Words of Peace

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:5-7 ESV). It was natural for the disciples to be fearful after Jesus' crucifixion. They were afraid that the same authorities who executed Jesus would come after them as well. Their solution was to hide behind shut doors. It is telling that Jesus comes to them to bring courage to these frightened disciples. He appeared in the midst of them and said, "Peace be with you." Then He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." The day in which we live is full of fear at many levels. There is instability in our world. There are wars and rebellions on multiple continents. Our nation is involved in each of them to one degree or another. The economic position of our country is in the slowest recovery since World War II. Many people fear at one level or another. There was a test conducted by a university where 10 students were placed in a room. 3 lines of varying length were drawn on a card. The students were told to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the longest line. But 9 of the students had been instructed beforehand to raise their hands when the instructor pointed to the second longest line. One student was left out. The usual reaction of this student was to put his hand up, look around, and realizing he was all alone, pull it back down. This happened 75% of the time, with students from grade school through high school. The researchers concluded that many would rather be popular than be right. Fear does that to us. Perhaps you have decided to hide behind “closed doors.” Jesus wants to come into your life and set you free from that fear. The same answer Jesus provided for those early disciples is our answer today. Stop and consider the simple fact that these very panic-stricken, fearful disciples went out after this and boldly and courageously shared the gospel. Most of them, in fact, laid down their very lives and became martyrs for the faith. Think about it. It is because Christ was risen, because He was alive, that these men went and, for all practical purposes, turned the world upside down. It is the explanation for the change in their lives. It is the explanation for the Christian to this present day. We serve a risen, living Lord who is still transforming lives. And He can transform your life as well. It is always better to be right than popular! Jesus offers us that position. He gives us words of peace in a fearful world!