“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15).

What an odd phrase.

What does it mean to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts?

First, I didn’t know I had such power. Second, what does it mean to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart when there is only chaos and uncertainty?

The Greek is helpful.

The Greek literally reads “and the peace of Christ, let rule in the hearts of you.”

While in the English we have two words, “let rule” in the Greek that is one word. The Greek word that is translated as “let rule” means to act as an umpire, to arbitrate, to make the call. The word is used when you have a situation where there are opposing views, you are to let this rule, act as the umpire, to arbitrate, to make the call.

When we look at the world and there only seems to be pain, chaos, and uncertainty, we are to turn to the peace of Christ and let that rule, arbitrate, and make the call.

This word “let rule” is written in the 3rd person present imperative active voice. Here’s what that means:

• Present tense – ongoing action, never ending. Not a one time event
• Imperative – a command, not only good advice
• Active voice – you must choose to allow this to happen

You can prevent God’s peace from ruling in your hearts. We do that when we only focus on the problems and neglect to see the myriad of ways in which God is at work in our world. The headlines of our news programs and newspaper will never report it but everyday:

• Husband loves and cherishes his wife and children
• Wife loves and honors her husband and children
• a Christian goes out of his/her way to show grace to a neighbor going through a hard time
• Small group leader prays for and calls one of the people in their small group
• a neighbor picks up the trash that got dumped in the neighbor’s yard
• Someone bakes a batch of cookies to give to his/her pastor!!!
• Someone checks in with a friend they haven’t heard from in months

There are thousands upon thousands of acts that never get reported. But it doesn’t mean that isn’t happening.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…”

You do this by choosing to let Christ’s peace rule, arbitrate, make the call about the world we live in. Don’t let the devil fool you into thinking that only the devil’s at work.

God is at work all around you. You reading this truth is proof.

Have a great day and be a blessing to the people around you!

“Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35).

Jesus prayed regularly.

We all know we should as well. So, if we want to get started in the exercise of praying every day, how would one go about it?

There are many ways to pray regularly. Today, I will share with you how I organize my prayer life.

First, I journal my prayers. I write them out. I don’t type. I write them down on paper with pen. The reason I do this is because of the pace. I can’t write as quickly as I type, and certainly not as quickly as I think. The exercise of writing forces me to slow down, slow down my thoughts, slow down my breathing. It is this slowing down that often leads to clarity. Too often, thoughts are rushing at me. Writing thoughts and prayer down forces me to slow down and organize my thoughts.

Second, I divide up my prayers to the following:

• Rejoice – I start my prayer by thanking God. I tell God everything I am thankful for. It’s amazing how starting the day with gratitude has a way of shaping the entire day for gratitude.
• Repent – I confess my sins. I confess my pride. It’s a daily cleansing. I need it because I am a repeat sinner.
• Request – This is where I ask God for his help. I divide up my requests in the following way:
  • Monday – World, missionaries, and friends abroad
  • Tuesday – Family, Helen, Karis, Kaitlin, Kailey, and Kaleb. My parents, Helen’s mom. My sister and her family
  • Wednesday – Friends
  • Thursday – Little Church and Lakewood Grace
  • Friday – Our elders and deacons
  • Saturday – For our staff
  • Sunday – For the weekend services
• Reflect – This is where I write down thoughts and reflections throughout the day.

The whole process normally takes me about thirty to forty-five minutes. You don’t have to pray as long as that. But you do need to pray. Take as long and as short as you need.

This is what works for me. You can try it out for yourself. The main thing is to find a system that works for you.

I will tell you that you will have to work at it. It won’t just happen. You will have to be intentional in carving out the time and space to make it work. However you organize your prayer life, the main thing is to pray every day. Pray like you mean it!

“And his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice” (John 10:4-5).

The topography of Judea is such, quite often, there are multiple herds grazing on the same hillside. What is remarkable is that each sheep know their shepherd’s voice. They will not follow another. Only the voice of their shepherd will they heed. Multiple shepherd’s can call out for their sheep at the same time, and the sheep will only follow their shepherd’s voice.

It’s kinda like when your child is playing in the playground and there are dozens of kids at play. But when your child cries out, you hear your child’s voice.

This is the context in which Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep.

The understanding is that his sheep would know his voice.

Do you? Can you discern his voice from the chorus of voices shouting out for your attention and loyalty? Can you discern his voice and guidance from the voices and guidance of others?

The only way to know the voice of the shepherd is to know him through his word. How else will we know Jesus? Our spiritual experiences? dreams? personal whims?

If we love Jesus, we love his word. Ignorance of the scriptures is ignorance of the Shepherd.

Set aside 10-15 minutes every day to read through God’s word. Get his word in you. If you’ve never read through the Bible, start with the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. For help and guide to read through the Bible in a year, YouVersion is a fantastic free resource. You can find many different Bible reading programs.

Knowing the shepherd’s voice is essential to the well-being of sheep. Sheep’s life depend on it.

You see, the devil doesn’t fear sheep. The devil only fears the shepherd. When it comes to sheep, the safest place for sheep is in the presence of its shepherd.

Know your Savior’s voice. Know his word.