“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13
Going deeper into the love of God and how He feels about you will not only change how you see yourself, but how you perceive others. The Father created the emotion of love in you from His very heart for you. Why is it then we can find ourselves detached from the Father’s love and running to others to find it? We read about Him in books, listen to sermons on Him, and watch movies portraying Him. These things are not wrong to do, but they are also not Him. They give us information about Him, but they can never replace being with Him. It is in His Presence we find His peace. It is in the quiet place of our hearts where we can receive the intimacy we need from Him to draw us closer into His heart.
Ephesians 2:10
For you are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that you should walk in them.
The word workmanship in this scripture comes from the Greek word poiéma. It is where we get our word poem. A poem is defined as something that arouses strong emotions because of its beauty. You are God’s poem! God’s love for you is so deep and wide that it is going to take eternity to explore it with Him. What an extravagant future awaits those who love Him!
In a world filled with chaos and turmoil we forget that our Heavenly Father has given us His peace. I challenge you to find that place in Him today. All our religious traditions, self-help gurus and be-a-better-you inspirational conferences will never be enough to put us in right standing with the Father. No amount of pleading, begging, and crying will help either. There is only one way to be fully accepted by the Father and find His peace, and that is through Jesus. He has poured out everything we need in Christ and sent Holy Spirit to deliver it; all we need to do is give Him our yes! When we surrender fully to Him, His peace is available to us 24/7 because it is in us. Just reach into the pocket of your heart, grab it out, and put it on display; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7
If you have Jesus, you have His peace. The word for peace in Hebrew is shalom and it means nothing missing, nothing broken. Shalom encompasses the promises of completeness, safety, soundness of body, welfare, health, prosperity, peace, quietness, tranquility, contentment, peace in human relationships and peace with God.
The most important truth to take with you into 2024 is that in Jesus we have everything we need, and we are carriers of His peace. I encourage you to read His Word daily this coming year. It will strengthen and embolden you for your journey, and the deeper you seek Him the closer He draws you near.
‘God Knows’
And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” (The Gate of the Year by Minnie Louise Haskins)
Deuteronomy 11:12
The eyes of the Lord your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.
I wish all my Poiema friends the merriest, joy-filled Christmas, and the happiest peace-filled New Year!
My 2024 prayer for you:
Ephesians 3:16-19
I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Shalom. Shalom.
Join me on the journey 💝
ABOUT MARIE SCINTO
Have a question for Marie? E-mail her here
