“It’s cold out there…” says the weatherman in one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day. Yes, the leaves have fallen and we’re settling in for winter. But spring will come, most assuredly, and with that, we’ll have leaves once again on our trees. The Holy Spirit of the Lord our God can thaw the most frozen of hearts, if only we let him. He’s there waiting, it just takes us reacting to his invitation. Peace.
The Peace that Surpasses All Understanding
The peace of Christ surpasses all understanding. Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh, begotten by the Father, the only being not begotten.
God the Father so loved us that he gave his only begotten son as a sacrifice for our sins. We live in a world temporarily under sin due to it being subject to Satan, the fallen angel Lucifer who rebelled against the Father and caused Adam and Eve to sin; whereby, we all have been born into a fallen world and fall short of the glory of God because of it. By the very nature of this world of sin we miss, daily, the perfect peace to be had when in relationship with the Father. We who believe in Jesus’ sacrifice are forgiven our sins and can pray to our Heavenly Father, who is in Heaven, whose name is hallowed, whose Kingdom has come, and whose will is done on earth as it is in Heaven. He gives us this day, our daily bread and forgives us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. He leads us not, into temptation, but delivers us from evil; for the Kingdom and the power and the glory are His, now and forever.
What is best for us is that we are in relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus’ special relationship with the Father made it possible for him to overcome this world and the sin that is in it because of Satan. God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit (who was sent by the Father to lead us into righteousness) want us to have the peace of Christ – that nothing can separate us from the love of God; and, even though this world is passing, God’s love for us never will.
The reason this is called the peace that surpasses all understanding is that, I don’t know; nor can any human know, how it is that God the Father IS, the Great I AM. It must be taken by faith that HE IS. This is beyond our understanding; yet, the peace that surpasses ALL understanding, nevertheless, IS what it is!
May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you in order that you might not fear this world or all that is in it, but rejoice!
Both in America and China today, children were attacked wholesale; in America, 20 children were killed by a gunman in Newtown, Connecticut, along with 6 teachers; and in China, many were slashed with a knife. Innocence was attacked globally and we must pray. God be with those touched directly and indirectly by these horrible attacks.
Lord, Jesus Christ, Almighty God the Father, Creator of Heaven and Earth and all that is seen and unseen. May your Holy Spirit dwell in the hearts and minds of those grieving because of these incidents and bring them comfort amdist their sadness.
I know you care and love us and are our sovereign Lord and it grieves you to see these innocent children killed and terrorized across your world. Sins such as acts like these occur in this world because it is still subject to sin. Forgive us our sins Lord.
Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us and I thank you for the fact that we can be freed from the sins of this world when, in relationship with you through the Holy Spirit, and shielded by the Son as intercessor for our sins that, in the flesh, we continue in till the day we die, we can, nevertheless, come to you for help, assistance, guidance and comfort.
Please Lord God Almighty, comfort those who have lost their children today and this world that, today, has lost even more of its innocence.
In your precious name, Jesus Christ, I ask this prayer be heard by the Father and that, though tragic as this is – we can rest assured that those little ones are now comforted in your loving arms. It is we who suffer the grief of their loss. Thank you Lord for restoring them – with you they’ll not suffer ever again. Fear and terror are vanquished in your presence and assuredly, they are in your presence. May those who lost these little ones rest comforted by this fact and look forward to being reunited with them, in the world to come.
This world shall pass away and our lives with it, but the Word of the Lord shall not; nor will the continuance of our lives in Christ cease. Nothing shall separate us from the love of God.
God Bless all of you who have lost their loved ones today and may the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you, now and forever, Amen.
Reflections of a Tin Hatter 