I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart; I have overcome the world!

–Jesus (John 16:33)

Have you heard the saying,

“Know Jesus– Know Peace; No Jesus– No Peace”?

I think we can agree that life without Jesus is peace-less. (Don’t mistake ‘calm’ for ‘peace’. Calm is a state of mind or attitude. Peace is a fruit of The Spirit.)

But how many of us, who are believers or followers of Jesus KNOW peace?

Why?

I believe that many of us make a truce with God instead of receiving the peace of God through The Prince of Peace. There is a huge difference between peace and truce. A truce says, “You can do your “thing.” I can do my “thing.” We agree to allow each other to do those “things” without battling or fighting. A truce is a coexistence without getting into “each other’s business.” Peace, on the other hand, is mutual harmony; a breathing of the same air. Peace says, “Together we can do this; we can live in harmony; we will love and accept and encourage.” Peace is unity.

So how is your unity with God?

Are you just coexisting, “God, You do Your thing, I’ll do mine. Yes, I believe in You, but I’m ok doing life on my own.” A truce?

Or are you exercising your harmony, growing your fruit of peace, getting to KNOW the Prince of Peace, saying to God, “I want to breathe Your air, live the way You desire, allow You to battle for me—with me on Your side. I want to be in unity with You!”

That’s when you will KNOW peace.

I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart; I have overcome the world!

–Jesus (John 16:33)

THE OLD!

July is gone! Camp is over! August has come and is almost gone! How can that be? It seems the days and years go faster and faster.

THE NEW!

“Therefore if any person is in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!”

2 Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified Bible)

Starting something new can be very EXCITING, but it also carries much anxiety for some. The fear of the unknown keeps many people from venturing into newness. Often new things cannot be avoided which forces us to make a choice:

Celebrate the fresh and the new that has come or hide and hope it all goes away!

2 Questions:

1. What new things are you facing today? (Go ahead and list them…)

Around here, September is a month of a WHOLE lot of new!!

New school year, new club ministries, new volunteers, new job descriptions, new opportunities, new friendships, new family members, new family dynamics, new responsibilities, new eating habits, new health situations, etc.

2. How will you face all “THE NEW”?

I love the verse listed above. You know, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are among all the NEW! (See, it’s not so scary!) Everything about you is NEW: New life, new freedom, new mind, new relationship with God, new insights, new wisdom and knowledge, new outlook on life, new love to give, new strength/power source, new joy and peace, new reason to serve others, EVERYTHING is new!

So, I’ll ask my question again:

How will you face all “THE NEW”?

With Celebration!! Facing THE NEW with the God Who made you NEW!!!

Because HE’S got you,

YOU’VE GOT THIS!

20God said, “Let the seas be filled with living things. Let birds fly above the earth across the huge space of the sky.” 21So God created the great sea creatures. He created every kind of living thing that fills the seas and moves about in them. He created every kind of bird that flies. And God saw that it was good. 22God blessed them. He said, “Have little ones so that there will be many of you. Fill the water in the seas. Let there be more and more birds on the earth.” 23There was evening, and there was morning. It was Day Five. Genesis 1:20-23

In the first 5 days God created a wonderful place for birds and fish. He made a place for them to live, air for them to breathe, food, the sun for their days and the night for them to sleep.

Ecclesiastes 3:11a says He has made everything beautiful in its time.

24God said, “Let the land produce every kind of living creature. Let there be livestock, and creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals.” And that’s exactly what happened. 25God made every kind of wild animal. He made every kind of livestock. He made every kind of creature that moves along the ground. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:24, 25

Verse 25 tells us that “He made every kind of creature that moves along the ground.”

Biologists have identified and described over 2 million species of animals on the earth. They believe there may be between 5-10 million! That’s a lot of animals!!

And after God saw all He had made, He said it was good!

Think about the creativity it takes to create that many different animals. They look different, act different, eat different things, and serve different purposes! What a creative God we have!!

As you go through your day, take time to notice as many different creatures as you can!! Thank God for His amazing creation!!

26Then God said, “Let Us make human beings so that they are like us. Let them rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Let them rule over the livestock and all the wild animals. And let them rule over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27So God created human beings in His own likeness. He created them to be like Himself. He created them as male and female. 28God blessed them. He said to them, “Have children so that there will be many of you. Fill the earth and bring it under your control.  Rule over the fish in the seas and the birds in the sky. Rule over every living creature that moves along the ground.” Genesis 1:26-28

Yes! Human beings! You and me!! All along God has had a perfect plan in place. He made a perfect world for His BEST creation: YOU!!

What do you think it means to be created in God’s likeness, to be made like God, Himself? 

Think of some of God’s characteristics:

God is love—He has given us the ability to love;

God is kind—we have the ability to be kind to others;

God is creative—He has gifted many to be able to create other things from what He has created (for example: God created wheat. From wheat man makes flour, bread, cereal, etc. God created cotton. From cotton man makes thread, cloth, clothing, rugs, tapestries, etc.)

What did God want man to do?

One person said, “Humans are to be God’s representatives, ruling creation as God would rule it.”: Fairly, with love, protective, keeping it clean, making sure everything can reproduce, providing food, providing exercise.

God is the amazing Creator, Who has entrusted us to rule over all of His amazing creation! A big responsibility that each of us needs to do our part.

Thank God for having a great plan to make the earth a beautiful place to live!

As I posted these days, I swapped Day 3 and Day 4, so we are a bit out of order. Thank God that HE doesn’t make mistakes!!

9God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.” And that’s exactly what happened. 10God called the dry ground “land.” He called all the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that it was good. 11Then God said, “Let the land produce plants. Let them produce their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that grow fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds.” And that’s exactly what happened. 12So the land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. And the land produced trees that grew fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds. God saw that it was good. 13There was evening, and there was morning. It was Day Three. Genesis 1:9-13

Good means “beautiful, the best, perfectly made.” God made a perfect place with plants, trees and water!

Think back to the first day of creation. Light was created just because — GOD SAID! On Day 3 plants and trees were created the same way—just because GOD SAID!

God is so powerful that He didn’t need anything to make the plants and trees. He spoke and they existed. 

Think about how many plants and trees there are! Biologists estimate that there are approximately 320,000 species of plants in the world.

73,300 of these are different kinds of trees.

And 250,000 different flowering plants (and trees) exist in the world.

As you are outside today walking around…look at the variety of trees and plants that you see. Find something for each color and enjoy God’s creativity! (Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, white, and black!)

Thank God for His creativity in making them all!