Scripture: John 14 v 26 - 27: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
27 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 16 v 33: "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."
In this world there is no peace. There are wars, pandemic, panic, protests, corruption, pollution, famine, disease, death, racial hatred, sex slaves, financial loss, divorce and every other ugly political scandal that assaults our senses every hour of the day.
People turn to tranquilizers, meditation, alcohol, cigarettes, vacations, spending sprees, recreational drugs, yoga, religion et al to try to manufacture some kind of peace that wears off far too quickly.
We need to seek Jesus who is the Prince of Peace to obtain true and lasting peace. He is the authority over the whole universe of bringing peace into every turbulent situation. His peace is profound and we have to be in Him, part of His Body, to partake of it.
He speaks of 'My peace' in contradiction of every other form of peace. We may find a time of solace in sleep or sweet music, but the only continuous peace flows into our innermost beings through Jesus alone.
It's not that our lives are unruffled, they have their fair share of problems, but Jesus never leaves us to fight them alone. However, we need to invite Him to help, as He is the perfect gentleman. He never pushes or forces His way upon us, He waits to be asked.
Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened. Notice that we must ask, seek or knock and there will be a response from the Lord. It's not appropriate to ask for peace, though, because whatever is causing turmoil needs to be addressed and sorted, then peace will come.
Peace can be transmitted or withheld by us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Peace is one of the fruit that grows within us when He saturates our lives. Jesus told His disciples that if they went to a place to share the truth about Him, and it was rejected, that they should shake the dust off their feet against that place.
When we are led to shake the dust off our feet, every prayer, blessing, promise of peace, departs from that place and whatever struggles they had continue as before. It's called tough love and many people are going through this. We must not interfere in God's dealings with people. We must ask Him before we leap into situations in case He is busy getting their attention at a deeper level.
When Jesus was on trial before Herod and Pontius Pilate, He was silent giving no explanation or argument against their accusations. The Bible says, He held His peace. He deliberately prevented His peace from touching them because if it had, they could not have crucified Him. What He has done, we can too.
We can transmit His peace into situations such as a marital dispute to calm down hostilities and find solutions to the upset. In some homes it is chaotic, dogs barking, babies crying, parents yelling, music blaring......a Christian enters saying, Peace be to this house, and peace comes down. If the ministry is rejected, as the minister leaves, the calm and peace leaves with him.
We need to know our strengths, authority and be disciplined in how we use them. In everything be led by our Lord Jesus so we do not become controlling or manipulative. We are followers of the Lamb no matter what degree of ministry we have attained.
If we are laying down the law we have lost the plot. If we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, then one of the fruits is self-control, along with love, kindness and patience. Our fight is against the hordes of demons stirring up strife, sin, rebellion, abuse and calamities. We are not here to wrestle with human beings.
We must engage in spiritual warfare to bind up evil where we cross its path. Jesus gave us authority over demons, to rebuke them, bind them and cast them out. The Holy Spirit gift of discerning of spirits is generally misunderstood and ignored.
The first way a demon is discerned is when something or someone makes us very uncomfortable. It disturbs our peace. It is an alert from the Holy Spirit. Be assured that whoever it is is equally aware of feeling uncomfortable. Their reaction is to run. If at all possible stop them from running and try to engage with that person who is under demonic oppression.
The demon has seen the danger of Jesus in the room and is trying to remove the person it oppressed before you encounter them. If you cannot get near before the person leaves, send up a prayer to bind whatever demon is bothering them, and send them your peace. Jesus will take it from there.
On my side, its great to be back after the big move, and I am now settled in and very happy to be in the bosom of my family. All glory and thanks to the Lord who made all this possible. Thanks to all those who prayed, helped, supported and accommodated me in the transition. I love you all.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we can have the peace of Jesus in the midst of turbulence, but we must ask for it. Thank You for showing the depths that peace can reach and how to use it to help many situations. Let that powerful peace remain with us always. In Jesus' name, Amen.