Tag Archive for peace

Peace in You

2017-03-01 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Father, You have no need –
no weakness,
no uncertainty.
You are never caught short.
You are at peace in Your
fullness and
completeness.

Peace can always, only be found in You.
Father, You want me to share in Your peace.
You want me to share in You.
Outside of You is
weakness,
wanting,
darkness, and
sin.
In You is
deep,
all-encompassing,
unchanging,
unshakable peace.
That’s the peace You want for me:
peace in You.

I long for the temporary peace that comes from
the removal of my current need.
I cry in desperation, “O Lord, take it away!”
But this need will simply be replaced by another.
Needs come and go.
My neediness remains.

But You are complete.
All that is good,
all that I will ever need,
is in Your very being.
As I trust You step by step,
I am complete in You.

Today and every day,
whatever my circumstance, Father,
You offer me the gift of a
holy,
grace-filled life
in Your peace,
the peace we find in Your human Son,
Jesus Christ.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Peace in Christ
Recording
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Peace

2016-11-29 Devotional with Hymn No comments

Christmas brings a promise of peace. Hear the prophecy of Isaiah:

“The wolf will live with the lamb…
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra…
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
as waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11:6, 8-9, NIV)

At the birth, hear the words of the angels:

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace.” (Luke 2:14, NIV)

Peace is an absence of all conflict. But peace is not just an absence, it is a presence. Peace is harmony. Peace is complete well-being. It is wholeness and rightness. Peace is the reign of love.

Peace is Jesus.

He himself is our peace. (Ephesians 2:14, NIV)

He will be called…Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his…peace there will be no end. (Isaiah 9:6-7, NIV)

The fruit of His presence is peace (Galatians 5:22). He brings peace to relationships. He brings peace with God our Father. He brings peace in the midst of all the pressures and troubles of this world.

Do not be anxious about anything, but…present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV)

Trusting Jesus brings peace. Seeking Him alone brings peace. This Christmas, receive the peace of Jesus.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Sweet Peace
Recording
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QUIETNESS Devotional Tapestry

2016-09-08 Devotional Tapestries No comments

QUIETNESS Devotional Tapestry

Devotional Tapestries are short recordings designed to draw your heart and mind to the Living God. Each includes a devotional reading over instrumental music, leading into a hymn.

Listen to QUIETNESS Devotional Tapestry.

Printed devotional & hymn
More Devotional Tapestries

Deep Peace

2016-06-05 Devotional with Hymn No comments

My soul finds rest in God alone. (Psalm 62:1, NIV)

As we develop a habit of continual prayer, our relationship with God grows. We are at rest in Him. Our spirit is satisfied in His presence.

In a sense, we live as if it is only God and us in the world. We are always together and converse naturally. We gain a holy freedom in Him. We ask whatever we need, and He pours unexpected graces on us. Our trust deepens. We rejoice with Him in a thousand daily ways.

This communion with God is held in the depths of the soul, at its very center. We can speak to God heart-to-heart in a wonderful peace. Exterior concerns are only a fire of straw: the more they flare, the sooner they are burnt out. Such concerns need not disturb our inner peace.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Peace in Christ
Recording
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by Brother Lawrence and Ken Bible

The Peace of Jesus

2015-07-26 Devotional with Hymn No comments

John 14:27-31

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27, NASB)

As Jesus faces all the trouble,
all the suffering,
all the death this world can bring,
He gives us His peace.
His peace is unshaken and unshakable.
It is not just an absence of all conflict.
It is wholeness,
harmony,
completeness,
rightness, and
well-being.
It is an unencumbered relationship with God our Father.

We talk a lot about peace,
but do you truly want it constantly in your heart and life?
The scriptures consistently point us to Jesus Christ:

Christ came to bring us peace. (Luke 2:14)

In the midst of our hardships,
we can enjoy His peace. (John 16:33)

Christ has made us right with God,
giving us peace with Him. (Romans 5:1)

The Kingdom of God is not temporary, physical pleasure,
but righteousness, joy, and
peace in the Holy Spirit. (Romans 14:17)

As we bring our concerns to Christ,
He wraps us in His peace. (Philippians 4:4-7)

Love, joy, and peace are the fruit of
the Spirit of Christ within us. (Galatians 5:22)

Christ gives us His peace, and
it is unlike any other.
It is not vague, temporary, or shallow.
It is not a serene setting or a passing mood.
It is a full, rich, unchanging well-being in God that
will not fade in and out with changing circumstances.
It will not change, because God does not change.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Pass the Peace of Christ
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Blessed Are the Peacemakers

2014-01-21 Beatitudes, Devotional with Hymn No comments

This is the ninth of an eleven-part series on the Beatitudes.
Each part features a hymn to a familiar tune.

Jesus’ seventh beatitude is this:

Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God. (Matthew 5:9, NASB)

Father, You are the God of peace.
In You there is no conflict of any kind.
You are wholeness.
You are harmony.
You are complete and pure well-being.

You are the ultimate peacemaker.
You sent Your only Son from Your heavenly peace
into our battleground world.
Prophets announced Him as the Prince of Peace.
Saints and angels greeted Him as the coming of Your peace.
Throughout His 33 years He lived Your peace and taught Your peace
while wrapped in the most severe poverty and persecution.
And before returning to You, He spoke Your perfect peace
into the hearts and lives of His followers, saying:

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” (John 14:27, NASB)

In Christ, You have brought Your peace to us.
Paul told the Ephesians:

He Himself is our peace. (Ephesians 2:14, NASB)

And to the Colossians he said:

It was the Father’s good pleasure…through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross. (Colossians 1:19-20, NASB)

In Christ, we have peace with You.
Romans 5:1 says:

Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NASB)

In Christ, our hearts and minds are wrapped in Your peace
throughout every circumstance
as we trust You.
Philippians 4:6-7 says it so beautifully:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NASB)

In Christ, You have promised to permeate all creation with Your perfect peace.
Many centuries ago, Isaiah described our future this way:

The wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.
They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord
As the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6, 9, NASB)

In the meantime, Father, You have left us here, wrapped in Your peace,
to be Your peacemakers.
You are the ultimate peacemaker.
You made peace here
by coming to us,
by crossing every barrier to reach us in our need.
You made peace by
loving,
healing,
forgiving,
talking,
listening, and
giving,
by accepting suffering daily, and
in the end, pouring out Your life completely.

You call us to make peace the same way,
by daily, constantly pouring out our lives for others.
And as we make peace,
You call us Your children.

Father, what reward could be greater?
How could we do any less than share the precious gift of
Your peace?

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: God of Peace
Recording
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Simple Faith

2013-06-16 Devotional with Hymn No comments

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
(Isaiah 26:3, NIV)

In this world of darkness and uncertainty,
focus on the sure and certain path of faith.
The light shed by simple faith will warn you of the rocks
on which so many have shipwrecked.
They let themselves drift along the current of curiosity and imagination,
trusting only human guidance and
hungering for whatever is new.
Seek God alone, and
these perils are easily avoided.

See God’s hand in all the events of life.
Set aside your will,
misguided by ignorance and selfishness, and
love His will instead.
You’ll find that such simple faith brings
a clarity and beauty to life
that lasts through every storm.

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Everything I Need
Recording
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Perfect Peace

2013-04-21 Devotional with Hymn No comments

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” (John 14:27, NIV)

Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:1, NIV)

Imagine the complete absence of conflict
throughout our entire race,
throughout all creation,
between God and each of us.
Imagine perfect harmony,
complete well-being,
no fear,
no suffering,
no darkness,
no death ever again.

Imagine the life and love of God in all their richness
flowing unhindered every moment
forever.
This is the peace that Christ brings.

“If we throw aside our selfish anxiety,
then God’s will is enough.
We can rest in it and
be at peace as it unfolds.
Even behind the injustice of human beings
we will see nothing but the
wisdom,
justice, and
unfailing goodness of our God.”
(paraphrased from Francois Fenelon)

Listen…and sing if you want:
Hymn: Perfect Peace
Recording
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