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SWIRLS OF NURTURE

Sometimes I feel like a creator, sometimes I feel like a teacher,  sometimes I feel like a worshipper, 
sometimes I just feel three worlds swirling, colliding, morphing into new worlds . . 
. . . yet with each swirl the need to nurture . . .
. . . nurture midst fragile creations, vulnerable artists, emotive questioning soundscapes, wondering and wandering thoughts, midst a church wondering how to create in the image of the One who created all.

Difference between the world's peace and God's peace

4/29/2023

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The world’s peace is dependent on feelings but God’s peace is dependent on trust.

The world’s peace focuses on our personal needs but God’s peace focuses on meeting the needs of others.

The world’s peace does not allow for troubles but God’s peace does.

The world’s peace feels that it must manage the situation but God’s peace does not need to manage the situation.

The world’s peace tries to control but God’s peace trusts God to control.

The world’s peace ultimately fails but God’s peace always endures.

The world’s peace is built on the weak foundation of compromise but God’s peace comes from an unconditional rejection of sin.

In the Old Testament, God warned the Israelites not to seek peace through compromise because it would trap them.

Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land that you are going to enter; otherwise, they will become a snare among you. (Exodus 34:12, NIV)

If you seek God’s peace your fear and trauma will be transformed into a serenity which is lasting, supernatural, and not dependent on circumstances.
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A third weakness of the world's peace

4/25/2023

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The world’s peace settles for shallow living. As long as money is flowing and life is free of problems, the world says we are experiencing peace. But this definition is shallow and ignores the issues of our sinful nature. It is like putting cheap plaster or whitewash on the wall, when renovation work is actually necessary.

Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. ” Ezekiel 13:10-1 

There is no quick fix for trauma. To find healing we need to dig deeper with God. God makes it clear that peace cannot come without righteousness. He expresses it poetically by describing an intimate relationship between righteousness and peace.
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Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, to his saints; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other. Psalm 85:8-11

Peace cannot exist without God’s salvation and righteousness! Pursue God’s righteousness and you will find healing.
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Second weakness of the world's peace

4/24/2023

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True peace cannot be found when we lose our shame and sensitivity to sin. During Jeremiah’s traumatic life, he observed why peace was failing among his people. They were covetous and treated people wrongly. The prophet and priest’s proclamation of “Peace, peace!” offered only a superficial treatment for the people’s mortal wounds of falsehood. Their peace was a delusion and a deception. Because they felt no shame when they sinned, they would experience destruction.
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“For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,” says the LORD. Jeremiah 6:13-15

One verse later we read God’s solution but also the tragic rejection by the people of God’s solution.
Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16

True peace can be found in God’s Word, the Bible. The advice found there helps our souls find rest.
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Weakness of the World's Peace

4/18/2023

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People everywhere search for peace. They sing songs about it and travel on pilgrimages to find it. They even wage war to protect it. Many wealthy, famous, and powerful people would trade everything for just one moment of lasting peace that does not change when circumstances change.

The world’s peace fails because it ignores God. It ignores the need to admit our sin problem. It considers God’s principles to be useless and dangerous. Notice how Jeremiah described it as he lived through the rejection of God that led to the traumatic destruction of Jerusalem. 

Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. Jeremiah 6:10b (NKJV)


God’s formula for peace was a reproach to the Israelites. Their delight was no longer in God. True lasting peace, possible even during traumatic times, comes when we delight in the endless treasures of wisdom and perspective in God’s word.
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A different peace

4/17/2023

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Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. John 14;27

Jesus talked about peace during his last meal with the disciples. He knew that they were about to experience fear. He knew their hearts would be troubled in the hours, days, weeks and years to come. But he promised them peace. I don’t know how they understood peace at that point in their minds. Perhaps, like so many their thoughts went to political peace, peace from Roman occupation, and peace from waring revolutionaries. 

But Christ made it clear that His peace is different from the peace that the world offers. It is important to know the difference because the peace of God is where followers of Christ are designed to live. It is the place where we hear from God. It is the place where God heals our trauma. 

It is important to know the difference because the peace that the world offers never satisfies. If you are disappointed, angry, or frustrated because your peace brings no lasting comfort, it may be because your definition of peace is wrong. As you read God’s word, look at how he defines peace. In the following insights, we will show how God’s peace is different from the world’s peace.
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