Psalm 23: He Makes Me Lie Down In Green Pastures

You see, poetry, especially Hebrew poetry, was not meant so much to speak to our brains as it was to speak to our hearts. That Hebrew poetry is designed, is written, to call out our emotional response. And it seems like to me that as David is describing this pasture with streams of water, plenty to eat, safety for the sheep, but what he's saying is, friends, God gives us not just stuff, but he gives us a deep sense of peace in this prayer. [00:32:21] (42 seconds)  #PsalmicPeace

The truth is that the human heart belongs for peace. That we desire true peace. We desire peace in our relationships and peace in our world. I mean, part of the reason why we get so upset when we're fighting wars all over the world is because we hunger for peace. Not for threat, not for conflict. We hunger for peace. [00:33:03] (34 seconds)  #HungryForPeace

He says that there is a sense in which in some ways oppression is going to end, that there is a coming child who will be a great king. He will bring peace, and his kingdom is never going to end. This is an incredible promise, and this is what sets up the coming of the Messiah as the Prince of Peace. [00:40:23] (23 seconds)  #MessiahPrinceOfPeace

The Pharisees and the Sadducees who hated each other and didn't agree on anything, agreed on one thing, they both hated Jesus and wanted to see him dead. Jesus' own people turned their backs on him, tried to stone him. Ultimately, he was turned over to be beaten and crucified, executed with the most horrific death sentence that I think has ever been devised. [00:43:19] (35 seconds)  #RejectedAndCrucified

You might say, okay, well, Jesus bought peace for other folks, you know, so it was like his followers would have peace because of what Jesus suffered, and I get that. But we see Peter crucified upside down. We see John landed on an island where he's stranded and left for dead. We see his followers beaten, killed, stoned to death, beheaded, that all of these kind of things happen. This doesn't sound like peace. [00:44:03] (31 seconds)  #PeaceAmidSuffering

But I think the things that he says are really important for us to hear in a world where violence is the order of the Bible. First of all, real peace is not found in external circumstances. It's found in God. That it's because of the presence of the one that Jesus sends to us, the Holy Spirit, that we can experience real peace. [00:46:46] (41 seconds)  #PeaceFoundInGod

That regardless of the circumstances, God is at peace and God brings peace into our lives. Sure, we can push that aside. We can squelch the voice of the Holy Spirit. We can avoid listening to what he's saying. But the Holy Spirit over and over again reminds us of the peace that we have when we submit our lives entirely. [00:47:26] (28 seconds)  #PeaceThroughSubmission

``That I lean into peace in my relationships, and in a sense, that peace is a foretaste of the peace that God has promised us forever. Because ultimately, the peace that defines Christmas is an eternal peace that we get to experience as we anticipate the return of Christ, and we anticipate eternity with him. That the peace that he promises is indeed everlasting, and it starts today. [00:49:51] (40 seconds)  #PeaceStartsToday