Author: Renew Your Peace

Bethlehem is the birth city of Christ and  He is our Emmanuel, The Lord with us.

Where I grew up in the Gaza  strip, we faced a lot of difficulty. It was  especially difficult being  a child and  seeing so many attacks and conflict, greater than my mind could think or explain.

It was in this time that I experienced the Lord as Emmanuel, God with me. The reality that He knows what will happen in every minute and in every second. The reality that He is our peace, and that every hair on our head truly is counted and He knows when it will fall.

“But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” 

Matthew 10:30

He really does know what we face and what we will face. We are not alone in this life, Emmanuel the Lord is with us. Without a doubt, evil exists in this world! But He is sovereign, He is our Emmanuel. Because He is sovereign, God knows every detail before we ask Him our requests. He is God with us. Our Emmanuel.

“Behold,  the virgin shall conceive and  bear  a son,  and  they shall call his name Emmanuel” (which means, God with us).

Matthew  1:23

In a sport center a first-year student asked a question” what is the most important thing to you in life? Answered, “ to honor my Lord and then to be honored.”

To honor the Lord is not only to worship the Lord and to pray to him but to honor the poor, to love your enemies if they are Arabs, Jews or people from any other cultural background. Christ said love your enemies. To have a smile, to say thank you. Yes, to fellow Christ, not to be religious but to show the character of Christ in your everyday actions. We have to be active and ready to do good things so people will be grateful and give glory to God when they see us.

All cultures play a part in honoring others. In the Palestinian culture, the Middle Eastern Arabs are the most hospitable, friendly people. Generous in giving even if the family is suffering. Being made to feel welcome is important to strangers, specifically in the Holy-Land. How many tourists have come and visited our homes in the past? When we give tea, coffee or a meal to others we honor the Lord in the simple things and this will renew the peace as we love and honor people. By doing these kind things we will show Christ’s love that is in our hearts for the different people groups.

1 Samuel 2:30 “for them that honor me I will honor”

Children are a blessing from God.

I met a child who was living in a refugee camp receiving humanitarian aid. We had chocolate to give away to the three hundred kids. A great time of blessing. We enjoyed our time playing with the kids and speaking with the families. One specific child I spoke to, told me he had lost his whole family in Iraq and then he said “I don’t have any friends, I am happy that you are now one of my best friends.” In short, the reason I wanted to share this story was this story impacted my heart and challenged me to think like a child again. To pray big prayers like a child and to love like a child. Yes, to be wise but not to lose this tender heart. Also that the Lord is reminding us to renew our peace.

Matthew 18:3 Then he said, “I tell you with certainty, unless you change and become like little children, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.”

Be grateful.

I know a volunteer in Jerusalem who is from abroad. Even though she is from a poor family, she is always grateful for the small things. She encourages others and is always thankful. Seeing this reminds me that life is short, so why not be thankful for what we have? People of all backgrounds have different thoughts about others, and about themselves. It is important to be happy and grateful in all situations, even through the complicated ones. This mindset will allow for obstacles in our lives to be straightened out. When we are thankful, our perspective changes, and we see life in a more positive way. Being thankful through difficult times creates a stronger personality in us. Studies show that being grateful brings joy and good health, in contrast with bitterness, which brings does not bring about a good or healthy life. Did you know that surrounding yourself with people who are thankful brings about an aspiring life for you? In spite of any circumstance, we should always thank the Lord for the food we eat, the bed we sleep on, and the job that we have. Thanking our Lord for all the things He provides us in life will bring us enormous joy. Remember to always thank God, at all times, and in all situations.

Renew your peace.

Ephesians 5:20

Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

I went to a traditional church and saw a person repeating the same prayer of their spiritual fathers. He repeated the same exact prayer every single time he came to the church. I was thinking about whether this is truly how people believe it is the right way to worship the Lord. Prayer repetition, fasting, and religious rituals or practices isn’t the way to grow a closer relationship with the Lord. Truthfully, just plainly following religious practices actually takes us away from the Lord Jesus Christ. The only mediator between us and the Father is the blood of Jesus Christ. Traditional prayer, and worshiping the names of “gods” other than Jesus is not true worship, and it is wrong. A prayer is a conversation, a relationship with God. We bring our complicated issues or our confusions to Him through prayer. The words that come from the bottom of our hearts, in prayer, are what move the heart of God, and not repeated or memorized words. God wants to see our hearts poured out to Him when we pray to Him.

True prayer gives strength, and helps us to break through closed doors. In today’s day, we are surrounded by many storms. The only way to experience the peace of the Lord is by entering our room, and praying continually. Even when the Lord does not answer immediately, we gain inner peace by giving Him our burdens, and taking in His Word. He restores our souls. We should speak with God in the same manner in which we would speak to our best friend. Speak to the Lord as a father who loves you, who will always give his son bread and not a stone.

Luke 11:11-13

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for[a] a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Omer was a refugee from the Middle East who was without hope and peace. The reason was, he lost his home in Iraq during the war. Because of this, he emigrated to Sweden. I spoke to Omer briefly from time to time and I noticed that he always spoke about his hardships. I realize he has experienced many traumatic and painful hardships and I want to understand what he has been through and the difficult circumstances under which he emigrated, but I found his speech very negative and never positive. I encouraged Omer to begin to reduce his thoughts about his past and to look forward. It’s very important to know how we view our life , because our past can create our future. We will not experience success if we keep talking about our failures because these words will not help us to have victory in the future. You might wonder if I had a quick solution for Omer’s problem with finding peace and hope? Cleary, understanding that the person is stuck in a cycle of disappointment and meditation on past, is very important. Feeling with the person is important to counsel him to find a solution and to find rest, is the extremely important. Life is short and dwelling on the failures of the past is not a solution for a better future. Let us use our words carefully, life is short and beautiful, and we thank God for the sweet and the sour. We need to begin not to focus on the negatives of the past and not to restrict the flow of the positive thoughts that might enable us step into a better future. When we focus on our past we are not able to see our future clearly. There is a difference between sharing your past experiences with others and holding onto the past. We need a clear understanding of the difference to live successfully and to develop our futures. If I focus on the past and speak about it a lot without thinking about a better future, my success will be reduced. God wants us to be thankful in everything. He knows that we will suffer in life but Jesus will be there for us. Let us be aware how we use our tongues, they can speak words producing life or producing death. Even when you do experience genuine failures in life and not success, I want to encourage you that God wants you to be blessed and successful, so don’t block His will by speaking negative things about yourself or others, even in these times . God hears and demon hears too. Your tongue has the power to destroy others or to lift others up. Let us encourage one another and renew our peace in our Lord Jesus.

Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Everyone in society has different opinions. And we look at one another based on these differences of opinions. Just as each finger of our hands is not the same, to have differences is natural and normal. Without diversities in our societies, we would not have special communities.

Societies need diversities, and differences of opinion, whether to agree or to disagree. Carrying different opinions also allows us to work better in our jobs, and can even bring organizations to wider platforms of creative thoughts. Diversity gives us success and not failure. This does not mean that we must agree with people who go against the Bible. It’s important to respect other people’s opinion, but it is also ok to disagree. However, when disagreeing, we must be careful to do it in an appropriate way, and without being aggressive or harsh to or about specific groups of people. This will allow us to respectfully, and in love, show others the word of God.

Inner peace in God allows us to have peace with others. Diversity in our thoughts will help our self growth, to develop relationships with others, and we will be able to understand each other’s opinions. Even when we disagree, as there are people who disagree with God’s word, our conversations should lead us to building one another, avoiding purposely offending others, and maintaining self-control. Let us renew our peace in Christ.

Romans 12:18- If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

The good soldier for Christ will not worry in life from challenges -battlefield that is not easy from tiredness and obstacles earthquakes, viruses, hardships carrying heavy burdens of life. God is preparing soldiers who are qualified in battles. These battles of life might allow you to give up as when you are not giving up, God will lift you up. Good soldiers will not give up in battles. The target is to have victory in Christ. The enemy’s schemes will try to make you fail in the battlefield.

My prayer to not stand and meditate in your failures but to move forward than looking backward. God works in our hearts; He is faithful never deny Himself even if you are not faithful in the battle and you forget to carry your weapon the word of God. The faithfulness of God intervenes in His grace as His love is always the same never changing. That will allow you to have hope and grace for others.

2Ti 2:1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2- And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 3-Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

God’s love is not built upon conditions. God’s love for us is that Christ died on the cross for all the sinners, to save us from any sin, strengthen us, and to set us free from this unrighteous era of life. We can’t worship God in hatred.

The foundation of Christianity is God’s love. Without His love, we will not be changed and will not change others. In my articles I spoke about forgiveness as a lifestyle. Love and forgiveness without doubts both are unique, and they also compliment one another. We cannot go forward if we don’t posses love and forgiveness. Bitterness and hatred are easy to carry. It is much more difficult to carry out forgiveness; therefore we should strive for a lifestyle that is based on forgiveness and not on bitterness. Forgiveness will not let you carry heavy burdens. For example, a triangle has three sides. If you grow in the identity of forgiveness from God, you will help yourself and help others. Carry the love from God for yourself and for others.

The Bible tells us that we must carry love in a pure heart, with a good conscience, and sincere faith. To pray for those who persecute us; to pray for them and bless them. Jesus loved his enemies and he didn’t carry hatred or bitterness on the cross. The love of God is a force to give strength, without hypocrisy. We need faith to move mountains and shake the unshakeable things. God can help us carry His love, faith, and wisdom in how we deal with others. We need strength from God to continue walking in Christ to live a better life. True love is a lifestyle. Let us renew our peace in God every day; to carry peace for us – and for others. Renew your peace.

1 Timothy 1:5, NIV: “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith

Don’t be afraid, Don’t be afraid is counted 365 times in the Bible, simplified, 365 days. God knows the good thing for your life even if you make wrong choices or mistakes, God can give beauty for ashes, He gives hope and strength for those who are defeated or broken hearted, and sad.

God is giving you victory. Don’t give up because of pain or because the thing you are facing is like a battle. It is normal to be in war as a soldier for Jesus. Those who follow Jesus will have battles and wars. Without doubts you can give up but I pray for you that you will not give up, you will rejoice in the Lord, and you will be strengthened. He gives His children bread rather than stones because of His goodness! God is not limited.

God promised us that there will be hardships in this life, but that He is with us. Jesus is not sleeping in the boat of your life but He is awake and strong, He can calm the storms and can intervene in your difficult circumstances.

Don’t be afraid my child, I am with you, I am stronger than this world. The current situation doesn’t determine your future.

God is sovereign over every situation that is greater than we might think. If we have confusion or can’t even think it is clear that God is working all things for your goodness. Anything that is happening is not by chance. Nothing is hidden from our Lord. Everything in your life, every minute, every second, God Knows. Our Lord Jesus knows. He said Don’t be afraid even if the mountains shakes from the place or storms from every corner of your life. Nothing is impossible, nothing is hidden from our Lord Jesus. Don’t be afraid, don’t give up, I pray that the Lord will bless you from this Bible verse may your peace be renewed in Christ.

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.