Having Emotional / Spiritual Peace in Our Lives

As we opened the last message I shared with you two weeks ago, we looked at the words that Jesus shared with his disciples on the eve of his mock trial and his crucifixion. He told them in John 14, verse 27, 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. Again, John 14, verse 27.

They would have also remembered on that Passover evening what he had taught them. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. We know that it would have been no time at all that this peace they enjoyed with Jesus would have been interrupted and the disciples' lives forever changed. It also wouldn't be too long a time before their lives individually would come under attack and persecution would arise. And in the end, each of the disciples remained true to their calling of sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, even to the end of each of their own lives. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. How so desperately we need the peace of God in our lives today. Beyond a physical peace, which is often defined as we looked at as an absence of war or conflict between individuals, we have a deep-seated desire to have emotional peace in our lives. And along with emotional peace, we as Christians desire a spiritual peace as well. Again, when we consider the definition of the word peace that Jesus shared and what it can mean, from Thayer's Greek lexicon, we looked at, of course, how it can mean a state of national tranquility or peace between individuals, which is harmony, an absence of conflict. But there are some other definitions, too, and that's going to be more of the focus that we'll take today. One of the definitions is the tranquil state of a person assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and content with its earthly lot of whatsoever sort that is, wherever life seems to take us, that we're at peace with that. It can also mean a quietness or a rest. Again, a definition from one of our publications says this about peace. Peace involves positive relationships with God and people. Peace is also the spiritual or emotional state of mind that guides how we react to external situations. A peaceful state of mind is not angry, upset, or discouraged. It produces an internal peace that is a product of our relationship with God. Having peace in our lives doesn't just, as we've looked at, involve an absence of conflict with others. It's not just that. But true peace also has an emotional and spiritual component to it as well. So as we again dive into this topic of peace today, let's explore how we work towards having peace in the emotional and spiritual parts of our lives. How we as Christians can work towards having peace in the emotional and spiritual parts of our lives. We're in the time of the year around us in society where we hear greetings of peace. Peace and goodwill unto all men as part of the holiday traditions of society around us. It's a part of our life that people want to have peace. Everyone desires peace in their lives. It brings harmony, it brings joy, and it removes conflict and frustration.

Each of us are very familiar with the effects that worry and anxiety and fear have on our minds and bodies. I don't know if we have any...well, we have some teens with us today. What was it like? Can you remember going back to when you first learned how to ride a bike? Now, maybe you were unlike me and you just...you jump off the back of couches and do backflips and land on your brother and it's no big deal. So learning how to ride a bike was like no fear at all. But to me, learning how to ride a bike, there was the nerves. I didn't want to wreck. I've seen my older brother. He used to build ramps. I've heard stories of these hospital trips because he would make ramps with his bike and wreck it. And I didn't want to go to hospital. So there was some fear. There was some anxiety learning how to ride a bike. What about...for you kids, teens still, and this is an important one...what about that pop quiz in school? Or that test that you haven't studied enough for, you know, deep down in your heart, you haven't studied enough for and it's coming today. I remember those. The fear, the anxiety, the worry. What kind of grade am I going to get? What are my parents going to think when they see the grade? Has anyone been chased by a dog in their life? I think many of us can raise our hands on that one. What about that dreaded job interview? Going in for a new job, you want the job, sitting across from strangers. And it may not just be a one-on-one interview. I've done panel interviews where there's six people sitting across. You want to talk about anxiety and nerves coming in? Or that presentation that you have to give before your bosses or an important client?

Or what about being called by God to the role of ministry? That one hits a little bit close to home for me. The nervousness, the anxiety, the worry at times, the responsibility. All of these things come into our lives, whether we're learning how to ride a bike, we're taking a job, or we're going on a new adventure in life. Worry, anxiety, fear can come in and is part of the human experience. Each of us throughout our lives have been asked or called upon to do things that have stirred up feelings of worry, anxiety, and fear. And not one of us like these emotions or feelings. They make our stomachs hurt. They make our hearts start beating faster and harder. We can physically feel our heart beat, unlike most other times. Our palms sweat, at least mine do. We get sweaty palms. And then we go on. I promise, sleep it at night sometimes. And then if I'm at work and something nervous, or when I was away from home, not so much in the house anymore at work, but I would get nervous and I'd not be able to sit still. I'd go get the clock and the seconds tick by slower and slower and slower because you're almost dreading that presentation that you have to share. All of these feelings that come up from within when worry and anxiety and fear take over. I think we have that fight or flight mechanism of, Get me out of here, is what our bodies are telling us often in those circumstances. I sometimes wonder how many times the apostles felt this way as they performed the work they were called to complete. A similar work to the calling that you and I have received as Christians today. We live in a world that has been broken by the effects of sin for the past 6,000 years. Through the actions of Satan and his evil influence, the world suffers under the sway of our adversary. He's not only our personal adversary as children of God, but he's the adversary of all of humanity. Many just don't realize it. The personal peace that everyone has in their lives has been damaged through sin and wrong living in so many lives. Through the different types of abuse and hurt. Through the many addictions that exist. Through the breakup of marriages and families. And through searching and longing for things to acquire or to accomplish in life. With the hope that that would bring peace. That would bring happiness. That would bring joy. That would bring quietness to my life. In the book of James, the apostle addresses several issues going on in the church. He addresses those who showed partiality towards others. Those who were not in control of their words. Those who were envious and self-seeking. And in chapter 4, and we can open our Bibles to James chapter 4 this morning. He addresses the conflict between believers.

James 4, and we'll start at the beginning in verse 1.

And here in James 4 and verse 1, he asks the question, Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. And you ask and do not receive because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulters and adultresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever, therefore, wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

So much of the time, the disruption of peace in our lives, comes from seeking after things that are not of God. We often want more possessions, more money, higher status, more recognition. Or maybe it's more quality time, more private time, more time to exercise, more downtime. And if we can't get these things, often our inner peace is disturbed. And if we can't keep control of our lives, then worry, anxiety, and fear often enter in. James goes on to say in verse 6, But he gives more grace, but he gives more grace. Therefore he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep, and let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law.

But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? Of course, James is speaking here in a lot of ways to the conflict that exists between people throughout this passage. But there are a couple of important aspects spoken here by James that I believe tie into this message about emotional and spiritual peace. The first is humility.

James says, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. We know that humility is an attitude of not thinking more of yourselves or ourselves as we should think. It's also an aspect of recognizing our true mortality. That we must depend and trust that God is going to prop us up and carry us through challenges. That we can't just do it all on our own to rely on God as we should.

When we recognize that we and of ourselves cannot lead our lives in a way that brings true peace to our lives, then we should recognize the one who can bring peace into our lives. Of course, this one is God. But in human fashion, as we've already outlined, so often we want to take control of our lives and bring peace into our lives. Have you ever done that? I'll admit I've tried to grab hold of situations that I feel if I can get my hands around, get things under control the way that I like it, then peace will follow.

But so often, this creates more problems than it solves. So turning to God and submitting to Him, this will ultimately bring peace through humility. But this brings us to the second aspect from the passage in James that brings peace in our lives, and the second is the law. What is this law that James is speaking of here, and how does the law tie into having peace in our lives? By keeping God's law, which is, of course, the correct standard of conduct, we actually bring peace into our lives.

James references this earlier in James chapter 1, verse 25. If you want to just flip back one page in my Bible, at least. James 1, verse 25, he says this, But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, it's an interesting phrase that we'll dive into a tiny bit here, he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work.

This one will be blessed in what he does. It seems strange that releasing control of our lives and giving it to God can actually bring peace into our lives. But God's law guides and it directs our lives in a way that brings true inward peace to our hearts and to our minds. We know this. Consider for a moment in what occurs in our minds when suddenly we're driving down the road and we see blue lights flashing in our rearview mirror. What goes through your mind? What enters into your hearts? Worry, anxiety, fear, check, check, and check.

Especially if at times like me, you know you're doing something you shouldn't be doing in the car right then. Speeding, maybe changing too quickly, maybe, hopefully not, being distracted by something going on in the car. These feelings suddenly come flowing in out of nowhere when we see those blue lights and we feel that, I probably did something wrong here. This is not that much different as it relates to the breaking of God's laws often in our lives. We know the passages that speak to following God's way and what is going to come into our lives if we don't.

And I think we can all acknowledge the emotional peace that is disturbed when we transgress God's laws. But on the flip side, we also know the emotional peace we feel when we make right choices and we do that on a daily basis. It's like a children living in their homes with their parents. When they follow the house rules and they know they're following the house rules, there's peace in the house. Mom and dad are not upset. There's an ability to work and to enjoy the time together.

But those times when I knew I was in trouble for doing something I knew I wasn't supposed to do, when I'm just dreading either mom and dad finding out or after finding out that they already know what's going on, the punishment that's going to come, there's not much peace going on inside the life of a good one. I think we can all relate to these types of examples.

God's perfect law of liberty gives freedom from guilt, from regret, from frustration, and the influence of sin. It also reduces the worry, the anxiety, and the fear that we often experience. This perfect law of liberty brings peace to our lives. In Gary Petty's book entitled The Mercy Effect, he says this, All destructive conflicts between people are a direct result of the dysfunctional conflict each of us have with our Creator.

At the core of every human being, even the best of us, is a natural hostility towards God and a rejection of His instructions on how to live. We can solve nothing in life until we first deal with our personal conflict with God. Again, that's from Gary Petty in his book entitled The Mercy Effect. We know the inward peace that we try to maintain doesn't escape us because there is a problem with God's Word. It's not a fault of what God has instructed us to do. It's not something that's missing from His instructions or His Word to us.

The problem is not with His Word. The problem is with us. In several chapters of the book of Romans, the Apostle Paul talks about the law of God. Many believe that Paul only preached about faith. But, as we'll see, he spent a lot of time talking about the good of keeping the law. Let's turn to start opening into Romans. Let's turn to Romans 5 and verse 12.

Romans 5. We're going to jump around quite a bit, so I hope you can keep up. I'll try not to go too quickly. There's a lot that we could cover here. We could do multiple sermons on these few chapters of Romans that I'm going to skip around through. So much information is here between Romans 5 and Romans 9 and 10.

All the way through in these sections that we'll look at, so much information could be drawn out. But we don't have time. Maybe another day we'll get into some of these. But here in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12, Paul says this. He says, Just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned. In verse 17, he says, For if by one man's offense death reigned through the one, much more than those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in the life of the one, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, but also by one man's obedience many will be made righteous. Previously in chapter 3 and verse 31, Paul shared this. He said here in Romans 3 and verse 31, Do we then make void the law through faith?

Because that's what some have said, that the law has been made in void through faith and belief in Jesus Christ. But Paul says right here, in Romans 3 and verse 31 again, Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not. On the contrary, we establish the law. But then in chapter 6 and verse 1, Paul continues and puts to rest the arguments that there is a problem with God's law. Some have claimed this at different times, that the law of the Old Testament had a problem. Paul puts this argument to rest because without the law, he will later say we could not define what sin is.

Here in Romans 6 verse 1, he says, What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who die to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death. That just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

Verse 11, Likewise, you also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the wall, but under grace.

What then shall we sin because we are not under the wall, but under grace? Certainly not. Verse 22, But now, having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. And then into the next chapter, Romans 7 and verse 7, What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not.

On the contrary, and this is where Paul explains this, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetness unless the law had said, You shall not covet.

And then verse 12, Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. I'm sure, like me, you've heard other people claim that Paul only talked about faith, and that James is the only one that talked about works.

But we see here, clearly, in Romans, that Paul, and we'll continue on here in a moment, spent a lot of time talking about the law, and going to the degree of, like he said here in verse 12, that the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, just, and good. So it's through humility that we can recognize how much we need God in His way in our lives.

And then through submission and obedience to God, these two things in tandem, humility and recognizing God's law, that these two things in tandem can help us to have an inward peace as we continue life under the grace of God. But what do we do when emotional peace seems to be missing? How do we seek and find emotional peace? I have three short points as we continue towards the end of this message. The first is, we must turn to God. When we're struggling with emotional peace and struggling to find it, the first thing we must do is we must turn to God.

As we have already looked at, we must turn to God and consider the areas of our lives that are not being lived in submission to God. What are those areas that are in conflict with God's teachings? What are the attitudes we are displaying as we interact with others around us?

What are the emotions or feelings that we are harboring that need to be given to God? And when we receive answers to these questions, we must go before our great Father and there, repent of our sins. Continuing on here in the book of Romans, this time Romans 8 and verse 1, Paul says this, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin, He condemned sin in the flesh. That the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

It's only through the grace of God that our sins can be forgiven. As we know, nothing that you or I can do to be righteous enough could ever earn salvation. Salvation is the gift of God. Paul states this directly in the book of Ephesians. If you want to turn with me, you can. Ephesians 2 and verse 8 and 9. We'll be coming back here to Romans in just a moment, so if you want to keep your finger here.

But these are important scriptures to read with our own eyes, not just to hear with our ears. Ephesians 2, verses 8 and verse 9.

Paul says here again, For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. We've taught consistently that it is not through what you and I do. It's not through enough Sabbath-keeping. It's not through enough donations. It's not enough tithe-keeping. It's not enough not eating clean or not eating unclean meats. It's not enough keeping how many holy days? It's not about our righteousness, which when you put those two words together, it's kind of a joke, like that we can actually be righteous and of ourselves. But it's not through us seeking after more righteousness in our lives that it's going to somehow pay the price of the sins that we've lived with in our lives. It's only through the life and the death of our Lord and Savior that our sins can be washed clean. And as we've seen through Romans so far, and even here in Ephesians 2 verse 8, it's a gift of God that through His grace we can have our sins removed and we can be seen as whole and sin-free in God's eyes. It's a gift unlike anything that we could ever receive, ever, in our lives. It's just truly a miracle to receive such an amazing gift.

The next important thing that we must do to have emotional peace, and this is the second aspect, is to trust God and to trust His promises. We have to trust God and His promises. God's promises are throughout His Word, and these promises bring us emotional peace because we know His Word is truth and that God cannot lie. Let's go back to Romans 8 again, this time in verse 13.

Let's consider what Paul addresses here, again, continuing through the book of Romans, and chapter 8, this time in verse 13, as it relates to God's promises and the trust we have in Him. Romans 8 verse 13, he says, This is one of the most beautiful passages. This is one of the most beautiful passages. This is one of the most beautiful passages.

The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, that phrase alone has always just kind of made my mind explode. How could we be a joint heir with our Lord and Savior? He's the one who came and gave up His life. He's the one that came and lived a perfect life. He's the one that endured personal attacks, a mock trial, to the point of giving His life for each of us and for all of humanity. And God wants to invite me to be a joint heir. It's just humbling when we read through passages like this and know that this is a promise of God. This is the hope that He has in all of our lives. This is what He wants to bring to fullness. And this is that down payment on eternal life that Jesus Christ has already paid with His life. It's just unbelievable when we...it's just mind-blowing. Again, if children, in verse 17, again, if children then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Continuing on in these promises, verse 28, And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. This is one of those promises we've got to cling to when our peace is disturbed, when anxiety comes in, when fear creeps in, and these other emotions come in that disrupt our peace. We have to hold on to this promise that we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He predestined, these He also called, whom He called, these He also justified, and whom He justifies, these He also glorified. So many promises and so much encouragement for our lives are captured in this one chapter of Romans. Often, I like to go to Romans just personally, Romans chapter 8, and just read through. The account that we've read mostly through, because it brings me so much joy and encouragement when things kind of settle in around me, and it seems like it wants to knock me off of being able to be stable, of going forward, and damages, or tries to damage, my peace and life. There's just so much encouragement here from Romans chapter 8. And I have to share just a couple more, because these last couple passages from Romans 8 are some of my most favorite. They are what I consider maybe the exclamation mark on this chapter when we consider God's promises. Romans 8, verse 31. I remember being a kid, and when people started asking children and teenagers, what's your favorite scripture? This is one that I remember being one of my first favorites ever. I've gotten out too many to count. But this was one of my first favorites. Romans 8, verse 31. What then shall we say to these things, if God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he, not with him, also freely give us all things? In verse 38 and 39. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor the things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created things shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Just an amazing passage.

That's the second point to bringing and maintaining peace, emotional peace in our lives. The third thing we can do to find emotional peace is to continue a strong, prayerful relationship with God. To continue a strong, prayerful relationship with God. As the wonderful Father that he is, our great God desires to have a personal and intimate relationship with us, where we open our hearts and we open our lives to him in conversation.

And our prayer time provides a tremendous opportunity for God to bring peace into our lives. Let's turn to Philippians 4 and verse 6. Again, a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians. Philippians 4 and verse 6. He says this, And then the next verse, Paul pivots just a bit and says, verse 8, Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things.

The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you. I believe verses 8 and 9 go hand to hand with the admonition to go to God in prayer. So often, in our prayer time, we can get caught up in the request portion of our prayers. The things that we desire for God's help, the needs that we have, the encouragement that we're asking for Him because we have tough challenges or things going on. We can get caught up in that request portion of our prayers. But some of the most encouraging prayers that I have experienced and shared with God are those times when I focus with Him in that prayer time, the things that we're in Philippians 4, verse 8.

The noble things, the pure things, thanking Him for these things in my life, thanking Him that we have a community, a family, that displays a lot of these praiseworthy attributes. That it changes from the request portion of the prayer to a praise offering portion, and an admission that this is what we want to go after in our lives.

These are the things that we want to think on as we carry ourselves. Because turn on the news for 15 seconds, and your peace is interrupted. My peace is interrupted. Because this world has just got things going left and right. It always has. There's nothing new under the sun. There's always been disturbances and mankind's peace. But all around us, it just swirls constantly in the news reports, in the neighborhood community groups, at the schools that everybody goes to, the challenges that people face. When we can take time and focus on these aspects that Paul shares in verse 8 here, and then do that in prayer time with God, it changes our whole mindset to recognize that God is the one who brings these beautiful attributes into our lives.

As we meditate, as he says to continue to do, Paul does here, and meditate on these things, it changes the direction that we go in our prayer life with God, and it just brings more peace in so many facets to our relationship and into our lives. Again, these three steps. Turn to God and follow His word. To trust in God and His promises, and to continue in steadfast prayer to God, are so powerful for us to help maintain that peace in our lives. Now, I can probably hear some who will say, Yeah, Mr.

Phelps, this all sounds good and true and accurate. We see it in Scripture. But you know what? I've tried it a few times. I've tried it many times, and the peace is not there yet. The peace is still disturbed. You know what? I get you. It's happened to me. How many times that we have followed these three simple steps, we have gone to our Father, we've asked for His encouragement, His support, His help, and the peace doesn't just 100% automatically flow in.

It's not magic, as Mr. Bryant said. It may not even be a miracle that God performs in that exact moment. But the important thing is we don't quit. We know these Scriptures are accurate. We know God's Word is true, and we know His love is without end. So we continue to practice. We repeat these steps. We go back, and we ask for more help. We ask for more peace. We ask for Him to show us more ways that our lives, that we're trying to grab hold of too much in our lives instead of trusting Him more.

And so as we continue to do this, we see a change occur in our lives. And it doesn't make earthly sense, as Paul says in the Scripture. But it says, but the peace of God, which we've already looked at, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. As we continue to repeat and consider these three steps, and consider the importance of us doing them over and over again, knowing and remembering that ultimately we have a Lord and Savior who not only lived a physical life and was tempted in all ways that we are, but He overcame the world and through His life we shall be saved.

And so we continue to go over these steps. We allow them to maintain or to re-establish an emotional and spiritual peace in our lives. We turn to God and we follow His Word. We trust in God and in His promises and we continue in steadfast prayer to God. Again, from Gary Petty's book, The Mercy Effect, he says this, Our emotions and thoughts are nothing more than responses to what is happening around us. It's only when we take time to reflect on God's way, His laws and His mercy, and then to confess our sins that we can experience what it really means to be forgiven.

I would add one additional line. I would say it's only when we take time to reflect on God's ways, His laws and His mercy, and then to confess our sins that we can experience what it really means to have peace in our lives.

Romans 15 and verse 13, you can put that in your notes, another aspect of the book in Romans. Romans 15 and verse 13, Paul says, 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. As we conclude, the peace that Jesus left with His disciples on the eve of His death was one of the greatest gifts that He ever gave them.

True and lasting peace only comes from God's word in knowing that we have a God that loves each of us fully and completely. Regardless of what the world throws at us, nothing can alter the way that God loves us or change the plans that He has for us. This should bring us each comfort. This should bring each of us an inward peace that surpasses all understanding, as we read in Scripture. In closing, let's turn to Romans 5 and verse 1.

I skipped over this section in Romans chapter 5 to come back to it right here in closing. Let these words be in all of our hearts as we continue through this Sabbath day. Romans 5 and verse 1. Paul says, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance and character and character hope. Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which was given to us. I'll pause for just a moment. We know that tribulation is going to come, and that tribulation interrupts our peace. Or human. It can't be faulted completely for that. But where do we go? How do we go forward when these things happen? We've got to continue to remember what Paul says here as he continues in verse 6. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrated his own love towards us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more than having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Just a beautiful passage. May we each continue to live and to thrive in the emotional peace that comes from our loving Father.