God’s Peace

May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace. Numbers 6:26

God blesses his people. We receive great benefits from our association with him. These benefits are designed to enrich our lives, and this enrichment becomes evident to those who live within the sphere of our influence. So God blesses people in order that they might be a blessing!

It was customary for the Israelites to be “blessed” by the high priest. The Israelites had been called by God to be his unique people, and this blessing would designate them as such. As the surrounding people groups observed the conditions under which God’s people lived and the special ways in which they conducted their lives, it would become apparent that they were no ordinary people and their God was no ordinary god. The people would exhibit the divine favor by demonstrating that God had given them “his peace.” The word peace means literally “wholeness” or “well-being,” and it was no ordinary sense of well-being that they would enjoy. It was the well-being that comes only from God himself – his peace!

Paul talked about “God’s peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand (Phil. 4:7). God’s peace, which is the “peace of God,” should not be confused with “peace with God.” The “peace of God” is the inner state of well-being that is the birthright of those who have responded to God’s offer of forgiveness and have been brought into a position called “peace with God.” The peace of God is a result of having peace with God. The former is a result of the latter.

This inner sense of wholeness is something that cannot be explained in purely human terms. Anyone can seem to be at peace when he has eradicated all stress and negotiated the end of all hostility. But the peace of God is that which we enjoy while the stress continues unabated and the hostility persists. How can this be? It works when we realize that when we have committed ourselves to the Captain of our salvation in ongoing, trusting obedience, he will make our well-being his personal responsibility. So we can rest assured in his benevolence and competence in the midst of the storms of life. We can live with equanimity that defies description and surpasses belief.

Doug Stone

Community Lay Director

Sponsorship Deadlines

The last day to submit pilgrim sponsorship applications for the fall walks are:

  • Men’s Walk 132 - October 6th
  • Women’s Walk 133 - October 13th

Prayer Time

COUNTRY—LEADERS—WORLD—CHURCHES

  • 2014-15 Elizabethtown Emmaus Board and Leadership
  • Sponsors and pilgrims for Chrysalis 53, YAC 4, Walk 132, and Walk 133
  • Deployed Military Service Men and Women
  • Those in your Reunion Group and those not in an Emmaus Reunion Group
  • The Spiritually Lost
  • Nicaraguan and Northpoint REC Community
  • Leann Yarbrough and Casey Drane, YAC 4
  • Hannah White and Aaron Tinker, Chrysalis 53
  • Tracy Arflin, Men’s Walk 132
  • Pam Bolton, Women’s Walk 133

Mark Your Calendars

Saturday
October 4th / Board Meeting
Gathering / 6:00 PM
7:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Memorial UMC
Thursday
October 9th / Walk 132
Sendoff / 7:00 PM / Camp Nikao
Saturday
October 11th / Walk 132
Candlelight / 8:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Sunday
October 12th / Walk132
Closing / 5:00 PM / Camp Nikao
Thursday
October 16th / Walk 133
Sendoff / 7:00 PM / Camp Nikao
Saturday
October 18th / Walk 133
Candlelight / 8:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Sunday
October 19th / Walk 133
Closing / 5:00 PM / Camp Nikao
Saturday
Nov 1st / Board Meeting
Gathering / 6:00 PM
7:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Memorial UMC
Saturday
Dec 6th / Board Meeting
Gathering / 6:00 PM
7:00 PM / Memorial UMC
Memorial UMC
February
15th – 17th / Chrysalis 53