saw me before I ever existed and called my name, and I desire, meditate on, and love His peace.

Rebecca Jones  Thiago Miranda / Unsplash

Officers Of Peace

Ever wonder where the phrase peace office came from. Well, here is the verse. Instead of bronze, I will bring gold, instead of wood, bronze and instead of stones, iron. I will appoint peace as your officers and righteousness your taskmasters. Isaiah 60:17

With a lot of rioting going on and a virus outbreak causing fear, I realize that lawless will one day abound and that the man of sin, the Antichrist will try to lure everyone into a false peace.

God is the God of peace, His law is love and His gospel peace. It is important to have peace officers and law and government, one day, it will all be on the shoulders of Christ, actually, it is and there is little time before He returns for His church in my opinion.

Let’s look at the symbolism here, gold for bronze, the riches and glory of God for a lesser metal, silver is redemption, iron can be power, and wood relates to the flesh, what stones, he is referring to I am not sure, there are various degrees of value. God will give us better, His exchange is always better.

The next verse mentions violence leaving, wouldn’t that be great. People cry out for justice, but who decides that? Only God is truly just, I like that He appoints peace officers, wouldn’t His peace officers be great? They would not make human mistakes, and righteousness, none of us are that except for Christ taking your place.

While we still have time, let’s try to be lawful and respectful. I understand trying times and unrest, all lives matter, but what matters most is where you spend eternity, and how you live your life now and what you believe, Jesus is there for us, with all the evil that is attacking what is right, that is all the more reason to seek Jesus and pursue His peace.

Rebecca Jones public domain photo

Great Peace

A verse in Isaiah 54 reminds us of His peace, and His covenant of peace. Along with fear, terror or torment, being not from Him, and no weapon formed against us will prosper, we learn that children taught of or by the Lord will have great peace.

The Lord, Himself, by His Spirit will teach us children or even His grown up children are taught of the Lord and our peace will be great, huge, abundant peace.

Now, that is life and life more abundantly, from John 10:10. What a blessing to be living in His peace, the peace of John 14:27. I can say that He has taught me about peace for over a couple of years now and that it has both permeated and infused my soul.

I needed great peace, and I think all believers do. Especially, in the last days, as He restores us in many ways. He will bless us with His peace. We want to be taught of Lord, by the Lord. By His precious Spirit, we will have great peace. I like the word great because it is indicative of the massive love and grace of the Lord.

God is great begins the blessing and His peace is as vast as the heavens and as deep as the sea. What a precious, precious gift from the Lord. Great peace, His peace. John is such a wonderful book about the Lord and Isaiah tells us of His peace, the peace of God.

How much greater from Old Testament to New, the great peace taught us by Lord, our Prince of Peace. It may be summer and hot but there is a cool breeze in the wind of His Spirit. And great is His peace, are we ready for that as He returns in the near future?

You may like to read all of the chapter, and while it may sound like He uses the enemy against us, the comma could be in the wrong place as there were no punctuation as we know it, nor numbered chapter and verse. While He created the devil as an archangel, iniquity was found in him and he is nothing more that a fallen angel, defeated by Christ, who gives us authority over him by using the name of Jesus. God makes it plain that fear, terror and torment is not from Him.

The phrase created the waster to destroy, is what may concern us. But I think it could read created the waster, ( for Jesus ) to destroy. That is the implication. Of course our faith may be refined, God may put us to the test but He is right there, He is not out to hurt us only to let us grow in grace.

Rebecca Jones   Anna / Unsplash

Being At Peace

You know I looked up some Hebrew and Greek definitions of peace, we already talked about that being shalom, more than hello or goodbye, even peace, more like how is your peace, nothing missing or broken or amiss, and eirene pronounced i-ray-nay. Eirene is from the verb eiro and means to join or bind together that which has been broken, divided or separated. Eirene is the root of our English word serene, free of storms, undisturbed, marked by utter calm. Eirene literally is binding and joining together again what has been separated, being one once more.

That was a definition I found that I liked, being at peace with yourself, comfortable in your own skin. Many of us aren’t. Especially women, but I know men, too. We are all to ______________. You can fill in the blank. Remember, Jesus body, and how resurrection restored Him to peace, He was punished for our peace.

What if God filled it in. We are His masterpieces, even if He is working on some of these works of art, and He, Himself, is our peace. Ephesians 2:10 and 2:14. Isn’t it great the way they are worded so close together? Let’s see what God says we are.

A Temple — I am God’s temple and His Spirit dwells in me. 1 Corinthians 6:19

Accepted — …to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He [made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6

Beloved — As indeed He says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’” Romans 9:25

Blessed — Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Psalm 40:5

Favored — For you bless the righteous, O LORD, you cover him with favor as with a shield. Psalm 5:12

Led —  I am being led by the Spirit of God, I am a daughter of God. Romans 8:14

Loved — I have loved you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

Pure — He washed me with pure water. Ephesians 5:22 Hebrews 10:26

Strong — I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Submissive — ( to God ) The devil flees from me. James 4:7

Here are ten good things God declares over us and if He declares it so should we. daily affirmations are a necessity to keep His peace alive in our hearts during trying times. Believe me, it is not entitlement, arrogance or being bratty. It was the promises  of God’s will by giving His dearly beloved Son.

As a sincere believer, we are tenderhearted and sensitive to Him and can be easily hurt, offended, which we have to avoid. Standing on His promises is vital to being a healthy, happy believer. I have been offline a while but have caught up on some blogging and will update the Pinterest board below, so check back soon. As always, thank you for reading and I pray I have blessed you.

I want to peace, to be at peace with myself and with my Lord, and I pray your are as well.

Rebecca Jones / Pixabay / All photos are made on Adobe Spark.

The Beloved’s Crown Of Peace

Isaiah 53 is a prophetic word about Jesus coming and the crucifixion, the whole chapter reveals Him beaten, scourged, for our healing. But the crown of thorns He wore brought us mental peace.

Now, a lot of people may have trouble with that, even believers suffering through mental anguish, and I understand that. But Jesus is the same, always. He doesn’t change. His words don’t change, but spoken over us, they can change us.

The Bible has a lot to say about minds, renewing them, having the mind of Christ. It teaches us about thoughts, words and actions. Though it may be difficult to believe when you are suffering, the focus will be easier as He reveals His love, look at the risen Christ and the beauty of His sacrifice.

These were no ordinary thorns, I have seen them. They are thick and up to two inches long. And they were not placed gently on His head either. You can imagine them so deep as to even pushed into His skull, I would have said brain but He had no broken bones or at least not legs as were the practice to hurry along death. It does say His bones were out of joint, no wonder.

I had trouble with pain and identifying with His, I suffered. But it was a release to know He carried a cross so I would not have to. He wore the crown of thorns for me to have a crown of peace, and even if that is not specific to any verse of Scripture, it is not just one I made up. Not poetic license or a the imagination of a writer.

Jesus wore a crown of thorns for our peace, Isaiah prophesied it years before He was born. His punishment or chastisement brought us peace. His crown for ours. His punishment our peace.

Don’t disqualify yourself from receiving healing or peace. It is a gift and a promise to believers, many people think they aren’t good enough, holy enough, that it is not for today.

They are even afraid of taking Communion, all they have to do is keep a repentant heart and not be a willing sinner, ignoring the words of Christ altogether. You will, not only grieve the Spirit but insult Him.

Jesus sacrifice was a once and for all, it was all the blood that had to be shed and is in heaven. It is over believers. You may not be good enough for Jesus but He is good enough for you! It is only His goodness, that allows us healing, peace or even the next breath.

Read and meditate on Isaiah 53, especially, under mental duress, you can even ask Him for a crown of peace to replace what is bothering you, and if those thoughts or imaginations come back, remember, not to give up your crown for one that is like thorns. Worry, fear, torment are all like that.

Psalm 127:2 teaches that He gives sleep to the beloved. As believers, the Father accepted us into the family through Jesus, His beloved son. We are to be the beloved, and why wouldn’t He give the beloved a crown of peace?

Rebecca Jones

Eyre June Bustamante / Unsplash

Peace Like A River

Did you know that if we do what we should, we will have peace like a river? I have a beautiful blue river going through a canyon to illustrate it. Here’s the verse.

Oh, that you would have hearkened to my commandments, then your peace and prosperity would be like a river and your righteousness like waves of the sea. Isaiah 48:18

While this is Isaiah speaking God’s word to those coming out of captivity, and can refer to the Ten Commandments, it is Old Testament and how much more are we to follow the new commandment of Jesus, to love God and one another. I think that covers the ten. He fulfilled the law and the prophets and put us under grace an truth, we are not living under the old covenant but the new, not what Paul calls the ministry of death, which saved many, but the ministry of the Spirit. We should be seeing salvation, and if we did what we should, we would be experiencing peace like a river.Now, not everyone is going to do that. They will not like it and they may not even believe it. Many people will cling to the Ten Commandments, and while you can have respect for them, Jesus did bring us grace and peace.

He is the way, truth and life. I just love reading and living in the words of Jesus in John. He is our peace, left us His peace, is the Prince of Peace and He will be our peace like a river if we do what we should to begin with. Sounds easy enough, right? Yet, people are stubborn and self righteous, and many won’t give Him a chance to teach them by the Spirit, but that is the way to peace like a river.

I could hardly believe that when I first read it. While none of us may do exactly what we should, all the time, we have all had times when we knew it could be a mistake, and went on ahead. Perhaps, the Lord even tried to warn us and we failed to hear His voice.

The good thing about grace is a fresh start, even if we go back, repent or allow Him to heal something broken or missing in our lives or hearts, He will. He can even cause us to remember when it was, and we can still know peace like a river, and this time, make better decisions. He is always the right one.

Rebecca Jones  Alexy Topolyanskyi / Unsplash

Peaceful Thoughts

The Lord fights for you, you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

He leads me beside still waters. Psalm 23

Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7

He keeps our tears in a bottle. Psalm 56:8

The Lord Himself watches over you. Psalm 121:5

He gives sleep to the beloved. Psalm 127:2

He gives His angels charge and covers us with His feathers. Psalm 91

How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity. Psalm 133:1

The Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. Isaiah 63:14

Consider the lilies, they toil not. Nether do they spin. Matthew 6:28

Come away to a lonely place and rest yourself for awhile. Mark 6:31

Let not your heart be troubled. John 14:27

He gives us grace upon grace. John 1:16

I am the Good Shepherd, I lay down my life for my sheep. John 10:11

You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. Ephesians 1:13

I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5

Casting my cares upon Him for He cares for me.1 Peter 5:7

And so many more, Phillipians 4:8 tells us to think good things, what are some of your peaceful thoughts? Write them down in a  journal, or leave a comment. I love to hear from my readers.

Marius Mauresan / Unsplash

This post is from July 2020. As I have had that on my heart I wrote about it all July and am working on Christmas Peace, peace for all December.

Healing Verses To Study /August Preview

We can always read the whole chapter of Isaiah 53, every word is important, but here is our foundational verse.

But He was pierced for our transgressions;
He was crushed for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, ( or punishment )
and with His wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

I am the Lord who heals you. Exodus 15:26

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears and I will  heal you. 2 Kings 20:5

He heals the brokenhearted. Psalm 17:3

Lord, my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. Psalm 30:2

He sent His word and healed them. Psalm 107:20

Return to your rest my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. Psalm 116:7

I will take up the cup of saving health and invoke the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:13

A merry heart does good like a medicine. Proverbs 17:22

Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise. Jeremiah 17:14

I will restore health to you and heal your wounds says the Lord. Jeremiah 30:17

I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security. Jeremiah 33:16

He keeps me in perfect peace when my mind is on Him. Isaiah 26:3

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him. Isaiah 57:18,19

The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. Matthew 8:8

Take heart daughter, your faith has made you well. Matthew 9:22

I can do all things through Him who gives me strength. Phillipians 4:13

But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength. 2 Timothy 4:17

Here are a few of them and you can look up others, some are from different translations, and I may have shortened some and below is a link to  a 100 verses and one for 20 and you can pin them to your Pinterest boards.

https://www.openbible.info/topics/healing

https://www.countryliving.com/life/g31930551/bible-verses-about-healing/