June 7:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS HOLD.
"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand."--John 10:28, NIV

On June 7, 2016, a woman and her thirteen-year-old daughter were shopping at a dollar store when a man tried to abduct the girl.  As the man was dragging the girl toward the exit her mother did everything she could to save her.  Finally, the woman threw herself on top of the child, and the abductor was not able to drag them both.  Having let go of the girl, he headed for the exit.  He was apprehended in the parking lot by a police deputy.  The whole frightening incident was caught on the surveillance camera.

The image of this mother, doing whatever it took to fight off the kidnapper, is the visualization I get when I read today's text.  Jesus says with confidence: "no one will snatch them out of my hand" (John 10:28, NIV).  This sentence is repeated by Jesus twice in two verses.  Having confronted those who didn't believe in Him (verses 24, 25), Jesus explains how secure His sheep really are in His hand, and the Father's hand: "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.  I and the Father are one' " (verses 27-30).  Whoever believes and follows Jesus is eternally secure, just as a sheep is secure in the good Shepherd's hands; just as a child can rest in the arms of a loving Parent.  This brings such profound peace to my mind and dissipates my anxiety about the future, the end of the world, eternal life, et cetera.  You can rest in the most capable hands in the universe.  Even if God's adversary tries to snatch us out of His hand, Jesus and the Father will not let it happen, for they are greater than any power that might threaten God's children.  Jesus offers us certainty.  In the words of Leon Morris: "No one will snatch them from Christ.  It is one of the precious things about Christian faith that our continuance in eternal life depends not on our feeble hold on Christ, but on his firm grip on us." *

My Response:___________________________________________________________
* Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John, rev, ed., NICNT (Grand Rapids, MI: 1995, Eerdmans), 463.

June 6:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS MIRACLE.
"Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'You sins are forgiven'; or to say, 'Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk'?"--Mark 2:9

Stress management was one of the first classes I took in my organizational behavior studies.  I found it fascinating and I had to implement the knowledge right away because my car wouldn't start on the day of my final, and I had to borrow another vehicle.  After my final exam, another student asked me to assist with his presentation.  He connected a little device to my finger and was able to show the whole class how my body was responding to my stress level that day.  I became convinced about how closely connected our physical and emotional health are.

Even though the four men brought the paralytic to be healed, the first words of Jesus were, "Son, your sins are forgiven" (Mark 2:5).  This was the man's greatest need, so Jesus dealt with it first.  We all need to know that we are at peace with God and that we are forgiven; there is no deeper realization for a human being.  The scribes started questioning Jesus in their minds because they doubted His authority to forgive sins.  The forgiveness of sin was, and is, always the greatest miracle.  But it  happens on the inside, and therefore they doubted it (verses 6, 7).  Jesus asked them "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven', or say, 'Get up...and walk'?" (verse 9).  And before receiving a response, He went on: " 'But so that you know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'--He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, pick up your pallet and go home' " (verses 10, 11).  In other words, "Yes!  Just get up!  I can forgive sins and I can heal you"  Both forgiveness and healing are impossible things for mankind to perform, but both are possible for God.  He is the Healer of mind, body, and soul.  And the man got up, picked up his pallet, and went (verse 12).  Are you in desperate need today?  Do you need forgiveness?  Are you in need of getting up from your mat of depression or inadequate feelings?  Are you paralyzed by guilt or shame?  His miracle starts in our soul.  He offers forgiveness and peace.  Our confidence is in the blood of Jesus (see Hebrews 10:19-22).  So...Get up!  Pick up!  Go!

My Response:___________________________________________________________

June 5:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS CARE.
"I am the good Shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me...and I lay down My life for the sheep."--John 10:14, 15


It was an unexpected gift from God.  I was preparing the outlines for a television series when I reached out to pick up a book I needed.  As I opened it, something fell out of the book--sermon notes; however, these were not mine, but my dad's.  I was speechless as tears welled up in my eyes, because this was my father's homily that he had preached when I was commissioned to the ministry long ago.  The topic was the Good Shepherd, what He has done for us, and His care for His sheep.  He then talked about what it means to be called to shepherd God's people.  My father has since passed, and I feel so blessed to have found this gift.

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, Ezekiel prophesied that God would send His Shepherd, a descendant of David, to care for His Sheep.  God had entrusted His sheep to religious leaders who had not done their job, and God denounced Israel shepherds, exposing their transgressions in no uncertain terms.  "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves!...You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.  Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost"  Ezekiel 34:2-4.  God was not happy with the way in which His sheep had been treated: scattered, abandoned, and oppressed; this was not what God had in mind!  From there on, He would care for His own sheep: "I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.  As a shepherd cares for his herd...I will care for My sheep and will deliver them...I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David [David's descendant], and he will feed them...himself and be their shepherd" (Ezekiel 34:11, 12, 23).  Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.  He laid down His life and lovingly cares for His sheep.  If you have been lost, hungry, sick, and oppressed, remember that you now have a Good Shepherd, who is ready to give you peace and to restore your soul (see Psalm 23:3).

My Response:__________________________________________________________

June 4:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS REST.
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."--Matthew 11:28

I posted a picture on my Facebook page and that's when I realized how soul-tired most of the people in my generation really are!  It was a photo of an overworked and exhausted young woman who had fallen asleep at her desk, her head resting on top of a pile of unfinished paperwork.  Many people commented, relating to this weary person.  The caption under the picture encouraged those who were heavy-laden to come to Jesus to receive real rest (Matthew 11:28-30).


The invitation of Jesus, "Come...all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28), is as relevant today as when Matthew wrote it down in the first century.  Our hearts are worn out in the struggles of life; Jesus knows about this and offers us a remedy.  For many years, I have been intrigued by the apparently deliberate juxtaposition found in Matthew 11:28-12:14.  First Jesus offers His own rest (Matthew 11:28-30), then proclaims Himself the Lord of the Sabbath, the day of rest, in the next narrative (Matthew 12:8).  The invitation of Jesus to rest in Him is unique to Matthew, and it immediately preceded the only two episodes in this Gospel that occur on the Sabbath.  This intriguing juxtaposition became the topic of my PhD dissertation. *  I found very exciting insights during the eight years that I spent in these verses.  One of them is that there are 137 occurrences of this particular root word for rest in the Greek Old Testament (LXX), and that in the first five books of the Bible, the term predominantly relates to a sabbatical rest to the Lord.  Matthew's audience heard Jesus' message loud and clear: "Come to Me, all you who are weary...and I will give you the real sabbatical rest."  Those who heed His invitation now enter into the Sabbath rest in the fullest sense, because they rest in Him.  Thus, we find the full meaning of the weekly Sabbath rest celebration in the identity and mission of  Jesus.  We were never meant to be overwhelmed by anxiety and fear; we were designed for peace.  When we accept the invitation of Jesus, we find real rest for our souls.  Jesus, calm our anxious hearts!

My Response:_________________________________________________________
* See my book for sharing version of my findings: Elizabeth Talbot, I Will Give You Rest (Nampa, ID: Pacific Press, 2015).

June 3:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS RENEWAL.
He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand!"  He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other.--Matthew 12:13

The day that I had the emergency meniscectomy on my right knee, I didn't realize that it would take a while before I could walk again.  The doctors were not able to extract the meniscus arthroscopically; the incision was large, and I was in need of physical therapy to regain the use of my leg.  I remember distinctively how my right leg became very thin compared with the other.  It took two months for me to regain enough muscle to be able to stand on the injured leg.  Maybe this is why I noticed that the report of Jesus' healing of a man's withered hand (Matthew 12:13) is followed by a description of the extent of the healing: "and it was restored to normal [healthy], like the other" (verse 13).

The Pharisees who had challenged Jesus in the grain fields (Matthew 12:1-8) followed Him into the synagogue (12:9-14).  There Jesus encountered a man with a withered hand (verse 10).  "And they questioned Jesus asking, 'Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?'--so that they might accuse Him."  (verse 10).  With the exception of the plucking of grain, all the other Sabbath controversies between Jesus and the Pharisees in the Gospels relate to healings and the result of the healings (see Matthew 12:9-14; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-6; 9).  From the very beginning of the world, the Sabbath was supposed to point to, and celebrate, the work of Jesus in creating, redeeming, and restoring the human race.  Jesus chose the Sabbath day for many of His healing miracles to highlight the redeeming freedom and rest in Him, portrayed in this special day.  Jesus responded in the rabbinical style of lesser to greater arguments (qal wahomer).  followed by a pronouncement: any man would help  their sheep if it fell on the Sabbath, "How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep!  So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:12).  Jesus went on to restore the man's hand, to the extent that it was healthy like the other.  The Sabbath reminds us of the core of the redemption plan: rest and renewal are available for each one of us through the salvific work of Jesus.

My Response:____________________________________________________________

June 2:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS PRIORITY.
"You are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary."--Luke 10:41, 42


The timing couldn't have been worse.  I was trying a new business venture by starting a computer company; we leased our office space, hired employees, and launched the business.  One day I got a sharp pain in my knee and suddenly couldn't walk.  At the hospital, I was told that my meniscus had been crushed, and I needed immediate surgery.  But I had so many things to do!  Who would take care of things?  How long would recovery take?  Looking back, I realize that during that time God was training me to trust Him with my anxieties, my future, my bills, and my life.  He was teaching me to focus on the one thing that is necessary: Jesus!

Martha had good intentions and Jesus counted on her hospitality.  The biblical narrative says that "Martha welcomed Him into her home" (Luke 10:38).  She wanted to make sure everything was taken care of, especially because Jesus was in her house!  She definitely needed to make preparations.  We are told that she was being distracted about much "service," which in the original Greek language is diakonia.  How can a church function without deacons and deaconesses?  They keep everything running!  Well, the issue wasn't really the service.  Jesus pointed out that Martha's problem was that she was worried and troubled about the things she needed to do (see verse 41).  In contrast, we frequently find Mary just sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to His voice.

When facing challenges most of us go into a problem-solving mode.  We try to figure things out and spend quite a bit of energy rehearsing possible scenarios and looking for solutions.  Jesus invites us to remember that we are His children.  He wants us to learn to focus on who He is and His ability to provide for us.  Jesus offered the cure for anxiety: many things may be important, but only one is necessary: He!  His Presence!  As we focus on Him--His love, His sufficiency, His peace, His power, His grace--everything else falls into its appropriate place.

My Response:____________________________________________________________

June 1:  Enjoying His Peace.

HIS KEEPSAKE.
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you."--John 14:27

Most of my life I was afraid of flying.  It was so bad that I had to take medication just to get on a plane.  I discovered John 14:27, where Jesus promises to give His peace to us.  I remember highlighting this text and taking the Bible with me on the plane; I would recite the verse many times when the aircraft encountered turbulence, asking God to fulfill His promise and give me His peace.  When it became evident that I would be flying constantly as part of my calling, I had to settle this issue with God.  Now, I'm often dozing off as the plane takes off.

The disciples were getting worried because Jesus was talking about leaving them.  In John 14, Jesus is comforting their anxious hearts: "Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me" (verse 1).  His disciples wouldn't become orphans...the Helper, the Holy Spirit, would be with them (John 14:16-26).  It is then that Jesus makes the most amazing announcement: "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful" (verse27).  The word peace is repeated twice.  This was a common greeting and send-off Jewish expression (shalom), but Jesus qualifies it with the possessive pronoun.  Jesus was leaving His peace with them; this was His special gift, a keepsake, that was to remain theirs permanently.  His peace is much greater than the peace the world offers, because the source of His peace is Jesus Himself!  If you are anything like me, you know that every morning many thoughts compete for attention.  It's easy to lose our inner peace by spinning the wheels in our minds, wasting energy trying to control that which is out of our control.  God offers us His peace, which is greater than our own understanding of any situation: "Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6, 7).  Jesus paid a high price for it!  For "the punishment that brought us peace was on him" (Isaiah 53:5, NIV).

My Response:__________________________________________________________