I have been pondering the idea of peace lately, having just preached a sermon on Jesus as the "The Prince of Peace."
In Philippians 4:7, the Holy Spirit promised "the peace of God" when we turn everything over to God in prayer. This peace, we are told "surpasses all understanding."
My question that I would be interested in hearing your PLEO-comments on is: Is the peace that surpasses all understanding governed internally, in the inner-man, or is it governed by external circumstances? Please try to explain your answer for the benefit of all.
As you think about this question, consider that rare person who stays calm despite their circumstances. Consider the various circumstances the word "peace" is used in the New Testament. Consider your own degree of inner peace and ask yourself, "Do I know this kind of peace?"
Looking forward to your comments.
Seems to me that the peace is internal since external circumstances are nearly guaranteed to be uncontrollable and not always peaceful (James 1:2; Matthew 5:10-13), and thus not governable. "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (John 14:27).
...governed internally. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23), which goes hand in hand with the other fruits of the Spirit. It also seems to be a choice, as in Rom. 2:10; 12:18; 14:19; 1Pet.3:11; etc.
I think internal peace is the peace that surpasses all understanding, especially in the context of Philippians.
1:12 Paul says even being in prison turned out for good.
1:27-30 they are to have worthy conduct regardless of the circumstances (Paul's presence or absence, even in persecutions).
2:14 no complaining!
3:15-20 press on knowing our citizenship is in heaven.
4:6-7 the peace of God guards "hearts and minds."
4:8 prescribes meditating on good things.
4:11 Contentment in any state.
That's a bit of a tricky question. I think, actually, despite the visceral "internal" reaction, that it is externally derived and governed in this sense: If we are right with God, and have proper faith, our circumstances, on balance, are pretty awesome, even if to a casual observance we are, say, being waterboarded by rouge CIA agents, or suffering from acute reverse peristalsis in the esophagus. The internal almost makes it sound like we bring peace to ourselves, like in Buddhist philosophy. In actuality, Christ brings the peace, and I believe it is based on the fact that our circumsstances are wonderful.
Apparently, this 12 year old girl won a speech contest at her school with this speech, though it was not without national news worthy controversy.
She was at first encouraged not to speak on this topic. She chose to proceed anyway. She was then told she would not be able to advance to the next level of the competition if she used this topic. She chose to proceed anyway. She then was disqualified for giving the speech and after having a judge step down because she was offended by the speech, they overturned the decision and made this girl the winner. She will now compete at the next level of her competition.
I admire this young lady's courage, passion and ability. She speaks the truth here and it well worth the listen.
That was a great speech. But you never hear anything about this stuff on the news because then we might offend someone. I believe there's not enough being said about this and many other things that are happening in the world rigt now. We often times just "push it under the rug" so to speak and do give it any attention. Great video.
Wow~ I realize this post was made several months ago...but it was my first time to view this video. Thank you. I am passing it on to my group of mothers on CafeMom.
In one of the greatest personifications in all of Scripture, the wise man paints a powerful picture of wisdom. While there are many amazing statements about wisdom in Proverbs 8, one in particular struck me as signifantly poignant.
"For whoever finds me finds life, And obtains favor from the Lord; But he who sins against me wrongs his own soul; All those who hate me love death.” (Prov. 8:35-36).
The language used here almost makes you think that the wise man is speaking of God, and not merely wisdom. I mean, does not the idea of "sinning against wisdom" not cause you pause? The fact that sinning in such a way is equated to "wronging our own soul" is astounding!
If anything can be taken from such a revelation, it certainly places an exclamation point on the reality that we must not turn our back on wisdom ... most importantly, the wisdom of God ... as she is so very precious to our soul!
Well, I guess we should have wished you a Happy B-day on here, too. I thought about it...but since you never check ;) just skipped it. Now, I feel bad! So, here it is :)
LOL, Good evening, Moody preacher! I am guessing that if you don't know who this is, your family can tell you! Your new dogs have surely completed your family. How sweet! LOL
Blimey, mate. This is like...the most boringest blog on Pleo...You've only updated like...twice.... *sighs* "Manmonsters, so verilously dumbilythick..."
I hear it oft repeated these days that "Gospel Meetings no longer work." Is this true? Might it be more accurate to say that we don't work the gospel meetings the way they need to be worked?
I have solid evidence that if we would get out there and invite folks with some zeal and enthusiasm to our meetings, that folks will come. I would be glad to bounce ideas with anyone interested in getting a little more mileage out of their meeting efforts. So, work them meetings my brethren.
What about attending other's meetings? I know we are a busy people, but what value do we place upon the encouragement that comes from having visiting brethren attend our gospel meetings? It is huge! What about visitng other's meetings? It is not a matter of finding the time, it is a matter of making the time! We all can do a better job of encouraging one another in this regard. So, attend them meetings my brethren.
A little something to think about, as brother Perz steps off of his soapbox...
Howdy Jonathan! Welcome to pleo. Hope all's going well with you. Guess you've heard I'm in Houston now, training with Dee Bowman. Lovin' it here, but I can't wait to get back to the southeast in 2 years!
Let's see, you have a total of 2 posts, one day apart from each other. And now you have 4 months since your last one. Your posting rate has fallen tremendously.
1:12 Paul says even being in prison turned out for good.
1:27-30 they are to have worthy conduct regardless of the circumstances (Paul's presence or absence, even in persecutions).
2:14 no complaining!
3:15-20 press on knowing our citizenship is in heaven.
4:6-7 the peace of God guards "hearts and minds."
4:8 prescribes meditating on good things.
4:11 Contentment in any state.