We generally think that peace is the absence of conflict. However, for disciples, peace is gained when we submit our lives to God. This daily devotional reviews what peace is and isn’t and relates them to other churchy words.
Devotions in the Self-Discipline Review series
We had been going through the process of salvation. We completed from sin to eternity.
But eternity has a couple of other topics that we have looked at over the past year. So, we’ve switched over to topics.
There are a couple of other major topics that we’ve discussed over the year that I want to review. They don’t really fit into the plan of salvation, so we are going to look at a couple now.
We are reviewing everything to, hopefully, put all of the building blocks together. What I am doing is going through all of the devotions for the year and pulling out the nuggets. I am formatting this as a glossary page.
later.
One of the benefits of salvation is we gain God’s peace. That may be difficult for some to understand as it is different than the world’s peace. Let’s take a look.
What Is Peace?
Peace is a fruit of righteousness manifested in an inward tranquility resulting from a balanced life with spiritual order, equity, and truth that implies cooperation, humility, integrity, communication, and cohesiveness.
Peace has a lot of components. It implies cooperation, humility, integrity, communication, and cohesiveness. All of that promotes peace (What Are the Fruits of Righteousness).
God gives peace to us freely when we admit our sins, believe on Jesus as Redeemer, confess God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrate that commitment by following our job description (Thankfulness in Prayer).
When we become believers, Jesus gives us His peace. He justifies us upon conversion, giving us peace (Thankfulness in Prayer; What Are the Fruits of Righteousness?).
We have peace with God by being restored to Him (What Is Hope in God to a Disciple of Christ?).
Our priority should be building a relationship with God. Having a relationship with God brings us peace (God Is the Only Peace for Man).
Jesus knew peace wasn’t dependent on this world’s circumstances. He knew my peace wasn’t based on where I was. Peace was — and is — dependent on our knowing Him as our personal Savior (Thankfulness in Prayer).
When the world is going crazy, the Trinity is there to give us peace. When we worry if we are going to get sick or have the money to pay our bills, the Trinity is there to console us (How Can We Find Comfort in Troubling Times?).
Peace increases when our spiritual nature is strengthened. This decreases our physical nature (What Are the Fruits of Righteousness?).
Poverty of spirit is really about knowing we are nothing without God. The humility, contentment, submission, and gratitude provide a peace (Are Disciples to be Docile?).
A thankful heart starts out with the peace of Christ. But we don’t always feel the peace (Thankfulness in Prayer).
Is not the peace that comes when we are obedient to God so much lighter than the burden of sin’s guilt? (Isn’t It Impossible to be Obedient?).
There is a freedom we enjoy when we are self-disciplined. We are more able to withstand Satan in his attempts to get us to sin. That gives us peace and joy (What Is Self-Discipline?).
God’s love for us promotes that peaceful feeling within us. We know we can come to Him anytime — for forgiveness, for protection, for assurance (What Are the Fruits of Righteousness?).
God’s laws and commandments bring the goodness out of us — and give us a peace (Goodness as a Virtue).
Peace is an attitude. Our attitude is affected if we are blaming God. If we are blaming God, are we accepting the peace He wants to give us? No (Is Peace an Attitude?).
Comfort gives peace. God only gives peace to His children (How Can We Find Comfort in Troubling Times?).
Submitting our lives to God bring us more peaceful, joyful lives. Jesus showed us that (Life from the Cross).
Peace grows more peace because we have determined what Truth is (Comprehending the Effects of the Plan of Salvation).
Peace ushers in prosperity. God’s promises facilitate peace (Comprehending the Effects of Salvation).
When we obey God, we will get His peace. It is a peace that passes all understanding (Phil. 4: 7). It is a mind-boggling peace (Comprehending the Effects of Salvation).
God is waiting to provide us with peace. We have to ABCD and make Him the priority in our lives (God Is the Only Peace for Man).
God’s truth is what takes us from sleeping and alarmed to peaceful (What Does Our Conscience Have to Do with the Spirit World?).
It is God’s mercy that tips the conscience from alarmed to peaceful (What Does Our Conscience Have to Do with the Spirit World?).
See Also
What Peace Isn’t
But we focus on the world sometimes, so that steals our peace (Thankfulness in Prayer).
Satan wants to steal our peace and blame it on God. God can still be in control and not be blamed for the results of sin (Is Peace an Attitude?).
Satan is trying to destroy the church from within. Disciples have to work doubly hard not to let Satan break the unity — and peace (What Happens to the Antichrist?).
Bottom line, this world is going to be divided. There will be troubles. We have a Heavenly Father Who will provide peace in troubled times (Wars as a Sign of the End Times).
God wants to give us love and peace. Satan is lies and chaos. He wants to fill us with hatred and chaos — even to the point of murder. There is no way we can serve both (Truth in Freedom; Being Content Because We Are Godly).
If we look for peace outside of ourselves, we become dependent on others and circumstances to supply our peace. What happens if they no longer can or don’t? (What Does Delight in the Lord Mean?).
It is the battle between good and evil that takes away our peace (God’s Law Creates Peace).
If salvation did not provide peace and holiness, it would be a false religion. God readily gives us peace and helps us grow into holiness (What Is Hope in God to a Disciple of Christ?).
Peace and the Churchy Words
Our foundation is built on the blessings of faith, hope, peace, joy, comfort, and glory (The Foundation of the Church).
If we don’t have the faith, we don’t have the peace (Is Peace an Attitude?).
- Because grace has given us faith and justification, it has also given us hope and peace (Comprehending the Effects of Salvation).
Joy comes because the peace we find in God gives us hope. God also gives us strength to overcome the trials we face. Most of all, we have joy because we have salvation (What Are the Fruits of Righteousness?; The Rewards of Faithfulness).
As we gain in knowledge, our hearts are opened to receive God. We receive God’s peace, mercy, and love at our center when we accept God’s salvation (Good versus Evil).
For those who have ABCDed, God’s mercy removes our guilt and gives us peace. His grace removes the impurities — i.e., sin — and makes us pure (The Fruits of Discerning the Voice of God).
Praise is to be joyful and triumphant. That will bring us happiness and peace (How Do We Worship through Praise?).
Our satisfaction increases, leading to peace, when we pray for satisfaction (How Are Satisfaction and Peace Related to Spiritual Needs?)
Timidity makes us fear. Boldness because of righteousness brings peace (How Does Boldness Help Consistency?).
Salvation has given us peace, joy, and hope for today, tomorrow, and eternity (What Are the Fruits of Righteousness?).
Strength comes from God. That strength promotes peace (God Is the Only Peace for Man).
The law gives us wisdom. Wisdom, a life-generating force, gives us security so we don’t stumble when the trials come. It gives us peace so we can sleep peacefully (God’s Law Creates Peace; Wisdom Produces Compassion).
Disciples are given peace so that we can focus on worshiping God. If we are focusing on the chaos of this world, we aren’t feeling the worship (The Fruits of Discerning the Voice of God).
See Also
Father. We want to be so focused on You — perfecting our relationship with you to exactly what it should be — so that we are peaceful and content in the palm of Your hand. Help us to break the hold that this world has on us. Strengthen us as we face the trials where Satan tries to get us to sin. Amen.
What do you think?
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