Tagged: peace

…seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:14b, 1 Peter 3:11b, NIV   Then Noah sent out a dove to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. Genesis 8:8, NET There is more than one kind of flood bringing destruction to the earth today. The waters of conflict, unrest, and war rise over the landscape. Where are the Noahs of today? Who is willing to open the window and send out their peace until it finds a place to lodge in the heart of another? The dove could not find a resting place for its feet because water still covered the surface of the entire earth, and so it returned to Noah in the ark. He stretched out his hand, took… Read More

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  Psalm 46:10 I travel a lot, and sometimes the only break I get from the incessant melody of phone pings is that period of time in an airplane when I am forced to turn my device to airplane mode. Recently as I headed home, the flight attendant explained that it was because our incoming signals might interfere with the pilot’s critical job of following the right signals for leading us home. What a breathtaking metaphor. Like passengers on an airplane, we have a Pilot who has set His instrumentation on home. He is taking us home. This is what is on His mind. How terrible… Read More

For K, who selahs with me. When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. SELAH Psalm 75:3 On a high mountain deep in the Asian jungle, there is a refuge. At the end of a long red road, it sits like a grandmother, beckoning the bruised to climb onto her lap and be mended, comforted. Sung over with songs of love and healing. The threshold of this sacred shelter is dotted with tiny shoes, scattered like multi-colored flower petals. A safe place for children, the rescued are hidden here. They gather around a hearty table and eat their fill. They learn about the One who died to rescue them. They discover who He is and who they… Read More

I am a witness to the story I tell today. It is sure and true. Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”  And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. Revelation 5:5,9 There is a movement happening this Christmas across sand-swept deserts and barren basins of land long scarred by tribal conflict. Village elders are embracing Jesus. Skeptic women are surrendering to His… Read More

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. Isaiah 11:10 Our secretary thought it was a joke. Head down, busy with work, she was annoyed with the interruption when a man entered the office demanding everyone’s attention and announced with a flourish the arrival of a gentleman just outside the door. When no one responded, he repeated his lavish introduction of the crown prince of a nearby country in the Middle East. Suddenly everyone was scrambling to show the honor due to their unexpected guest, a man who would one day be king. My husband spent the rest of the day (in a proper suit… Read More

The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace. Exodus 14:14 The holiday story is told of a little boy, face sticky with peppermint, cheeks punctuated with two clean streaks of tears caused by his big brother. The big boy wanted the little boy’s candy and made a grab for it. But the little boy held fast to his sweet, refusing to let go.  Big brother then had an idea. Punching the air with two fists, not much bigger than his opponents’, he offered to duke it out. The winner gets the candy. But little brother, smaller though he was, had bigger determination. Nope. I’m holding on to mine. Go find your own. Mom intervened, little brother got to keep his candy, and… Read More

Thank you, JS, for helping me recognize it was His roar I heard. For helping me put my sword down and worship. Two Lions   I heard the lion roaring; His terrible strength Keeping me from sleep.   I trembled at my window; Peering into night; Aware of his hunger.   My sword hangs at my side; My armor scratched and dull-- Second skin.   I have lived ready, Alert, On guard these long years.   I know he wants to devour me.   But I resist; And I remember my family around the world who also suffer. I am not alone.   As I strain to see his position, A voice like silver Shimmers in my ear,   There is another Lion.   The… Read More

By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. Psalm 42:8 Ever feel like your life is a movie, maybe a blockbuster, maybe B-rated, but an epic tale nonetheless with an original soundtrack narrating the minutes and the hours? The soundtrack tells a story, sometimes before the story can be seen on-screen. Today I stood on the balcony just beyond my writing desk and listened for what the soundtrack of my life might be saying.  The base rumbled low, harvest tractors crawling back and forth, back and forth, loaded down with piles of juicy grapes. Dissonant tenors struck in minor notes as children kicked a soccer ball around the village square. The… Read More

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7 I thought my heart would burst with joy as I glimpsed our parents coming around the bend of the dusty African road. They are here!!!!  With them, they brought good news, comfort, and refreshment to our souls. Not to mention chocolate. We lived among a tribe in the bush of East Africa. We slept in a mud house, collected water from our tin roof, and read by lantern light at night. Beans and rice were regular fare. We hadn’t seen our family since we waved goodbye at the airport over a year… Read More

He will stand and shepherd his flock     in the strength of the Lord,     in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness     will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be our peace (Micah 5:4, 5). Our Peace is a person. His name is Jesus, and His coming was foretold by the prophet Micah, whose name in Hebrew means “Who is like Yahweh?” Micah was a contemporary of the better-known prophet Isaiah, who magnificently prophesied about the Prince of Peace who would be also be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, and the Everlasting Father (See Isaiah 9, and click here to read 55 Old Testament prophesies of Jesus.) What Micah and… Read More