GDLC Audio

Ash Wednesday begins our Lenten journey as we are invited to look at the Pharisee in the Mirror. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector reveals how spiritual pride can blind us to grace. This parable invites us to look upon our own lives with sober humility. It's not our goodness that justifies us, but God’s mercy alone. Jesus invites us to drop the comparisons and come before Him honestly as we find freedom not in being “better” but in being forgiven.  

When Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you,” He is offering more than just calm feelings but Jesus is imparting Shalom. Shalom as the deep, unshakeable wholeness of God’s presence within us. In Philippians, Paul echoes that promise, urging believers to rejoice, pray, and fix their minds on what is true and good. Paul says that as we do this the peace of God, which is greater than our understanding will be actively guarding our hearts and minds in the promises of Jesus. This Shalom is not dependent on circumstances but anchored in communion with Jesus. This is the gift of a peace that steadies us when the world trembles, mends what anxiety fractures, and restores us to a right relationship with God, others, and ourselves.  

When Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you,” He is offering more than just calm feelings but Jesus is imparting Shalom. Shalom as the deep, unshakeable wholeness of God’s presence within us. In Philippians, Paul echoes that promise, urging believers to rejoice, pray, and fix their minds on what is true and good. Paul says that as we do this the peace of God, which is greater than our understanding will be actively guarding our hearts and minds in the promises of Jesus. This Shalom is not dependent on circumstances but anchored in communion with Jesus. This is the gift of a peace that steadies us when the world trembles, mends what anxiety fractures, and restores us to a right relationship with God, others, and ourselves.