Day 13

And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.  Matthew 6:13

The Lord’s Prayer.  Simple.  Powerful.  Memorable.  Forgiveness plays a very prominent role.  Without forgiveness, there is no inner peace.  Certainly no peace with God.  We get that.  We know God forgives us when we confess sin.  That is His nature.  It is not our nature.  We struggle with the whole forgiveness thing.  For many, the person who is forgiven last is self.  We forgive our spouses, friend, kids, and neighbors.  We cannot bring ourselves to forgive ourselves.

Self forgiveness is a necessary step in spiritual formation.  Martin Luther could find no peace apart from the grace of Christ.  The power of peace with God is the maturing of peace with self.  Only in the recesses of self forgiveness does the peace of God permeate.  Ask any parent who loses a child about the penalty of unforgiveness toward self.  Guilt becomes the club of self flagellation.  Somehow we blame ourselves.  If only . . I should have . . . why couldn’t I?  The scene is played over and over in the mind.  The same tragic ending.  It may not be the loss of a child.  We hold ourselves captive for wrong decisions and outcomes.  Reality.  Often, there was little we could do.  In situations when we are at fault, we most forgive and move on.  Wallowing in self-pity is not a spiritual discipline.  Let our actions demonstrate a new resolve, a new life, a new person born of the Spirit of God.

The inability to forgive self robs many of inner peace.  It becomes a stumbling block to spiritual growth and our maturity in Christ.  We become frozen, stuck in the quagmire of guilt and shame.  May you release the guilt and allow the pervading grace of Christ to permeate yourself.

Day 12

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
. . . 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Genesis 1:26-31

The image of God within us, our image, how we see ourselves is critical to peace with self.  Without inner peace, we continually ride the roller coaster of outward performance, expectations, and a desire to please others.  This leads to a performance-based image, an image that will never be at rest.  When criticism comes from others, we seek to increase performance to counteract the criticism.  And since we cannot experience peace unless others are happy with us, we continue to performance, hoping and praying for acceptance and adulation.  Children seek to perform hoping for the approval of a parent, often a father.  Employees work to gain acknowledgement from an employer leading to disappointment.  We can even become performance-based in our marriages.  “If I work harder at the gym, he will love me.  If I make more money, she will respect me.”

I see none of this in Jesus.  He slept sounding at night.  There was always another to heal, opportunities to teach, demons to subdue, and lives to touch.  Yet, each day was enough.  He need not perform to gain the love and acceptance of the Father.  The Father was pleased.  In His pleasure, Jesus would do the work of the Father.  He rested in the image of God within even when others challenged, ignored, or were blind to it.

When we discover, experience, and live knowing the pleasure of the Father for us, everything changes.  We are not performing for others or even self.  No vicious cycle of performance, disappointment, more performance, more disappointment, etc.  We join the Father in His work.  We live to serve Him.  The approval of others is not considered, only our approval before God.  We are not afraid of failure.  We serve out of gratitude, not a sense of obligation.  There is peace and joy within as we know the Father smiles upon us.

Day 11

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
. . . 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.  Genesis 1:26-31

We are created in the image of God, the imago dei.  In all creation, humans stand alone and above.  Animals have elements of creative capacity and communication.  Humans create, communicate, and control.  Humans have the Biblical injunction and capacity to rule creation.  God set us apart, blessed us, and stated our creation was “very good.”  Adam and Eve were perfect, without sin, naked and unashamed before the Father.  They enjoyed friendship and intimacy with Father God.  They experienced total peace with God, peace with self, and peace with each other.

Unfortunately, this peace was shattered by sin.  Now they were afraid and ashamed before the Father.  The perfect of image of God was tarnished and tattered.  Harmony with God, self, others and creation became illusive and difficult.  Adam must toil for food.  The soil is tainted with weeds.  And just as weeds grew in the garden, they grew in relationships.  Cain kills Abel.  Blood is spilt upon the land.  Man and the creation are at odds.  The Bible tells us creation moans for completion, for the day of reconciliation.  At the heart of the disharmony is a disconnect with God and self.  We no longer see ourselves as the cherished work of the Father.  We can treat ourselves like trash.  When looking in the mirror, we see little of the original imago dei reflecting back at us.

Jesus changed it all.  He restores our image.  He strips away shame and fear.  We can be at rest with God and self, naked and unashamed once more.  The problem?  I do not know many Christians who experience this peace, this rest, when looking in the mirror.  Instead, they see too much or too little of this or that.  When we love God, we love ourselves and take care of us.  This means proper nutrition, exercise, sleep and a balance of work/play.  If we are not at peace with self, we push until we drop.  Our bodies finally rebel and shut us down.  Or, we comfort self with food, alcohol, drugs, and sex to the excess.  Without peace, our bodies will betray us, taking us to the depth of sin and wallowing in self-indulgence. The imago dei becomes buried. Jesus resurrects us our dead bodies.  We can become slaves of righteousness instead of sin.  Our bodies can serve God and reflect the original image.  True self image begins with acknowledgement of sin and dependence upon the grace of the Father through Christ.  We reconnect, re-image, and re-relate.  We can be at rest within.

Day 11

Text: Matthew 22:34-40
34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”  NKJV

Psychobabble has ruined the concept of loving your neighbor as yourself.  The idea of self-love as proposed by many psychologists can easily promote a sense of egocentrism which is at odds with Biblical teaching.   Biblical writers inspired by the Holy Spirit assumed a healthy self concept.  We are created in the image of God, a little lower than the angels, at the pinnacle of creation.  The Father counted us worthy of redemption by His only Son.  We are sinners saved  by grace.  When we have a healthy view of self, we have a healthy understanding how to love others as well.

How is a healthy self-concept related to inner peace?  There is no peace with self without love for self.  We love others most fully when comfortable in our own skin. When we are not comfortable with self, the disturbance leads to compensation.  We cling, we push away, we exaggerate, we depreciate, we cut, we enhance, we do all types of actions that betray the distress within.  The tormented self leads to many of the dysfunctions of humanity – addictions, anxiety, depression, and the ultimate act of self-hate, suicide.

As a volunteer police chaplain, suicides were a common call out.  The pain and devastation left upon others is numbing.  For those committing suicide, the belief is often others would be better off without them.  Children are better off with no mom than a bad one.  Spouses are better off with no spouse than a bad one.  The guilt and anger of those left behind can take years to heal.

God loves us.  We love God in return with our entire being.  The love of God centers us in a healthy, balanced view of self.  From a peace and love of self, we love others most fully.

Day 10

Psalm 37:7-8
7 Be still in the presence of the Lord,
      and wait patiently for him to act.
   Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
      or fret about their wicked schemes.
8 Stop being angry!
      Turn from your rage!
   Do not lose your temper—
      it only leads to harm.

Anger creates tremendous tension and turmoil inside.  We will never have inner peace if we have a heart at war, not at peace.  Yesterday, we examined trust.  Today, anger.

Anger is a secondary emotion.  Something causes us to become angry.  Through situations and history in childhood, we can even have free-floating anger.  In other words, we feel angry most of the time and don’t even know why.  These are angry people.  We often say they have a chip on their shoulders.  We may not have free-floating anger to have a heart at war.  We have no inner peace from the bitterness and hatred we harbor toward others.  A bitter root has found fertile soil.  We have cultivated the grudge.  The toxic fruit is maturing.  We rage.  We fume.  We have no peace.  If someone asked us, we would say nothing is wrong.  Yet, there remains a sharpness in our voice and unsettledness in our heart.

The answer to rage is stillness. We come face to face with self in stillness.  We have nowhere to hid, nowhere to run, no one to blame.  We must be at peace with God to be still before Him.  In the stillness God speaks.  He affirms us as His children.  He forgives our sin.  He smiles upon us.  He removes our anger.  He heals our hurts. He pulls out the bitter root. He restores our soul.  We will never experience a heart at peace until God removes the war within.  God forgives us.  True peace comes when we forgive self and others.  We are at peace with God and self.

Now, we delight in the stillness before the Father.  We can wait for Him.  We need not run ahead, become impatient, or become angry with God or others.  We find it takes discipline and practice to be still.  The practice of stillness creates space in your life for the Father.  Space for Him to speak and you to listen.  Space to quiet your soul.  Stillness to find peace.

The world swirls around us.  Many people rage.  Their hearts are at war.  Bitterness and hatred abound.  Few make space for God and sit in stillness.  May you be one of the few.  May you have a heart at peace.

Day 9

Peace with Self
Ps 37:3-6
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
      Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
 4 Take delight in the Lord,
      and he will give you your heart’s desires.
5 Commit everything you do to the Lord.
      Trust him, and he will help you.
 6 He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
      and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

Without trust in God and trust in others, inner peace is impossible.  We will focus on trust with others later.  Trust begins with God and self.  Can I trust God?  Can I trust myself?

David mentions several areas on our side of the equation of trust with God.  One, we do good.  We are innocent and just.  We can trust God to rectify injustice and shine a light on our innocence.  Does this happen immediately?  Often, no.  David was a fugitive from Saul fleeing for his life.  Eventually, the kingdom was taken from Saul and given to David.  We can trust God to live safely in the land and prosper.  Does that mean no ill will ever befall us or we become rich?  No.  But we need not worry about it.  We can trust God.

Second, we delight in the Lord.  There is joy in delight.  I delight in Sharlyne.  There is joy in her presence.  There is no burden.  There is priority in delight.  The delightful things of life gain our attention, our focus.  When free time is available, we give it to those delightful things.  When we delight in God, there is joy, focus, and priority.  He, then, gives us the desires of our hearts.  Our Father does not taunt us.  We give Him our delight, He gives us our desire.  When we delight in the things that delight the Father, our desires will match the heart of the Father.  David reinforces the thought of delight with commitment.  Because I delight in Sharlyne, I am committed as well.  No other woman delights me (my daughters run a close second).  Commitment builds trust. Trust builds security and safety.  We rest in peace with God.

Day 8

Romans 8:5-8
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.  NIV

You cannot have inner peace when war is raging inside.  These verses speak to the state of your mind.  The seeds of sin always begin in the mind.  When the mind is toying with temptation, there is no inner peace.  A wrestling match is breaking out between the mind and the soul.  The mind will always win.  The seed of sin growths from a thought, to deliberation, to action.  And the action of sin, the Bible says, leads to death.

You can circumvent the war within with a mind controlled by the Spirit.  When you live in accordance with the Spirit there is harmony with mind and soul.  Life, what you do in behavior that others witness, gives testimony to a mind at peace.  How do you live a life controlled by the Spirit?  By constant surrender, humility, and obedience.  Moment by moment you have choices.  You chose a mind at peace or a mind at war.  You chose to plant a seed of sin or cultivate the Spirit of God.  The choices matter, all of them, because the little ones lead us to the major ones.  A man does not wake up one morning and decide to cheat on his wife.  A seed is planted, it becomes watered, slowly grows, and if left unchecked, will fully sprout into sin.  A woman keeping the books one day slides a few dollars on the ledger.  The company does not pay her enough.  She deserves it.  Next month, she embezzles a few dollars more.  No one catches up to her.  A year later, the auditor discovers $100,000 is missing.
Do you have any sin seeds growing in your mind?  Is your mind at war or peace with the soul?  You can have a mind controlled by the Spirit of God resulting in peace.  Make the decision.  Then, make it again and again and again.

Day 7

Colossians 3:3
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

At the core of self is identity.  Peace with self is peace with your identity.  What happens when your identity is wrapped around what you do, your appearance, or the people around you?  Often we wrap identity around career and job/business.  The more prestigious the job and income, the greater the self-worth.  The current economy is beating up the identities of millions of people.  No job, no business, and no self-worth.  As people consider shifting vocations, it strikes at the heart of identity.  Who am I and what should I do?  Some place identity around family, the role of spouse, parent or child.  Kids grow up.  Parents die.  Sometimes marriages fail.  Who am I without family?   Our culture places so much emphasis upon outer beauty.  What happens inside when you don’t measure up?  When you age?  You are vulnerable when identity is wrapped around externals.

Paul said it simply, “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  You have a new identity . . . an identity that is unshakeable.  When I read this, I look in the mirror and see a Child of God, not the old, fat, bald guy starring back.  The world can beat me up.  I am dead.  The world cannot hurt a dead man.  I am hidden in the riches of Christ.  I am abiding in the grace of God.  I am a Servant of the King.  I am forgiven.  I am blessed.  I am seated in Heaven with Christ.  Everything in my life can be stripped from me except my life hidden in Christ.  The knowledge and experience of life in Christ creates a strong inner core resilient to bumps and bruises of daily life, even the catastrophes.  The beginning of peace with self is an identity hidden in Christ.

Day 6

Philippians 4:6-7
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 your minds in Christ Jesus.  NIV

Yesterday, we touched on how to alleviate stress, anxiety and fear by gaining the eyes of eternity.  Today, we learn how to gain a peace with God that transcends all understanding.  The secret?  Prayer.  Prayer cultivated as a lifestyle, not the quick microwave prayers for instant gratification.  We can easily find ourselves with a drive-up mentality about prayer.  We want to get in and out, give God our menu of prayer needs, sprinkle on some blessings, then hurry on to the rest of our day.  We will not experience much peace with such a prayer life.

Paul instructs us to be anxious for nothing and pray for everything, with thanksgiving.  A simple, yet very profound formula for peace with God.  When was the last time you practiced this little formula?  That every single thing causing anxiety was brought to the Father in prayer?  Consistently.  Intentionally.  And, with thanksgiving.  That little twist is significant.  When we come to the Father bringing a petition with thanksgiving, a shift has occurred in our heart.  We have moved from complaint, or a critical spirit, to a place of thanksgiving.  This shift alone begins the process of transcendence.  Then, we leave our petitions before the King’s throne.  We are confident in His power, justice, wisdom and grace.  The King is greater than our problems.  We can trust Him.  Paul borrows a word picture from the military.  A garrison of soldiers guards our hearts and minds with a peace that transcends all understanding.  Nothing breaks through the ranks.  We experience an indescribable peace protected by the very Spirit of God.

I know many people who long for such a peace.  The beginning of the peace comes from a decision of faith.  The depth of peace comes from a lifestyle of prayer cultivating the presence of God.  You cannot hurry into peace.  Peace comes from a heart stilled before the King.  The question today on the journey of peace is transcendence.  Have you experienced a peace beyond words or even thoughts?  Do you have a peace that no anxiety, fear or thought can penetrate?  The Father wishes to give you that peace.

Day 5

John 14:27-29
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am.  I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.  NLT

These are the last words of Jesus from His discourse recorded by John.  He was giving the disciples a farewell gift – a gift of peace.  The world cannot give this gift.  Soul peace has only one source . . . God.  When the soul is at peace, there is no anxiety or fear.

Easy words to write, quite a bit different to live them out.  Anxiety and fear disrupt any sense of peace.  There is no peace when anxiety reigns.  The economy is still causing a great deal of stress among millions of people. Stress is translated to anxiety or fear, or both.  When you cannot pay a mortgage and your home may be taken away, anxiety and fear can paralyze you. The paralysis only increases the anxiety and fear.  Inaction escalates stress.  Action decreases stress.

The peace from Jesus was a gift, the gift of eternity eyes.  The disciples were filled with grief over the departure of Jesus.  The peace comes from understanding He is not really leaving.  His presence will remain for all eternity.  When you see with the eyes of eternity, the things of this world grow dim.  No need to stress over what you cannot keep.  No need to worry about houses on earth when the Father gives us mansions.  Stop and consider all that fills your mind and heart with worry, concern and fear.  How much of what you worry about will remain in eternity?  I have not buried anyone with a house, car, stocks, or 401k.  It was all left behind.  What they brought with them were others touched by eternity; family, friends,  and those who accepted the invitation to the King’s banquet.  No one in heaven will be impressed by any earthly material possession or achievement.

If you do not have this kind of peace, Jesus is still ready to give it away.  He will give you eternity eyes to see through the panic and stress of the moment.  Got peace?  Get Jesus.