Peace in a Troubled World

 Dear Partners, Family & Friends,

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever."  Hebrews 13:8.

The Bible definition of peace is – more than just the absence of conflict. It is taking ACTION to restore a broken situation. It is more than a state of inner peace and tranquility; it's a state of wholeness and completeness. (Nothing missing, nothing broken). Think of the High Priestly Prayer. 

"Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace." "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them." Numbers 6:23-27

Think of the Blessing of Abraham!

"And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:29

Biblical peace is not something we can create on our own. It is a fruit of the Spirit.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law" Galatians 5:22-23.

The word 'peace' appears 237 times in the Old Testament. It first appears in Genesis 15:15. 

"Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age" Genesis 15:15

The Hebrew word translated 'peace' is 'Shalom', it means:- completeness, soundness, and welfare. It comes from the root word "Shalam", which means to make amends or make whole or complete.

Jesus did this for us. Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times!

"Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure. Surely their valiant ones shall cry outside, the ambassadors of peace shall weep bitterly. The highways lie waste, the traveling man ceases. He has broken the covenant, He has despised the cities, He regards no man"" Isaiah 33:6-8.

You can see from the above scripture that when the world is in troubled times and under the attack of darkness, as it is at present, it needs God's wisdom and knowledge. It requires God's wisdom and knowledge. In these times, more than ever, we need to put our hope in God and His Word. He is the strength of our salvation, and He is our treasure.  

Jesus said, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" John 16:33.

"Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" Romans 8:37.

"I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one. I write to you, little children, because you have known the Father" 1 John 2:13

"You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" 1 John 4:4.

"Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1 John 5:5

You were born again to win, born to overcome! You are a winner! You are an overcomer! Yes, you are! Because the greater one lives in you, and greater is He that is I you than He that is in the world!

You are called to reign and rule in life through Jesus Christ!

"For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" Romans 5:17.

You are called to make a difference. The only way you can make a difference is to be the difference. You are the salt of the earth! Matthew 5:13.

We cannot lose our saltiness! Salt preserves, you are here to be a preservative, until you are taken out of the way (Rapture), then the earth will go very rotten, and God's judgement will fall upon this planet!

We are in the Age of Grace right now! We have power and authority in the Name of Jesus! 

"Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" Philippians 2:9-11.

"Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you." Luke 10:19.

In Exodus 22:4, if someone stole an ox or a sheep from his neighbour, under the law, he was to restore or 'Shalam', what he had taken.

"Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" 1 Peter 1:18-19.

The Price Paid for Us

The price paid for us was the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.  When God's time of grace comes to an end, all those that have not taken up the advantage of God's free gift of grace, the price for our sins, will have to suffer the consequences of God's judgement on this earth!

Peace in the Greek is the word 'eirene' (i-ray-nay), and it means 'one'. (Jesus made us one with Himself. He is peace. You are one with peace). Peace, quietness and rest. Remember He said, "Come to me and you will find rest for your soul." It comes from the word 'eiro', which means to join or tie together into a whole. You are complete in Jesus Christ. Christ is complete in you! 'Eirene' here means unity (Psalm 13:3), bringing together multiple parts to form a whole!

"Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm" Mark 4:39.

When Jesus' spoke peace to the storm, He used a different word for 'peace'. "Peace be still!" "Siopao" means "Be Silent!"

However, Mat 10:14 says, "If the household is worthy, let your peace (eirene) come upon it." The English word "serene", which means calm and peaceful, comes from the word 'eriene' (shalom).

The peace of God is different from the peace of the world. Jesus said, "My peace, give I unto you."

Biblical peace is not just the absence of conflict. It is taking action to restore a broken situation. That's what Jesus did. That is what we MUST DO! It's a state of wholeness and completeness.

God desires for you and I to be WHOLE. He desires for us to live in a peaceful world that is full of love and goodness. That is the true meaning of Christmas. God so loved the whole world that he gave (the greatest Christmas present ever!) His only Son Jesus Christ, that we might have life!

The enemy comes only to steal, kill and destroy! However, the night that Christ was born, the angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14

Our responsibility as Christians is to maintain God's peace on earth, and we do this by exercising our authority through the Name of Jesus, binding Satan's power and pulling down His Kingdom. Through prayer, we are to uphold our governments, praying for a righteous government and righteous laws, that will be a blessing to all. The bible says, "When the righteous are in power, the people rejoice!" The church is the salt of the earth! We are to pray for all people to be saved and come to the great knowledge of the Son of God. 

Jesus is the reason for the season! He has promised that He will return!  At the end of the book of Revelation, Jesus says, "He is coming quickly." Our response to that statement must be, as it states in Revelation 22:20, "Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." The last verse in the book of Revelation says, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." 

What we as Christians need is a fresh revelation of God's grace. This knowledge will give us stability and peace through troubled times until The Rapture or 'catching up' of the church.  

Today, it is time for our spirits to rejoice in God our Saviour. We, like Mary, have been highly favoured. We are the blessed of the Lord. We have found favour with God because unto us a child is born, and unto us, a Son is given (Isaiah 9:6).  

This has been a strange year, to say the least. But I want to encourage every reader that God is still on the throne and He has not changed His mind about your life. 

It says in Isaiah 9:7, "Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

What stands out to me in this verse is the words' increase', 'peace', 'judgment', 'justice' and that last line 'the zeal of the Lord will perform this'. Don't you just love this scripture? It is jammed packed, with life, goodness, hope and God is zealous to perform His Word and establish it, in our lives.  His Kingdom reigns overall!  

Friends, family, get ready for peace, justice and increase. God is on our side.  I dare you to believe this! I dare you to decree this. I dare you to believe that you are heading into the best year ever! Regardless of what is happening around you or in the world, look at what is in you and upon you. Lift up your eyes to the hills and praise the Lord!  Keep your eyes on Jesus and decree and declare peace and increase are yours, in His name. 

Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem means 'house of bread'. Remember, Jesus said, "I am the true bread that has come down from heaven."  

I like to think about the plans and the purposes of God. It says in Jeremiah 29:11, 'God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, that is all good and ends in a future filled with hope, where your dreams are all fulfilled (my translation and expansion).' We do not have to fear the present or the future. We can live in a place of peace and safety by trusting in the Lord and His plan for our life.  

How awesome is our God?  He is in control of time. He is in control of eternity. He is in control of the planets and star systems. A star appeared over Bethlehem that night, and its light shone down on the Christ child. I dare you to meditate this for a moment, how God set in motion His plans over hundreds of years and worked them to a pinpoint time.   

Three decades later, the apostle John pointed out his cousin, Jesus, and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!". And more than two millennia later, Jesus is still taking away the sins of all who accept His sacrifice that makes peace between them and God.

I pray that this Christmas season, you find a new hope and new confidence in the Lord God, creator of the whole world. He is concerned about every detail of your life. This Christmas, trust in His plan; trust in His timing and trust in His love.

God bless and much love,

Ps. Shaun Marler

Apostle World Harvest Ministries

Please share this update with anyone you believe would be blessed by it. Tell others about our ministry and help us to connect with your friends and family.