Do you have the peace of Jesus?

Scripture:
"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."
(John 14:27)

During the week, my wife and I usually wind down at the end of the day by watching an episode or two of the sitcom Get Smart on KOCE. We find this relaxing and is just about the only thing on TV that we do not find offensive these days. After that there is usually a news broadcast on one of the channels and even that gets so depressing as we hear of a murder or a scandal or an abduction or a war and we both go from a peaceful, relaxing time to an anxious or deturbing time.

In Romans 3:17 it says that "the way of peace have they not known" and how can they. The world does not give us peace because they don't know peace. Only Jesus can give us real peace. But instead of "relaxing" right before we go to sleep what do we do? We put something that is not peaceful, things of this world, in our minds.

Last night I got up around 2 am as I do ocassionally during the night. When that happens I usually go to a rocking chair that is in the living room and sit and meditate and pray. Well last night while there, all of a sudden I heard the words, "I need to take these Legos out." That is right, but I did not hear this in my head, I heard these with my own ears. Why? Because my 5 year old grandson must have come out of his room and was sleeping on the couch and he was talking in his sleep.

Many of us have no clue that we are dreaming, unless it wakes us up. If we do remember something about a dream, we usually will forget it after a short time. And the point of this is not so much to focus on the dreaming but to focus on what we put in our minds, that could give us peace, if we would just do things like read the Bible or talk to God or meditate on the Word, just before we went to sleep.

The world does not know God's peace, the world can not give us the kind of peace that God can give us and yet, we let things of the world be an active part of our lives, to many times the exclusion of things that God wants to use in our lives to give us His peace.

Jesus says he has left with us, and has given us His peace and then tells us to not to "let" our hearts be troubled and nor "let" it be afraid. From this I am understanding that it is possible to not "let" my heart, or me, be troubled or afraid. That is to say, that my heart has the ability to be troubled and be afraid and I have the ability to not "let" that happen. Why to I say this? Because Jesus tells us not to "let" that happen.

Now immediately you me say, well I can't help that from happening. If I am afraid, then I am afraid. Then that would mean that you believe what you are feeling about being afraid more then you believe what Jesus is telling us. He said don't "let" your heart be troubled or afraid. So if we believe what Jesus says when he told us to not "let" our hearts be afraid, then there must be a way for us to do that.

"My peace I give to you," Jesus says. That is Jesus said he already did that, He gave us His peace. But you don't feel that peace. Your are still afraid. Ok, what are you going to believe, what Jesus says, that He has already given you His peace or what you are feeling, being afraid. I know you can't deny what you are feeling, but you can make yourself believe what Jesus says. Because if you "let" your heart be afraid, not only are you not doing what Jesus says to do, but you are also demonstrating that you don't believe what Jesus says because you are "letting" your heart be troubled. Simply put. If you are afraid, then this is proof that you are not believing what Jesus says.

It has been said that if you say a lie long enough and often enough eventually the lie will seem like the truth to you. So, tell yourself often enough what Jesus says, "peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." Again! "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." Again! "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you." Now say "let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Again! "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Again! "Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Get the point here? This is not an exercise to memorize this verse of scripture in your head. It is "making" yourself believe what God's Word says by putting God's Word in your head enough so you begin believing what you probably already say you believe.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus. We need your peace. The world does not have real peace. It only has lulls in the confusions of this world. Thank you for giving us your peace. We know you have told us that we already have that peace. Lead us to know your Word more then we know the world.