The disciples and early Christians in the bible often greeted each other with the words “peace be with you.” What is the significance of them wishing each other “peace?”

Peace is contentment, tranquility; The absence of fear, worry, want, anger, and frustration. Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace, and He tells his disciples in John 14:27, “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart!”

We can have the peace he offers if we keep our focus on him and not our problems and the things that take away our peace.

Isaiah writes in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Dear Lord, help us keep our thoughts and trust on you so that we may have your perfect peace. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

I have a friend who, when things seemed to unexpectedly work out in his favor, would jokingly say it was due to his “clean living and high moral fiber.” This would always get a chuckle from those around.

Psalm 27:11 actually says something similar. “Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.”

In Romans 1:17 Paul reminds us that we are “made righteous by faith.”

So when things go well for us, we can say, “God’s light and joy are on us due to our faith in him.”

Dear Lord, how wonderful it is when your light shines on us and we can know the joy of being right with you. Thank you for this blessing. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

I drove by my old house a few days ago, and in the yard was a tree I planted 20 years ago.  When I planted it, it was about four feet high and a couple feet across.  Now it is 20 feet high and spreads about 10 feet in each direction.

Psalm 92 uses the growth of a tree as a metaphor for the life of a believer, it says in verses 12-15, “But the godly shall flourish like palm trees and grow tall as the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted into the Lord’s own garden and are under his personal care. Even in old age they will still produce fruit and be vital and green. This honors the Lord and exhibits his faithful care. He is my shelter. There is nothing but goodness in him!”

When we submit ourselves to God and honor him, he transplants us into his garden, and promises to care for and shelter us. 

Dear Lord, help us be the godly people that honor and submit to you, so that we may grow and flourish. In Jesus’ name we pray.  Amen. 

When you are having problems in your life and you are tempted to do wrong, do you ever think, “Why is God doing this to me?” Implying that somehow, God is tempting you to do wrong, or putting problems in your way leaving you no choice but to do wrong. God does not tempt us. It is typically our own wrong thoughts and desires that put us in these difficult situations.

For example do we give into the temptation to: cheat when we are not prepared rather than being honest and accepting the result, lie rather than be truthful and accept the consequences, come up with our own theories about life rather than reading and accepting what the bible tells us, ignore God’s morality because it doesn’t fit our viewpoint.

God does let us experience the consequences of our actions and He lets us experience temptation in order for us to learn to make the correct response. We may go for a long time experiencing the same temptation over and over while God waits for us to change our response to the right one.

James writes in 1:14, “Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes. These evil thoughts lead to evil actions and afterwards to the death penalty from God. So don’t be misled, dear brothers.” He says in verse 12, however, “Happy is the man who doesn’t give in and do wrong when he is tempted.” TLB

Dear Lord, help us look at ourselves, find, confess and turn away from those behaviors and thoughts that we know are wrong and become the happy men and women James speaks of who do not give in when tempted. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Sometimes we get things a bit out of perspective, and think that we can make deals with God, like we might do with a friend. For example, we are getting pulled over for speeding and say, “God, I’ll go to church if you prevent me from getting this ticket,” or “God, if you help me make this sale, I’ll put more in the offering plate.”

We forget the incredible difference there is between us and God. Isaiah writes God’s words in chapter 66:2-3, “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool: What Temple can you build for me as good as that? My hand has made both earth and skies, and they are mine. Yet I will look with pity on the man who has a humble and a contrite heart, who trembles at my word.”

The NET translation finishes this verse like this, “I show special favor to the humble and contrite, who respect what I have to say.”

We need respect the awesome power of God; Power to destroy as he chooses, but also power to bless those he chooses.

Dear Lord, You are Power and Love. We thank you for loving us enough to save us through Jesus Christ. Help us look to you with humble and contrite hearts and do what you direct us to do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.