Episode 6 - Fruits Of The Spirit: Peace

Peace that actually holds doesn’t come from a quiet room or a perfect week—it comes from a Person. We dig into a gritty, hopeful vision of peace that stands guard over your heart and mind, even when life gets loud. Starting with Philippians 4:4–7, we highlight a detail many miss: bringing requests to God with thanksgiving. That posture shifts attention from what’s missing to what God’s already done, and it unlocks a peace that protects rather than evaporates.

From there, we tackle the difference between cultural calm and Christ’s promise. Raises, status, and escapes offer brief relief, but Jesus in John 14 and John 16 gives a peace that outlasts tribulation because He has overcome the world. We explore shalom—not just the absence of conflict, but the presence of wholeness, harmony, and God’s favour. That kind of peace can live in a house full of kids, a messy calendar, or a hard season, because it flows from relationship, not environment.

We also get practical. Colossians 3:15 calls peace to rule in our hearts, shaping how we respond before anger or pride take over. Romans 12:18 reminds us to do our part to live at peace with everyone, while Proverbs 14:30 exposes how envy drains life and gratitude restores it. You’ll hear real stories about prayer with thanksgiving, worship breaking anxiety’s grip, and simple rhythms for trust: breath prayers, scripture first, and choosing to respond rather than react. We speak candidly about peace with God through faith (Romans 5) as the foundation for every other kind of peace, and why neutrality is a myth when eternity is at stake.

You’ll walk away with field-tested practices: be the calm centre at home, fight for peace in your marriage instead of trying to win, and stay grounded under pressure at work. Ask yourself this week: where am I choosing control over peace, and what would it look like to hand that to Jesus? If this conversation steadied you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so others can find this message of lasting peace.

Transcript

Setting The Stage: Love, Joy, Peace

SPEAKER_02 0:15

Welcome to the Brotherhood Podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:23

Hey everybody, welcome back to another podcast, another episode, I mean, of the Brotherhood Podcast. Uh, this week Craig and I are gonna be talking a little bit about peace and uh what the Bible teaches about peace. So, again, just to start us off, we're gonna go over the fruits of the spirit here. Um, I know we've covered a couple already, and uh I believe we are on, I think peace is the third one here now. So Galatians 5, 22 to 23. But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Again, such things there is no law. Um, so like I say, we did cover um love and joy already. Craig is gonna do a bit of a recap, and then we will discuss a little bit more about peace.

SPEAKER_01 1:19

Yeah, thanks for the intro. I know I do that normally, but it's good to try your hand at it.

SPEAKER_00 1:27

We'll get a little bit of practice as uh it seems I still need.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

That's okay. Uh okay, so uh yes, like Colton said, I'll do a little bit of a recap here of the two episodes on uh the first two fruits of the spirit. So uh in the love episode, uh one of the verses we talked about was John 3:16, and that um is really heavy on the uh love being a sacrificial choice. Jesus died on the cross for us. Uh it wasn't just uh love is not just an emotion, it is sacrificial. Uh we also broke down the four types of love agape, phileo, storge, and eros. Uh we talked about how agape love calls us to love when it costs us something.

Anchor Verse In Philippians 4

SPEAKER_01 2:20

So when we're loving our wives, loving our kids, um, our brothers, even our enemies, and we dive, we dove into that a little bit. And real love mirrors God's character, not what the world defines as love. And something to reflect on is love is what separates a man of God from the rest, not how strong we look, but how deeply we care, even when it's inconvenient. And in the joy episode, uh one of the verses we looked at was uh Proverbs 17, 22, which was our anchor verse for that episode. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit is uh sorry, a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Um joy is not about what's happening to us, uh, but what's happening in us. It's anchored in trust, knowing God's purpose, um, knowing God's got a purpose even in our pain. Joy uh gives us the endurance to keep going when life feels heavy, and there is joy on the other side of our pain and struggles. The reflection there is uh joy is strength, it's what keeps a man steady when everything else shakes. So today, like Colton said, we're gonna move into the third fruit that's listed, which is peace. And uh let's be honest, finding peace as a man in a world that's chaotic, loud, and demanding is pretty tough. But scripture shows us a kind of peace that doesn't depend on calm circumstances, it depends on us being grounded in Christ. Yeah, 100%.

SPEAKER_00 4:14

So our question for you guys as we start this episode here is like Craig said, how do we find peace in today's world? Uh so our anchor verse for this week is Philippians 4, and that is verse 4 to 7. And it says, Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near, do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So that is our anchor verse for this week. Uh, there's a couple things I want to point out in there, actually, that I think I think it well, for me, I know it often got overlooked for a long time, uh, but the older I get, the more I realize the importance of it. So verse six here. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. That's something for myself I've often, you know, kind of overlooked. Right. I I always thought of the verse as just pray, bring everything to God by prayer and petition. And uh that's how we are to present our request to God, right? It's through prayer and petition. And this verse clearly states that we need to do it out of thankfulness, right? So I was actually, I think it was yesterday, I was listening to a video my cousin had sent me about um

Gratitude In Prayer Changes Us

SPEAKER_00 6:10

kind of what our our podcast is about, like about being men and what it means to be a godly man. And they were talking about um actually that exact thing, how when you pray, thank God for the things that He's already done for you, you know, and how important that is. Um and God hears us, you know. I've I've found when I pray out of thankfulness rather than just praying, you know, God, please give me this, I would like it. Amen, sort of a thing. Um, a good example of that actually would be a little while ago, I was praying about a certain thing. I think Craig knows a little bit about this. I think I told you a couple times maybe already, but uh I was praying a certain way, and I'm like, God, I really want this to happen, please help it happen. And I came home and I talked to my wife about it, and she asked me one day, she's like, Do you think maybe you should stop praying that and just be thankful? I'm like, huh, you know, it just kind of hit me, and it like this verse says, right, be thankful. So I started praying like that, and I know it doesn't happen like this all the time, but I think it was within two or three days uh a prayer I had been praying for months uh had just been answered. So yeah, I I think praying out of thankfulness is important.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

Yeah, I do know I know what circumstance you're talking about. I remember.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

Yeah, it was just I don't know, it was just eye-opening for me. And so now you know that part of the verse really sticks out to me more than I think it ever has before, um, just because of this specific situation.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Yeah, I like that. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Uh the next part of the verse I'd like to just touch on here briefly is verse 7, and it says, And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So I hear this um not often, but I've heard it a few times where you know there'll be a loss in a family, or something something big will happen within a family, and they'll say, you know, it's hard to go through, but there's this weird peace about it. Um all I can say is that's God, because I I don't think on our own we would find peace in a situation like that, right? And that just really brings this part of this verse to life, too, you know, where God's peace um it'll transcend all our understanding, like it doesn't make sense, but it's there, right? So that's just something briefly I wanted to touch on before we kind of get into this, um, and as we go through kind of what we have prepared here. So, our first question today is we want to ask, what is peace?

Peace Beyond Understanding In Suffering

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Um, for me, when I think of peace, I think calm, you know. I guess I get this picture in my head um sitting at the beach, you know, nothing's really going on. You don't got to worry about work, you don't gotta worry about life. I uh my wife and I have been on a couple trips now to Mexico, all inclusive trips, and that's kind of what comes to my mind, right? Everything is prepared. You don't have to do you literally don't have to do anything. You go to the beach when you want, uh, listen to the waves roll in. It's just it's peaceful. So that's what I think of um when I think about peace. How about you, Craig? What uh what would come to your mind if you were to think about what peace is?

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah, I think pretty similar. Like uh, yep. Like uh I would probably say like peace and quiet. I think those go hand in hand, especially when when you don't get that very much with a crazy household full of kids. So if you're talking like if you're talking about peace, or you're just talking about peace in uh in conversation, I think yeah, it it's almost like it's synonymous with relaxation, it seems like. Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I definitely agree with what you said there.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Yeah, this is kind of the first thought that comes to mind, right? Um, the verse I have that kind of lines up with what we're talking about is uh John 14, verse 27. And this is uh Jesus speaking here. He says, 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. So I kind of broke this down a little bit, and I think what this verse is saying is that peace is the freedom of fear, it's freedom of a troubled heart. Uh, the world we're gonna talk a lot about the world uh in these episodes, just so you guys know. But I think the world teaches us that peace comes from you know, that next big raise that comes from finally getting paid what you think you deserve, finally getting that promotion, or finally, you know, finding the girlfriend you've been looking for, marrying the woman you've been waiting for, all these different things, right? Uh, the world teaches us that we can find peace in sex, uh, drugs, any addictions. There's all these sinful things that the world is gonna teach us that are okay, and and that you know, well, if you just do this, you're gonna feel better about yourself. You're gonna have peace, you're gonna be able to just carry on. But the problem is that it's a lie right from the devil, right? It doesn't create peace, it actually creates chaos. You know, a lot of these addictions and stuff, yeah, you might have peace and feel good for a moment, but it's not eternal,

What Peace Is And Isn’t

SPEAKER_00 12:40

like what peace is from Jesus.

SPEAKER_02 12:43

Right.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

I have another verse that goes with this one, actually. I just need to track down where I had put it here. It's in the Bible. Yes, that it is. Uh Ephesians 2, 14 to 15. And this says, for he himself sorry, pardon me, for he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one, and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace. So again, this is talking about Jesus coming to the cross, dying on the cross to bring us peace, to set us free. We can have eternal peace in him. Uh, and as Christians, we believe that you don't want to live by what the world says, you want to live by what Jesus says, right? You follow him, you serve him, you pray, and you'll have a peace that transcends all understanding. And it's hard to explain, you know, when you really experience that for the first time. I think even Craig going back to maybe correct me if I'm wrong, but I think even going back to our testimonies and that moment when we accepted Christ, a lot of the feelings that uh that we had both spoken about, I think peace was a big one. I think that's something that really it's just like this weird warmth you feel in your heart.

SPEAKER_01 14:40

Yeah. Yeah, that's probably what it is, honestly. Yeah, there's a peace about yeah, like you said, it's hard to hard to explain, but it's that's what it says. It's peace beyond all understanding, right? So I mean, we can't understand it, but it you can feel it, you can experience it.

SPEAKER_00 15:05

Yeah, and you know, through the world, you'll never find a peace like this. Like I say, the things that the world has to offer, they're all temporary, right? I hear a lot of people speak on podcasts or on YouTube, and actually, Francis Chan is is one of my favorite ones to listen to. And uh the this life is so short, and I would highly recommend that you guys look this up. I don't know what his sermon is called or what the the title is of this sermon, but this certain one sticks out to me. So Francis Chan has this rope that goes on for I don't know hundreds of feet, and he's got a little section that's probably that big, you know, four inches or so, that he's got taped off in red. And on this red tape, he says, This is our life on earth, and everything after is our life in eternity, and it just it puts it into perspective, you know, when you when you start chasing the peace of the world, when you start listening to what the world tells you, what the world says is going to make you happy, you

Jesus Offers A Different Kind Of Peace

SPEAKER_00 16:20

know, make you feel love, make you joyful, give you peace, it's it's not true. That's temporary, that only lasts for that little red strip on the robe, right? Whereas if you chase peace with Jesus, that's for eternity. And it's a peace that we don't fully understand here. And I think there's just something there's just something so powerful about that, and especially to experience that, you know, it's I've had moments too where you just feel anxious, you're having a hard time. I'll turn a Christian song on, and it just hits you. You just break down because of yeah, just you feel the presence of God just on you in that moment, and it's it's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

Yeah, I actually I can't I was just gonna say I I didn't break down, but I did have like so um I was in town, it was actually Peace River, but I didn't have a vehicle charger with me, so my phone was almost dead on my way home, and I didn't want to listen to anything that was on the radio, and so here I am rummaging through my CDs that are in the pickup. I'm like, what do we even have in here? And actually it was dark, so I couldn't even see what I was putting into the CD player. I just grabbed one and put it in, and one of them, and I didn't even know what the one was. I'm like, I have no idea what this is, we'll put that away, and then uh and I put another one in, and then it's like some older music, probably more than more than 10 years old. But I started listening to it, and I'm like, Oh, this is good. It's like uh I forget who it is, but the song was I need a little more Jesus, like I need a little more Jesus and a whole lot less of me. I'm like, oh man, I feel that. Yeah, I do. Yeah, yeah. So that's been just it's in my CD player still. I'm like, I am just gonna listen to that on repeat basically for the next little bit. I need that reminder, because I totally do.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

Yeah, and it's really cool how God does that and and works in your life that way, you know, even through work and stuff. Um it's important to take time out of your day to pray. Uh, that's one thing for me I've been a little bit nervous about. So we uh we recently had a position change at work where I've gotten more time at home, and um I don't I don't drive as much. I drive about 10 minutes where well, sorry, 10 minutes one way where I used to drive about an hour, maybe hour and a half some days. And it was nice because on that drive, you know, you're up pretty early in the morning, get you get that time to pray, and it's quiet, you know, it's peaceful, there's no noise. Um that's one thing that's made me a bit nervous is that I don't have that drive anymore. I don't have that peace in the same way, but I I want to encourage anybody else who maybe is in the same boat that you know, I've realized that your prayers don't have to be an hour long. Uh, you don't have to, you don't have to be in your bedroom, you know, by yourself to pray. You can say a two-minute prayer, you can say a half a minute prayer throughout the day. You know, just reach out to God, right? We're supposed to live our life in prayer, and I think by doing that, uh, I think we'll feel a lot more peace too. We'll feel more connected to God, right? It's a relationship, it's a friendship, right? If you don't put in the work, the friendship isn't there, and you're not gonna receive the peace that Christ has for you. Right.

SPEAKER_01 20:22

Yeah, on that note, the it does say in the Bible to pray without ceasing is how we should be. So even if you're not actually, you know, sitting down or bowing your head and closing your eyes, that even the even your thoughts, um you can

Shalom: Wholeness And God’s Favour

SPEAKER_01 20:40

use those as prayers too, right? Talk kind of talk to yourself, but talk to God at the same time. And yeah, you don't it doesn't have to be out loud all the time, it doesn't have to be you know sitting around in a circle holding hands, like it can be in all sorts of circumstances, right? Yeah, and yeah, like you said, I think that that brings us more peace because we're we're keeping that relationship going. Um so I uh I also have a couple verses on um for this question. What is peace? Uh the first one I've got is Numbers uh 6, 24 to 26. And that is that's Aaron's blessing. So it says, the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So there's a blessing there, right? The um for God to give you peace. And I just made a note here too that peace in Hebrew, like the word shalom, means wholeness, completeness, and harmony. So it's not just an absence uh absence of conflict. Um peace is the result of God's presence and blessing in our life, and like Colton was saying, with the prayer life, that's a big part of it. Um and it's not it doesn't mean our circumstances are perfect. Um it's uh yeah, it's a process and it's uh it's a relationship thing as well. Like I think we keep coming back to that, but um, I think I think everything is tied to that really, and you can't get away from it. Um and then the part uh when when God's face shines on you, it means you're walking in his favor and aligned with his will for your life, and I think that's where peace begins as well. And for us to walk in his will for our life, we have to be talking to him, we have to be in his word and have that strong relationship with him, or else we're not gonna hear his guidance in the way that we should go in different things, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:15

Um one thing I want to just touch on there that I kind of think is fitting is do you ever do you ever pray for patience and then almost regret it a couple days later because God is like, oh okay, you want patience? I'm not gonna give it to you, I'm gonna make it work for it. Right. He right, he gives you a situation where you're like, oh man, I okay, I gotta be patient. Right?

SPEAKER_01 23:45

Yeah, you don't realize that red light.

SPEAKER_00 23:48

Yeah, yeah. It's like sitting at a red light, and God give me patience. The light goes green and then you hit a train. I think peace is the same way. I think peace is the same idea, right? We pray for peace, and God's like, you can have peace, but you gotta follow me, you gotta trust me. I think it's a process.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

And I think uh I think I have this later on in my notes too, but um the like peace isn't just being outside of conflict or chaos, it's having it's having peace in the chaos or in the conflict or whatever you're going through. That's the big thing. Because it's easy it's easy to have peace when everything's going right, but not so much when everything's going wrong. So and God can give us peace in those circumstances. Um the second verse I had was also it was in John. I know you went to John a couple chapters back, but um John 16, 33 um

Peace In Trials: Take Heart

SPEAKER_01 25:00

that says, 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. Um so peace isn't like I was saying, I maybe it's right here. Peace isn't the absence of struggle, it's the confidence that Jesus has already overcome the world. Um uh yeah, the world's peace is temporary. Colton kind of touched on that already. Um, Christ's peace is eternal and resilient. I kind of I looked up peace and what Wikipedia says it is, is peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups, and so we as Christians can experience peace in the middle of chaos, not just when chaos ends. So I should have just gone with my notes instead of trying to jump ahead, but that's exactly what I said. Um, and then kind of the reflection point for this that I wrote is peace isn't something that you find when life settles down, it's something you walk in when you know who is in control, and that's not us, that's God.

SPEAKER_00 26:31

So I really like that. That's uh that seems kind of funny though how Wikipedia says that peace is lack of conflict, because I I how would I say that? I don't think that can exist in the world. Cause there's conflict everywhere, everywhere you look, there's some sort of a conflict. So technically, according to Wikipedia, peace is something in my mind that wouldn't really be able to exist. It's not attainable, yeah. Or maybe I'm just understanding that wrong, but that's kind of that's how I see that.

SPEAKER_01 27:19

Yeah, it's the absence of hostility and violence. Um, so I guess you can kind of have moments where there's lack of hostility and violence, but I mean, even if you look at the political landscape right now, left versus right, liberal versus conservative, um, it's gotten so divided, and like there's not nothing in the middle anymore. Seems like you're either far left or you're far right. And I'll tell you right now, the people on the far left are just so out of touch with reality, and they make me feel like I'm far right. When I'm really not, I'm probably moderate right, but I'm like, man, I my ideas are so far from yours, it's absolutely ridiculous. Anyway, I might catch some flack for that, and people yell at me, but whatever. Um, I guess on the political thing, I'll say I'm a Christian first before I'm a conservative. So um, yeah, and that's probably all we need to talk about there.

SPEAKER_00 28:29

That is a topic people can get very, very heated about, eh?

SPEAKER_01 28:33

Very right, absolutely. Yeah, we're probably gonna hear people yelling at us in in the comment section or something. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 28:43

I'm ready. Yeah, I'm ready for it. Me too. Bring it on.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Yeah, I don't care what you think of me, I care what God thinks of me. So yeah, exactly. Um yeah, so did did you have anything else for the uh explaining what peace is? No. Okay, perfect. Um, then I will move on to

Why Peace Matters For Men

SPEAKER_01 29:10

um our next question, which is why is peace important? And for that, I have the first verse that I have is Colossians chapter three, uh, verse four. Nope, verse fifteen, sorry. I'm like, why is my standard way down here on the page? Yeah, okay. Colossians three, fifteen. Um let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Um So peace is meant to rule in our lives. It's not it's not a feeling. We kind of talked about love not being a feeling as well. Uh it's an authority that directs your thoughts and reactions. Um when peace rules, anger, pride, and fear lose their grip. So it there is power in peace to combat those things that are are negative attributes in our lives. And as men, um when we carry peace, we set the tone for our homes, for our workplaces, um, and for the really different relationships we're in, um, just with people that we do life with. Um and yeah, especially as men, we need to be the example to our wives and our children. So um the second verse I have there is Romans 12 18. Oh, that's weird. I totally put it in on the wrong page. Who did these sticky notes? Uh okay. Romans 12 18. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Or uh some other translations say, if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Um so peace impacts our relationships. Uh it reflects it is a reflection of spiritual maturity and humility. I know if you I've had relationships with individuals that are not peaceable at all. And it really it really puts a tension on that relationship and a strain, especially if it's a relationship that you need for doing life, or if it's family members, or whatever. Um so if it is possible, live peaceably with everyone. Um and we can't control others, but we can retroll retrol, we can control our response uh to how people are treating or talking to us or behaving around us, and uh being a man of peace means refusing to let ego, offense, or competition dictate our actions. Um so a man of peace doesn't stir the storm, he calms it. Your peace can become someone else's anchor. So even sometimes we have people in our

Live At Peace With Everyone

SPEAKER_01 33:00

lives that their life is just going off the rails and they've lost hope, and that there's no peace in their lives. But when we have peace in our lives and we relate to those people and show God's love to them, we can sometimes we can be their anchor uh to uh to bring them back down to reality, I think.

SPEAKER_00 33:23

So yeah, I think a big part of that uh too with us having peace with ourselves, I think is forgiveness. I think being able to forgive, I've I think that's something if you're willing to forgive uh the people that you maybe have a bit of a rough relationship with, I think that brings peace to you, which then kind of changes the whole outcome of that relationship.

SPEAKER_01 33:55

Yeah, I think that's probably true. Yeah, that kind of goes along with what I was saying. Um but yeah, if you and oftentimes we can't forgive on our own, but uh we are told to forgive because we are forgiven, right? So and when like for me, when I actually start thinking about that, and I mean I don't know what verse that is, but um if you really think about how much we have been forgiven of, what is it really for us to forgive someone else for wronging us, right?

SPEAKER_00 34:38

Yeah, yeah, there's a verse uh Jesus says the world hated me. I think it goes, I don't remember exactly, the world hated me first, therefore they're gonna hate you too.

SPEAKER_01 34:51

Right, yeah, and uh and they will they will hate you because of your love for me, that's another one.

SPEAKER_00 34:59

Yep, yep so so I think that in itself can bring us peace as Christians to know that you know if if sorry, I'm just laughing, I'm kind of thinking in my head here. If you have people who hate you, take it as a compliment. Obviously, if you're a Christian and there's people that hate you, I mean don't you know go be a jerk to somebody. You know, I I thought about that a while back after I read that verse. I'm like, oh well, if the world hates me, then obviously I'm doing something right. It's pretty easy to get the world to hate you if you really wanted to, and not for the right reasons.

SPEAKER_01 35:42

Yeah, you can get everyone to hate you, but not for the right reasons. They need to hate you because of your love. Yeah, they need to hate you because of your love. So love first. Yeah, and if you're hated for your love and for your faith, then that's okay. But not because you're a jerk.

SPEAKER_00 36:00

But yeah, don't go out mistreating people just so you can say the world hates you to feel better. Don't do it, it's not gonna work.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

Don't go do it and then say that don't go do it and then say Craig and Colton told me to either.

SPEAKER_00 36:14

Yeah, we take no responsibility for this.

SPEAKER_01 36:17

Colton told me to go be a jerk and be hated by everyone.

SPEAKER_00 36:22

Yeah. Yeah, don't listen to me. I'm still learning too, so I don't know it all yet. Right. No, probably never will, not until I die. Right. Exactly. I had a verse that goes along with this here as well. Um Proverbs 14, verse 30 is one that I have written down. It says, A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. So I kind of looked up what envy was just to kind of get a better definition. Basically,

Envy Drains You, Peace Gives Life

SPEAKER_00 37:00

my understanding of it is it's wanting what other people have, wanting their possessions, or you know, just the things that they have, which doesn't bring peace, right? That brings a lot of I think that brings a lot of stress on your body, and I think that's what this verse is talking about is peace gives life to your body. Right? You just feel better, your body isn't going through all this stress, it's not struggling to, you know, wake up every morning. You can actually wake up being joyful because you're at peace, right? It's just a lot easier on your body than you know, waking up and being like, Man, why can't I go on vacation today? Why can't I afford this? Why can my friends do this, but I can't, or why can these people have that, but I can't? That's that's not healthy, right? And this verse says, you know, a heart at peace gives life to the body, and it's not easy, right? It's something that that is a bit of a process, something that we have to pray through. But like Craig said as well, it's in the times where you don't feel at peace, I think, where we learn to be at peace the most.

SPEAKER_01 38:08

Yeah. I think uh the that whole envy thing and the like I know, and I know it's scientifically proven, like people know this, that when you're you know stressed out about stuff, because if you're thinking like you deserve this or that and you haven't got it yet, and you're being negative about everything, that brings stress. And if you're being negative about everything, you like it has a it does have a physical effect on you. You can't sleep well, you don't eat right, and um it's just yeah, I like that's pretty cool that you found that because there is a connection there, totally. I see that.

SPEAKER_00 39:07

Well, and I want to say too, I I sent Brianne a video, I think it was yesterday, I was watching it, and it kind of goes along with this as well, um, with this envy, and it's I think it's such a great way to look at it. Um, if you guys don't know, I struggle with remembering names and you know who I've listened to. But uh this guy was talking about how instead of wishing that you had what your friends had, or instead of, you know, like I said, um saying to yourself, Well, they can go to Mexico. Why can't I afford to go to Mexico? Wake up and say, Well, I'm I'm not in hell, you know, that's a plus, right? And then look at all the things that God has blessed you with. Don't look at what other people have, but look at what God's given you. Every day you wake up is a blessing from God. Every breath in your lungs, it says that God, that's the breath of God in you, right? If he wanted to, he could make this your last breath. You could be here for 50 years, you could be here until tomorrow, you could be here for another half an hour and then be gone. Right. Right? So wake up in the morning, don't look at what other people have, look at what God's already blessed you with.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

Yeah, you already talked about that too, with the um being thankful for what you already have rather than worrying about what's next. Yep. Yeah, you already told that story. I know we talked about that, we we talked about that last episode too. Funny how all these things that are mentioned in that one verse are all tied together. Some way, somehow.

SPEAKER_00 40:54

Sometimes it's hard not to repeat things too. You just I don't know, you just get so excited and worked up about it, but there's so many, like you say, different connections that touch on what we're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 41:07

So I think our next

How We Get Peace: Trust And Prayer

SPEAKER_01 41:10

question is how do we get how do we get peace? Um I did actually it's funny I actually put the R anchor verse in here, but I'll start with the the second verse I had in here first. Um Isaiah 26 3 Um that says that you keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Um so peace is a byproduct of trust. The more we trust God, the steadier our soul becomes, the more peace we have. Um keeping your mind steadfast means choosing faith over fear every day, like Holton was saying. Um daily um daily being thankful for what you do have and um but also being having faith um as well. I forget where I was going with that, but you might know what I'm trying to say, you might not. Uh and you can't have peace if you're if your thoughts are scattered, you can't have peace either. Um focus also produces stability, which brings peace. And uh peace doesn't come from getting everything under control, uh it comes from giving control to the one who never loses it. Um which I kind of alluded to at the beginning there as well. Whenever when we feel like everything is out of control, um God is in control over all of it. Uh and we just have to trust him. And then we get peace because we trust it. And easy as that. It just yeah, it's simple. I mean, I don't know why we're still talking about it.

SPEAKER_00 43:31

Yeah, let's just go out and just do it. Yeah, just do it. We'll just end the episode here and and off we go.

SPEAKER_01 43:37

Yeah, all right. Let's pray. Yeah, I wish it was that easy. Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? I mean, if it were that easy and we had it all figured out, then we wouldn't need God, and so um that's right. That's just it. Uh so if we go back to our anchor verse, here I have just six and seven. So just a reminder that says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Um peace also comes from prayer. Uh surrendering invites God's peace to guard our hearts from the craziness of the world. And uh gratitude also, which we've kind of already talked about, focuses uh focuses us from fear to more of a faith-focused life. And uh the peace of God doesn't make sense logically, which we already talked about as well. Um it's a peace beyond all understanding, it's supernatural protection over your mind and your emotions, and then everything else is peaceful and calm um from that. So those are the two verses that I had for um how do we get peace? So through prayer and through trust is kind of what I come up with.

SPEAKER_00 45:25

Okay. Mine, I think, is I just tried to make it very simple. Okay. Um, I didn't I didn't go quite that far in depth. Maybe I should have. Uh whatever. So it's funny, you actually hit one of the verses I had written down already. Oh John 16, verse 25 to 33. So I'm gonna cut that from uh 25, though. I'm gonna go 31 to 33, and uh I'll just kind of recap a little bit what Craig

Peace With God Through Faith

SPEAKER_00 46:00

went over on that one. Uh so uh 31, and this is Jesus speaking here again. Do you now believe? Jesus replied, a time is coming, and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone, yet I am not alone, for my father is with me. I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. So I think it's talking about how the Father is with Jesus, and because of our relationship with Jesus, we can be connected to the Father. Um that's something I've been reading a little bit about and stuff too, is the wrath of God and how you know without Jesus we're gonna face the wrath of God. And if you don't have Jesus stepping in for you and saying, Father, it's okay, I know them. Um there's gonna be, you're gonna be eternally separated from the peace that God has for you, if that is what you choose. He gives everybody a choice on that. But that's where that's how I understand that verse is that you know, Jesus says, You will leave me all alone, yet I am not alone, for my father is with me. And um, I think that's a good reminder, you know, once Jesus went back to heaven, he gave us the Holy Spirit, and so we can have peace knowing that he is with us at all times. So I won't talk too much about that one because I do know that you touched on that one already, Craig. Uh the last verse I have here is Romans five verse one to two. So the heading here is peace and hope. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. I think that's as far as I was going with that one. Okay. So through faith, right? I think faith produces peace. And Craig, I think you had kind of talked about that a little bit already, too, how just the faith in Jesus brings us peace, knowing that our um souls have gained salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. Right. Uh, we have hope through Jesus Christ as well, right? This one says right here, and we boast in the hope of the glory of God. So not only do we have peace, but we hope in the glory of God and the coming of Jesus Christ, which also produces um peace within us as Christians, right? I have written down here, and I again I think I had touched on this a little bit already, but Jesus took on our sins at the cross. We can be at peace, like I say, knowing that we are saved again if we choose, right? That is a choice that God gives every person. If you don't choose, like I said before, then when eternity comes, you will be separated for eternity from peace.

SPEAKER_01 49:37

Yeah. I think I'll uh I just want to stress too to the people listening, I've heard this said before. Um no choice, like not making a choice, is also a choice. So if you're um and that leads into another it's kind of like a catchy thing, but um I'll I'll just kind of tell it like a story. So there's um there's a fence, and so if you look at it like land on either side of the fence, God owns one side of the fence, uh Satan owns the other side of the fence, and there's this guy

Heaven, Hell, And Urgency

SPEAKER_01 50:20

sitting on the fence and he wants to you know he wants to be close to God, but man, all that stuff over there on Satan's side, that looks really good. But um that Satan owns the fence. No decision is a decision. So if you're sitting on the fence, that's a decision um to go to Satan's side, not to God's side.

SPEAKER_00 50:49

Yep. I I absolutely love the way you put that. I think that is very fitting. Um, I'm just trying to find a verse here to touch a little bit. It's maybe a little bit off topic, um, but again, guys, with this podcast, our goal, our goal is to try and help people to meet Jesus. We we want God to be able to use us to reach you in that way. That is our overall goal here. And so when we feel um the need to speak about some of the stuff, that's that's why we go a little bit off topic with some of these episodes, because that is um that is the most important thing with what we're trying to do here. So I just want I'm gonna try and find this verse uh that I'm thinking of, and then I would like to read it.

SPEAKER_01 51:45

No, that sounds good, and yeah, I echo what Colton was saying there too. Um, I mean, we we do have a topic for each episode, and we have an outline kind of figured out of where we want to go. But yes, uh, like he said before, we pray before every episode um that God would lead us to say the things that He wants you guys to hear. And um so I think this is uh a tugging from the Holy Spirit when we when there's things that uh that come to our minds that get put on our hearts, and uh God's saying, Hey, you need to find this verse, you need to read it. I think that's the Holy Spirit speaking to Colton right now, telling hey, read this, someone needs to hear it. So listen. If you're listening, listen.

SPEAKER_00 52:38

So I think I got it here. Um, this is a story that comes to mind. This one, this one really hits me hard when I when I read it. So uh we're gonna read Luke chapter 16, verse 19. So it's a bit of a longer one from 19 to verse 31. The heading on this is The Rich Man and Lazarus. Now I know a lot of you probably have read this and maybe know about this story and about this part of the Bible, but uh here goes. There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died, and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried in Hades. So for those of you that don't know, Hades, um, I believe is another word for hell, um, or is the same place. I believe that's right, right, Craig? I think that's how that goes.

SPEAKER_01 53:48

That's what I think. I'll uh I'll while you're reading, I'll look in my study Bible, see if there's a note there.

SPEAKER_00 53:55

Okay. Um, so in Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham. So keep that in mind, guys. Okay, so in hell is torment. I I hear a lot of people say it's gonna be a party with my friends, you know, it's just gonna be warm. It's no party, and it's not just warm, it is blistering hot for eternity. So please understand that. Um, so in Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire. So there's a few things there, right? Hell is an eternal fire, it's it's a lake of fire, and that's you know, that's what it is forever. You know, and this is the part that really hits me is um please send Lazarus to dip or uh have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. Not, you know, bring me a cup of water, dip your finger in so I can basically lick the couple drops off his finger, you know, or have the couple drops fall onto his tongue. Like that that is so powerful, and I think that is something that really needs to be thought about. Uh so this is verse 25 now. But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you, a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. He answered, Then I beg you, Father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers, let him mourn them so that they will not come to this place of torment. Abraham replied, They have Moses and the prophets, let them listen to them. No, Father Abraham, he said, But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent. He said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead. So I just wanted to read that story, guys, because this is this is, I think, such a a good example of what hell is gonna be like, and a lot of people, you know, I don't know if they say this because they I mean, obviously, there's some sort of belief that it exists if they're talking about it in this way, but it's it's not a party, it's not somewhere where you're gonna go to it's not somewhere where you're gonna go to have a good time. Um there's another verse that says there's gonna be gnashing of teeth, and it's just it's a horrible place, right? And I think I mentioned this possibly in the last podcast, but God didn't create hell for for people, he created it for the devil and his followers, and exactly like what Craig said, you know, sitting on the fence that's also a choice. Um the Bible clearly says that there's a narrow pathway and there's a wide pathway, and the ones that go on the narrow pathway and enter the gates of heaven, um

The Narrow Gate And Daily Desire

SPEAKER_00 57:30

I believe it says are gonna be how does it put that again, Craig? I think it says it's gonna be few or something, right? Yeah, I need to look that up.

SPEAKER_01 57:42

Yeah, I'll uh uh so uh in I'll just mention um what we were talking about there, Hades. It says uh Hades is Greek, and it's uh it is the place of the dead. And uh so the the footnotes here in my study bible for um for verses 19 to 31 that you read, it says the Pharisees considered wealth to be proof of a person's righteousness. Jesus startled them with the this story in which a diseased beggar is rewarded and a rich man is punished. The rich man did not go to hell because of his wealth, but because of his selfish uh because he was selfish, refusing to feed Lazarus, take him in, or care for him. The rich man was hard-hearted in spite of his great blessings. The amount of money we have is not as important as the way that we use it. So um yes, yeah, Hades is hell, basically, from what I'm reading there, and then I thought that was a good good note, and I didn't I guess I didn't know that the Pharisees thought that um your wealth um was directly um related to the rewards you would have in heaven or getting into heaven. So that was good.

SPEAKER_00 59:22

Uh I think I found this verse, it's a short one, but it's in Matthew, Matthew seven, thirteen and fourteen. Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it, but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. So this is again speaking about a life with Jesus or a life without him, right? A life with Jesus isn't saying, Oh, yeah, I believe in Jesus, I'm going to heaven. No, it's following Jesus. It's listening to what he calls you to do and to trust him. And you know, like we're talking about today with peace, finding peace uh in where God leads you to go. So again, guys, I know it's a bit of a rabbit trail, but I think this is I I don't think we can stress this enough. This is the most important decision you can make your whole life is um where you're gonna spend your eternity. And we just want to be able to help you take the steps in the right direction.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:38

Right. Yeah, I definitely agree with that, and I would say the same. Um there was something I was gonna say. Uh I don't know. I lost it.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:58

Maybe it'll come back, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:00

Maybe. Oh man, what was I thinking? Um, okay, I got it. Perfect. So I would also say I I've heard pr people say, well, why would why would I go to church? Why would I become a Christian? And so many rules, and I'm not allowed to have fun anymore. Um I think that people think that oh, they have to stop doing everything that they like to do. But um you will want to stop doing the things that you're not supposed to do, and when you become a Christian,

Come As You Are, Let God Transform

SPEAKER_01 1:01:40

when you give your life to the Lord and say you're going to follow Him and follow the things that He wants you to do, He gives you the desire to want to do what He wants you to do. It's not following rules for the sake of following rules, it's following Um the rules because you know that's what God wants and you want to please Him because of what He's done for us. So I think that's encouraging to hear as well. So I know that I've heard people say that before. And so if you guys are listening and you have had that thought, just know that it's it's not that simple and it's not that terrible either. Like I have a lot of things that I would have done before I became a believer, or even when I was just kind of freshly um converted, I would say I have zero desire to do those things now. Um, there's still things I struggle with, of course. I'm not perfect. I the only one who was perfect is Jesus, and that's why he was the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:57

So yeah. I listened um just real quick, I guess before we wrap up, I listened to a sermon a guy did a while back, and uh he was speaking in front of a crowd and he was talking about how this guy came to him. He's like, Well, if I become a Christian, do I need to stop smoking pot? And this pastor said, No, absolutely not. And it's you just you're not used to hearing that, but he said, You don't come to Jesus perfect, you don't come to him once your problems are fixed. You come to him because of your problems, and because of Jesus living in you and the peace you have with him, he will change you so that you don't want to do those things anymore. Like just about exactly what you said, Craig, along those lines. I just thought that um yeah, that sermon was fitted perfectly with what you mentioned there.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:54

Yeah, I've heard that before as well. Maybe it was you who told me. I don't know. Or maybe I watched that sermon somewhere down the line, I don't know. But yeah, it's true. I will echo that too. You don't you do not have to be perfect to come to Christ because if you did, it would never happen. No, that it would not. Yeah, I will uh I have some real world application uh for us guys as well, um how we can kind of implement peace or get more peace or whatever in the real world. So in our homes, um just be calm when everyone else is anxious, uh like be the be the strength there. Uh lead your family with steadiness and steadfastness. Uh in your marriage, um don't fight to win, fight for peace. And I don't like don't mean literally fight, but um be peaceful with your wife and try to um just try to have peace in whatever the circumstance is that you guys are dealing with. Um at work,

Practising Peace At Home And Work

SPEAKER_01 1:05:21

be the man who stays grounded under pressure. Your peace will earn respect from others in the workplace, um and in your work walk with the Lord, prioritize prioritize time and prayer and scripture over busyness. Um I had uh I did a little I did a devotion, I led a devotion for our Wednesday night prayer meeting this week, and I actually kind of talked about that. Um the bread, like uh now I forget what verse it was, but man does not live on bread alone, right? And uh I kind of talked about physical hunger versus spiritual hunger, and we need to long for the word and feast on the word as much or more often than we long for um physical meals and snacks and stuff like that. So that has to be our priority, and uh that's where peace grows in conflict respond, don't react. I guess like respond is a little bit more of a I don't know if you say passive kind of word, but react sounds like a knee-jerk reaction, like um, I guess that's the difference I was trying to make there. So pause long enough to let the Holy Spirit lead you in um what your response should be in different conflicts in life. Um yeah, so I know Colton kind of had a question like this too, but um just ask yourself this week where in my life am I choosing control over peace and then flip it, choose peace over trying to control things yourself.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:28

Yeah, one thing uh I think something I always try to teach my boys with with anger is uh when you get angry, take a step back, take a deep breath and think about what you're doing before you do it. And I think I don't always apply that to my life, but it's the same idea. Just take a breath, take a step back, look at the bigger picture, and like Craig said, choose peace in that moment, and you won't regret it.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:05

Yeah, I thought you were gonna say step back, wind up, and give them a good one, too. Sometimes that's how we feel, but uh please don't do that. No, don't do that.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:19

Again, don't Craig told you to do that.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:22

No, no, I'm leading people astray. Oh my, this is a this is a this is a good one for being bad. I don't know. Yeah, no kidding.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:31

Oh dear.

SPEAKER_02 1:08:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:34

Um we're gonna leave you guys with that question for the week here. Um yeah, before we we wrap up here, I think we would like to pray here again for you guys as well. Um, so I can uh I can close us in prayer and uh we'll go from there.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:54

Deal.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:55

All right. Thank you, Father, again, just for

Respond, Don’t React

SPEAKER_00 1:09:00

this time that we get to spend um speaking your word, Lord, and just talking about the different verses you have prepared to reach the people, Lord, that you need to reach. Lord, help Craig and I to just be messengers. Help us not to be prideful or take the glory for ourselves, Lord, but the glory of this all goes to you. Jesus, we want to be the messengers to help you reach the people that you want to reach, that we can do our part as Christians and just spread the love, Lord. I pray that Craig and I would live it out, um, that people watching us would see that we are your children and that the Holy Spirit is in us. We pray for those listening today, Lord, if there's questions, if there's concerns, Lord, for people who are struggling to find peace uh in the things that the world is showing us. I know even as Christians we struggle a lot with with finding peace. And so I pray for everybody listening today, Christian and non-Christian, that you would just bring peace on them this week. Just lay your hand on them, Lord, and um, in every situation, help them to just feel your presence, your love, and to know that you are there with them. We pray, Jesus, for uh just a good evening this evening now, and um just continue to bless Craig and I and those listening, and I pray that you would bless this podcast and uh use it to the glory of your kingdom. We just pray these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So thanks again, guys, for listening in this week. Uh, next week we're going to carry on to the fourth fruit of the spirit, which is going to be patience. Um, again, that's another big topic. So uh we look forward to discussing that with you next week. And uh, I think Craig has one more thing before we uh send you guys off into the week.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:04

Yes. Um before we send you off, I I just want to read that uh read Aaron's blessing again for you guys in Numbers uh chapter six. Um just to bless you guys. The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. So, with that, peace. We'll see you next week.