Peace

I love this picture! Quite frankly, it is very easy to be at peace when you are sitting in a spot as lovely as this. But what about everyday life? When the car is still in the shop or the hubby gets a layoff slip or some unexpected crisis pops up... 

Peace was mentioned over 397 times in the Bible, according to my Bible Gateway word search. Maybe because, as humans, we need and long for peace, and are not naturally equipped to have it!  

Jesus said 

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

Peace is a gift. It's ours. Jesus said so. Then, knowing human nature, He told us LET NOT your heart be troubled. We tend to allow worry, fear and anxiety creep in. We look at our circumstances and expect the worst case scenario! We keep our eyes on our problems instead of our God....

Maybe that ties in to this verse:

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.Romans 8:6

Many times we go back to our default settings, the old man, the old way of thinking and reacting, instead of responding in our new nature, like children of God. You choose how you think, and what you think about. If a thought pops in that is contrary to your new nature, replace it with the truth. Life and peace. Life more abundantly! Like the Luminosity commercial says "Retrain your brain!"

Romans 15:13

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Peace out friends!