Verses of Peace and Life Well Lived

The knowledge of the Lord brings peace, now and eternally, and enables us to extend peace (Jesus Himself) to others.  Isaiah 11:1-10...

JESUS:

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, 

And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.  

The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, 

The spirit of wisdom and understanding, 

The spirit of counsel and strength, 

The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.  

And He will delight in the fear of the Lord, 

And He will not judge by what His eyes hear; 

But with righteousness He will judge the poor 

And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;

And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, 

And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.  

Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, 

And faithfulness the belt around His waist.  

ULTIMATE PEACE:

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, 

And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, 

And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; 

And a little boy will lead them.  

Also the cow and the bear will graze, 

Their young will lie down together, 

And the lion will eat straw like the ox.  

The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, 

And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 

They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, 

For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord 

As the waters cover the sea.  

Then in that day 

The nations will resort to the root of Jesse 

Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; 

And His resting place will be glorious.

FOR BELIEVERS NOW:

Ephesians 2...But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were so far away, through the blood of Christ have been brought near.

For He is our peace...    And He came and preached the glad tidings of peace to you who were afar off and peace to those who were near.  For it is through Him that we now have access by one Holy Spirit to the Father so that we are able to approach Him.

Therefore you are no longer outsiders (exiles, migrants, and aliens, excluded from the rights of citizens), but you now share citizenship with the saints (God's own people, consecrated and set apart for Himself); and you belong to God's own household. 

POURING OURSELVES OUT TO OTHERS BLESSES JESUS:

Matthew 25...

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Christian's class packing food for Feed My Starving Children

AN ETERNAL-FOCUSES MINDSET:

John 6...

When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?"

 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

 Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

 Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

 So they asked him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'"

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."

A LIFE WELL LIVED:

II Timothy 4...

For I am already about to be sacrificed [my life is about to be poured out as a drink offering]; the time of my [spirit's] release [from the body] is at hand and I will soon go free.

 I have fought the good (worthy, honorable, and noble) fight, I have finished the race, I have kept (firmly held) the faith.

[As to what remains] henceforth there is laid up for me the [victor's] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me and recompense me on that [great] day--and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and yearned for and welcomed His appearing (His return).

Lord, thank you that you are the Prince of Peace and that we are your adopted children, heirs of Your peace, your amazing peace which surpasses our understanding.  We long for your return and for an earth where peace reigns.  Yet you fill us with Life now.  You fill us with the knowledge of  your mind and heart now, always teaching us, continually bathing us in your love, lavishing us with grace when we fail, picking us back up and equipping us to do work for you here.  You alone are worthy to be praised.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

You have made known to me the path of life;
 you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11