Fruit of the Spirit -- Peace

Chuckle: A Texas cowboy bought a Dachshund when someone told him to "get a long little dogie!"

Quote: “Drop Thy still dews of quietness, Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress, And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of Thy peace.” --John Greenleaf Whittier

Jesus said: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27 NIV). "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. . . . But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Galatians 5:16,22 NIV).

There is a painting titled "Peace.” It depicts waves crashing against jagged rocks along the seashore. It portrays the violence of a crushing storm. It seems anything but peaceful. But down in a small corner of the painting, tucked away in the rocks, is a little bird sitting on her nest totally oblivious to the raging storm all about. That is peace. Do you have genuine peace?

"Peace," a word that describes what we all want. It communicates serenity, quietness, contentment, and comfort. Spiritual Peace is a sense of well-being and fulfillment that comes from God and is dependent upon His presence. To try to define genuine peace by any other criteria is to devalue peace as a fruit of the Spirit. Many search for inner peace without knowing the true source or are unwilling to trust that true source. We cannot obtain peace without the help of God Himself. Notice in our above passage that Jesus wants to give us "His" peace. "My peace I give you."

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

The Greek word eirene corresponds to the Hebrew shalom expressing the idea of peace, well-being, restoration, reconciliation with God, and salvation in the fullest sense. The Bible tells us that God is "the God of peace" (Romans 15:33; Philippians 4:9). The Gospel is "the good news of peace" (Ephesians 6:15; Acts 10:36) because it announces the reconciliation of believers to God and to one another (Ephesians 2:12-18). In both the Old and the New Testaments, spiritual peace is realized in being rightly related -- rightly related to God and rightly related to one another.

Love, Jerry & Dotse2