“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV)

The verse at top is a promise about God’s kind of peace 

Jesus says, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.” Notice that he mentions peace twice in the first sentence. That’s because the peace that God gives is more powerful than fear. He says he has given peace to you, and it’s a  different kind of peace than what the world gives.That’s an important distinction to understand.

The verse at top is also a command not to allow fear

Because of the “different” kind of peace that Christ gives, you have been given God’s power over fear. He commands his people, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” 

God has delivered you from all fears

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4 NIV)

Be strong and do not fear, God will help you

“Say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.” (Isa. 35:4 NIV)

“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isa. 41:13 NIV)

Be strong, courageous and do not be afraid

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Josh. 1:9 NIV)

Because God cares for you, cast all your anxiety on Him

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (2 Peter 5:6-7 NIV)

“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:15 NLT)

God’s free gift leads to being right with God

“And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. (Rom. 5;16 NLT)

God’s wonderful grace and gift of righteousness

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 5:17 NLT)

Brings new life and a right relationship with God 

“Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. (Rom. 5:18-19 NLT) 

God’s wonderful grace rules

“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Rom. 5:20-21 NLT)

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” (Rom. 5:1-2 NLT)

Privilege defined

Privilege comes from the Latin word privilegium, and means a benefit enjoyed by an individual or group beyond what's available to others. Being a member of an exclusive club, organization, or group brings privileges for its members. Family members have privileges that only apply to family members.

Having privileges is wonderful

In 1968, I was stationed at Fort Rucker, Alabama, US Army Aviation Center. I was in charge of three music centers at the base. The job came with many privileges; I lived in a nice apartment, wore a  monogrammed jumpsuit, and I had a “go-to-the-front-of-the-line” meal card to use at all the base mess halls. When I was hungry, I just walked into any one of them, then to the front of the line and showed my card. It was great to have all those special privileges.

We have many privileges as members of God’s family

The Bible passage at top says we have “undeserved privilege” provided to us through faith in Jesus Christ. We are adopted in God’s family which  brings many wonderful privileges. Here are some of them:

·      Privilege of being a co-heir  with Christ “Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ…” (Rom. 8:17).

·      Privilege of having bold access to God “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb. 4:16 NKJV)

·      Privilege of having a new home waiting in heaven “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13 NASB)

·      Privilege of being Blessed  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3 NASB)

·      Privilege of using His Name “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (John 14:14 NASB)

·      Privilege of having all of God’s promises “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ.” (2 Cor. 1:20 NIV)

·      Privilege of sharing the good news with others “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.” (Mark 16:15 ESV)

“For I long to visit you so I can bring you some spiritual gift that will help you grow strong in the Lord. When we get together, I want to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours.” (Rom. 1:11-12 NLT)

 Encouragement is greatly needed! 

Encouragement is something we can freely and generously give to each other. It is to give support or confidence. To stimulate one another spiritually. It is to applaud, boost, brighten, buck up, buoy, cheer up, comfort, console, embolden, energize, enhearten, enliven, fortify, galvanize, gladden, hearten, inspire, inspirit, praise, prop up, rally, reassure, refresh, restore, revitalize, revivify, rouse, and/or strengthen.

Encourage and build up one another

“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (2 Thess. 5:11 NIV)

Look for ways to encourage one another toward love and good deeds

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25 NIV)

God gives endurance and encouragement to you

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.” (Rom. 15:5 NIV)

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 8:8)

According to the promise at the top, “God is able to bless you abundantly.” And “why would He choose to do that?” you may ask. The answer is found in the same passage: “So that at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” In other words, God blesses you abundantly so that you can successfully do good work.

Therefore

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10).

And your enrichment and generosity will produce thanksgiving to God.

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” (2 Cor. 8:10-11)

“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73:26)

The promise at the top begins with “But God.” These two words appear many times throughout the Bible, and they are two of the most powerful words to hear in a story. They change everything! They are especially powerful when impossible-to-fix things happen. “But God” can fix the unfixable! No matter how bad, no matter how big, and no matter how impossible they may appear, Jesus said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26).

Therefore

No matter how bad things may look, stay in faith and don’t despair, remember, “but God” can fix it!

Don’t despair or give up when things look beyond your ability to do anything about them. That’s when to turn to God faithfully by casting all your care on him and expecting “but God” to help you. He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and able to handle all your cares. As a humble person, you can cast  all your cares on Him because you know He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,  even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,  so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Eph. 2:4-7)

“For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:6-8)

“And He said to them, “When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?” They said, “No, nothing.” (Luke 22:35 NASB)

You will not lack anything

Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, said, “God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.” So true! When I was hired in August of 1971 to be the director of Whatcom County Youth For Christ (YFC), I was told they didn’t have the money to hire me. But they told me they would certainly pay me each month “if the money was available." So, I started work understanding those conditions. I stood by God's promise, found in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And He certainly did! I worked for YFC as director for twenty years and never once missed a single paycheck! God was faithful to meet every need, often in amazing ways. More than once, several checks would arrive in the mail on the last day of the month for various odd amounts that would add up to the exact amount needed. On top of that, we would often wake up to find bags of groceries on our porch. What a blessing it was! 

Therefore

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb. 13:20-21 NASB)

“My child, if you have put up security for a friend’s debt or agreed to guarantee the debt of a stranger— if you have trapped yourself by your agreement and are caught by what you said—follow my advice and save yourself, for you have placed yourself at your friend’s mercy. Now swallow your pride; go and beg to have your name erased. Don’t put it off; do it now! Don’t rest until you do. Save yourself like a gazelle escaping from a hunter, like a bird fleeing from a net.” (Prov. 6:1-5 NLT)

My answer is always no

Over the years I have had a number of friends ask me to co-sign for them. The reason I won’t co-sign is because the Bible makes it perfectly clear that you should never co-sign for anyone! And, quite frankly, there are many compelling reasons not to co-sign for someone else, and here are just just a few:

First, by co-signing, you take on all the risk if their loan is not repaid. Keep in mind also that they were not a good risk in the first place for the loan based on their own ability to carry the burden of the loan. The lender considered them to be a bad risk and that’s why they needed someone else with good credit and sufficient collateral to guarantee their loan.

Secondly, by co-signing you are agreeing to pay the loan completely if they don’t. Their failure to pay, often even one payment on the loan, means the lender will immediately come after the co-signer for the entire balance! You are 100 percent liable on any loan you co-sign for, which could be a significant amount. 

Thirdly, co-signing for someone else can affect your own credit. It could even make you ineligible for any future loan you may need for yourself. If you can’t afford to give them the money, you could never afford to co-sign for them. 

Therefore

It’s not worth the risk to take on another’s debt, so just don’t do it! And, If you can actually afford to help someone in need, just give them some money, but never co-sign for them!

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: “To know wisdom and instruction, To perceive the words of understanding, To receive the instruction of wisdom, Justice, judgment, and equity;” (Prov. 1:1-3 NKJV)

Read Proverbs every day!

The book of Proverbs is a wonderful and profitable book of the Bible to be read every day. There are 31 proverbs, one for each day of the month. I like to read it in many different translations. A year in KJV. Another year in NKJV, then NIV, NASB, NLT, and others. Even though I have read it over and over for many years, I continue to receive new and fresh insights from it.

Proverbs will give prudence to the simple and help the young

“To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion…”  (Prov. 1:4 NKJV)

Proverbs will increase the wise

“A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,” (Prov. 1:5 NKJV)

Proverbs will increase your understanding of things

“To understand a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles.” (Prov. 1:6 NKJV)