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Peace….sometimes elusive, isn’t it?

The Bible says Jesus is Immanuel, God with us, always, and He is Jehovah-shalom, the Lord our peace.

At the Last Supper, in preparing the disciples for His death and departure, Immanuel spoke many things to them, and said this, “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 NKJV)

However, our Immanuel peace is sometimes in a state of flux, sometimes disintegrating. When chores, church, family, and all the rest, bulge our itineraries, they hold us captive and our prayer time usually suffers, slipping into oblivion. We end up with the “captivity of activity.”

Martha received Jesus into her home, yet, she busied herself with other things rather than sit at His feet. Jesus scolded her, “You are anxious and troubled about many things.” (Luke 10:41 NKJV) Can’t you see Him shaking His head and, in essence, saying, “Martha, Martha, you’re distracted with too many anxieties and cares; you have too much going on in your head; there’s a crowd in there making an uproar, disturbing your peace.”

When we are busied with the cares and anxieties of life, making no time for sitting at the feet of our most Beloved for intimate conversations, we relegate Him to a waiting room. Our peace is then at risk.

How often do you ignore Jesus’ command to “not worry about your life” (Matt. 6:25a NIV)? It would be to our advantage to heed Paul’s word, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” (Phil. 4:6a TLB) The Message says it this way, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayer, letting God know your concerns.”

The lack of worry and anxiety sabotaging our faith and cluttering our prayers has a promise, as Paul tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7 NLT)

What rolls around in your head making an uproar, disturbing your peace? Are you sitting at the Lord’s feet or have you put Him on a waiting list?

I pray the same for all of you what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.” (2 Thess. 3:16 NKJV)

Immanuel, God with us, Jehovah-shalom, the Lord our peace, always.

If you were a reader at Christmastime, you may have read my post on Immanuel.

I started by saying that, in the Old Testament, God’s name and His presence were virtually synonymous, which was evidenced in His name Jehovah-shammah, meaning the Lord is present or there.

Jehovah-shammah, dwelling on the throne of heaven, lowered Himself to earth to be born in another form, to live personally with His people.

In the New Testament, Jehovah-shammah appeared as Jesus, as scripture says, “‘They shall call His name Immanuel,’ translated as, ‘God with us,’” (Matt. 1:23b NKJV) and “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14 NKJV)

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, He returned to the Father’s side, which resulted in Him having two homes…heaven and a believer’s heart.

If you are a believer, God resides within you now as Immanuel, for “your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God.” (1 Cor. 6:19a NLT)

Jesus said, “And be sure of this - that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” (Matt. 28:20 TLB) If we could rephrase that, we could think of it this way, “And be sure of this, I am with you wherever you go.”

When a bride takes the name of her husband, she becomes one with him. Filled with love for him, she carries his name and presence within her, and, in essence, he is always with her. In the same way, we now carry the Bridegroom’s name and presence within us, for He says each of us is “a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name.” (Acts 9:15 NKJV)

Consequently, as His vessels, we cannot mistreat His home, physically, mentally, or spiritually, by allowing anything we think, feel, say, or do to contaminate His living room.

Since He lives within us, where do we take Jesus? Where do our footsteps take us throughout any given 24 hours? To work, to school, to do chores, to run errands, to appointments, to see friends, to church?

So, where else do we go or do? To bed with someone other than our spouses, to see wrong movies, to watch internet porn, to cheat a business partner, to ruin the reputation of a competitor or a friend?

The world’s way cannot be our way, for the standards of the world are in opposition to the holiness of God. God has not lowered the bar of His standards nor relaxed His tolerance for sin because of the world’s beliefs.

Remember, where you are on Saturday night represents who and what you say you are on Sunday morning!

So, what does God expect of us? The answer lies in the requirements God gave Israel through Moses, “So now Israel, what do you think God expects from you? Just this: Live in His presence in holy reverence, follow the road He sets out for you, love Him, serve God, your God, with everything you have in you, obey the commandments and regulations of God that I’m commanding you today - live a good life.” (Deut. 10:2 Msg)

God fills us with His holiness but the upkeep of that holiness depends solely on us. It is absolutely necessary, as Paul persuades, “Dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (2 Cor. 7:1 NKJV)

The fear of the Lord, for a child of God, is a healthy fear that dreads displeasing the heavenly Parent. It is not a negative thing. The fear of the Lord means to have a deep respect and reverence for Him that compels us to be obedient to His will and His Word and to live a life that results in honor, worship, humility, and total submission to Him.

How well do we do that?

“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31b NIV)

~~Blessings, Lynn~~

The Advent season is upon us once again. It comes more quickly each year. I know, I’m just getting old!

Since we’ll soon hear the amazing story of Jesus’ birth being told from the pulpit, I thought we’d take a look at two words from the account: Jesus and Bethlehem. Two seemingly separate words yet intertwined in a surprising way. We’ll look at Jesus today and discover the treasure hidden in Bethlehem next time.

In the Old Testament, God’s name and His presence were virtually synonymous, which was evidenced in His name Jehovah-shammah, meaning the Lord is present or there.

Jehovah-shammah, dwelling on the throne of heaven, lowered Himself to earth to be born in another form, to live personally with His people. His name? “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is. 9:6 NKJV)

In the New Testament, Jesus was Jehovah-shammah, as Matthew, quoting prophecy, said of His name, “‘They shall call His name Immanuel,’ translated as, ‘God with us.’” (Matt. 1:23b NKJV)

When Jesus came to be with us, He threw off His robe of celestial royalty and dressed Himself in a tiny, pink suit of humanity, and from the birth-manger to the death-tomb, “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” (John 1:14 NKJV) The original Greek says that Jesus “tabernacled” among us.

That Divine Flesh was known by the name of Jesus, which the Word says is a “more excellent name” (Heb. 1:4) and the “name which is above every other name.” (Phil. 2:9b TLB)

Calling on that precious name has opened the portals of heaven and shut the gates of hell bringing salvation to lost souls, turning away tornadoes, averting disasters, saving the lives of those in car wrecks, healing people of cancer and AIDS, giving the lame the ability to walk, hearing to the deaf, and sight to the blind, delivering those oppressed by demons, and even bringing some back from death’s grip. Dependence on that name is essential.

The last thing Jesus said to His disciples was, “And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matt. 28:20 NKJV)

Jehovah-shammah. Immanuel. God with us. Always!

~~Blessings, Lynn~~