Sa'laam~Peace

It is common culture in Middle Eastern homes to greet one another saying "Peace be with you." This greeting transcends any religious boundaries, it is embedded in every family across Middle Eastern nations. Simply put, whether one is Christian, Jew or Muslim or identifies themselves with any other religious group- Peace is the unifying greeting for all. Perhaps, for this generation and North American culture to fully understand this international example can be compared to the 'rappers' - that sing "Peace Out" or the 'hippies' that raise up the peace sign with their fingers demonstrating that they claim peace for the world.


Our global strive for peace is something far too familiar and has been a 'goal' for centuries. Internal peace, however, is much easier to attain. You can discover ongoing PEACE when you are truly in unison with God Himself. Only when you are in total agreement, or accordance with God can you experience full peace. I'm not talking about a peaceful moment or memory, I mean everyday waking up and going to sleep and feeling at peace the entire day- everyday of your life.
Here is a little secret: the Lord told Moses how Aaron and future priests should serve Him, if they were able to complete this mission then they would also experience his promise of peace. Each one of us has a destiny to fulfill; God created you for something unique and extravagant. When you are able to complete the mission assigned to you, or you are on the journey of completing this mission, then you will also experience this amazing promise in Numbers 6:24-26 released from the lips of the Lord:


“‘“The LORD bless you  and keep you;  the LORD make his face shine on you
   and be gracious to you;  the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’


What would it feel like to have God himself make his face shine on you? Have you felt that close to him? In that constant closeness lies the flow of peace. Wow. One look from the Lord, one milli-second where his face is the sun that shines and warms your heart is absolutely breath-taking. How can we daily attain this peace so that no matter what surprise might happen we are not shaken, yet we cover ourselves under his embrace and allow his peace to overwhelm us, rather than the circumstance.
I believe the answer is exercise! It is a daily workout to enter into the presence of Our Almighty Creator, Proverbs 8:34 states that "blessed are those..who watch daily at his doors, waiting at the doorway." The door of Christ is an entrance and exit, you may walk in and receive the peace and strength you need daily and walk out to face your daily battles. Then again, it is an innate need to return to be filled again, like an empty glass, filled with the strength or armed with the equipment that you need specifically to make it through the day. As you practice this type of peaceful living, others that surround your will watch in awe and wonder what makes you so 'strong.'
You will even surprise yourself for the peace that you hold will surpass your own understanding. (Philippians 4:7)

sleepless night

ever had a night where you just could not sleep. things keep churning in your mind, round and round they go, and you think about absolutely everything. sleep is robbed from your eyes and your mind just cannot relax into slumber....and it's not necessarily because you had too much caffeine...it may not be that you are worried or contemplating a big decision, you simply may not be able to sleep. your mind is active. this extra bit of energy is actually to your advantage...these nights don't happen often, so don't keep tossing and turning in bed. Don't adjust your pillow any longer. The Holy Spirit is nudging you to get up and talk to your Maker. It's quality time. Take up the moment to pray, read the Bible, worship the Lord with song, everything that you pondered on, that you thought about, put it into prayer.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 is one of my favorite passages since it reminds me that everything that happens, every second of the day "something spiritual" is occurring yet we cannot see it with our natural eyes. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Let's put that into practice, grab hold of the thought and captivate it, making it obedient to Christ. Think like Jesus, pray like He did and the next morning when you awake well rested, you will already feel connected to the heavens! Cherish the sleepless night, it will bring rewards in the morning!