November 4

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace… Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:15-17 NIV)

Today's scripture repeatedly contains the word "Let" in the sense of allowing an act. Let Christ's peace reign, let the word of Christ dwell in you and let everything you do in word or deed be in the Lord Jesus' name. Of those challenging instructions, I think the most difficult to follow is the first, to let Christ's peace reign in our hearts.

The Bible actually makes the point that it is we who decide. And certainly we can agree that it is up to us to decide if we should read the Bible or not, and we can agree that it is up to us to decide if we should let Jesus influence what we say and do, or exclude Him. - But peace in our hearts, can we really determine that? Isn’t it a fact that when tragic or difficult events occur, it creates anxiety? Is it not the case that peace will come when all the circumstances around us are in balance?

God's Word says that it is not necessarily so. And all of us have probably encountered people who lived in extremely difficult circumstances, but were still able to have peace within, and we know there are people who had a superficial access to all life's advantages, but still have no inner peace.

The Bible often connects our inner peace to our faith. Faith creates peace, while unbelief causes concern. Jesus says: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1)

Prayer

Jesus, I want to let Your peace reign in my heart today. I want to believe in You and Your power to solve the problems in my life. I also want to read Your Word and to live my days near You.