“Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Christ.” – Sheila Walsh
I recently read where a believer gets up early in the morning, long before the sun rises, to just sit with her Father when He rouses her to wake.
She experiences a peace that is remembered throughout her day, especially when life becomes fast paced. It brings a smile to her face.
Moses set up a tent outside the camp for anyone who wanted to sit and soak in their Father’s presence, especially when they needed guidance (Ex. 33:7).
Jan and I experienced this after a long trek up a mountain trail. After about a thousand feet through forested land, we came upon this creek (pictured) rambling down the hills through a sprawling green meadow.
We sat there, without saying a word, simply soaking in His presence.
These stories remind me of the song, It Is Well With My Soul. “When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say; It is well, it is well with my soul.”
When life gets a little hectic, it is good to focus on such peaceful moments. These memories aid us in slowing down when life picks up the pace. They reduce the blood pressure a few notches when stress strikes.
There is peace in the Father’s presence. Have you experienced it? Remember it. Haven’t had much of it lately? Get up when He rouses you from sleep and sit in a chair or go for a walk without your phone and just be with your Father.
He loves you, you know. Let His presence bring a peace to remember.

“I am the Truth, the Way and the Life.” – Jesus
Notice the photo, no, not the person or the sign, but the shadow. What’s missing? The sign! This photo has been altered. Either the sign was added to the photo or the sign’s shadow was edited out.
Either way, due to technology, can you trust what you see in photos or videos to be true? Can you even trust what you read?
We are entering what is being called the “Post-Truth Era.” As one author put it, “The nation remains sharply divided on precisely the question of what the facts are.”
Social media giants like Twitter and Facebook and companies like Apple and Amazon can ban worldviews that differ from theirs’ from using their platforms. As they own those businesses, they get to dictate their platform’s rules. This is still a free society.
There is something to think about, however. Aristotle stated that he was “worried that, in a democracy, a wealthy and talented demagogue could all too easily master the minds of the populace.”
When a precious few can control the levers of information, they can shape and at times control what is “truth” or “facts.” And, when non-truth wears away the rule of law, no one is safe from the few.
Scripture foretold this. The false Messiah will come from the West (aka, the old Roman Empire – Daniel 2,7,9). This person was given a title, “The man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3). This doesn’t mean anti-rule of law, but anti-God and anti-Scripture or what’s called the Judeo-Christian worldview as the basis for the rule of law.
The Scriptures – both sides of the book – claim to be the truth by which all of life should be filtered. Jesus summed it up best. He said that only He is the Truth that will set humanity truly free. Any non-truth only creates bondage of soul, spirit and body.
Do you know the truth – Jesus? You’re going to need to get better at listening to and following Him in order to recognize the non-truths in what you see and hear.
Can you arrive at the truth for yourself using the Scriptures? You’re going to need more, not less, time in them in order to know the truths that keep you free from the negative side effects of non-truth.
Are you actively shaping your decision making process using the truths you discovered in the Scripture? If not, non-truth sources will creep in.
I can show you how if you need help. It’s free and via the internet. Stay free and focused on Jesus and the tasks He has for you, my friends.

“Love one another as I have loved you – Jesus.”
It’s being called “touch deprivation.” The negative physical and emotion effects of not touching another human is coming to the forefront due to the social distancing caused by Covid19.
We need human connection. God put this in us. In fact, the Spirit gave Jesus followers over 33 one-another commands or acts of obedience to do together as believers.
This is the definition of church, plain and simple: a group of people walking toward and becoming like Jesus…together!
Yet, people are being trained to avoid each other, let alone smile at someone as they walk by them.
This cannot happen to Jesus followers while we say we are His church. Covid or no Covid, you can still touch other believers! Isolation or not, you can be church!
A friend picked up the phone to give me a word from the Lord…that I didn’t want, but needed to hear! A friend texted me just to see how I was doing. Other friends meet with me face to face across a table; while still another meets across the back-end of a truck.
Our faith in Jesus is not a solo act. Obeying the Spirit to be church is doable, no matter the circumstances!
As people are starving for human connection, allow the Spirit to use you to give it. A smile and a hello, a basic human touch, can go a long way!

“Be the one who knows why they walk with Jesus.”
The Pew Forum took a survey in 2019. They discovered that 65% of Americans view themselves as Christians. This roughly equates to 213 million people claiming to follow Jesus, which is the definition of Christian.
Now, what if those 213 million Christians actually loved Jesus, which means obeying Him rather than the prevailing thought; became like Jesus, which means personally experiencing their lives changed to think, talk and choose like Jesus; and then shared with others what Jesus had done in their lives?
Our country would be much different than it currently is, right?
Yet, Christian leadership has failed. They were and are too busy teaching people what to think rather than giving them the tools to know how to think biblically so they can reason through the Scriptures and arrive at the what for themselves (1 Peter 3:15).
Want proof? Go to any college campus today, though I could include high schools as well. And, you’ll find the same thing I found some 40 years ago – boat loads of Christians who were raised in the church, but who stopped following Jesus.
How did this happen? Jesus said, “My sheep listen to My voice and follow Me.” If the sheep don’t get the tools to do this, when they are challenged by smart teachers and professors, they’ll end up saying, “Well, this is what my pastor taught me.” Or, “This is what my church believes.”
Following Jesus is not their own reasoned faith, but their pastor’s, priest’s or denomination’s.
Want to change the culture? Change the people. Want to change the people? Put them into direct contact with Jesus. Want to put them into direct contact with Jesus? Give them the tools to hear His voice and to search and reason through the Scriptures to discover what He is telling them.
Don’t know how? Contact me. I can show you. Then you can do what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20, “Go make disciples… baptizing them…and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Jesus can use you do something to change the culture…one person at a time.

“When your shoulders droop under life’s pressure, get off the throne!”
The pandemic. The election. The US capital. The media. Social media. Any one of these can lead to personal unrest depending on your point of view.
I’ve said it. Others have said it, “Remember, God is on the throne. We know how the Book ends.”
This answer still begs the question, “Which throne?” Yes, God is on the throne of the universe. The very throne Satan envied, wanted and still wants to sit on.
Yet there is another important throne – the one in your heart. It’s the seat of your will and choices.
The Jesus believer has been given Christ’s mind and nature; thus, they can make the right choices.
If the truth that God is on the throne of the universe is to mean anything to them, however, they must choose to let Jesus sit on the throne of their heart.
How do you know who’s sitting there? Examine your feelings and choices. If you are not experiencing peace, it’s you.
Peace, despite life’s pressures, will only come when you choose to listen to and then follow Jesus, the rightful heir to the throne of your heart.