A Visit with the Joneses

Carol Jones Saint: Hello, hello there. Come right in to join us for this special period of family devotions in which we are going to be thinking about His peace. Our quotable quote, which for many years we have given a quotable quote at the beginning of most visits, is: "To have Christ's presence is also to know His peace." Let me give it again so you can jot that down: "To have Christ's presence is also to know His peace."

In John 14:27, we read the beautiful words, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you." We know so little of peace in this world in which we are living, but how wonderful to know His peace. As we join the special devotional regarding the subject of His peace prepared by the late Reverend Burt Jones, I'm going to be sharing with you some scripture verses on the subject of peace. We hope you know His peace.

Guest (Male): That's so true, Burt. Then there are some other beautiful words found in Psalm 29:11: "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace." Isn't that lovely? What a great promise. Then in Romans 5:1: "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Certainly, when we know our sins forgiven through Christ, that guilt is gone and a peace comes into our heart. Again, in Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." How wonderful to know a peace that this world knows nothing about.

Burt Jones: We have given you some beautiful Bible verses: the words of the Lord Jesus Christ speaking of the peace that He gives, the assurance of the Apostle Paul as he said, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God," and the wonderful words that we found in Philippians reminding us that the peace of God would pass all understanding in our hearts and minds.

Now I refer you to Colossians chapter three, where again the Apostle Paul speaks of peace that should have an important part in the life of the believing Christian. Colossians 3, beginning with verse 14 and continuing through verse 15: "Above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." "Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

Not too long ago, one of our guest ministers here at Home Sweet Home gave us a very helpful message on this same text of scripture, Colossians 3:15: "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body." I was very interested in reading the scripture and studying it from various translations and going back in the original Greek to discover recently that the word "rule" as used here in the scripture is a very unusual one.

"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts." The word translated "rule" in the King James Version is actually the Greek word for umpire. In other words, here's a baseball term used in Colossians 3:15. It's rather important to notice this because this is the only place in the entire New Testament that this particular Greek word is used.

Carol Jones Saint: That's very interesting because we certainly think of the word "umpire" as being a very modern term. So, explain it to us.

Guest (Male): And yet, of course, the Greeks had great games. The Olympic games come down to us from Greece, so that this was a very important rule, a very important word in their language, but only used once in the New Testament. And so, I could call this family devotional period this hour, "The Umpire of the Heart."

Burt Jones: What is to be the umpire of your heart and mine? "And let the peace of God be the umpire in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful."

Guest (Male): This translation of the word which we have "rule" here as "umpire" is very authentic. It goes back in Vincent Word Studies. The Amplified New Testament uses this, and it's very interesting, therefore, for us to recognize what is an umpire and what does an umpire do, and how therefore can the peace of God be an umpire in our hearts?

Well, I looked up the word "umpire" in the dictionary, and Webster tells us that an umpire is one who oversees a game to enforce the rules and decide disputes. That's quite interesting. This is why people get angry with umpires sometimes. This is why other persons go and throw their arms around the umpires, because it's the umpire who oversees the game.

He's really the head of the game. He oversees the game, he enforces the rules, and he decides the disputes. Therefore, the peace of God is to oversee the game of life for you and me when we have given our hearts to Jesus Christ. The peace of God is to enforce the rules and to decide the disputes, and that becomes important to you and me.

Burt Jones: Think with me for a moment about the functions of an umpire as we know an umpire today, particularly in baseball. The umpire calls the plays of the game. He enforces the rules of the game. In a certain sense, he paces the game. He settles the disputes, and he is the final authority in all matters.

So, as we read it in the Amplified New Testament, "Let the peace of God act as an umpire continually, deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your mind." And what is to do this for you and for me? The peace of God is this umpire. Do you have this peace?

One thing is sure: you can have His peace in your heart and in your life. What does the umpiring now, according to this verse of scripture, Colossians 3:15? The peace of God is that which calls the plays. It's the peace of God that paces the game for you and me. It's the peace of God that settles disputes. It's the peace of God that is the final authority for you and me.

Someone has called the peace of God "soul harmony which comes from Christ." I like that. Soul harmony which comes from Christ. That's what the peace of God is, the peace that Jesus Christ gives to His disciples in the midst of the problems of life—His peace.

Now as members of the body of Christ, we are called to live in such a peaceful state where the peace of God can umpire our lives. That's what the scripture says. In contrast, you and I live in a world in which the spirit of this world would like to umpire your life. The spirit of this world would like to call the plays in your life and pace the game and settle the disputes. The spirit of the world would tell you what to do.

But for the child of God, it's the peace of God that umpires your life rather than the spirit of this world. You and I live in a world in which the materialism of this day would like to rule your life, the secular aims and purposes of this society would like to rule your life, the confusion of this age would like to rule your life, the competitive spirit of this hour would like to rule your life, the anxiety of these times would like to rule your life.

But in contrast, when you meet Jesus Christ and you know His presence in your life, His forgiveness, His new life, then you can also know His peace. And what wonderful peace is His peace. And then the scripture continues, "Therefore, we are to be thankful." Therefore, we're to be giving praise to God always for this peace and for its function of umpiring in our lives, and for the fact that we have been called to live in such a state. For this, the Apostle says, "Be ye thankful."

But listen, to let the peace of God umpire in your heart, you must have the peace of God. The peace of God cannot be the umpire of your life unless you have the Christ who gives this peace and therefore the peace that Christ gives. If peace is to umpire your life, you must have the peace of God. You must have the peace of Jesus Christ. I wonder, do you have His peace? Do you have it?

Carol Jones Saint: I'm so thankful for Christ. I'm so thankful for the peace that He gives, even in the midst of turmoil and strife and sorrow and conflict all about us. How wonderful to know peace within.

Burt Jones: We are thankful for this peace that Jesus gives, even in a world of turmoil. This peace of Jesus Christ that is to be the umpire in your heart and mine. What is the umpire in your life? I hope you know the presence of Jesus Christ. I hope you know Him as Savior and Lord so that the peace of God is indeed the umpire of your life. And then you'll be able to sing with the songwriter as he said, "What a treasure I have in this wonderful peace."

As I think of people who allow the spirit of the world to rule their lives, people who allow the materialism of this day to umpire everything they do, people whose lives are led and controlled by secular aims, men who are driven by the competitive spirit of this hour and the anxiety of the times, oh, how thankful I am that one day I heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

And I met Him as Savior and Lord, and He forgave my sins and cleansed my heart and made me a new person. And His peace is now the umpire of my heart. And I can read the words of Colossians 3:15 with new meaning as they say, "And let the peace of God be the umpire of your life, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful." Do you have this peace?

Carol Jones Saint: What a very special joy it has been to have you visiting at Home Sweet Home for this special time of family devotions. And how wonderful to know that through Jesus Christ, we can have a peace in our hearts that certainly this old world knows nothing about. Our leaders try so hard to find peace, but we just do not know peace, but we can in our hearts.

Now, there was a song that we used several times during the visit entitled "Oh I Could Not Live Without Him," or it started out "I've a peace in my heart that the world never gave." Well, that song, words and music, were written by my mother, Ruth Kaye Jones, the same lady who wrote "In Times Like These You Need a Savior."

Now, if you would like to receive a free copy of the song "Oh I Could Not Live Without Him," if you just write and say "I'd like the song about peace," I'll know which song you want. And the address when you're writing: Post Office Box 575, Erie, Pennsylvania, and the zip code 16512. There are many expenses involved in a ministry such as this. Gifts are tax-deductible and your check should be written to "A Visit with the Joneses."

Thanks so much for being here, and we trust that the thoughts that we have shared together have been a special inspiration to you, especially we hope you know His peace in times like these. Goodbye.