During the days of Ahaz, King of Judah, two evil kings conspired to attack the city of Jerusalem. These were Rezin, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of backslidden Israel. This was an unholy alliance of a gentile nation and God’s people who had walked away from their faith. Together, non-believers and unsanctified believers become a formidable team. They will fight to the death over an ungodly cause. They argue over things that have nothing to do with God’s purposes just to win the battle. And they are an embarrassment to God because the non-believing world is watching.

After telling us of this unlikely team attacking Jerusalem (which means ‘the city of peace’), Isaiah added the little phrase “but [they] could not prevail against it” (Isaiah 7:1). The rest of the chapter gives us the details of how and why the invasion failed.

I fully expect both non-Christians and deceived believers to be working hard to hinder what God’s new move is attempting to accomplish. The Book of Acts gives us many examples. Church history is filled with examples. My own life experience serving in the church from 1971 to today is loaded with examples. But, as we look back, God’s kingdom progresses. The enemy could not prevail against the spiritually mature. And he cannot.

Face your enemy with courage. Stand on what you know to be the truth. Don’t compromise your Christian values. Peter said, “Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Stay on your guard.

Tags: peace, Satan, war

Tomorrow is Easter. Its a special day in the heart of every believer. We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is the hope of every man.

On the first Easter, when Jesus appeared in the room with His disciples, His first words to them were, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). A week later, the disciples were again meeting together, and Jesus once again appeared in the room. Again, the first words out of His mouth were, “Peace be with you!” (John 20:26). This set the pattern for how early Christians greeted each other when they met: “Peace be with you!”. The Hebrew word Jesus used for peace was the word ‘Shalom’. Often Christians greet one another with the simple term, “Shalom”.

Peace is perhaps the most difficult attitude to maintain. Everybody looks for it, but few find it. One of the benefits of the resurrected Christ is He provides peace when the world cannot. Peace is a result of the Holy Spirit, and we can pass it on. When you greet someone today, pass it on. Say, “Peace to you.” Its the Christian thing to do.

Tags: Easter, peace

Paul had just stated that the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet (v. 32). He continues, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33).

Whether your gift is prophecy, encouragement, prayer, or whatever, you must bring your gifts and talents under your own control. We laugh when someone says, “The devil made me do it”. But its just as ridiculous to say, “The Lord told me to do that,” just to justify our own actions. If I’m going to teach something, I’m responsible to have studied that out before I teach it.

God is not the author of confusion, so if what I do, or the timing of what I do, brings confusion, it didn’t come from God. God has never originated a church split! That confusion originates within humans who got out of line or couldn’t wait upon God’s timing. There must be order in His church.

Not only is God not the author of confusion, but He is the originator of peace. In human relationships, there will rarely be peace without Christ. Its our human nature to be competitive and manipulative. We hurt people routinely. But God has given us His Spirit, a Spirit of Love (reread 1 Corinthians 13). And that love always brings peace out of confusion.

This is to be the case “in all churches of the saints“, which includes New Hope. How does Agape Love treat those we disagree with? What kind of patient orderliness does God bring through love? As a new Christian, back in my hippie days, we used to sing chorus with the words: “And they’ll know we are Christians by our love”. What are people seeing from us?

Tags: peace

The Apostle Paul is giving rules for order in the ministry of spiritual gifts in a public assembly. He continues, “If any thing be revealed to another that sits by, let the first hold his peace” (1 Corinthians 14:30).

When it comes to spiritual gifts, there must be an order for everything in the church. Spiritual gifts do not bring chaos; people functioning in the flesh with spiritual gifts bring chaos. Spiritual gifts are the power of God to reveal something as a tool for ministering to them. In the hands of competitive-minded people or jealous people (qualities of the soul, not spirit), spiritual gifts become a weapon. This is why Paul inserted his teaching on Agape Love in chapter 13, between chapters 12 and 14 regarding spiritual gifts. This is sometimes called the Pentecostal sandwich, because love is the meat of the matter, not the gifts.

So, if one person is sharing a prophetic word with the group, and God inspires another from that word, the first should back off and let his brother/sister speak. I was once in a meeting where God was giving a spiritual message (not a sermon) through one person, and right in the middle of the thought, another person picked up right where the first left off, and soon, a third person did the same thing. Three persons giving one message. And it all flowed together. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses” is where God’s word is confirmed.

Obviously, he is not telling us that people should jump up and interrupt the pastor’s message on Sunday morning. He is telling us that everything must be done in order in God’s church, both in large assemblies and in small.

Tags: peace, silence, spiritual gifts

Everyone fits into one or more of the four basic temperament (personality) groups. To understand the people you work and live with, you must understand how God has “wired” them. The first of these are called Phlegmatics, or people who are peace-oriented. These people tend to be introverts and process their thoughts inwardly. Peaceful Phlegmatics are great peace-makers and can see both sides of an issue, making them great negotiators. They would rather follow the rules than make the rules. They tend to be soft-spoken but very relational. They are loyal to the end, so to have others be loyal to them is crucial, and betrayal is devastating. They tend to be very sensitive to these issues.

Their greatest strength is that they are peace-makers and hate to fight. Their greatest weakness is that they hate to fight, and therefore avoid conflict to the point that they do not express their true feelings, and do not resolve any ongoing problem. Don’t get me wrong, when the pressure finally gets great enough, they do explode, and often do great damage when they do so!

Prominent Phlegmatics in our church would be people like Dorothy Lockwood, Dan Hurraw, and myself. You probably know some primary or secondary Phlegmatics, because there are more of them than the other three, which we’ll discuss tomorrow.

How do you talk to a Phlegmatic? Don’t press them. They process their thoughts inwardly and need time to think it through. The more you press them the more they stonewall because once they speak their thoughts, they are in stone. So they carefully choose their words and hold to them. Give them your side and ask them to get back with you in a day or so. Us Phlegmatics just take too long!

What have you learned about working with Peaceful Phlegmatics?

Tags: peace, personalities

Here’s a devotional I just submitted to The Hamilton News for publication in their Pastor’s Pen column for this week:

Nearly three years ago, on January 15, 2009, an unknown commercial pilot named Chesley Sullenberger became famous. It wasn’t his plan. As a matter of fact, he became reluctantly famous.

His plane, a huge Airbus A320, dubbed US Airways Flight 1549, took off on a routine flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Charlotte, North Carolina.

As the plane rose in the skies it flew through a flock of geese, taking out both engines. Immediately the plane lost power. The pilot and co-pilot calmly radioed back to the control tower for advice on an airport they could land at. There was only seconds to make a decision. The control tower gave them two options.

Captain Sullenberger, running all his options through his trained mind, replied, “Negative, we’re gonna be in the Hudson.” Once he had made the debatable commitment, there was no turning back. He calmly ordered the passengers to “prepare for impact” and set the falling plane gently down in the Hudson River.

He refused to be panicked by the stresses all around him and the voices of advice, and followed his decision out to the end. The rest is history. They all survived and Captain Sullenberger earned the nickname ‘Captain Cool’. How did he find such calm peace under such stress? The answer is he trained for it.

What have you prepared for in life? If a health or family crisis hit your life, do you have a default setting for dealing with these, or would you panic under the stress?

The Bible advises us, “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” (Philippians 4:6-7).

Tags: peace, plan, trials, trouble