Month: January 2017

Matthew 5:21-26, 43-48; Romans 12:9-21
CBS Affiliate KDKA Channel 3, in Pittsburgh, reports of an unusual Christmas disturbance that took place this past December 16 in Connellsville, PA. Their lead for the story was, “Motorist Tried to Run over Ex as He Put up Lights.” Local resident Alan McCutcheon was busy putting up outside Christmas lights when his ex-girlfriend, Mary Jo Smith, came barreling through his yard. She made several tours through the yard screaming, “Merry Christmas,” all the while Christmas carols blasted from her cranked radio. At one point, she even took aim to run McCutcheon over. When police arrived she told them, ‘I was just trying to get some peace.’ But that did not deter the police from arresting her. And then the newscaster ended the segment by saying, ‘So much for “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men!’ ¹

Today as we conclude this series on peace, the message is simple; yet challenging. If we desire to experience the peace of God, our relationships with others need to be harmonious. Mary Jo was looking for peace; can’t blame her for that. We all want peace. But her method to find it was a little lacking.

The Apostle Paul writes, “Dear friends, never take revenge” (Romans 12:19). Rather, “Do all you can to live in peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). With who? With everyone!” This verse summarizes the words of Jesus we just read in the Sermon on Mount.

Let’s begin with a question . . . Has anyone ever wronged you? (more…)

Luke 7:36-50; Galatians 5:22-25

It’s that time of the year again . . . tax-time. There was a fellow who one year decided to cheat on his income taxes. The problem was that he later started to feel so guilty that he couldn’t sleep. After thinking about it for a while, he sent an anonymous check for $100 to the IRS along with a note that read: “To Whom It May Concern, I cheated on my taxes and now I feel so guilty that I haven’t been able to sleep for weeks, so I’m sending you this check for one hundred dollars. I hope you forgive me. P.S. If I still can’t sleep after one week, I’ll send you the rest of what I owe.”

We laugh, but the truth is it is very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to experience the peace that passes understanding when we are out of sync with God’s purposes for our lives.

Just ask the woman in today’s story who sought Jesus. The NLT refers to her as an ‘immoral woman;’ however the fact that she displays unloosed hair and also has a local reputation indicates she was a prostitute. My guess is she, like our tax evader friend, was also losing sleep. We can only surmise that sometime before this scene played itself out she had heard Jesus speak about forgiveness. Now sufficient time had elapsed for her to see the error of her ways – to realize that she was breaking God’s own heart and to feel in her soul the desire for forgiveness and a new life. When she came to the realization that He offered what she craved, she didn’t hold back but ignoring custom and religious tradition, she crashed the party at Simon the Pharisee’s house. Why? Because something told her that Jesus held the key to set her free from her past, from regret, from her guilt. In other words, something told her that in Him she could find a little peace. (more…)

Luke 8:22-25
Isaiah 26:1-4

A couple weeks ago, Gail and attended one of my grandsons, Matthew’s, Boy Scout banquets. His Scout troop enjoys putting on little skits. One of them this day was about Jack, who was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell over. On the way down, he grabbed a spindly branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down to see the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet. He couldn’t hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling, “HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there? HELP!”
He was about to give up when he heard a voice: “Jack, this is God.”
“God, please help me! I promise if you’ll get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning.”
“Easy on the promises, Jack. Let’s get you off from there; then we can talk. Now, here’s what I want you to do. Listen carefully.”
“I’ll do anything, God. Just tell me what to do.”
“Okay. Let go of the branch. Just TRUST Me and let go of the branch.”
There was a long silence.
Finally, Jack yelled, “HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?”

Ever felt like you’ve been left hanging for dear life? Those are times that will try our souls,
as we either join our friend in seeking someone or something else to trust or we choose ‘let go and let God.’

TRUST is the key word. Today’s key verse is Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!” This verse is an example of Hebrew parallel poetry where the second line reinforces, and/or in this case explains the first line. “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You” . . . trust you? “All whose thoughts are fixed on You!” (more…)

Philippians 4:4-6
How many of you are familiar with the name Ann Landers? Beginning in 1955 and continuing under various authors to this day, the Ann Landers daily newspaper column receives thousands of letters every month requesting advice on various topics. When PaulineLederer retired in 2002, she was asked what her most common question was, and answered that most people worry too much. “They’re worried about losing their health, they are anxious about their job, they worry about family concerns, they are whacked out about their neighbors or frustrated with their friends. In short, people are looking for peace, but peace seems so elusive.”

According to one recent poll here are the top ten things we worry about in reverse order:

What have you been worrying about lately? Don’t deny it. In fact, I would like you to take a minute and think about it. (more…)

John 14:1-11, 27; Romans 5:1

All of us know that even with all the hope and promise of a wonderful New Year that a little rain is going to fall in all of our lives in the year 2017. And it is probably true that for some it won’t be just a little rain; some of us are going to have to endure storms. When, not if, but when the rain begins to fall or the storm threatens, more than anything else, we will desire peace in our lives.
If that be true, then you’ve come to the right place today as we are going to begin a month-long emphasis on how to acquire peace in our lives such that when it begins to rain or storm, we’ll remain calm.

And we will begin today by taking a cue from Jesus, whose goal it was to measure some peace into the lives of His disciples in the Upper Room immediately after serving them their first communion. Therefore I call this communion meditation A Peace Meal.

First, let’s look at the context. He knew that they needed a little peace, as a storm was about to break not only upon Jesus but upon them also. They sit huddled together in the Upper Room. It is their last night; in the distance, flashes of lightning and rumblings of thunder. In 24 hours, Jesus will be dead. He knows the dark clouds are gathering. Death will not take Him by surprise. He entered Jerusalem earlier in the week knowing full well what would occur at the end of it. He is ready. But His disciples are slow to comprehend.
Soon, they will be in the dark garden of Gethsemane with the ugly cross and somber tomb not far behind. Soon, they will be panic-stricken and flee for their lives! But for the moment, there in the Upper Room, it is the calm before the storm.

He is beginning to say goodbye to His friends, and He leaves them with a wonderful gift, a precious gift: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you. Not the kind of peace offered by the world, but His peace.”

“Not as the world gives.” (more…)