For He Himself is our peace…     

Ephesians 2:14a

Peace. Oh, how we all long for it. We look around at the divisiveness being fostered in our culture, and we cry out for peace. Family members fight and push each other away (sometimes establishing permanent chasms), and we are helpless to create peace. Inside our own souls, the battle rages between our fallen nature and our new nature in Christ, and we strive daily to keep the peace.

But peace does not have to be allusive! Friend, God is peace. And God makes peace with sinners through Christ. 

• For He Himself is our peace, who has made both [Jews and Gentiles] one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace… ~Ephesians 2: 14-15 (italics and brackets mine)

• For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~Isaiah 9:6

Through Jesus and His death on the cross—and by His triumph over death—we have peace with God. The relationship we were meant to have in God’s design is restored when we accept this amazing gift of grace.

• But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. ~Isaiah 53:5

• Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ~Romans 5:1

And once surrendered to Jesus, having restored our relationship with God (having peace with God), we can enjoy the peace of God as we walk through this world…because we’re promised that in this world we will have trouble—yes, even as believers!

• You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. ~Isaiah 26:3

• 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. ~Philippians 4:6-7

• Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ~John 14:27

Friend, does the cultural tumult bring overwhelming anxiety? Are shattered family relationships causing disquiet in your soul? Is your own brokenness resulting in a quest for peace from the things of this world? Turn to the True Source of Peace—the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. And find rest for your soul.

Thank You, Father, for making a way for us to have peace with You…and experience peace in this troubled world.

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge.

Psalm 73:28

With so many of us struggling right now, it’s easy to look around at others with eyes and hearts of envy. Whether our battles are with health, family circumstances, or finances, we can slip into frustration, despite our faith. We glance left and watch the ungodly prospering in every way. Then our view shifts right to see the mockers of God “have it all.”

Gratefulness for our own blessings fades away, and envy sets in. Bitterness can take root. We begin perceiving our reality as “less than”—and we may find ourselves even crying out to God, “Why them and not me? Why is she being healed, and I’m not? Why is that person getting away with evil?” 

In Psalm 73, Asaph wrote of the abundance of the wicked he witnessed around him—and he admitted the jealousy he felt amid the suffering and lack in his own life. It’s only when this Psalm writer stopped looking around and turned his face back to the Lord that he remembered the Truth. This world is a drop in the eternity bucket. Asaph acknowledged that the evil will be judged by our perfect, Holy God, yet he (and all believers) will be welcomed into glory. He shifted his focus to an eternal perspective.

Moreover, Asaph relishes in the relationship he has with the Lord today—and so can we. The closer we are with Jesus in the moment, the more difficult it is for us to be bitter. I mean, what greater joy is there than eternal life through Jesus? And what other relationship is as steadfast and unshakable than that which we have with our Lord? He is our strength, and He will never leave us or forsake us—no matter what our current circumstances look like. 

So, let’s replace bitterness with something much better: thankfulness for our Savior and His grace, and for the confident hope of our glorious future. 

“Lord, thank you for your unfailing love, amazing grace, and relentless mercy. Help me to keep my eyes on You, and please sever any roots of bitterness clinging to my soul.”

In pointing out these things to the brothers and sisters, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, constantly nourished on the words of the faith and of the good doctrine which you have been following.

1 Timothy 4:6

So, as is my cyclical preoccupation, I’ve got eating on the brain again (well, not eating, actually). Even though my health/fitness isn’t the idol it used to be in my life, I still go through phases of self-berating for eating sweet treats and over-indulging. For instance, recently over the course of six weeks, I had no sugar and no processed foods. I felt great and, after the sugar cravings and seven-day post-caffeine headache went away, I was cruising along without thinking (read: obsessing) about food. I was solely nourishing my body and mind. It was great. (Sadly, despite that, I’m still struggling to lose my “COVID-10.”)

Then, my son and his wife came to visit. We ate out, got ice cream, did movie night (complete with piles of dollar-store candy). You get the picture. I enjoyed their visit immensely—and all the delicious food. But just like that, my food-for-fuel mentality switched back to wanting (and needing) that next sugar fix. And so the rollercoaster goes.

For many of us, this cycle is a familiar thing. If you’re with me on this, I know you know that the healthiest relationship with food is one of nourishment. We are meant to use food to power the body and mind. “Junk in” manifests itself in low energy, weight gain, headaches, and moodiness—not to mention the internal toll it takes on us.

Friends, did you know that what is true of the body is also true of the spirit? Just as the Apostle Paul wrote as an exhortation to Timothy, we are to be constantly nourished on God’s Word (1 Tim 4:6). And just as with our physical health, our spiritual health is impacted by “junk in.” What is “junk” in this context? It’s the things of this world—love of stuff, money, and self. The Bible is clear that to love (inhale, imbibe, consume) what the world loves will turn us away from loving God (1 John 2:15-17, Romans 12:2, James 4:4, Colossians 2:8).

We’ve got to nourish ourselves with God’s Word! Every bit of it is profitable—for teaching, training, correcting, and equipping us (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It lights our way in this dark world and helps us to not wander into sinful snares (Psalm 119:105; 10-11). Just like eating nutritious food protects us from having unhealthy bodies, consuming the Truth of God keeps our soul unpolluted and our way pure (Psalm 119:9—yep, this particular Psalm is like a spiritual recipe book, so check it out!). 

What is your spiritual diet like these days? Are you getting a hearty daily intake of God’s Word to sustain you? Let’s commit to making Bible reading an everyday priority—not only is it soul-nourishing, it’s oh so satisfying.

Your Word is life, Lord. Thank You for providing this food for life—this love letter from your heart to mine.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  

Ephesians 2:8-9

It’s always a wonderful thing to discover what you truly want to be “when you grow up”—whether you’re six or 60. Tapping into your God-given gifts, your personality traits, and the God-ordained desires of your heart to find a fulfilling vocation is soul-satisfying. Sometimes it’s hardwired in early (like my son, the pilot, who’s wanted to fly airplanes since he was five years old). Other times, it takes a lifetime of meandering, self-discovery, and ultimate surrender to find that sweet spot the Lord has for you. (This is like my husband, who has blessedly found his purposeful professional—and service-driven—groove at 55.)

Not all career paths require a college education. But if one’s track is, say, engineering, science, teaching, or medicine, higher ed is a must. And for those of us walking through that process now ourselves or with our children, there are those frustrating moments in trying to register for a degree-related course you want when you see that footnoted list of “required prerequisites.” It’s a bit deflating to realize you need to take, for example, two semesters of accounting toward your degree in chemistry. But on the academic road to your ultimate destination, those prerequisites are unavoidable.

This is thankfully not the case when it comes to our ultimate eternal destination. When we decide—whether at age six or 60—that Heaven is our desired objective, it’s a one-step transaction. There are no hoops to jump through, no “101, 201, 301” progression, and certainly no grades to be earned. We cannot work our way into relationship with God. In this world, we are dead in our sin, separated from our Creator, walking in brokenness. But Jesus (fully God and fully man) lived a perfect life and gave Himself, through death on a cross, to pay the penalty we owe, trading our sin for His righteousness. It is simply by having faith in Jesus—believing you’re lost without Him and rescued by Him—that you are saved (restored to your intended relationship with God). 

What about you? Are you trying to fulfill some list of perceived prerequisites to earn your place in Heaven? Friend, you can rip up that list you’ve been carrying around. Look up and surrender to Jesus Christ. That’s it. Faith alone through grace alone (Acts 16:31, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 5:24, Romans 11:6). There’s nothing else for you to do, or not do. No boxes to check. No price to pay. Jesus paid it all…so, for you and for me, there are no prerequisites required. 

Lord, thank You for making the way for me. Your grace is sufficient! Give me a joyful obsession to share this amazing news with others.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

*This is a repost, but I was reminded of it after having dinner with friends the other night. Enjoy!*

Has it happened to you? You’re enjoying a delicious dinner out with friends, talking and laughing the hours away. A few sweet teas into the evening, you hit the restroom and gaze at your reflected smile…only to see a big green hunk of spinach between your teeth. The mirror has shown you what your friends didn’t tell you—and you couldn’t see.

So, we take down the mirror off the wall and use it to clean our teeth, right? Of course not! The mirror only reveals the problem, it doesn’t fix it. 

This is a perfect analogy for God’s law. Throughout the Bible, the Jews were trying to use the law to achieve a level of holiness that would be acceptable to God. Even today, followers of nearly every world religion—and many Christians—believe the “rules” are steppingstones to salvation. 

But sisters and brothers, the law was never meant to be the way to God. Our Father in heaven is perfect, and He requires nothing less than perfection. So striving for rule-following, no matter how hard we try, will fail. Humans are not perfect, and we are incapable of following God’s law with perfect righteousness. 

Just like the bathroom mirror that reveals food caught in your teeth, the law is meant to show us we are not good enough for a perfect, Holy God. His law shows us how unrighteous we really are, so we’ll run to the only One Who is perfect. Jesus came to this earth, fully God and fully man, to fulfill the law perfectly. He lived the life we could not live and paid the price for our sinfulness. Because he died for us and rose again, we are able to accept His gift of grace and be made perfect in God’s eyes. 

The mirror cannot remove the spinach from our teeth. But it was necessary to recognize there was a problem—a big hunk of green. And trying to follow God’s rules will not remove the stain of sin from our lives. The law shows us there’s a problem (our sinfulness and unholiness)…but Jesus Christ is the only way we can be washed as white as snow. 

“Lord, there is only one way for us to perfectly reflect You—by accepting what Jesus did on my behalf. Thank you for revealing my sin and for paying the price.”

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.” 

Luke 17:20

A sweet sister and I were recently talking about our Christian walks, and the walks of our respective spouses and children. Now, as believers, having done our best to raise our children to love and serve the Lord, it’s heartbreaking to watch a child (or spouse) turn off the narrow path and begin meandering down the wide road with the masses. Maybe, though, it’s the person looking back at you in the mirror who, like the young man in the parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-32), was engaged in “wild living,” squandering everything you have.

As my friend and I shared hard-learned lessons with each other, it dawned on me that every one of us can be compared with the guy in that familiar lost-and-found story Jesus told the crowd made up of His followers and haters. The only difference among us stems from exactly when in the process we actually come to our senses (v 17). 

When you read the parable, which has numerous profound teachings, you’ll see that the young man decided to do life his way, giving in to every fleshy whim and chasing momentary, hollow satisfaction. For him, it was only when he was literally and figuratively spent, starving, and working in a pigsty that he realized he needed to return to his father. He had, as we say today, hit rock bottom. This is the moment he came to his senses, knowing he needed to turn back (repent). But if you think about his path to the pit, from that first step taken off his dad’s property to standing with the pigs, the guy could have come to his senses at any time, curtailing his loss and pain the sooner he turned around.

If you’re already saved, whether it was at age 10, 20, 30, or 70, you were once walking in the ways of this world, pursuing self-pleasure and the idol of “me,” when at some point you realized you were lost. You turned back to the Father, and He ran to you with a compassionate embrace, welcoming you Home. (And when you did, there was a huge heavenly party in your honor.) The thing is, some of us took a few steps off the proverbial front porch and thought, “Nope, I know it’s better here, so I think I’ll stay under my Daddy’s roof.” Some of us started hanging out with other world-pursuing people, experienced the my-way life, and soon realized where that road would lead. Others of us, however, heartily pursued the “it’s-my-party” life, filling that God-shaped soul-hole with things, people, or substances that only made that hole wider and deeper. It was only when we found ourselves in the pit of despair and brokenness, that we had no other place to look for rescue than up. But, praise God, we came Home to the amazing grace and mercy of the Father.

If you’ve not yet made the decision to turn off the wide road and trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, where are you now? Are you walking with the crowds thinking everything is fine, not knowing the end of that road is destruction? Maybe you’re in the midst of a “good time,” with a plastered smile on your face but a hollow heart. Perhaps you’re sitting in the pigsty at this very moment. Friend, the Father is waiting for you to turn back. Come to your senses now. Set your eyes on Him…and He will run to you with a loving embrace and welcome you Home.

Lord, what an amazing thing it is that You love us and are waiting with open arms. May we run into your embrace daily.

And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.

Ephesians 2:17-18

Despite the fact that I can’t play any instrument and I’m not the greatest singer, music has always been a passion of mine. In fact, for decades I was a hardcore concert goer. Beginning at age 12, I started seeing my favorite bands and solo artists perform, in venues from huge stadiums to intimate clubs. In all those years of hundreds of shows, one thing I have never been privileged to have is one of those “all-access” passes. You know, that special lanyard that grants you entrance backstage with all the roadies…and even affords you the opportunity to meet the object (or objects) of your fanaticism.

So, what makes one worthy of such prestigious access? Most of the time, it comes down to money—if you pay enough, you get access. Other times, it’s about who you know. Your uncle Joe knows the brother of the stage manager (who owes him a favor), so you end up with that priceless tag around your neck. Next thing you know, you’re face to face with some rock god you’ve obsessed about for years.

Friend, here is an amazing truth: As a believer, you have been granted access to God Himself. In fact, you have an all-access pass to go boldly to His throne at any time. And at the end of your earthly journey, you will literally be face to face with Him. But, unlike a stage pass for some musical show, you cannot pay any price for this access—nothing you can do can earn you that proverbial lanyard. The Christian’s all-access pass, however, is acquired by that “who-you-know” route. 

See, for every individual, there is just one way to gain this entrée to God’s presence—one Person to know. The moment you receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are presented before the throne of God the Father (no interceding roadies, gatekeepers, or ticket-takers). Jesus paid the cost—a price we could never afford—so we can stand in perfect holy righteousness before the Creator. All we have to do is ask.

Why not reach out and accept your all-access pass today? Just acknowledge that your brokenness and sin separate you from God. Then, turn from your old ways and accept the free gift of grace from Jesus who has made a way for you. On the cross and through His resurrection victory over death, He has exchanged your sin for His righteousness, so you can have restored access (relationship) to God.

Jesus, thank You for living a life I could not live and paying a debt I could never afford, providing me with an all-access-for-eternity pass to God.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ.

Philippians 1:9-10

The word “sincere” is defined as being free of deceit, hypocrisy, or falseness; it is to be genuine, real, and pure. Now, I’m pretty confident that most of us want sincerity to be an essential (and proven) characteristic of our spouse, children, friends, boss, etc. None of us secretly hopes that our best friend makes a habit of lying to us, or that our coworker smiles and chats pleasantly with us only to turn around and badmouth us to another team member.

Sadly, our culture today doesn’t blink at dishonesty—just watch the news. And social media is all about promoting falseness and “un-realism,” from filtered Instagram selfies to impossibly perfect Pinterest desserts. But what about us? As much as we desire sincerity from others (and detest their insincerity), do we live out pure authenticity ourselves?

God’s Word is very clear in exhorting Christians to live, love, and serve with sincerity (Philippians 1:10, Joshua 24:14, 1 Peter 1:22, Colossians 3:22). Modern dictionary definitions aside, there is an interesting oral tradition from antiquity that the word “sincere” actually comes from the Latin words “sine” and “cera”—which together mean “without wax.” According to commentary on Philippians 1:10 from John MacArthur’s Study Bible:

In the ancient world, dishonest pottery dealers filled cracks in their inferior products with wax before glazing and painting them, making worthless pots difficult to distinguish from expensive ones. The only way to avoid being defrauded was to hold the pot to the sun, making the wax-filled cracks obvious. Dealers marked their fine pottery that could withstand “sun testing” as sine cera. 

Think about that. What a meaningful parallel that is for our life! Once we surrender to Jesus, we strive to be more like Him every day. (Of course, we only reach perfection once we are in heaven, but the goal on this earth is to more closely resemble Jesus as we become more mature in the faith.) So, as we walk out our salvation, our lives are to withstand not “sun testing” but “Son testing.” To ensure purity, truth, and sincerity, we can hold our thoughts, words, actions, and decisions up to the Light—Jesus (John 8:12). 

Friends, let’s make it a point to live wax-free. When the angel of light (Satan) tries to blind us with the shiny things of this world, may we prove strong and unyielding. When the blazing heat of tempting sin beats down on us, may our faith not melt away. And when we hold up our life to the glorious Light of our Lord and Savior, may it reflect His beauty back onto us.

Lord, help me to walk in sincerity through this world that elevates lying, cheating, and hypocrisy. Let me live according to Your example. 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

Do you love to travel? Most of us probably do (at least we did, when we were allowed to move about freely). We love to visit unfamiliar places, discovering what’s special about that town, state, or country. But no matter where our adventures were taking us, we had to create a travel plan and map out the route to our destination. This used to entail reading paper maps (then figuring out how to refold them—can I get a witness?). Then, it evolved to looking up direction on the computer and printing them. Now, our smartphones not only pull up maps for us, but a programmed voice of our choice will tell us step-by-step turns until we arrive. 

But, at the end of the day, we still need some sort of routed directions. 

Life itself is like that as well. The distance between our original location (birth) to our final earthly destination (death) is one long journey. And it’s not too far into the trip when we start hitting forks in the road—choices to be made as to which direction to take. Try weed with your middle school friends or not…say “no” to the sexualized status of today’s teen years or go along with the crowd…choose among colleges to attend—or choose not to go…job A or job B…live together (because who needs a piece of paper?) or get married in purity…you get the point. Our life maps are as complex as those paper-map insets of large cities—every few steps, there seems to be another directional choice.

But, friends, there is a clear and definitive roadmap for life—the Bible. And it comes directly from the One who created life itself (not to mention your unique purposeful life). From Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21, there are 66 books filled with inerrant, God-inspired truth and guidance for the journey. The Bible is not some outdated, irrelevant antiquity. It’s archeologically proven, scientifically sound, and morally unblemished. It rigorously defines the safest, surest, most joy-filled route to take. You could call it “Route 66.”

Psalm 119 (the longest chapter in the Bible) is dedicated to explaining why to follow God’s Word—from the benefits of doing so to the consequences of going off-course. Here are just a few truths from this Psalm describing the results of going God’s way:

• We will not be unjust. 
• We will not be ashamed.
• We will walk in purity.
• We will be joyful.
• We will find counsel.
• We will be comforted.
• We will be strengthened.
• We will walk in liberty.

And those are just some of the truths from verses 1-45. There are another 131 verses to go in the chapter.

Of course, even when we follow God’s Word through life, we’ll still have choices—lots of them—along the way. But because the Mapmaker is our perfect, holy, loving, all-knowing God, you cannot make a bad turn if you follow Route 66.

Thank You, Lord, for Your Word. May I be always intentional about making it the light to my path through this world.

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4b-6)

When we adopted our son, he was grafted into our family forever. Of course, we loved and adored him the moment he entered our lives as a foster child, but it was when the judge’s gavel struck the bench that he officially became a Smith. From that moment, because he was no longer part of the state’s system, there was no difference between him and our older son in terms of privilege, resources, protection, discipline, and (as small or nonexistent as it might be) inheritance. 

He is our child in every way imaginable.

The one thing, however, we could not give him was our nature—our DNA-driven features (good or bad). I could not pass on my Italian olive complexion or hazel eyes. His skin is a gorgeous brown, but it differs markedly from mine and his dad’s. And within the ever-present medical debates about nature vs. nurture, I can tell you that, on the side of nurture, he picked up plenty of characteristics (and character) growing up Smith.

Friend, when you give your life to Jesus, accepting salvation by grace through faith alone, you become a child of God, adopted into His family (John 1:12-13, Gal 4:4-5, Rom 8:14-17)! When we are born again into this new forever family, Christians become co-heirs with Christ, given every privilege, resource, and inheritance from God the Father. This is an amazing, glorious thing, especially looking forward to our heavenly future with Jesus.

But, unlike the limitation of human adoption to share DNA characteristics, when we are grafted into God’s family, He also miraculously bestows on us His very nature. We are given the righteousness of Jesus to replace our unrighteousness. We are made a completely new creation, transformed into the very image of Christ! Given the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit—the same power that raised Jesus from the dead—we are able to live out (albeit not perfectly in this world) the “nurture AND nature” characteristics of our Lord. As we walk closer with God through His Word, we look more and more like Him.

And what’s more awe-inspiring, is that when our Heavenly Father looks at us, He doesn’t see our fallen, sinful nature. To Him, through our adoption, we are wholly and perfectly righteous, transformed by the blood of Jesus. Our adoptive Abba (Daddy) not only gives us everything He has…He has given us the proverbial DNA of Christ.

Lord, thank you for the privilege of being called Your child. Help me always remember who I am in You and glorify You through my words and action.