It’s nearly impossible to ignore the many distressing issues confronting us today. While health crises, violence, war, environmental disasters, and economic instability have always existed, because of modern technology, we’re constantly inundated by a continuous stream of anxiety-inducing updates. In the midst of this endless barrage, having anything resembling peace of mind can seem impossible, even for Christians.

But the Bible tells us that even in the face of the world’s trying circumstances, we believers can experience genuine peace. Today, we’ll discover the source of that peace by looking at key verses from the New Testament Recovery Version. We'll also see how we can experience this peace all the time.

The unique source of peace

The crucial thing we need to realize is that real peace can only be found in the Lord Jesus. Two verses in the Gospel of John reveal that Jesus is the unique source of peace.

1. John 14:27

In John 14:27, Jesus said to His disciples:

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

In this comforting verse, the Lord Jesus told His disciples not to be troubled or afraid because the peace He gives us is His peace.

Jesus makes a contrast here between the peace of the world and His peace. It’s obvious that the peace the world gives is temporary at best. Even the most well-intentioned efforts to establish lasting peace among people and nations fail miserably, leading to more unsolvable problems.

But the peace the Lord Jesus gives us is real and lasting. He said, “My peace I give to you.” Only the Lord’s peace is true peace, and He has imparted it to us. So we shouldn’t let our hearts be troubled or afraid. Instead, we should cling to this precious promise and experience and enjoy His peace.

2. John 16:33

In John 16:33, Jesus said:

“These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have affliction, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

In this verse, we see another contrast. In the world we have affliction, but in Jesus we have peace. Although we have been saved and regenerated, we still live in this world, which is full of turmoil and suffering. But Jesus assures us, “In Me you may have peace.”

Where is peace? It’s in Jesus. Looking for lasting peace in anything or in anyone else is futile. We must come to Jesus to have true peace.

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Enjoying real peace daily

It’s easy for us to get overwhelmed by the many distressing things going on around us in the world today. But one practical way to help us experience the Lord’s peace is to first be aware of what we’re filling ourselves with. The Lord frankly told us that in the world we have affliction. This means when we fill ourselves with the world and the things of the world, our hearts will be troubled and even afraid.

We’ve all experienced feeling this way after we’ve spent time on our phones getting caught up on breaking news, scrolling endlessly on social media, and reading people’s opinions about everything. Being informed about current events is one thing, but being completely absorbed with them is another. More and more, the things we see online are designed to grab our attention and stir up strong emotions, usually negative ones.

When we feel unsettled, disturbed, and fearful, we should realize we’ve been focusing on the world and filling ourselves with the things of the world. In that moment, our need is to turn to the Lord in our spirit and contact Him, the source of peace.

The world is full of affliction, but Jesus also said that He has overcome the world. Instead of spending so much time on our phones occupied with the insurmountable problems of the world, we can focus on Jesus and be filled with the One who has overcome the world. We can do this by calling on His name, singing to Him, talking to Him in prayer, or reading His Word. This is how we can experience and enjoy Him as our real peace.

If you live in the United States, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version to help you experience genuine peace in the Lord Jesus.

Did you know that in Greek, the original language of the New Testament, two different words are used to refer to God’s speaking? They are logos and rhema. Understanding the meaning of these words can help us know and experience God in a deeper way.

Today we’ll read verses and notes from the New Testament Recovery Version to see the importance of both logos and rhema in our Christian life.

The Greek word logos

In Greek, logos is used to refer to the constant, objective word. It generally refers to the word of God recorded in the Bible. It’s truly amazing that God’s speaking was written down and preserved, and because of this, we can read it today.

God’s Word reveals who God is to us. It reveals His acts, His ways, what He desires, what He loves, and what He hates. By reading the Bible, we can learn about God's way of salvation and His plan for mankind.

Without the logos, mankind would be in utter darkness, unable to know what God wants and what the meaning of human life is. So if we want to know God, we must read the Bible, the logos.

The Greek word rhema

Rhema is the other Greek word used in the New Testament to refer to the word of God. Rhema refers to the instant, direct speaking of God to us. God’s personal speaking to us is precious. It’s by this speaking that we can know Him, not just objectively, but subjectively.

We all want God to speak to us personally. But how does that happen? Does God speak only to a particular class of Christians? No! God wants to have a personal relationship with every one of us, and a great part of that relationship depends on His speaking to us.

Now let's take a closer look at how we can experience the word of God as rhema.

We need logos to experience rhema

So how does God personally speak to us? How can we be sure we have God’s genuine speaking? It would be easy for anyone to say, “Oh, God told me to do this or that.” But did He really?

We don’t want to be misled. It’s vitally important for us to realize that God uses the logos to speak rhema to us. God’s instant word always corresponds with and never contradicts His written Word.

For example, God’s Word clearly says that lying and stealing are sins. So any genuine speaking from God would never tell us to lie to someone or steal from them.

So if we want God’s instant speaking, we need to read the written Word. The more we read the written Word, even storing it up within us by praying with it, musing over it, and memorizing it, the more God can speak His rhema word to us in our daily life.

The rhema, the instant speaking of God, does many things in us. Let’s look at three of these—it guides us, imparts life to us, and washes us inwardly.

Rhema guides us in specific situations

Now that we’ve seen how we can have God’s instant speaking, let’s look at an illustration of how that speaking can guide us in a particular situation. Let’s say you’re at work or school and something happens that makes you very upset. The more you think about it, the more bothered you are. As thoughts about it swirl in your mind, you begin to feel spiritually deadened.

Then Romans 8:6, a verse you had previously read, comes to you: “The mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” Immediately you realize why you feel so dead and have no peace: you’ve been setting your mind on the flesh.

So you turn to the Lord and pray, “Lord Jesus, I don’t want to set my mind on the flesh. I set my mind on the spirit right now. Thank You, Lord, when my mind is set on my spirit, I have life and peace!”

As you set your mind on the spirit, you’re saved from being consumed by your negative thoughts, and you’re ushered into enjoying life and peace from God. The Lord used the constant word (logos) that you had previously read in Romans 8 to speak an instant, personal word to you (rhema) in your particular situation. The Lord’s instant speaking strengthened you to turn to Him, and you experienced life and peace.

Rhema imparts life to us

In addition to guiding us in particular situations, the rhema word of God also imparts life into us. In John 6:63, the Lord Jesus says:

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words which I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.”

Note 3 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version explains:

“The Greek word for words, here and in v. 68, is rhema, which denotes the instant and present spoken word. It differs from logos (used for Word in 1:1), which denotes the constant word. Here the words follows the Spirit. The Spirit is living and real, yet He is very mysterious, intangible, and difficult for people to apprehend; the words, however, are substantial. First, the Lord indicated that for giving life He would become the Spirit. Then He said that the words He speaks are spirit and life. This shows that His spoken words are the embodiment of the Spirit of life. He is now the life-giving Spirit in resurrection, and the Spirit is embodied in His words. When we receive His words by exercising our spirit, we get the Spirit, who is life.”

The Lord said in this verse that the very rhema words He had spoken are spirit and life. So how can we experience this? We need to exercise our spirit, our deepest part, when we read the Word of God.

Apparently, the written words in the Bible are just letters on a page. But actually, when we receive them by exercising, or using, our spirit, we contact and get the Spirit, who is life.

The best way to exercise our spirit is by prayer. By praying with the Word, the words on the page become rhema, imparting spirit and life to us.

Rhema washes us inwardly

The Greek word rhema is also mentioned in Ephesians 5:26, which says:

“That He might sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word.”

This verse doesn’t speak of the washing away of sin by the blood of Jesus. It says, “the washing of the water in the word,” and here, “word” is rhema. Note 4 on word in the Recovery Version explains:

“The Greek word denotes an instant word. The indwelling Christ as the life-giving Spirit is always speaking an instant, present, living word to metabolically cleanse away the old and replace it with the new, causing an inward transformation. The cleansing by the washing of the water of life is in the word of Christ. This indicates that in the word of Christ there is the water of life.”

The instant, present, living rhema washes us, cleansing away the old things of our natural life and replacing it with the new. This cleansing is carried out by the water in the rhema, which is the water of life. As we receive the word of Christ and experience this cleansing, we’re inwardly changed, or transformed.

We need to receive the Word of God daily

Spending time to read the Word of God is essential in our Christian life. We can know God and His purpose by reading His Word. And by praying and reading His written Word, we give the Lord a way to speak directly and instantly to us in our daily lives. His rhema can then guide us, impart life into us, and wash us so His marvelous purpose can be fulfilled. Let’s make time each day to read God’s precious written Word.

If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here and discover more about logos and rhema.

In God’s arrangement of the universe, the passage of time is marked by days, months, seasons, and years. We experience each interval of twenty-four hours a day, around thirty days a month, and several months a season, without interruption.

Yet when the year begins to wind down, we often feel surprised at how quickly the time has gone by and wonder where the past 365 days went.

In the busyness of our lives, it would be easy to just let the year come to an end without thinking too much about it. But the end of the year is a unique opportunity to set aside a special time for personal prayer and fellowship with the Lord about the year we just lived through. As we open our hearts to Him, we can conclude the year in a meaningful way and prepare ourselves for the new year ahead.

Letting the Lord shine on us

As we begin our dedicated time with the Lord and open our hearts to Him, He has the opportunity to shine on us and make us aware of any sins we haven’t yet dealt with.

Since the sins we commit disrupt our fellowship with the Lord, we can’t afford to let them go. We need to confess our sins to Him.

1 John 1:9 says:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

When we confess our sins, we experience God’s forgiveness and cleansing. It’s good to keep short accounts with the Lord and not let unconfessed sins accumulate. We don’t want to carry anything that negatively affects our walk with the Lord into the new year. By dealing with any unresolved sins, we can begin the new year in a positive way.

Appreciating the Lord’s care for us

In our time with the Lord, we can consider how He has cared for us, both materially and spiritually, during this past year. This inspires in us a sense of thankfulness as we recall how the Lord has been our Shepherd, caring for us without fail during both our difficult circumstances and joyous occasions.

As we recall instances of God’s faithfulness, we can testify as the prophet Jeremiah did in Lamentations 3:22-23:

“It is Jehovah’s lovingkindness that we are not consumed, for His compassions do not fail; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

Every morning during this past year, whatever condition we were in, we were met with God’s tender compassions. Reflecting on the details of our year causes us to see His great faithfulness toward us, in matters big and small. Surely thanksgiving and praises to Him will fill our hearts.

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Being refreshed in the Lord’s love

If we spend time to consider the Lord’s lovingkindness, compassions, and faithfulness, we’ll surely realize again how great His love is for us. His love even caused Him to die for us so we can be forgiven and washed from our sins and enjoy fellowship with Him.

Through all the ups and downs of our year, whether we realized it or not, God never stopped loving us. As Romans 8:38-39 tells us:

“For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

We can rest securely knowing that God will always love us, and that nothing will ever be able to separate us from His love. As we consider God’s great love for us, our hearts are filled with love for Him. We can thank Him for loving us and tell Him again and again that we love Him.

Offering a fresh consecration to the Lord

During this time of fellowship with the Lord, we can also offer a fresh consecration to Him. This simply means that we give every aspect of ourselves and our lives to Him. Consecrating ourselves to the Lord keeps us walking in His way and gives Him the room to grow in us and work in us. Our consecration also brings us into a fresh enjoyment of all that God is.

Romans 12:1 says:

“I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service.”

On the cusp of a new year, we can be reminded of the compassions of God and consecrate ourselves to the Lord. We can pray something simple like this:

“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your faithfulness, Your love, and Your compassions. Lord, I love You. I offer myself to You again. I give this new year to You. Lord, I allow You the freedom to work in me.”

Learning to number our days

In Psalm 90, Moses spoke of the brevity of human life. In verse 12, he asked God:

“Teach us then to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

It’s healthy to consider how long we might have on this earth, and how fleeting human life truly is. Verse 10 of this Psalm says, “The days of our years are seventy years, or, if because of strength, eighty years.” We should ask the Lord to grant us mercy that each of our days would count in His eyes.

Our fellowship with the Lord on this matter should cause us to realize the preciousness of each day. Each day of the new year before us is full of fresh opportunities to know Him, grow in His life, enjoy Him in His Word, and experience Him as the One who lives in us. By spending this time in fellowship with Him, we can be reminded anew that we’re living on this earth for God’s purpose.

We pray that each of us would have a good conclusion to this year by setting aside a special time with the Lord, and that we would all start the new year with a fresh consecration to Him.

An excellent way to begin the new year is to start reading the Bible consistently. If you live in the US, you can order a free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version here.