How to have Peace

The bumper sticker, "No God, no peace. Know God, know peace," reflects good theology as seen in the life of King Asa (2 Chronicles 15). 

Israel, the northern kingdom, turned away from the Lord and experienced "trouble," "great turmoil," "no peace," and "every adversity" (verses 3-6).

Yet under the capable leadership of Asa, Judah, the southern kingdom, enjoyed 35 years of peace. How did they they find the Shalom of God? and how can we likewise find peace in our troubled world?

I. REMOVE FALSE IDOLS (verses 8a & 16)

II. RESTORE TRUE WORSHIP (verses 8b & 18)

III. GET OTHERS TO JOIN IN (verses 10-15).

The prophet Azariah told Asa, "If you seek [God], He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you" (verse 2). Because we know God never changes, we know this is still how to relate to God. We must pursue Him. We must take the initiative. But praise God, if we turn away from our sins and turn in faith to God He will be found and ensuing peace will occur. 

The Greatest King

Jesus Christ is the greatest king of history. By comparing Jesus to other kings His superiority quickly becomes apparent. Notice these comparisons between Saul the first king and Jesus the final King.

See 1 Samuel 31

  1. Both Jesus and Saul had enemies, however Saul fled from his enemies, while Jesus faced His (verse 1).
  2. Both Jesus and Saul welcomed death, however Saul wanted to save himself from suffering, while Jesus wanted to save us from suffering (verse 4).
  3. Both Jesus and Saul died, however Saul's death brought defeat to his followers, while Jesus's death brings victory to His followers (verse 7).
  4. Both Jesus and Saul were buried, however Saul remains in the grave, while Jesus was resurrected from the grave (verse 13).

Higher and Deeper with God through Worship

Moses went up on Mount Sinai and received both the Ten Commandments and the blueprints for the tabernacle. In so doing God gave both the law for man's obedience and grace for man's failure, for the tabernacle is a type of Jesus. The tabernacle, layed out in the shape of a cross, is how one draws near to God for forgiveness and restoration.

The first item the worshipper saw was the multi-colored gate. Blue is the color of heaven, purple is the color of royalty, and red is the color of blood. This of course showing that Jesus is a king who came from heaven and shed His blood for us. 

Jesus said, "I am the door." The only way into the tabernacle was to pass through this entrance. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

One of the truly great worshippers in the Bible King David explains how to pass through this doorway. "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name" (Psalm 100:4).

Now in a very practical way, if you want to go deeper with God, begin in this manner. Observe these three acts of worship. 

  1. BE THANKFUL TO HIM. Look around and identify your many blessings. Don't just be thankful for the gifts, but be thankful to God for those gifts.
  2. PRAISE HIM. Thankfulness is primarily for visible things, yet praise is for the invisible traits of God grasped by faith. Take a few moments to tell God how marvelous He is, enumerate His many wonderful qualities (true, kind, merciful, faithful, holy, forgiving, unchanging, faithful, good, almighty, etc).
  3. BLESS HIS NAME. In the Bible, names do more than identify, names express quality and nature. Thus, the names of God tell us about the essence of God. He is Father, Savior, Shepherd, King, Ancient of Days, Master, Emmanuel, Wonderful Counselor, Man of Sorrows, Captain of our salvation, Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord who provides), Comforter, Prince of Peace, I AM, etc.

Get started today in your journey toward God with thanksgiving and praise.

Our Great High Priest

Here are three reasons that Jesus is the great high priest.

  1. Jesus is perfect. All other high priests were sinful, frail human beings. They had to be cleansed from their own sins before they could intercede for the people. But since Jesus never had a bad thought, word, or deed, He doesn't need to confess His sins like all the other high priests. 
  2. Jesus is immortal. The other high priests eventually would die and a new priest would have to be trained. Because Jesus is eternal, He is still on the job, where He "ever lives to make intercession for us." 
  3. Jesus is the final sacrifice. In the Old Testament animals had to be offered regularly, but at Calvary Jesus became a perfect once-and-for-all sacrifice. In a remarkable twist, Jesus is both priest and offering. In an amazing act of love the Priest offered Himself. What the blood of bulls and goats could not do, Jesus accomplished by shedding His own life blood.

What a Savior!

A House of Worship

Recently my wife and I visited New Song Baptist Church in Memphis (see picture below). I spoke to about 15 people who met in the front room. My wife played the piano for them.

Can a church meet in a house?

Here are two biblical perspectives.

First, no where in the New Testament was there a formal church building erected solely for the purpose of Christian worship. Yes, there was the temple, but that was for Judaism, not Christianity. There were synagogues, but they too were for Judaism, not Christianity. In Ephesus Paul met in a rented building, but it was not constructed for worship, it was a school. 

Second, the New Testament contains numerous references to Christians meeting in homes. 

  • Romans 16:15, 1 Corinthians 16:19, "Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that is in their house."
  • Colossians 4:15, "Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea, and Nymphas and the church that is in his house."
  • Philemon 2, "To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow laborer . . . and to the church in your house."
  • Acts 16:15 & 40 suggest that Lydia the seller of purple opened her house for the young church in Philippi.
  • Acts 20:20 says Paul taught "from house to house."

There are probably other references in the New Testament that tell of believers gathering in houses for worship, but these verses give you the gist. During the rise and rapid expansion of the first century church there were no formal church buildings, only people's homes. 

I am not saying that formal church buildings are wrong. I am saying that worshipping in houses is perfectly legitimate, as my wife and I can attest to from our wonderful worship experience with the beautiful believers who call themselves New Song.