Manna Monday- Jesus, The Prince of Peace

Good Monday morning friends! What a great day to be starting out our week by pondering one of the names of Jesus, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). The only way anyone can have true peace is through the blood of Jesus Christ. That is not my opinion but God's very word as it says in the bible.

Pursue Peace

"If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels."   2 Timothy 2:21-23                                                                                                       

Peace, A Fruit of God's Spirit 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."                               Galatians 5:21-23

Jesus, Our Peace"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,..." 
                                                                                                                     Ephesians 2:13-15

In Hebrew, the word for peace, shalom, means a couple of things. It means to "repay" or "fulfill a vow." Oftentimes it referred to the repairing of a relationship.

The Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary says, "The Hebrew equivalent of the English greeting "How are you?" is "Do you have 'peace'?" (pg. 1261; 2003 Holman Bible Publishers). I love that don't you!

People we meet everyday are walking around and don't have the peace of Jesus inside their hearts. If you and I were to ask them if they had 'peace' instead of "how are you?" I wonder what their answers would tell us? They probably would tell us things they do to get peace like using positive words, going to a spa to relax, going to the golf course, doing good for other people, etc..... But the last person you probably would hear them say is the name of Jesus. He is the believer's peace. He is our wonderful Counselor as we talked about last week. Peace through Jesus is how God fixed our broken hearts. It is the repair of the greatest relationship we could ever have in our lives- the relationship with God Himself.

So what does the world say about peace? Here are a few quotes that remind us that the world's view of peace and God's definition of peace are entirely two different things.

"Peace is an inside job" Wayne Dyer, Woman's Day Magazine June 1, 2007

"Find peace in where and what you are." Christopher Paolin, Eragon

The world tells us to look within (which mind you we are sinful and are incapable of perfect peace). They tell us to find peace wherever we are and in whatever we are doing. There's no peace there. It's a fallen world. That's not biblical. Peace is not found in a place or in a hobby. It's in the blood of Jesus.

Life is hard. And there are days when I'm ready for a new one to begin because of the conflicts that have risen throughout the day. But through the blood of Jesus, I can enter into His peace and by reading His word I can find answers to my conflict and rest for my soul.

The only place we will ever find true peace for our inner soul is through the blood of Jesus Christ. He even said, "My peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you" (John 14:27). Peace is turning my conflicted mind to Christ and away from myself. I can either worry about it all day, all week, all month or leave it with Him. He didn't come to bring believers new life so we could be worried, disturbed and distracted. He came to bring us His perfect peace inside our hearts.

I'm so thankful for you who read this blog. I pray you'll seek out scriptures this week to remind you about the peace of Jesus.