Jesus referred to in the Bible as The Prince of Peace, said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me.  Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows.  But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 NLT

How would you describe peace?  The absence of conflict?  Tranquility or calm?  A moment away from three screaming kids?

Jesus’ peace satisfies the deepest longing of our soul, soothes loneliness, restores relationships, and overcomes the deepest betrayals we can imagine.

This Christmas Jesus, Prince of Peace, brings peace in four gift-wrapped packages delivered to you today...

Peace with God

“Since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith in Jesus Christ, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.”  Romans 5:1 NLT

No more running or hiding.  God isn’t out to spank you or abandon you nor withhold his love from you. He offers a fresh start with no regrets if you are willing to accept the gift of His Son, Jesus, as payment for all your poor choices.

Peace of God

Jesus tells us, “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.”  John 14:27 NLT

The peace of God is within you in the person of the Holy Spirit and fills us with hope, courage, and wisdom.  The peace of God can leak out of you to others in a similar way Jesus’ peace flowed out of Him offering hope and friendship to the sick, lonely, and forgotten.

Peace with Self

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 NASB

No more self-loathing or self-sabotage.  No more acting out because you feel bad about being bad.  Jesus' peace brings truth into our hearts and minds and sets us free.

Peace with Others.

...as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.  Romans 12:18 CSB

As we experience Jesus extending peace to ourselves we begin to offer it freely to others.  Freely we received - freely we give. As best we can we choose peace, not payback, as did Jesus.

Which gift is most meaningful to you this year?  Who do you know that needs these three gifts?  Why not forward this to them now?

Pray

Lord Jesus thank You that You are the Prince of Peace and can fill my life with peace.  So, I’m thanking You for these four gifts; help me share them with my kids, spouse, friends, and those in my world who are sick, lonely, or forgotten. Amen

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Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13 

My not vaccinated 10-week covid experience transformed my faith, refined my purpose, and helped me discover what matters most.

It was an intervention on a massive scale, like having a dicey conversation with your spouse.

I lost all sense of rhythm in my spiritual, physical, and relational life. I was barely alive and the momentum of my life was at a dead standstill. Those two questions that haunt all men - “Who am I? And What am I doing?” began to pester me.

I felt I was starting over. Again.

Moving from “reaction” to “action.”

I moved from “reaction” to “action” as I started my days with God - reading a Psalm each day, making a shortlist of things I needed to do, and then getting after them with all I had - which wasn’t much.

I ate well, stayed hydrated, and talked each morning with Lea Ann about what was most important. It was a slow recovery, but I accepted things as they were rather than focusing on the past. I crawled my way into physical, relational, and spiritual fitness with micro-steps.

Creating a beachhead.

With a tiny bit of momentum, I began to encounter stiff resistance. It came when I got too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Trigger points for virtually any self-sabotage.

So I talked with my friend John and he asked: “What’s your plan?” I didn’t have one at the time but I later talked with God and slowly assembled one. It began with a random watching of the movie “Saving Private Ryan’ where I seized on the word “beachhead.” 

A beachhead is a defended position on a beach taken from the enemy from which an attack can be launched. Oxford Dictionary

Did you get that? It is a defended position taken from the enemy.

Getting my life back was in many ways a fight to “take back lost ground.”. Getting a toe hold was a dog fight yet I inched forward one day at a time. Not without setbacks, but always recovering and going forward.

Resist. Fight. Take a stand.

Three words became part of my morning reminder as I look into each day.

Resist. Resist the pull to cling to victim thinking, the lies of the enemy, and the momentum of our culture.

Fight. Fight for it. Resistance is fierce and the beach is heavily defended. Be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, and be strong.

Take a stand. Fear can creep in and if it gets an opening it can derail your progress. “Take a stand” means you refuse to yield, you call a trusted friend to pray with and for you, you fix your heart on Jesus and fight hard.

You see, we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:7-10 NASB

God is teaching and I am learning on this recovery road that there is a way things work. 

A beachhead hinges on God-inspired everyday decisions shaped by breakthrough moments. 

Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

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Drop a tennis ball and it falls to the ground.  It’s called “gravity.”  When the ball hits the ground it bounces.  That’s called “kinetic energy.”

We don’t fight these two things - it’s simply the way things work.

In this session, we’re going to look at “acceptance” of the way things work in a broken, fallen world.

We are wise to invite God to help us.  Consider the first line in the Serenity Prayer - “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Acceptance is a word from the wilderness, the desert, and fierce landscapes where we face the fact that we have no control.

Acceptance is like 5 card stud poker.  Stud not draw. We have to do the best we can with what we have!  The orphan hordes and hides. The boy folds. The man plays ‘em as best he can and doesn’t whine about it.

Acceptance is coming to terms and not getting stuck in the debilitating, life draining tar pit of “Why me??? anger, and resentment.  Sometimes life isn’t fair.  Tires go flat.  Jobs relocate or get phased out.  Illnesses strike.  Sometimes things just happen.  Sometimes it’s due to the poor choices of others that trap us in the backwash.

Acceptance is about those things we cannot change.  The things we have prayed about and gotten a clear answer of ‘no’ from God.

Acceptance is a choice. Most often we need to drop into acceptance when we are consumed with being right or having a specific outcome -- namely, our own!

Acceptance of the way things really are, not as we’d like them to be.

Acceptance of your limits.  Knowing what you have control over and what you don’t.

Acceptance of other people’s opinions.  Letting go of needing to be “right.”

Acceptance can be defined as letting go of my opinion or my assessment of things and taking hold of what is true.

Acceptance of me by God.  “My heart began to thaw as I became open to His unconditional acceptance of me as I am, not as I should be. He loves me whether in a state of grace or disgrace, whether I live up to the lofty expectations of His gospel or I don’t. He comes to me where I live and loves me as I am.” Brennan Manning

With acceptance, we trade good for great, angst for peace while everything inside seems to scream “NO!!!!!”

Jesus tells the story of a Centurion, an officer in the Roman army.  The officer asked Jesus for help with a sick soldier under his command.  Here’s how the conversation went...

“Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”  Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”  The Centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” Matthew 8:5-13 NIV

The Centurion understood and accepted how things work in the natural, physical world.  For example, he understood the devastating effects of terminal illness and he understood the chain of command.

But more importantly, the Centurion understood the power of prayer (making a request of Jesus) and placed his hope and faith in Jesus.   And Jesus is never bound by or limited to the way things (normally) work!  

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“For I know the plans I have for you.  They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 paraphrase

This time of year some things speed up and others slow down.  For many, it is a time to reflect and set a new course.  If this is you, consider these simple ideas to prepare your heart for what’s next.

Create space to listen

This won’t happen unless you put it on your calendar.  Your good intentions will be overrun by other people’s poor planning.

Invite God IN

Talk with God about where you are stuck, waiting, confused, or raring to go.  He is more than eager to help.

Seek Counsel

Get together for coffee with someone you look up to and find out how they go about getting wind in their sails.

Listen to your heart

Three questions can prime the pump.  “Who am I?, What am I doing?, and What’s most important now?”

Let go - take hold

If you take actions like those above you will become aware of new directions that fire you up and worn-out things that you need to let go of.

If you take time now, the chances are very good that you will get off to a good start in 2022.  If you don’t take time now you can count on things being pretty much the same.

PRAY

You know God where I am with my life - and the truth is, reading this I realize I can make some choices.  Help me walk with You and others through this season of reflection.

RESOURCE

If you have a copy of my book, Chasing the Sage, check out a short chapter that will help you with this daunting season of change starting on page 161.

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God uses all things for good for those who know and follow Him.  Romans 8:28 BLT

Jesus shows us what gratitude really looks like.  In John 8 we find the story of a woman (and a man) caught in adultery.  The religious leaders following the rules of the Old Covenant demanded she be stoned.  Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant, where grace-filled love is the new law extends mercy; i.e. not getting what we deserve.

The woman’s response to Jesus’ mercy?

Gratitude.

Those aware they are beneficiaries of mercy can extend mercy.  Those unaware are unable to extend mercy like Jesus.

Every so often it does me good to fail in a BIG way.  Oh, not that I do it intentionally, or take it lightly.

Failure is compost from which the explosive cleansing of gratitude comes.

Unaware, in denial, or blaming others for my massive (yet ultimately forgiven) debt, I act like a spoiled brat.  I  point out the minor faults in loved ones, and demand the maximum sentence instead of mercy.

Only the habitual offender, in his right mind, weeps true tears of remorse when facing his victim, accuser, and the hanging judge.

He no longer blames, he stands naked and exposed -- guilty with no defense, confessing with no blame or rationalization.  He is fully aware of his heinous guilt.

Our Judge only asks “What did you do?” and waits.

All He asks is that we tell Him without blaming, justifying, or minimizing.

What, then does He wait for?  He waits for our gratitude and that we become like Him in this matter -- that we respond in like-kind to everyone in every offense with the same kind of mercy which we receive from Him.

“Turn the other cheek” is how Jesus put it.

Reflect

This Thanksgiving, recall a massive failure.  Reflect on how complete God’s forgiveness, and purpose in your heart to be like Jesus to others.  Become grateful.

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History shows us hard times breed discouragement.  75,000 of our spiritual ancestors found themselves in hard times in the book of Nehemiah.  The wall surrounding their city had crumbled, one brick at a time, from the neglect of regular maintenance.  It could no longer protect them.  As a result, the entire city had fallen apart.  With the wall a mess, roads, businesses, schools, and politics were in a mess.

The wall is a symbol of spiritual health.  The spiritual health was as sick as their city and for the same reason -- the neglect of regular maintenance.

Times were really hard.  Remember the pandemic winter of January 2020?  That’s what we’re talking about.

The people rallied behind the leadership of a regular guy named Nehemiah.  He organized the people and got them working together.  The people had a heart and mind to work!

Discouragement sets in as the work reaches the halfway point.

The media of the day conspired a smear campaign that demoralized the workers to the point the entire project was at risk of failing!

The will to work evaporated as fear raced through the workers when the project was about to be overrun by mercenaries.

Discouragement overcome!

Nehemiah once again rallied the people with, “Don’t be afraid of them, remember the LORD who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.” Nehemiah 4:15

I can imagine hundreds of households returning to the spiritual practices of family prayer, of reading Bible stories to their children, and moms and dads praying for their kids, neighbors, and country.

As the wall began to be repaired so too the spiritual fibre of the people.

In his journal, Nehemia wrote, “The workers went at it with one hand on a shovel and the other hand on a sword.”

Swords and Shovels for today

SWORDS  

Return to the basics of daily prayer as a desperate man.  

Read a chapter a day in your Bible.  

Get yourself and your family back to church.  

Focus more on our powerful God and less on the news and social media.

Become aggressive with optimism anchored in hope.

SHOVELS  

In your heart, home, and world figure out what needs your attention, a tune-up, or an overhaul and get after it with everything you’ve got.

Craft a plan and work it together.

Do the work -- one brick at a time.

As I write I am reminded of the wise words attributed to Solomon:

I walked by the field of a man, the vineyard of one lacking sense.  I saw that it was overgrown with thorns.  It was covered with weeds, and its walls were broken down.  Then, as I looked and thought about it, I learned this lesson:  A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest -- and poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like a robber.  Proverbs 24:30-34

Brother, hand me another brick.

Pray

Help me get sick and tired of being sick and tired, of waking up with either an emotional or physical hangover.  Help me get back the rhythm of saying “no” to those life sucking things I’ve been saying “yes” to.  Help me rebuild what I’ve neglected.  And as we do this -- one man at a time, we can rebuild the fabric of our churches and our country.

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In the previous episode, we talked about

The unfolding of this present darkness which has been rumbling in the background of many of our heads and hearts -- and the high likelihood it will continue -- perhaps for years.

Remember, Jesus promised to come back for us.  His coming back will not be delayed much longer. Hebrews 10:37 TLB  This has been the anticipation of Christians for over 2,000 years.  In A.D. 34 it was “perhaps today.”  The same is true now, “perhaps today.”

As citizens of Jesus’ Kingdom and the United States of America, we don’t need to freak out about it, but it does beg the question, “What am I supposed to do?”

Today we are going to explore...taking small steps of faith and look at how a guy was prompted by God to do something and how he got after it.  Let’s take a look at the story...

Noah..trusted God.  When he heard God’s warning about the future, Noah believed him even though there was then no sign of a flood, and wasting no time, he built the ark and saved his family. Noah’s belief in God was in direct contrast to the sin and disbelief of the rest of the world—which refused to obey—and because of his faith (in action) he became one of those whom God has accepted.  Hebrews 11:7 TLB

Noah didn’t ignore the warnings about the future.   He listened to what God wanted him to do and then he took action.

Noah’s actions saved his family.

His children learned firsthand from their father how to be a person of faith.

His wife must have felt cared for -- and surely she was proud to have Noah as her husband.

With God as the General Contractor and Noah as a craftsman builder, their relationship must have been intimate, conversational, intense, and fun!  Imagine literally working alongside God.

That’s what God has for you and me -- an invitation to survey the landscape, listen for instruction, get after it with small steps one day at a time... and do it with God.

Noah was a man of faith.  What is faith?  It is (human action based on) the confident assurance that something is going to happen.  It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead. Hebrews 11:1 TLB

What are you hearing these days?  What’s really on the horizon?

Pray

Heavenly Father, please help us to ‘see’ through the fog of our present circumstances to rest on the certainty of Your promises...and then act accordingly.  AMEN

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A while ago my friend Bob posed a question he heard while sitting in on board meeting of a very large media company.  “All evidence points to this unprecedented global chaos continuing for many years; are people prepared for that likely eventuality?”

God, speaking through Moses a few thousand years ago, spoke to the Jewish nation when they were in a hard place, a wilderness place, not unlike the chaotic in-between place we are in.  Here’s what He said...

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.   Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 NIV

These people were in the wilderness -- a land in between an apocalyptic life of slavery in Egypt and the promise of a land filled with milk and honey; i.e. the promised land.

These people were instructed to repeat these words daily to help them remember what to do as their world was spinning out of control wilderness wandering for 40 years.  40 years!

Perhaps like me, the unfolding of this present darkness has been rumbling in the background of your head and heart.  Either you’re looking at it like “I think we’re getting back to business as usual” or “I believe things are getting worse” or you’re not thinking about it at all.

Jesus’ words to followers like you and me paint a picture beyond the wilderness of this accelerating present darkness -- they tell us about our promised land.

“Let not your heart be troubled.  You are trusting God, now trust Me...When everything is ready, then I will come and get you, so that you can always be with me where I am.  And you know where I am going and how to get there. John 14:1-4 TLB [The Living Bible]

Now don’t get in a panic -- I’m not saying Jesus is coming back today.  I’m just reminding us Jesus said He would come again.  No one knows when.  The big question I found myself thinking is “What am I supposed to do while in this land in between?”

God is showing me very clearly;

• Love people, pray for those I disagree with, forgive quickly, keep trusting God.
• Read Bible stories to my granddaughter.
• Listen to the Spirit and do what He says.

To His disciples, you and me, who barely understand what is truly unfolding, Jesus said, 

“I have told you all of this so that you will have peace of heart and mind.  Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows; but cheer up, for I have overcome the world.”  John 16:33 TLB

Pray

More and more I’m feeling like those people in the wilderness -- in between.  It does seem to be getting more chaotic.  I’m concerned for my kids, my spouse, my job, and my country.  Show me very clearly God what to do and how to be between the wilderness of today and the promised land.

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You have need for endurance. Hebrews 10:36

In my head, I hear this verse a lot lately. Mostly when I’m trying to get something done and encountering resistance when the urge is to find an easier way or leave it half-finished. and add to the pile of stuff waiting for me in the corner.

You do, we, I need to find the way of endurance.

I hear it and so do you -- the pile of unfinished well-intended things tells us.

The old sage Paul says it this way...the path is the way of endurance. 1 Corinthians 10:13 BLT [1]

Endurance is the ability to withstand hardship or adversity; especially the ability to sustain a prolonged stressful effort or activity of a marathon runner's endurance.

Endurance is tested, or proven, or developed when everything inside you screams “I want out now!” and we stick to the task before us to the end.

The strange thing is, we think we can endure in a hurry. 

The way of endurance is to go slow - as a style of living. Hurry, busyness, speed kill the will to endure.

The undisciplined rush quickly to fantasy, the allure of stimulation, or to the fast burn of desire.

Selfish impatience in a hurry turns love into a self-seeking activity.

A mind out of control never sits still long enough to hear the voice of God.

In dark times we frequently pursue frenzied quick fixes.

And we are in dark times. What if this present darkness continues for ten or twenty years? Each year compounding the fear factor and the loss of personal freedoms.

"Go slow - or "go slower."

“Go slow” implies action, personal responsibility, and engagement -- the opposite of passivity which prevails in many of our lives.

Endurance is a “go slow” character trait -- we make a promise and keep it through to the end.

Get your arms around living within your means, and seeing it all the way through -- day by day, rain or shine.

Most any ordinary, mundane, everyday task calls us to endure; i.e. “do it” - in a complete and comprehensive way.

God is calling me out -- and you out: we have need for endurance! He is calling our families, church, and our nation to pursue the Way of Endurance.

It gets darker as winter comes upon us, as the media turns the screws, politics pursues agendas, our world spins more and more out of control -- dark times for sure.

Yes, in dark times we frequently pursue frenzied quick fixes. Our families need us to be enduring men who hold the line, finish the task, and run long.

If not now, when?

Pray

God, I’m in such a hurry. I feel like I can’t slow down! Help me at least to slow down to a sustainable pace. I’m tired of putting things off, leaving a legacy of unfinished projects, or giving in to the fast burn of desire. Help me follow the way of endurance and hold me to it - don’t let me weasel out of it this time. Amen

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As Jesus was coming down the road with His followers and a great crowd of curious people, a shabby schemer - a desperate down and outer named Bartimaeus was sitting by the road.  Mark 10:46

A short summary of the story of Bartimaeus:  He was a blind beggar and had one opportunity to tell Jesus what he wanted.   As Jesus approached down the street, His disciples kept the screaming throngs from crushing Him. The noise was deafening.

It was now or never for Bartimaeus.

A friend said that Jesus was steps away.  Bartimaeus let out a scream at the top of his voice. Jesus help me!  Actually, it was more of a long loud moan -- a guttural bay like a dying dog howling in desperation -- a scream of the soul.

The Bartimaeus Howl

No distrust made him waver.

“Jesus.  Help me!” the Bartimaeus Howl, the primal scream from the heart of faith and the whisper of the Jesus Prayer.

Jesus stopped dead in His tracks.  In His gaze, He heard the howl.  “What do you want?” Jesus asked.

“Help me!  I want to see!!!”

Right then and there Jesus opened Bartimaeus’ eyes, circumcised his heart, and cauterized the wound with a flaming stick from Moses’ burning bush.  

Perhaps it’s now or never for you.

Perhaps you are waiting.  Jesus is near.  Tell Him what you want.  Ask big.

Perhaps you are a friend.  Hold up the Christ light of love for your Bartimaeus.

Pray

Lord, these days, most of us are afraid of the dark, the unknown, the news.  Come down our street, the hallway of our home, the inner place of soul blindness and help us!  So that with hope, against hope we would believe…as we contemplate our life situation now as good as dead…yet with respect to the promise of God, we do not waver in unbelief, but grow strong on faith. 

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