Peace is not the absence of conflict but will come through it.

Live it
One thing comes to mind when I think of Daniel in the lion's den, his three Hebrew brothers in the fiery furnace, Joshua entering the Promised Land to possess it, Gideon being commissioned by God and Jesus on the Cross. In every case they experienced peace - through and on the other side of conflict. A worldly viewpoint considers peace the point two people agree and co-exist without fighting. It's a nice worldly image, but once again the world gets it wrong. If you don't know by now, a truce between two nations is nothing more than time to reload.

The Angel of the Lord, most likely the Pre-incarnate Christ, appeared many times in the Old Testament to reveal something about God's nature. When he met Gideon to commission him, He revealed another possible relationship between God and man, exhibited through His name, Jehovah-shalom. The last portion of this compound Name of God has been used as a greeting by Jews for centuries to imply peaceful intention, but God intended something else. He told Gideon he could only experience it through obedience in going against the enemy in God's Name. What does this mean to me? I can be like Gideon today by facing up to my battles today in the Name of the Lord. Anything less, is surrender, not peace.

Pray it
I confess that fear has claimed the victory You've given me on many ocassions. Help me today to be strong and take courage. I will not be fearful or dismayed, for the One who lives within me will be strong in me today. Shalom.

Resources
Accountability is discussed a lot but is seldom implemented, much like prayer(2000)
Simon Peter's life is a study in contradiction. (2001)
Do you really want to be like Jesus, or just get a charge from talking about it? (2002)
Who controls your desires? (2003)
Set your mind to use what you have to honor God (2004)
Discovering God's will may be as simple as ruling out what's not. (2005)
What makes a person humble? (2006)
We can spend so much time looking back, we don't see what we're about to run into. (2007)
How many times have you been born? (2008)

1. One-minute Devotionals began on January 2, 2006 and are the original creation of James R. Green, Prayertower Webservant Content is derived from his alternating and sequential survey of both the Old and New Testament to offer insight on Scripture.
2. Resources are derived from daily devotions of James R. Green called, Just Thinkin'... (2000-2003), Read the Bible Thru in 365 Days (2004), Pray Thru the Word in 365 Days (2005) and One Minute Devotional (2006-2008).
3. Scripture: God's Word Translation (c)1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright ©2008 James R. Green, Webservant - Prayertower Ministries
All Rights Reserved