Winter Sunrise in Payson, Arizona
The Simple Path
Silence > Prayer > Faith > Love > Service > Peace
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:78-79
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7
To set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6
Silence > Prayer > Faith > Love > Service > Peace
By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Luke 1:78-79
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phil 4:6-7
To set the mind on the flesh is death,
but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6
The Wonderful Result
We have reached the wonderful result of consistently remaining on the Simple Path of Mother Teresa while using the Spiritual Elevator of St Therese—the peace of God that surpasses any attempt to understand it, and has the wonderful effect of guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus through everything we experience, whether pleasant or painful. Some may be almost instantly carried along the path to this miraculous peace, but most of us struggle through setbacks and detours for many decades, however the resulting peace is the same.
Peace is Important
Almost every time Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He greeted them by saying, “Peace be with you.” Likewise, Paul typically started his letters with the phrase, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter started his letters with the phrase, “May grace and peace be yours in abundance.” John says, “May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
What Kind of Peace?
What is this “peace” that everyone seems to be talking about? In the Old Testament, the word “peace” is often used in the common meaning of not being attacked or at war: “…we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” However, in New Testament times there was very little peace for the early Christians in Israel or elsewhere due to the growing persecution of Christians, the conflict between the Jews and the Romans, and the difficulties and dangers of sharing the Gospel message. Wherever Christians went, any success was often preceded by the death of the early missionaries, leading Tertullian to state that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” All twelve Apostles except for John were martyred, and he died in exile.
Jesus made it clear in John 15 – 16 that Christians would not lead peaceful lives, saying that He had not come to bring peace, but a sword, and that:
- the world would hate us.
- we would be persecuted.
- a time will come when anyone who kills us will think they are doing a service to God.
Secure in Christ
In John 16 Jesus refers to these difficult and even scary predictions about the life of a Christian in the world He had just spoken about, saying, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus is clear that it is possible to experience the supernatural peace He is talking about in the midst of all these troubles, and the goal of that peace is that “we will not fall away.”
The most important thing to Jesus is that we and our salvation are secure in Him, so the peace of Christ is clearly an interior peace that will strengthen us to persevere in our faith, regardless of the turmoil around us and any persecution we experience. This is the promise God gives us in Philippians 4:6-7 when He tells us to bring all our problems to Him with thanksgiving, and assures us that His peace, which we will never understand here on earth, will guard our hearts and our minds in His Son Jesus Christ.
Thanking and Praising God Through Our Tears
Why does the promise in Philippians 4:6-7 come with a stipulation that we must bring our worries and problems to God “with thanksgiving”? These two words are the key to understanding the peace that God offers each of us, because it would obviously not be normal or easy for a person to express gratitude for a problem or crisis they are experiencing, and yet that is exactly what we are commanded to do. Crying out to God in the midst of a trying situation is easy; giving thanks to God for that situation is not! Yet that is what Paul tells us is God’s will for us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
God really expects us to give thanks in all circumstances—the good, the bad, and even the ugly! God does not ask anything of us that we cannot do, but He does often ask of us things that we can only do with His help, and He is ready to help us if we fully trust Him and seek His help.
Peace Leads to True Joy
The peace of Christ is a deep tranquility that develops as we trust God totally, surrender our lives into His hands, and experience His loving guidance and protection in every aspect of our lives. This tranquility is so deep and complete that “we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Ps 46:1-3) This tranquility is so powerful, we can “consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, because we know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance." (James 1: 2-3)
A Gift From God
As I mentioned before, this is totally against our human nature. It is only through the grace of God that we can experience this supernatural peace that surpasses all human understanding. For us it is a matter of faith, having the confidence that God will provide the peace that He has promised, and being fully assured that His peace will protect our faith no matter what challenges we face.
While peace is a gift of God’s grace, there are some simple things we can do. The Little Lessons on Surrender help us to understand the part we play, and give us prayers that can help us to fully surrender to God, and to obey His command to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.
Above all, never forget that it all starts with a silence that allows us to hear God’s still, small voice so we can be guided by Him along the Simple Path of prayer, faith, love, and service to finally experience the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Consider/Discuss:
- Do you typically consider peace as being a life without difficulties, or as something experienced in the midst of difficulties?
- Have you experienced a situation in which you were able to praise and thank God "through your tears"?
- Have you been able to rest in this peaceful tranquility in the face of the current challenges we are experiencing?
Scripture Memory Verse
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7
Let's Pray! - The Surrender Trilogy
We have reached the wonderful result of consistently remaining on the Simple Path of Mother Teresa while using the Spiritual Elevator of St Therese—the peace of God that surpasses any attempt to understand it, and has the wonderful effect of guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus through everything we experience, whether pleasant or painful. Some may be almost instantly carried along the path to this miraculous peace, but most of us struggle through setbacks and detours for many decades, however the resulting peace is the same.
Peace is Important
Almost every time Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection, He greeted them by saying, “Peace be with you.” Likewise, Paul typically started his letters with the phrase, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Peter started his letters with the phrase, “May grace and peace be yours in abundance.” John says, “May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”
What Kind of Peace?
What is this “peace” that everyone seems to be talking about? In the Old Testament, the word “peace” is often used in the common meaning of not being attacked or at war: “…we have sought him, and he has given us peace on every side.” However, in New Testament times there was very little peace for the early Christians in Israel or elsewhere due to the growing persecution of Christians, the conflict between the Jews and the Romans, and the difficulties and dangers of sharing the Gospel message. Wherever Christians went, any success was often preceded by the death of the early missionaries, leading Tertullian to state that “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.” All twelve Apostles except for John were martyred, and he died in exile.
Jesus made it clear in John 15 – 16 that Christians would not lead peaceful lives, saying that He had not come to bring peace, but a sword, and that:
- the world would hate us.
- we would be persecuted.
- a time will come when anyone who kills us will think they are doing a service to God.
Secure in Christ
In John 16 Jesus refers to these difficult and even scary predictions about the life of a Christian in the world He had just spoken about, saying, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus is clear that it is possible to experience the supernatural peace He is talking about in the midst of all these troubles, and the goal of that peace is that “we will not fall away.”
The most important thing to Jesus is that we and our salvation are secure in Him, so the peace of Christ is clearly an interior peace that will strengthen us to persevere in our faith, regardless of the turmoil around us and any persecution we experience. This is the promise God gives us in Philippians 4:6-7 when He tells us to bring all our problems to Him with thanksgiving, and assures us that His peace, which we will never understand here on earth, will guard our hearts and our minds in His Son Jesus Christ.
Thanking and Praising God Through Our Tears
Why does the promise in Philippians 4:6-7 come with a stipulation that we must bring our worries and problems to God “with thanksgiving”? These two words are the key to understanding the peace that God offers each of us, because it would obviously not be normal or easy for a person to express gratitude for a problem or crisis they are experiencing, and yet that is exactly what we are commanded to do. Crying out to God in the midst of a trying situation is easy; giving thanks to God for that situation is not! Yet that is what Paul tells us is God’s will for us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
God really expects us to give thanks in all circumstances—the good, the bad, and even the ugly! God does not ask anything of us that we cannot do, but He does often ask of us things that we can only do with His help, and He is ready to help us if we fully trust Him and seek His help.
Peace Leads to True Joy
The peace of Christ is a deep tranquility that develops as we trust God totally, surrender our lives into His hands, and experience His loving guidance and protection in every aspect of our lives. This tranquility is so deep and complete that “we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Ps 46:1-3) This tranquility is so powerful, we can “consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds, because we know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance." (James 1: 2-3)
A Gift From God
As I mentioned before, this is totally against our human nature. It is only through the grace of God that we can experience this supernatural peace that surpasses all human understanding. For us it is a matter of faith, having the confidence that God will provide the peace that He has promised, and being fully assured that His peace will protect our faith no matter what challenges we face.
While peace is a gift of God’s grace, there are some simple things we can do. The Little Lessons on Surrender help us to understand the part we play, and give us prayers that can help us to fully surrender to God, and to obey His command to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances.
Above all, never forget that it all starts with a silence that allows us to hear God’s still, small voice so we can be guided by Him along the Simple Path of prayer, faith, love, and service to finally experience the peace of God that passes all understanding.
Consider/Discuss:
- Do you typically consider peace as being a life without difficulties, or as something experienced in the midst of difficulties?
- Have you experienced a situation in which you were able to praise and thank God "through your tears"?
- Have you been able to rest in this peaceful tranquility in the face of the current challenges we are experiencing?
Scripture Memory Verse
Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7
Let's Pray! - The Surrender Trilogy