Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Peace On Earth


Peace on earth goodwill to men….

Webster's definition of peace; 1. The normal, non-warring condition of a nation, group of nations or the world. 2. A state of mutual harmony between people or groups. 3. The normal freedom from civil commotion and violence of a community. 4. A cessation of freedom from strife or dissension.  If I only look at these definitions to tell me if peace exists, I would have to answer with a resounding, NO! Every one of these statements place peace with the human condition and that just isn't a safe place to base our peace.  I too am guilty of thinking that my peace is tied to the absence of conflict, trials, and hardship in my life. The peace we seek is not earthbound…

I have thought much about peace in the last few days as tragedy and evil ascended on an elementary school, as I visited with a single mom desperately trying to hang on to her home and children, as an abused and weary woman asked for prayer, as I watched a mother who is facing extreme health issues sing praises.  As a little boy, around the age of ten, on his way home from school walked by my house dropping a load of heavy boxes, I asked if I could help him home with them and he cautiously said yes. I helped him pick up the boxes, his books and violin.  I asked him are you wrapping Christmas gifts in all of these boxes?  He hung his head and said, “No, we don’t have any heat at our house, but we have a fireplace and I found these boxes in the trash at school, so I waited until everyone left so I could get them and bring them home to help start a fire.”  I thought of peace when I saw my own grandmother with her Alzheimer induced mind living in anything but.  What about peace for the thousands that live in slavery, abandonment, hunger, and danger everyday?  I asked again of peace last night standing in the cold talking to my new friend Alvin, homeless, alcohol addicted and hungry.  The peace we seek is not earthbound….

The prophet Isaiah prophesied about Jesus coming, saying; “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”  Jesus is the Prince of Peace!  When the angels heralded the birth of Jesus they sang praises saying; “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men, with whom He is well pleased.”  The Prince of Peace, Jesus, stepped into our human existence as a man and Peace the person dwelt among us.  When Jesus had finished His task on earth and was on His way to the cross to secure our victory and peace, He spoke these words, “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, nor let it be fearful.”  His life here on earth was book-ended with Him as Peace.  This peace is defined as; “rest, the end of striving, this peace is the object of  thedivine and saving promise, and is brought about by God’s mercy, granting deliverance and freedom from all distresses that are a result of sin.”  That is why the message of salvation through Jesus is called the gospel of peace.  The Peace we seek is not earthbound…

This peace we all seek is not found apart from the person of Jesus.  It is not the absence of trials and hardships it is an abiding knowledge of relationship with the Person of Peace, Jesus.  How I live in that…I’m not exactly sure…by faith…  I keep asking the Prince of Peace to show me and to rule over my heart.  This Peace?  It is divine!  The peace we seek is not earthbound….

Praying the Prince of Peace is known this Christmas season and through the coming year.

Merry Christmas!
Kim


Isaiah 9:6, Luke 2:14, Colossians 3:15, John 16:33, John 14:27

Peace on Earth song by Lila Mccann;

Monday, December 3, 2012

Wimpy Women


I read John Piper’s words again this morning; “Wimpy theology makes wimpy women.  Wimpy theology simply does not give a woman a God that is big enough, strong enough, wise enough, and good enough to handle the realities of life in a way that magnifies the infinite worth of Jesus Christ.  Wimpy theology is plagued by women-centeredness and man-centeredness.  Wimpy theology doesn't have the granite foundation of God’s sovereignty or the solid steel structure of a great God-centered purpose for all things”

I remember a commercial that aired years ago for Hefty trash bags, at the beginning there would be a chorus of soprano voices saying; wimpy, wimpy, wimpy and about that time the trash bag that the woman was struggling with would bust and trash would spill out creating a terrible mess. Then a chorus of very manly baritone voices would say, “hefty, hefty, hefty, and the woman would effortlessly remove the bag and all the contents would stay put.  What a great word picture! Wimpy theology holds nothing; hefty theology holds me and my circumstances because it is based on the truth of who God is.

Several women agreed to join me on this journey this fall.  We looked at Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, and Jehoshaphat and asked simple questions, like who does God say He is? And how do we see God’s redemptive history, as every story we visited showed how God is always about rescuing and redemption.  I have constantly confessed that I don’t want to be a woman who learns theology over and over, saying that with each new circumstance or trial, I must learn the same truth over again. But one who learns theology more and more, deeper and deeper.  I want to be a woman that is not passive with knowledge, but confronts life with the theology He has pressed into me.  That all sounds great doesn't it? But the struggle is that it has challenged me in so many areas of life!  I have had to ask myself why I believe the things I believe and why do I respond the way I do?  Leaving me often in a place that I have to honestly say, my reality doesn't match my theology.  But…that is the process….recognizing more quickly…..running more swiftly…..to Him….His truth….His ways…. We made a list of all the theology He revealed about Himself over the past twelve weeks.  It is lengthy, but it is also faith building, truth centered.  And as I seek to not be a “wimpy woman” a list that I will cling to…pressing forward….Kim

God will do what He says He will do.
God is faithful.
God is provider.
God is redeemer.
God initiates, provides for, and completes redemption.
God displays His lovingkindness.
God strives with man.
God changes our name.
God is sovereign.
God is always writing His story of salvation.
God is with us.
God is passionate about His name.
God is the one true God.
God is a God of providence.
God hears us.
God sees us.
God places His people in positions to trust Him.
God has done everything to secure my victory.
God is the living God.
God always keeps covenant.
God is always about restoration.
God seeks us.
God has power and might in His hands.
God is always for His glory and my good.