Tag Archives: Peace

September 21, 2013

Refreshing News

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 25:25

25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

Tough Times

Nobody really likes war.

They are dangerous, costly in economically and physically, and it shows the violence and hatred within humanity.

As I write this, Syria has been in a major internal conflict, and chemical weapons may have played a role. Several countries have considered getting involved.

Fortunately, we heard recently that Russia is working with Syrian leaders to remove chemical weapons and perhaps ease tensions between the two sides.

While it is still playing out as of this moment, it is a relief to know we may not have to send our young men and women into danger and the Syrians may get a break from the bloodshed.

Refreshing Drink

If you have ever hiked a considerable distance in the heat, you appreciate a cold glass of water. As the verse today states, getting good news is like that, such as feeling the tension of a possible armed conflict and hearing it may have been averted. When your mind and body can relax after that much tension and adrenaline, it is so refreshing to drink in that kind of news.

May you do not need to imagine this, but imagine with me that you have lived a life full of troubles. You have had a string of bad relationship after bad relationship. You lost a loved one. Your finances never seem to meet all of your obligations and needs. You have been mistreated by loved ones. You struggle with trusting anybody.

You just want some rest and peace. You would love some water for your tired soul.

Jesus offers some good news. As He said to the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 (NIV):

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Drinking of the Holy Spirit, God coming into us by believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for our sins, is only true refreshing we can get from the pain this world gives us.

As we trust Him, he fills our souls with Himself and releases and redeems our hurts and fears, giving us full rest. As He said elsewhere, “28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Lord Jesus, grant us Your peace and refresh our souls by Your Holy Spirit. Help us to trust You and to overcome our circumstances.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in hope, Mercy, Peace, Trust the Lord

June 7, 2013

I’ll Get You For This!

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 20:22

22 Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.
22 Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you. (NIV)

Growing up, my siblings and I frequently were at odds over things. One of us would do something to one of the others that was down right mean, usually over something trivial. The usual response from whichever of us was wronged?

“I’ll get you for this!”

And we tried.

The usual result was the same, too: two or all three of us would be in trouble with mom and dad!

Forgive Your Brother

The Apostle Peter once asked Jesus, “Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?” (Matthew 18:21)

Jesus’ response was and is revolutionary. He told Peter, “Not only seven times, but seventy times seven!”

In other words, you need to forgive those who wrong you as many times as they wrong you!

One of two things will happen as you forgive:

  1. God deals with them personally, whether through consequences or at the Final Judgment.
  2. They seek to understand your forgiveness and turn to God!

Another way to think about is that you can live in sin by responding to their sin, and in effect kill both of your souls; or you follow God’s will and potentially save both of your souls and bring glory to God!

Gracious Lord, thank You that You did not respond to our evil with evil, instead using our evil to redeem us and forgive us. Give us the strength to forgive those who have wronged us, as You forgave us.

2 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Peace, sin, Warnings

May 6, 2013

Repeat Offenders

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 19:19

19 A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again.
19 A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again. (NIV)

Foe-Worker

I once worked with a young man whose uncle was the manager.

He did not like me. I did what was required of me and tried to help everyone get along, while he did the bare minimum and got into fights with everyone.

Nobody really liked him, and we all tried to report each of his offenses. His uncle simply shrugged it all off and covered for him.

This guy did not like being corrected, being told he was wrong, or being told what to do. He would get angry each time, even over the simplest of things.

He would get into a fight over something, and things would have to be fixed by the rest of us. His uncle would cover for him, and the next day it would happen again.

Motivational Churches

Too many churches today preach a message of positive thinking and good works. The message tends to be somewhere along the lines of being sincere, doing enough good works to look good, or to keep plugging away until things work out well.

The pastors and leaders of these churches are little better than motivational speakers.

The danger of preaching these kinds of messages: without any acknowledgement of our sins, we are cursed to repeat them.

Many people, through only receiving these messages, never come to realize the true need for a Savior. This is not Someone who necessarily saves them from the effects of their sins, because He wants them to know the dangers of their sins.

This Someone saves us from the eternal implications.

Merciful Savior, grant us control of our emotions. Help us to find the peace only You can offer, that we may be at peace with ourselves, our world, and with You, that we may help others overcome this world and not fall into trouble time and time again.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Warnings

February 20, 2013

Killing Me Softly

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 16:29

29 A violent man enticeth his neighbour, and leadeth him into the way that is not good.

The past few verses have been about the person who causes trouble. Whether it is by creating the trouble, stirring the trouble, or capitalizing on the trouble.

That is essentially what this verse continues saying, even taking another step further.

In verse 27 we learn that the ungodly person can not wait to start problems. In verse 28 we learn that this person even lets these problems come between friends.

Specifically, in verse 28 we begin to see how sneaky the violence in our hearts can be, because “a whisperer separateth chief (best) friends.”

God speaks in a still, small voice (a whisper). It would seem that Satan does, as well.

Loves Company

Perhaps you have heard the term “Misery/Evil loves company.” This is just saying that sad people like having other sad people around to commiserate with them. Likewise, evil people only want other evil people around them (because good people remind them of their guilt).

Verse 29 shows us that those whispers may not separate friends (at least immediately).

In fact, the one who allows violence of the heart (hatred, wanting to hurt others/animals, envy, distrust, paranoia, etcetera) to thrive inside will attempt to convince their friends to follow them. They will speak convincing words and attempt to sway you of their rightness (self-righteousness).

If you follow them into this violence of the heart, you will become just like them. You will live out this violence.

You will gradually fall away from God’s truth, because God is the God of love and peace. As Casting Crowns put it, “It’s a slow fade.”

It is as though your friends whisper death into your ears, and you slowly die inside as you listen to their whispers.

You may not go to hell, but you will be guilty of hindering the work of God in your life and the life of your friends.

God of Peace, do not let us give in to the violence in our hearts. Protect our ears and our hearts from the whispers of those who would lead us astray.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , | posted in counsel, Friendship, Paths of Life, Peace, sin, Temptation

December 15, 2012

Peaceful, Easy Feeling or Runaway Emotions

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 14:30

30 A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

“A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.”  (NIV)

“A sound mind makes for a robust body,
but runaway emotions corrode the bones.”  (The Message)

The Eagles Had Almost No Idea

If you have listened to music by The Eagles, you have probably heard the song Peaceful Easy Feeling, which is actually a song about giving in to the wiles of a woman. The smart side is that they admit “She can’t take you any way you don’t already know how to go.” They understood our sinful nature!

The chorus is spot on, though: “‘Cause I got a peaceful easy feeling,
And I know you won’t let me down
’cause I’m already standing on the ground.”

Grounded in Christ, the One who will never let us down (though we may feel like He has at times), is the only true way to find peace.

We can see from the three different wordings above that a person at peace means more than just one part of our body. It means we are not worried. We know we are not worried when something does not trouble the mind or there are no bad dreams about life. This means on both the conscious and unconscious levels nothing “gets to us” or makes us feel guilty.

(If you listen to their song Take It Easy, you can see The Eagles still dealt with guilt and worry.)

Vitamin D Deficiency

However, when we live in sin, when we refuse to acknowledge our wrongs and continue to go on as though our sinfulness is “not really all that bad,” we will suffer.

First, we suffer, because guilt can wear us out. I remember when I was in a relationship with a young woman (you may remember my previous comments). She was nice and all, but I had known for a while that it was not a relationship that honored God. My response to God: propose marriage to her!

Over the course of the next year, I began to sleep less, get more involved with things I should not have, and saw other relationships deteriorate.

In other words, I had let my emotions get the better of me.

I wanted the sensual side of a relationship. I wanted to have a life others had. I wanted many things that in and of themselves are not bad, but they were at the wrong time with the wrong person.

It wore me out.

Is there anything in your life that you know you should not be doing? Are there people in your life you should not be spending so much time around?

Get God. Get peace. Get a handle on your emotions. Get better! Only with God!

Awesome God, thank You for offering us peace. Help us to choose You. Help us control our emotions. Heal us and give us rest, that we may spread Your healing and peace to our hurt and weary world.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in desire, Peace, Warnings

April 29, 2012

Don’t Fear the Fear

By Daniel M. Klem

Proverbs 3:25-26

“Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”

 

Things happen in this life that we cannot and do not expect. Quite frankly, it can be scary when the unexpected happens.

  • How should you respond at the moment your car is wrecked?
  • How should you respond when you lose your job?
  • How should you respond when a burglar or mugger attacks?
  • How should you respond when you or a loved one is shipped out for military duty?
  • How should you respond when your mother/father/brother/sister/child suddenly gets sick?
  • What about when they suddenly die?
  • How should you respond when God calls you to something new?

These are all very scary, even terrifying moments.

But we were told not to be afraid of that fear.

Fear can be healthy when it is meant to warn us of danger or when we begin walking down the wrong path.

But the moment we fear will quickly pass. Perhaps it will not pass as quickly as we like, but it will pass.

The Lord has promised to be with us, to guide us, and to give us peace.

“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 14:27

“I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
Matthew 28:20

Even to the end of the world.

No matter your view on the end of the world, Christ has promised to return. He will return, and the world as we know it will not exist, anymore.

Before He does, this world will only get worse. Violence, ignorance, hatred, selfishness, and any other form of evil you can imagine will only increase.

Just as in the past, the Lord will deal with all wickedness, and He will deal with this wicked world.

Until then, we must not be afraid of the fear we will feel, for He is with us. Always.

Mighty God, thank You for Your mercy. Thank You for Your promises. Help us remember those promises when the unexpected happens. Prepare our hearts to help prepare this world for Your return.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Fear of the Lord, Warnings, Wisdom

April 24, 2012

Paths of Peace

By Jason Sneed

Proverbs 3:17

“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”

Today’s Proverbial Thought continues to show the value of wisdom. We have seen over the past few days that Solomon has said that if we want happiness then we need to find wisdom (Proverbs 3:13-14). He then went on to say that obtaining wisdom is “more precious than rubies” (Proverbs 3:15), and if we obtain wisdom we can have both long life and honor (Proverbs 3:16).

How in the world could it get any better than that?

Well it does! Solomon continues to tell us in verse 17 that if we obtain wisdom then we will find pleasantness & true peace.

Verse 14-17 all deal with money in some form but we all know that having money does not give us peace. Money does not satisfy – only Jesus can satisfy and give us true peace! Warren Wiersbe writes of this verse,

“Happiness, pleasantness, and peace aren’t the guaranteed by-products of financial success but they are guaranteed to the person who lives by God’s wisdom.”

Proverbs is a book that was written by one of the wisest men who has ever walked the earth – Solomon. One word can describe the entire book of Proverbs – wisdom. In the book of Proverbs, the word wise or wisdom is used at least 125 times. This book was written to help us gather and apply God’s wisdom to the decisions and activities of our every day lives.

God has promised happiness, long life and honor, and peace to those who search and find wisdom, but it is a choice that each of us must make. We have the option of deciding if we want to pursue wisdom and understanding or not. Do you want to know God more deeply? Then find wisdom and understanding!

The blessings of the Lord are known
By those who will obey;
His wisdom, truth, and love are shown
To all who choose His way.                                                                                                                        —D. De Haan

Lord, please help us to choose your ways and paths for our lives and trust you each step of the way – Amen.

7 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Knowledge, Value and Worth, Wisdom