True Peace

The world our students are growing up in today is consistently changing. The access they now have to information is staggering and the speed at which their lives travel is so fast that one of my greatest challenges is to help them to slow down. They just don’t live at a slow speed. Everyone else they hear is preaching faster, quicker, more efficient, your time is valuable so get the most for it. Sound familiar?

But then I read Psalm 46:10 where it tells me to “Be Still, and know that I am God.” And it is then that I realize that God is not as much concerned about our ‘time-value of money’ than he is about the quietness of our soul.

Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

When you hear this psalm I wonder how it makes you feel. Do you ever wonder what it must feel like to lack nothing, to rest in green pastures beside still waters? Have you ever experienced the surety of knowing that no matter where you go, the LORD will lead you down the right paths and that you will be protected from your enemies? There is nothing to worry about, nothing to fear, just supreme peace, joy, and rest.

Oh, how often I long for this still riverbank in my life, the place where I am free of worry, free of anxiety, and completely reliant on my LORD. Let’s daydream together for a moment…

I must tell you that the Lord has shown me that there is so much for me to learn and experience about the peace that he provides. There is a storehouse of immense peace that is available to us that I realize I am only eating the crumbs of. My prayer is that we might learn together how to partake with abundance the bountiful offering of peace that comes from our relationship with God.

When we think about peace, where does it originate? Is peace just an easy feeling of inner tranquility or is it more? Sometimes I think our understanding of what it means to have peace is off-kilter. Most assume that peace is an escape from difficulty or a numbness to the things that cause us grief or anxiety. Unfortunately, in our world there is such a longing for peace but few know how to receive. This search for an escape and numbing of reality has lead to the prominence of alcoholism, drug use, and the ever increasing rise in memberships to all-inclusive vacation resorts. They just want peace somehow, so running away seems to be the only answer.

When we read of David’s peace that we so long for in Psalm 23, is he escaping from his pressures? I don’t think so. David says “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil.” Even in the midst of his greatest distress, he has peace. No need for a beer, no need for a Mediterranean cruise vacation, he has true peace - - fascinating.

In all of history, believers that have experienced the greatest persecution and difficulty in life are the biggest proponents of God’s peace because they understand it the most and have needed it most often. Consider with me the apostle Paul. 5 times he received 40 lashes-1 from the Jews, 3 times beaten with rods, once stoned, 3 times shipwrecked, constantly on the move and in danger, imprisoned and chained, do I need to continue? Paul knew suffering, yet he had Supreme peace. In Philippians 4 he shows us:

He tells us that “…the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

That is comforting coming from a guy like that, isn’t it?

Peace often comes in the form a safeguard. Life insurance can bring us peace of mind. A warranteed home inspection can give us peace about a purchase. Our troops that serve our country allow us to have peace from danger. Consider a city with high/strong walls. Inside there is a peace-of-mind that comes from knowing that they are safe from attackers.

This was true for the city of Constantinople. If you are a history buff, you will know exactly what I am referring to. You might also have more to teach me because a history buff, I am not. I do know that Roman Emperor Constantine was converted to Christianity and eventually moved the capital of the Roman Empire to a small town in modern day Turkey now known as Istanbul. He renamed the city Constantinople and the people there lived in peace for 1123 years because of the fact that it was surrounded on three sides by water and was guarded by the most renowned, feared wall the world had ever seen. Nobody could penetrate this wall. Few tried because of the horror stories they heard. Eventually high powered modern technology won out, but this fortress did provide a security for generations and generations.

Do you know, this morning, that the fortress at Constantinople may crack, but a mighty fortress we have in our God, a bulwart that is never failing. Christ himself is our safeguard. No matter how hard our enemy may tear at our walls, no matter how much pain we may be under on this side of heaven, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

Hear the words of Jesus:

“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.” –John 16:33

It is hard to imagine that anyone could say they do not need peace or they have enough of it. Most of us would go to great extents to find it. So how do we get it? It’s not something that we can buy, people are already making a lot of money promising peace but it remains a need. It’s not something we get from taking a substance or running away from difficulties. It’s not even something we can find through denial. The apostle Paul, the great recipient of peace, teaches us the secret.

Philippians 4:4-7
“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Before Paul tells us to give everything to God through prayer, he tells us to do 3 things.

First, he tells us to Rejoice. To find JOY in the Lord ALWAYS. Joy is the attitude of our heart that allows peace to enter.

Secondly, he tells us to interact with everyone with gentleness. How often do quarrels and arguments rob us of peace. Gentleness maintains our heart attitude.

Lastly, Paul gives us a reason to do these things. He reminds us that The LORD is near. He gives us the hope that we cling to, the reason why we live, the eternal celebration is so close.

Romans 15:33 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit”.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, be encouraged. Peace is real. Peace is attainable through Jesus. Frankly, He is the only way to real peace. So live with that peace that Paul says transcends all human understanding. Cling to the hope that you have in Christ Jesus our LORD. The difficulties that we face are understood by our father in heaven and He deeply cares for you.

May you live a life of righteousness toward God because as Isaiah 32:17 states:
“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.”

Heidi Makayla Paschal

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HUNGRY?

Over the past few weeks the LORD has been leading me on this journey as I have been compiling texts and writing lesson plans for our fall retreat at the end of the month.  I started on this journey as I have many times, thinking about what aspect of the christian way of life would be most beneficial to share with my students.  I always wonder how much "sinks-in'' and is recieved in these lessons, I hear comments and praises from my wife and leaders, and sometimes students, but the real beneficiary, I'm sure, is me.  The theme this year is called 'Hungry?'  because I am convinced that we are pretending to be hungry for God when we really are so stuffed to the gills with all kinds of other junk.  When it comes to the true bread of life in our community, there is a Famine even though church and church events are everywhere to be seen.  I think that we have invited God to come along if he wants a part of us and we will fit him in when it's convienient.  The funny thing is, God doesn't work that way and we wonder why we don't see the powerful representation of God in our world.  God doesn't come along with us, He makes that very clear.  He says to murder ourselves so that He is all we have and we can partner with him in what He is doing in the world. 

It takes a courageous person to make stomach room for the body and blood of Christ, to remove the things that we have always tried to satisfy the stomach pangs.  The LORD calls us to a Fast, a sacrifice of what we have known to acknowledge our true sustenance.  It's in these moments that we realize how silly our attempts to satiate our hunger with "things" really are.  We begin to understand the unsurpassing wealth of resource we have in Christ.

And then we Feast on the plenty from heaven.  We inhale the aroma of righteousness and drink deep the cool water of life.  Pslam 36:8 They feast on the aboundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.  Jesus even says BLESSED are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be FILLED. (Matt. 5:6) What a promise. 

I don't know about you, but I am always trying to find more junk to remove so that my hunger will grow for the things of God.  I'm starting to realize that these youth lessons are just an overflow of what the Lord wants to teach me.  I'm ready to feast.

Cinco de Mayo

Hola! As I sit in 'the warehouse' writing this entry I am looking at the evidence left from what I like to call the 'hispanic hurricane' known as Cinco de Mayo.  Banners hang from the walls, a random sombraro is tossed aside on the floor most likely from a mexican hat dance, the spilled bottle of habanero hot sauce is hidden by the remnants of the pinata mutilation that occured last night.  By far, the greatest Cinco de Mayo EVER.  We were able to prove that even though we took the 'happy' out of the 'happy margaritas' people could still get a little crazy.

Special awards go to the following people:  Danny Miller - for doing the impossible.  Drinking an entire bottle of hot sauce in under 20 seconds (crossing my fingers and hoping I don't get any parent phone calls) Justin Gillette - for hitting the pinata so hard that he broke a 2" thick wooden pinata stick (watch out Albert Pujols).  Senor PIN - for dodging that same pinata stick dagger like something straight from a Matrix movie Lilly Huelfer -  for pinning the cupcake right in the donkey's face, nice shot! Joe"two step"Hannah - for the best interpretation of the mexican hat dance.  Conner Morgan - for the furthest left handed marshmallow home run and Hannah Gross - for somehow knowing what a 'quincinera' is. 

I spoke to a friend of mine that brought his little sister to the party and I think she summed it up the best.  When having to leave a little early, she belted "I don't want to leave, I don't EVER want to leave!!"  Me neither sweetheart, me neither.  I guess we can all thank those brave Mexican forces that defeated the French in 1862 for the fun we had last night.  We lift up our non-alcoholic margarita's to you.  Muchos Gracias!!!

Gotta Love the Frolf

Ok, so I decided today that I needed to get away from the desk for a little while and challenge Ty to a round of frolf (frisbee + golf) or in more snobbish circles (disk golf). I told Ty that we were going to explore the McCurry Park course. To date we have yet to venture into Fayetteville for frolf but Im glad we did. It was a beautiful course but definatly expert level ( I shot 20 over par ) but of course we didnt have the fancy disks that travel super far. We decided the regular walmart frisbees would work....we had fun. I think the best part of the day was when we were both about 40 yards from the hole and it just so happened that BOTH of us somehow threw our frisbees into a drain culvert from about 50 feet away. I thought one frisbee ending up in the drain was impossible but 2 in a row!? I think that the Lord was having some fun with us today. He was sitting above saying to Peter "Hey Pete, watch this!" Hey, its something to talk about at least. Anyway, we battled the abnormal pollen count and walked away with a great day at the office. There are a few videos below if you feel so inclined to watch. What great form that is (above).

Under Construction

Well, Here it goes!

Excitement is not the only thing that has been building recently. God has decided to bless us with the opportunity to build a new home in our new home town. It has been 8 months so far that we have been staying in a temporary home (in-laws...God Bless them!) and it will be another 3-4 months before we are moved in but we are eager in anticipation of getting our material possessions out of storage and into use again. I think God has been grooming us to rely on Him. OK, Already! We rely, we rely! So, for those who want a peek at progress, enjoy the pictures. Hopefully I'll add to them as we go...

More to come....

The Know-ability of God

Have you ever lay on the grass outside and starred up into the clear sky? Have you looked at all the stars…maybe you saw a shooting star or two. I have. Everything in that moment seems to melt away. I would begin to ask myself questions like: How far away are those stars? How old are they? I bet Jesus looked at the same stars like I am doing right now. Is God is bigger than I ever thought of Him to be? It is in those very moments that I begin to recognize that I am not the center of the universe like I am so apt to thinking. The same can be said about standing on the very top of a mountain or staring into the crevasse of the Grand Canyon. These are humbling experiences. In that very moment we realize that we, after all, are very small indeed.

We have grown up in the United States to think “If I study hard enough, or work hard enough, nothing is impossible.” And “If I choose to make a single subject my life’s study, I can know all there is to know about any given subject” In many situations, this is very true. Unfortunately, I think we can sometimes group God into this same category. To think, “Our pastors have figured it out because they seem to know everything about God” or “If I wanted to, I could get all kinds of Biblical degrees and become an expert on knowing God.” This is so very far from the truth.

Where Paul did say to us in Romans 1 “what may be known of God is plain to us” he did not say that all of God is made plain to us. There are 2 very important truths to understand when we consider what it means to know God.
1) God is infinite
2) We are finite or limited
God is said to be Incomprehensible. Not that we don’t have the ability to know God, but that we are unable to understand God fully or completely.

Psalm 145:3 says “Great is the Lord, and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom.”
Psalm 147:5 “Great is our Lord and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure.”

I believe that even David, a man after God’s own heart could have been starring into the night sky when he authored Psalm 139:6 “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it” and then later in verse 17 he continues: “How precious are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them they would outnumber the grains of sand.”

If we would begin to ponder God, really press into Him, we would all be forced to draw the same conclusion; that there is no way we can understand God completely or fully. But even more than that I think we can draw even another conclusion from these very same passages: We can never understand any one single attribute of God either. His understanding, His greatness, His knowledge are all too vast to comprehend. We may be able to know something about God’s love, His power, or His purposes, but to know these things fully would mean that we would have minds on equal standing with God himself.

For those of us that find our satisfaction from intellectual pride, this might seem limiting or even a little hopeless of ever achieving that mark of completion or accomplishment. We won’t ever be able to check the knowledge of God off our list of study, but there is one very amazing thing about this very relationship between God and man.

There will never be a moment in time that we know “too much” about God. We will never grow tired in delighting in the expanse of His attributes. Whenever we get “bowled over” in amazement of God’s love, for example, we can rest assured that our revelation is only the tip of the iceberg in comparison of God’s overwhelming love. And this can be applied to every one of God’s attributes.
This means that for all eternity we will never be able to stop increasing our knowledge of Him and delighting in His character.
The apostle Paul in Colossians 1:9 asks God to “…fill us with the knowledge of His will, through all spiritual wisdom and understanding…growing in the knowledge of God.”

So, can God be known? Yes. Can we ever know God completely? No. Is this great news for us? Absolutely.

The FULL Armor

Have you ever thought that you were made for something greater than this? Maybe we have suppressed the heart of a hero for so long under our guise of responsibilities, job titles, PTA meetings, and our TV vegetation times that we have forgotton who we really are... warriors.

Christians, peel back the clouds of the seen and discover that a war wages on for our life. Is the enemy winning? Has the enemy neutered your effectiveness as a Christian. Brother, sister take up your armor again! Heed the call in Ephesians 6.

Use the belt of truth to stand firm when you can no longer stand on your own. Cover your heart with the breastplate of Righteousness that associates you as the King's own. Make sure your feet are fitted with readiness, eager to go, eager to respond. The gospel of Peace ensures our readiness because we will know the directions from the father if we are quiet and aware.

Do not be caught off-guard by the flaming arrows of the enemy, but use your shield of faith to thwart the attack. Place on your head the helmet of salvation, the mark of those redeemed from death to battle alongside God's elect.

And finally, DONT BE PASSIVE! Our job is not to just fend off the evil one. FIGHT BACK. The Lord has given us the Spirit as his sword to be used to take ground. "Pray in the Spirit on all occasions and with all kinds of prayers and requests" v.18

Put on the FULL armor. Not just the convienient peices or you will be vulnerable to attack. Your heart was created with the very fabric of a warrior. Do not rest until the glorification of our Father in heaven. Perservere till death, but take heart, Jesus has overcome the world.