Memory Work Verse 4- Col. 3:15

Col. 3:15- Let the peace of Christ rule in all of your hearts, since as members of one body you all were called to peace. And be thankful.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in all of your hearts”.  What rules in your heart today?  I would love to say that Christ’s peace rules everyday.  Love and patience exude out my pores like sweat on a humid July day.   I wish that were the case.

Sometimes I am not sure what is ruling in my heart.  Sometimes I get suddenly short tempered, or think the worst of someone simply because they think different than I do.  That is why we are memorizing these verses together.  I know that I am not alone in feeling this way.  But now we all will have a common phrase to remind one another to whom we belong.  And what our REAL identity is.  The next time you notice that Christ’s peace has been unseated in the throne of your heart (or you notice in a brother or sister) be reminded- “as God’s chosen people, Holy, and Dearly Loved,” we are to let the peace of Christ reign in us, “since as members of Christ’s body you all were called to peace.”

Please take a moment and reflect what God’s peace, or shalom, looks like.  Paul’s understanding of peace is so much more than the absence of conflict.  Paul is thinking of the Hebrew idea of shalom.  I normally tell you all that it is the mutual flourishing of all things.  It can also be translated as soundness, safety, welfare, health, prosperity, completeness, peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment, and friendship with God and others.  Pray that God will impart the Peace of Christ to you today, and pray that God will empower you to share that Peace with others.