You Will Have Peace Like A River

Isaiah 48:16-22 KJV; Live in Christ and all will be well with your soul. Live in Christ and live in peace.

Blood Shed For Many

And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body.

And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many.

Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God.

And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
                                                                                 (Mark 14: 22-27 KJV)

Eat and drink. This is my body. This is my blood.

It is Maundy Thursday. Today we remember the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. It was the passover meal. The annual commemoration of the night that, by God's hand, the Israelites were to be delivered from bondage to Egypt. Every first born, both man and beast, would die that night. Every first born except for those who had placed the blood of an unblemished lamb upon their doorposts. Then the lamb itself would be eaten in its entirety by those who were present in the house.

Today we remember that the unblemished lamb of God, Jesus the Christ, was about to be slaughtered; that his body and blood were given so that we might be delivered from bondage to sin; from bondage to a sinful world. 

How sinful that world he lived in was! His friends; his followers, betrayed him, they denied him; they scattered and hid in fear for their own lives. Do we really do anything different today? 

Let us remember, that on this day, Jesus willingly committed his body and his blood as a sacrifice that we might live. The blood of Christ was poured out for us that sin and death would have no power over us. 

God grant that we should live in thankfulness and faithfulness to the one who lived and died and yet lives for us.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Peace Like A River

Peace Like A River - At Home For The Summer

This is what the Lord says—

your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the Lord your God,

who teaches you what is best for you,

who directs you in the way you should go.

If only you had paid attention to my commands             

your peace would have been like a river,

your well-being like the waves of the sea.” 

                                    (Isa 48:17-18 NIV)

The hymn "When Peace Like a River" or "All Is Well With My Soul" is a favorite among many. It is one of my favorite hymns. It was written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. Not long before he wrote it; his four daughters had died in a collision with another ship as they crossed the Atlantic. His wife survived and sent him this message, "Saved alone." Later, as he, himself, crossed the Atlantic and neared the spot where his daughters had died, he was inspired to write this hymn. The LORD, in His mercy has taught us that no matter what befalls us, it can be well with our soul. All who abide in Christ will know the peace that only He can give.

We have returned to Aura for the summer. It is my peaceful place. I do not recall a day that I have been here that I have not thanked God for landing me in this awesome place. I still haven't figured out what I'm going to be doing in my retirement; but, I know that many of those days will be spent in peace.  Since Lake Superior and it's bays appear to be at an all time high water level, I will be able to launch my kayak right from the back door! I will not have to navigate around anything to get out into the bay; no dragging it through the marsh. Smooth sailing! Peaceful paddling.

Thanks be to God for all that He has given us!

God's Peace - Pr. J

Peace Like A River

This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.
If only you had paid attention to my commands,
your peace would have been like a river,

your well-being like the waves of the sea.

                                         Isaiah 48:17-18 NIV

The hymn "When Peace Like a River" or "All Is Well With My Soul" is a favorite among many. It is one of my favorite hymns. It was written by Horatio G. Spafford in 1873. Not long before, his four daughters had died in a collision with another ship as they crossed the Atlantic. His wife survived and sent him this message, "Saved alone." Later, as he, himself, crossed the Atlantic and neared the spot where his daughters had died, he was inspired to write this hymn. The LORD, in His mercy has taught us that no matter what befalls us, it can be well with our soul. All who abide in Christ will know the peace that only He can give.

"When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul."

Today, Isaiah reminds us that we are to turn from worshipping false gods, and to trust in the LORD, our God, and all will be well with our soul. Our peace will be like a river. But, for those who turn their backs on Him, there will be no peace. “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.” (Isa 48:22)

When will we turn from our stubborn, stiff-necked ways to live in peace? To live wholly for and in Christ? "For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.  For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." (Eph 2:14-18)

May you follow in the way that the Lord has set before you that it might always be well with your soul as you live in peace with God.

God's Peace - Pr. J

There Is Power In The Blood!

My dear friend and brother in Christ,  Pr. John Henry (now retired), 

preaching at the Zeba UMC Campground Meeting in the woods.

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.  (Eph 1:15-23 NIV)

Every August for years, I was privileged to preach at the Zeba Indian United Methodist Camp Meeting. The camp meeting is held by an Ojibwa congregation that meets out in the woods at a chapel without walls during the summer months. Inevitably, every year, sometime during the week long camp meeting, someone asks to sing one of my favorite hymns, "There Is Power In The Blood." There is power in the blood of Jesus!

I often wonder if everyone really understands that power. Do we really get it? The one who was raised from the dead lives! He is our head. He is the head over everything for the church, which is his body. The one who descended to hell, rose from the dead, and ascended to the heavenly realms lives. The grave could not hold him. Hell has no power over him. How much more powerful can one be than that? Trust in his power. Trust in the power of the blood of Jesus.

Lord, God, grant all whom we know and love the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that they come to know and love you; that they might understand the awesome power of the one who shed his blood that all who believe in him might be reconciled to you, dear Lord, and to all of your children, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J