Renewing our Heart: God's Gift of Peace is Jesus
Posted: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
Hello my dear friends!
For some of you, this piece will sound familiar, take comfort; you are not losing your mind. I admit up front that much of this message was given in an article I posted several months ago. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to tweak it just a bit and ask each of us to allow the message to move past our minds and straight into our hearts.
Many of us are searching for God's peace. We know He promised it to us, but we just are'nt feeling it. We have bills to pay, we have health issues, we have family members who have not come to know the Lord--whatever the case may be, I pray this study will remind us that peace is not something we need to go searching for, and contrary to popular belief, it's not something we need to pray for. It is something we attained the moment we said yes to Adonay-our Lord Master.
"Peace is God's gift to me." Still not convinced? Say it again: "Peace is God's gift to me."
With this personal thought in mind, take in the following information as if you were the only person in the world it was written for. Because in a sense it is, If you were the only person in the world who received Christ, Jesus still would have allowed Himself to be nailed to that cross.
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Yahweh Shalom - "The Lord is Peace". Unfortunately, our English word peace does not adequately describe the full meaning of the Hebrew word Shalom.
On the surface, this might not have a great impact on how we view God's favor toward man. After all, it is probably safe to say that everyone knows the meaning of the word peace.
Unfortunately, putting it into practice is another story.
I recently did a study on the word Shalom. I am blessed and I wanted to pass the blessing on to all who read.
Let us look at these two words a little bit closer.
PEACE= (Man's perspective) Absence of war, to be silent, to be calm in heart and mind.
Although the English word peace can be used to describe internal serenity, more often than not, it speaks to external circumstances. In fact, in the world of gangsters it has become a catch phrase. i.e. "Peace-out man", slang for "stay cool and out of trouble".
SHALOM= (God's perspective) A greeting to pronounce a personal blessing on another in its fullest capacity. i.e. "Hello and may God's favor rest in you and give you a prosperous, satisfied, healthy, perfect and harmonious day."
Okay, I must admit, when I say hello to someone, I do not consciously include all of these well wishes. Sure, I mean it when I say have a great day. It can be assumed I mean all of the things above, but the point is I am not usually making the effort to think these things through or taking the time to be specific when I say have a great day.
I do not want this to be a mere study of words, however, but rather, I hope it opens the door for a second look at what this title is saying about the Creator God.
Yahweh Shalom is God's very name, a title that describes one of His many attributes. It points out that God is not merely one who gives peace, but that He IS peace. He is the sole source of true and lasting peace that is rooted in the internal man. This internal peace, when experienced in its fullness, is the only thing that will bring external peace.
Still, this is only part of why I am excited about Shalom. To be honest, the real reason is my need to feel loved, cared for, and accepted-unconditionally-warts and all. In short, I am human.
Even deeper still, is the fact that God feels this way about you and me! This is the best part because even though others may wish us the absolute best, they have no power to do anything about it--at least not to the greatest degree. By this, I mean we are human and we will fall short and disappoint each other at times.
BUT GOD! (My two favorite words in the entire bible,) He is not like man and cannot lie, nor will He ever go back on His promises. (Titus 1:2)
While studying Shalom, I looked up a few passages of Scripture, they took on a new meaning and I applied them to my life in a bigger way. Following is just one of the many.
"These things I [Jesus] have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I have said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:25-27
Have you ever stopped to consider what Jesus is really saying when He says "My peace I give to you?" Remembering that the Lord's name is Shalom, what Jesus is saying here is that I give Myself to you!! This tells us that when we receive Jesus, we receive peace. Peace, by the Holy Spirit lives within each and every child of God! This is great news!
So why do we struggle--searching and looking for peace? Perhaps it is because we do not realize it is already inside.
Okay, so what do we do once we realize this truth? We have a choice. We walk in this truth--not by feeling, but by faith. We remember that when Adonay--our Lord Master says I have given Myself to you, we believe it. No matter what our external circumstances may be.
I pray you have been encouraged. Take some time to dig a little deeper. I am including a few Scripture references, look them up, and see just what God desires for us and from us.
Psalm 122:6-8, Isaiah 26:3, Galatians 5:22, Psalm 34:14 – I am making it a point to remember that the Biblical word (Hebrew in the Old Testament) is always Shalom. I will never take the word peace for granted again.
Peace is with you--take hold of Him today!
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Yahweh Shalom, my Lord and my friend, thank you for this great gift. Forgive me for losing sight of this truth and allowing my circumstances to blur my vision. Help me today Adonay, remind me that as my Lord and Master, I will believe all that you have promised me. Help me to remember that wherever I go; whatever this life will throw my way--I have Peace living in me and You have promised to never leave me nor forsake me. And now that I am reminded, I can have confidence no matter what comes my way.
Thank you for all the friends and family you have blessed me with that are a direct reflection of your goodness. Help me to focus on the smile that brings warmth to my heart. Calm my fears this day Lord and help me to take a deep breath and surrender to the Peace within.
In the name of my precious Lord Jesus--my master and my peace, Amen
(C) Teresa Ortiz
Yahweh Shalom, my Lord and my friend, thank you for this great gift. Forgive me for losing sight of this truth and allowing my circumstances to blur my vision. Help me today Adonay, remind me that as my Lord and Master, I will believe all that you have promised me. Help me to remember that wherever I go; whatever this life will throw my way--I have Peace living in me and You have promised to never leave me nor forsake me. And now that I am reminded, I can have confidence no matter what comes my way.
Thank you for all the friends and family you have blessed me with that are a direct reflection of your goodness. Help me to focus on the smile that brings warmth to my heart. Calm my fears this day Lord and help me to take a deep breath and surrender to the Peace within.
In the name of my precious Lord Jesus--my master and my peace, Amen
(C) Teresa Ortiz
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More commentsHi Teresa,Thank you again! I needed to be reminded of this. I am not sure why I feel defeated, but I know it will pass. It is probably just my false pride or low self-esteem.Hugs, love and blessingsHi Michelle! You are not deveated, not by a long shot. In Christ, you have the victory and God already sees you in all your glory--we are just playing catch up. Believe it because it is true, feelings are deceiving. God bless you dear friend!
Teresa,Great post. Consider the following, if we did not have trials, great even, how would we know God's love? If life was a continual trip to Disneyland, how would we know suffering enough to appreciate health and comfort. Also, if we knew he would answer our prayers at a certain time in known ways, how could we exercise our faith? And TRULY come to understand him? It is only in the overcoming of great trials that we get to truly know of His great love. These trails bring to us eternal blessings: compassion; understanding; increased faith in God, ourselves and in the understanding of the imperfections and trials of our fellowmen-women; increased strength, fortitude, and love, the Compassion of Christ, even.
We are not long for this world. And as the years pass, more and more I become aware of our only need for concern: doing His will. If we forsake Him for hobbies, television, shopping, the seeking of fame, fortune, and greater social standing we only do so for time, ignoring eternity. For is not life a mere spit in the cosmic bucket of time?
Here is the great experiment, the laboratory called life, where our only cause for concern is to learn of Him, looking to our brothers and sisters--Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Martin Luther King--and our eldest brother, even Jesus, as our only interests. If we focus elsewhere too often too intensely we not only fail Him but we fail ourselves in learning to overcome the fallen man, the arm of flesh, our weaknesses that we must give to Him to learn what He desires us to learn.
God bless and let God.
Hi Jeff, I left my response back to you in the wrong place. sorry :-) see below
HI Jeff, always good to hear from you. Thanks for sharing these wonderful insights!! How right you are!!Lord bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you and give you peace!
hi t,this is probably my favorite article of yours. very powerful and uplifting, especially to those of us who need it. when the world starts striking at us, it's sometimes hard to remember that God is within us, and the truth will set us free. thanks for sharing,my best,sueHi Sue, I'm so glad it encouraged you. I sure needed the reminder myself! Thanks for reading. Love you lots! t
"So why do we struggle--searching and looking for peace? Perhaps it is because we do not realize it is already inside". Yes we pray for world peace many times but hat will nevr be until Christ returns. We pray for the poor and needy but the needy and poor will always be with us. We pray for peace but trials will alwys be with us. Yes the only real peace is when we can accept it within and allow itself to manifest. Regards, RobertHi Robert, as usual, you add such great things to expand our understanding. Thank you!!! God bless you!
Teresa,I'm responding this way because lately after clicking "Respond to this comment" I can't get my cursor in the box. Technology! I truly admire the level of your humility. Truly Christ-like. I'm still working on mine. Sometimes it's like reigning in a wild beast. You are doing great things with your words of encouragement. And it shows in the number and sincerity of responses, oh Comment Queen ;=)
God's love to you and with you.
Jeff
P.S.
Here's another five star rating for ya. Peace!!!
Wow Jeff, you made be blush. Thank you for the kind words. It is funny that I would be characterized as humble because I was anything but that before I gave my life to the Lord. It is one of the first things I prayed for, or rather it was one of the first things God used his sledge hammer on. I believe humilty comes down to remembering that you have been forgiven and that no one is beyond God's grace, no matter how "apparent" it might be.There are those who would probably faint if they new what kind of person I am today.Thanks again! God bless you.Your most humble friend--The Comment Queen --if there is one thing I take pride in, it's the fact that I am humble. HA!
Thanks Teresa for another inspirational article. It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes, "Be still and know that I am God." When we are truly "still" we truly know and feel that peace that is always inside us.
Thank you for writing about Shalom. It is a wonderful word. I think that if you set the intention for all it means in your "hello" or "have a great day", then the lucky person on the other end will receive the full message even if you don't speak all the words.
Blessings,
Val Silver
Hi Val! Thanks for reading and for sharing your insight. Ilove it. Being still requires discipline, but well worth it. Lord bless you! Now I am off to read from you :-)
what you have desribed is exactly what I have experienced in my life and have resisted. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who didn't hear it quite loud enough the first time, or the second time, etcc..But tonite, ( or last night rather) I've realised that I think it is a personal conscious choice to be made. And it's just the matter of wanting good over bad,i.e. wanting to be a good person, rather than a bad person. Oddly enough, I've always felt that God's wishes and demands upon us are truly in our best interest to follow. I've just been resisting because I think..well..I don't know, other than to try and make up excuses when there really aren't any. It's easier to say, " well, I didn't want to not fit in with society", or that " I was afraid that I my friends would cut me loose, or that I wouldn't be having any more fun"But the truth is, the opposite really hasn't been a whole heckof alot of fun.Thanks for sharing!( P.S. ) I'm sincerely starting to feel this and know it. it seems odd that it would appear to be an overnight change, but..this is really how I am feeling.Jennifer, you bring tears of joy to my heart. And I want you to know that if you sat and talked with every true Christian out there, they would tell you that they felt exactly as you did/do. We want to fit it, we don't want to lose friends" and all that jazz, but you have taken a huge step in seeing that the alternative is not much better. Truth be told, and hard t accept, is that if our friends were truly our friends, they would be happy that we found something that brings us peace.In reality Jennifer, when we surrender to this truth, we gain way more than we will ever lose. God opens new doors, adds true friendships to our lives and brings about a joy and peace dispite our circumstances. It may seem like an overnight change, that's what happens when God opens our eyes, but the truth is as you said, it has been a long time coming. I think all your mixed emotions is the result of the conviction you for fighting for so long and the joy you are beginning to feel because you suddenly feel God closer to you than you ever have before and that is because you are beginning to let your walls fall.It is a fact that it is all about good vs evil, God vs the devil, and we are in the middle, its like they are playing tug of war with us. The difference is God willl not rip our arms off in order to win. The devil on the other hand, will pull at us and he doesn't care how much he rips us apart in the process. God is gracious, he will call us, but will wait patiently until we answer and say "here I am Lord, take me" And then he will snatch us right out of the devils hand, so fast, that we feel a strange, yet comfortable feeling".In every sense, it is a spiritual experience. I am so glad God brought us together, I know that He has put other people in your life who have been sharing the same things I have and more so, as they know you personally. God has been planting seeds all along, bringing others to water them, and I do believe Jennifer, it is time to sprout. This is how it is explained in the Bible for us.Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I am glad it helped you. Have a great day. And I do look forward to the next time we chat.Your friend, Teresa
Good to see you and this piece - warped it I did. I need to go and sit in His lap right now. Blessings in a huge way and PEACE... MarijoThank you Marijo - this is a reminder that never grows old in my own life.
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