September 14th, 2022
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
Seeking Inner Peace
Tracy Lippard was a beauty queen in Virginia on February 27, 1994. Shortly after crowning her successor, she drove 250 miles to seek revenge on her ex-boyfriend for jilting her and marrying another. She took along a pistol, a hammer, lighter fluid and matches.
When she arrived at his house and rang the doorbell, it was answered by his new father-in-law. Tracy faked having car trouble, and asked if she could use the telephone. Once inside the house, she took out her hammer and hit the father-in-law on the head. She stunned him, but didn't knock him out.
What she didn't realize was that he was an ex-secret service agent. He grabbed her and as they struggled, she pulled the pistol from her purse and tried to shoot him. That's when the mother-in-law joined the fray and the two of them wrestled her to the floor, holding her until the police arrived.
It is likely that, with that kind of disposition, Tracy was probably never in the running for the Miss Congeniality award. When questioned, she said that she was driven to seek revenge because she needed "inner peace."
The truth is that inner peace is a common desire for most people in our world. Too many people, like Miss Lippard, are striving to find it in the wrong ways and places.
Some false ways people seek it through would include drugs, money, sexual promiscuity, popularity and numerous approaches, apparently including violence against others. The only way to find it is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The night Jesus was born in that Bethlehem stable, the angels who announced his coming declared, “Peace on Earth, good will to men on whom His favor rests.” When Jesus appeared to his disciples on several occasions, he began by announcing “Peace” to them.
The Apostle Paul wrote a great deal about peace in his New Testament letters. The truth is that peace comes through trusting God and leaning on him no matter what comes along. In the 5th chapter of Galatians, Paul declares several aspects of the Fruit (results) of the Spirit, the third one mentioned is “Peace.”
Our new Adult Bible Study on Wednesday Nights is titled LIVING IN PEACE. Our new Sermon Series on Sundays it titled LIFE IN THE SPIRIT When God Moves in to Stay. As you can see, life in the Spirit is closely connected to a life filled with inner peace. Tonight’s Bible Study is called “The Opposite of Worry” based on Philippians 4:4-9 and Matthew 6:25-34. The Title of our Sunday sermon this week is “A Promise Jesus Kept” based on John 15:26-27 & Acts 1:4-8. I hope you will grab the opportunity to grow in your walk with Jesus through taking in both of these series’.
Peace to you,
Jon
Seeking Inner Peace
Tracy Lippard was a beauty queen in Virginia on February 27, 1994. Shortly after crowning her successor, she drove 250 miles to seek revenge on her ex-boyfriend for jilting her and marrying another. She took along a pistol, a hammer, lighter fluid and matches.
When she arrived at his house and rang the doorbell, it was answered by his new father-in-law. Tracy faked having car trouble, and asked if she could use the telephone. Once inside the house, she took out her hammer and hit the father-in-law on the head. She stunned him, but didn't knock him out.
What she didn't realize was that he was an ex-secret service agent. He grabbed her and as they struggled, she pulled the pistol from her purse and tried to shoot him. That's when the mother-in-law joined the fray and the two of them wrestled her to the floor, holding her until the police arrived.
It is likely that, with that kind of disposition, Tracy was probably never in the running for the Miss Congeniality award. When questioned, she said that she was driven to seek revenge because she needed "inner peace."
The truth is that inner peace is a common desire for most people in our world. Too many people, like Miss Lippard, are striving to find it in the wrong ways and places.
Some false ways people seek it through would include drugs, money, sexual promiscuity, popularity and numerous approaches, apparently including violence against others. The only way to find it is through a relationship with Jesus Christ. The night Jesus was born in that Bethlehem stable, the angels who announced his coming declared, “Peace on Earth, good will to men on whom His favor rests.” When Jesus appeared to his disciples on several occasions, he began by announcing “Peace” to them.
The Apostle Paul wrote a great deal about peace in his New Testament letters. The truth is that peace comes through trusting God and leaning on him no matter what comes along. In the 5th chapter of Galatians, Paul declares several aspects of the Fruit (results) of the Spirit, the third one mentioned is “Peace.”
Our new Adult Bible Study on Wednesday Nights is titled LIVING IN PEACE. Our new Sermon Series on Sundays it titled LIFE IN THE SPIRIT When God Moves in to Stay. As you can see, life in the Spirit is closely connected to a life filled with inner peace. Tonight’s Bible Study is called “The Opposite of Worry” based on Philippians 4:4-9 and Matthew 6:25-34. The Title of our Sunday sermon this week is “A Promise Jesus Kept” based on John 15:26-27 & Acts 1:4-8. I hope you will grab the opportunity to grow in your walk with Jesus through taking in both of these series’.
Peace to you,
Jon
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