Recovery Devotional 341 Perfect Peace

JMD Devotional 341 2 Peter 1:2 Perfect Peace

2 Peter 1:2 (KJV) Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,

[If you are like most people, you probably raced through that verse, right past ‘peace’ to see what it was talking about. ‘Peace’ is the subject. How do you define peace? This is why I use the Amplified Bible; because our minds tend to be lazy, and we gloss over important details, and we fail to comprehend the meaning of important words].

2 Peter 1:2 (AMP) May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in [the full, personal, precise, and correct] knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

The world settles for an imperfect ‘peace’, as found in mutual funds and insurance policies, in superficial agreements to refrain from open hostilities, in the avoidance of conflict through retreat and isolation. A stalemate between two hostile parties is a sad substitute for peace. Do we Christians really comprehend ‘perfect peace’? Peace is impossible to attain directly; it must be obtained through resolving the fears, passions, and conflicts that usurp it. Peace is an attitude that accepts the sovereignty of God in one’s life. A peaceful person has gotten off the fence and fully committed their life to God. A peaceful conscience is one that has decided in advance to do what is right always regardless of the consequences. Peace flows from a unity of spirit, soul and body that is firmly centered in Christ. Anything less than ‘perfect’ peace is no peace at all.

Dear God,

The conflicts that disturb my peace reflect inner rebellion. Double-mindedness, divided loyalties, unholy alliances, and unbridled passions agitate the soul. Covetousness destroys peace through a lack of contentment with Your provision in my life. When my mind is hostile to You, I deserve to be without peace. Transform my mind, bring it into conformance and submission to Your will, give me a singular heart. You alone can supply the perfect peace I seek. I can count on Your blessings coming with no hidden regrets, no tricks nor traps, no sorrow added. I will wean myself from that which is false, I will keep my mind set upon You, I will rest on Your promise of peace.

Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by

the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)

Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation

*New International Version (NIV)

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

I originally produced these blogs between 2006 and 2007, which were then published in my book, JMD Recovery Devotionals. In 2010, I am sending these out to a few people as I review them and see if my point of view has changed.

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