More About Peace

Listen to this beautiful sermon by David Wilkerson, founder of World Challenge Inc.

http://www.worldchallenge.org/en/view/sermons?page=7

Look for the last sermon on the eighth page, "Jesus - The Lamb of God."

Fathomless Billows of Love

Here are the lyrics to one of my very favorite hymns:

Far away in the depths of my spirit tonight rolls a melody sweeter than Psalm
In celestial strains it unceasingly falls o'er my soul like an infinite calm.
Peace, peace, wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father Above
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love!

What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace
Buried deep in the heart of my soul
So secure that no power can mine it away
While the years of eternity roll!

I am resting tonight in this wonderful peace
Resting sweetly, In Jesus' control
For I'm kept from all danger by night and by day
And His glory is flooding my soul!
Ah, soul!  Are you here without comfort and rest
Marching down the rough pathway of time?
Make Jesus your Friend ere the shadows grow dark
O accept of this peace so sublime!



These words were written by W. G. Cooper in 1889, and they ring in my mind quite frequently.  Sometimes it's difficult to see ourselves as surrounded by peace.  Irritations, big and small, drip into our lives like a leaking faucet (and sometimes like a flood!)  But I believe, no matter the trial, that it is still possible to sense the love coming down from the Father in fathomless billows.
     Often I find myself feeling that I don't deserve peace.  Guilt clings to me like a filmy residue, especially if I think I have "gotten myself into" whatever situation is worrying me, and I actually resist peace.  It is then I have to remember that the source of this ever-flowing peace and love are the piercings of my Savior.  He knows exactly what I've done wrong, and He chooses to shower me with love anyway.  He died to break down the wall of partition between me and God, and He succeeded.  Nothing I can do will reverse that victory and take the peace away.
    By letting go of what we see, and realizing what is unshakably true, then we can feel those fathomless billows - then the tender face of our Messiah becomes more visible, and we can fall into His arms.  As we're walking, we can become aware of the angel bodyguards surrounding us.  As the worries and cares come rolling off our back like tiny droplets, we're swept into a place of trust like no other.


And I think when I rise to that city of peace
Where the Author of peace I shall see
That one strain of the song which the ransomed shall sing
In that Heavenly Kingdom will be:
Peace, peace, wonderful peace
Coming down from the Father Above
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLsyMCHtjMw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lysC83_V7Q4&feature=related

In Leafy Arches

Recently I've been thinking a lot about nature.  Roses have almost always fascinated me with their modest mystery - their soft petals overlapping each other in a mind-boggling design that covers their innermost parts.  I think if you looked at a rose for a thousand years you would never be able to comprehend its complexity. 

  I tend to think of nature as God's thoughts, flowing out of His mind with splendor and grace.  Once I was walking between two buildings in a quiet, shady area.  When I looked up, I saw the sunlight shimmering through the leaves of an oak tree.  I wish my rhetorical skills were better so that I could describe the beauty of that sight.  "Shhhhhhhhhh..." the wind said as it embraced me and made all of the plants and trees around me dance.  I felt as if I were walking in slow motion.  I looked to my right and saw a short palm tree dancing with the others - I have never seen something look so alive, so conscious and vibrant with praise. 

  On my way home one day I saw tiny blue flowers on the side of the road that looked as if they were placed there just to declare God's glory.  The sunlight hit the leaves on the trees at a certain angle that seemed to transform them into tiny emeralds.

  No matter how hard we try, our thoughts can never compare with God's thoughts.  Thinking about our lives and the direction we're going, worrying what tomorrow will bring, lementing the past - those are all things that cloud our mind and keep us from seeing what is now.  Let us be content to observe and appreciate our current surroundings, to let God's hope fill us so that we are focused on our sole and wondrous purpose: glorifying Him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsx6eYt-294

When the Path is Dim

When circumstances seem all in a shamble, and the path ahead is dim at best, (but more likely invisible), it’s easy to forget the most simple and important concepts.

God is with you.

His love for you is unimaginable.

His grace has no measure.

His thoughts for you are countless.

He holds you by your right hand.

The other night I was lying in bed trying to focus on God, but it seemed that my thoughts about the present circumstances kept creeping back into my mind.  I began to doze off when suddenly, I realized that I had a mental image of God which wasn’t correct.  I saw Him in my mind as filling up my whole room – His vastness surrounded me in billows of protection and grace and love.  But is that really true?  No, God goes beyond my room, outside the wall of my house, across the borders of my city, out of the state – His love and power stretches over the seas and soars right up into the stars, and it just goes, and goes, and goes.  Do I really think He can’t handle my “problems”?  Even though I may not be able to see the end, He has penned it already. 

So, why can’t we rejoice?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD0_bSEi0V8&feature=related

What a Friend We Have!

Today was a flurry of emotions and experiences, but through each one, my heart sang that simple phrase that is unmatched.  I have a friend in my Savior!  The moment I got in my car and turned on the ignition, Alan Jackson's voice began singing,

What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sin and grief to bear.
What a priviledge to carry
Everything to God in prayer.

The words sank deeply into my heart.  Many Christians know this hymn well, but do we truly know the meaning of our Lord also being our friend? 

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear...

I thought about how I had been trying to deal with my problems and find solutions without letting them rest in my Savior's strong and caring hands.  This seemingly simple concept will never get old to me - I will never grasp it to the point that I should.  But oh, today, I got a glimpse of His glory as I chose to trust in Him instead of exhausting myself. 

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Everything.  Everything?  In the hustle and bustle of this fallen world, we often forget that we have a God bigger than the entire universe who loves us more than we can fathom, who cares about our tiny and dismal trials more than we do.  The Psalmist says, "How precious are your thoughts to me, O Lord!  How great is the sum of them!  If I were to count them, they would far outnumber the grains of sand."  That verse has always dumbfounded me.  How many grains of sand would fit into a tiny vial?  And to think, my God's thoughts about me outnumber all the grains of sand in the world! 

His vastness and love is beyond our comprehension.  Maybe that's why sometimes it's so difficult for us to rest in Him.  How our problems can be solved is beyond our thinking, and we get caught up in the moment of anxiety and confusion.  But shouldn't we remember that we're citizens of a greater Kingdom?  Our Father is looking after us, and will do a much better job taking care of us than we could ever do taking care of ourselves.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful,
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness,
Take it to the Lord in prayer.