The Name of God: Part 2 - 'God is Peace'

Judges 6:23-24 
23 But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace.
[Hebrew, Jehovah Shalom.]

Philippians 4:4-9 
 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.



Prayer and Reflection:

Lord God, we thank you that your supernatural peace, you shalom, has been made available to us. We know that Jesus made it accessible when he paid the price of our sin on the cross at calvary
We ask that by the power of the Holy Spirit we continue to rejoice in this knowledge, travel along the narrow road with our eyes and mind fixed on Jesus who is the way and the truth and the life.
Lord God, we ask that you make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith and where there is darkness, light and hope.
AMEN



Questions to Consider
1. Recall a time in your life when you had a difficult problem to solve with several options, none of which were good. What were the circumstances, what did you do and what was the outcome?
2. It has been said that ‘when Jesus died on the cross, God made it possible to have peace with him’. In what way did God make the potential for peace with him possible for all humanity?
3. We often read that rich, powerful, famous people are having great difficulties with their personal lives. What are the possible reasons for this?
4. Explain what it means to have ‘a right relationship with God
5. The apostle Paul wrote, ‘the peace of God, transcends all understanding’. What did he mean by that?
6. Can you think of a time when you played a part in bringing peace into a situation where there was conflict and disharmony? What were the circumstances?
7. Would your friends and family describe you as a conduit or a cul-de-sac for God’s peace. If you don’t know, ask them!
8. The apostle Paul tells us, ‘In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.’ Do you do that? If not, give it a try….