Truth, Peace, Live, and the Joy of Serving

 

TRUTH, PEACE, LOVE, AND THE JOY OF SERVING

Proverbs 12:22

God detests lying lips, but He delights in those who are trustworthy.

Romans 12:18 

Do everything you can, as far as it depends on you, to live peacefully with everyone.

John 13:34 

Jesus commands us to love one another just as He has loved us.

God Has Given Us a Blueprint

Friends, if we look out at the world today, we see a culture that is deeply fractured. Relationships are torn apart by deception. Communities are divided by conflict. Hearts have grown cold because genuine care and compassion can sometimes seem so rare.

It is easy to look at the chaos around us and feel overwhelmed. We may wonder, How are we, as followers of Christ, supposed to navigate these turbulent times?

But God has not left us without direction.

His Word gives us a blueprint for how we are to live, how we are to respond, and how we are to treat one another.

Today, three powerful Scriptures come together to give us three radical standards for Christian living:

Truth.

Peace.

Love.

And when those three become more than words—when they become the way we live—we discover something beautiful.

Obedience to God is not a joyless burden.

It is where true joy is found.

THE FOUNDATION OF TRUTH

Proverbs 12:22

Our journey begins with our words.

Proverbs reminds us that God detests lying lips but delights in people who are trustworthy.

We live in a world where truth is sometimes treated as relative. People bend the truth for convenience. They tell half-truths to protect their reputations. Sometimes they even call deception a “white lie.”

But God calls us to something different.

Truth matters to God because God is truth.

Deception damages relationships because trust is the foundation upon which relationships are built. When our words cannot be trusted, our witness cannot be trusted either.

But look at the beautiful promise on the other side:

God delights in those who are trustworthy.

Think about that for a moment.

The Creator of the universe delights in a person who chooses honesty when dishonesty would be easier.

He delights in the person who keeps their word when keeping it is difficult.

He delights in the person who chooses integrity when nobody else is watching.

A life of faith must be built on the bedrock of truth.

And there is freedom in living honestly.

When we walk in integrity, we don't have to remember which story we told to whom. We don't have to constantly protect a false image.

We can simply be who God created us to be.

There is peace in that.

There is freedom in that.

And there is tremendous joy in knowing that our lives bring delight to our Heavenly Father.

THE PURSUIT OF PEACE

Romans 12:18

When we commit ourselves to truth, it naturally affects how we interact with others.

Paul tells us to live at peace with everyone as far as it depends on us.

I love the wisdom in those words.

Paul says, “If it is possible.”

God knows that we cannot control other people.

We cannot force someone to forgive us.

We cannot force an angry neighbor to be kind.

We cannot make someone choose reconciliation.

We cannot force a divided family to come together.

But we can control our response.

We can control our words.

We can control whether we add fuel to the fire or help put the fire out.

We can choose forgiveness instead of bitterness.

We can choose humility instead of pride.

We can choose grace instead of retaliation.

As far as it depends on us, we are called to pursue peace.

That does not mean allowing ourselves to be mistreated or pretending wrong is right.

It means we refuse to become part of the division.

Sometimes peace means speaking the truth gently.

Sometimes peace means saying, “I'm sorry.”

Sometimes peace means forgiving someone who never apologized.

Sometimes peace means walking away from an argument and allowing God to handle what we cannot.

We do our part.

Then we place the outcome in God's hands.

THE COMMAND TO LOVE

John 13:34

Jesus brings everything together with one powerful command:

Love one another as I have loved you.

The command is not simply to love people who love us.

It is not to love only those who agree with us.

It is not to love only those who are easy to love.

Jesus says to love as He loved us.

Jesus loved us in our brokenness.

He loved us when we were far from Him.

He spoke truth with grace.

He extended mercy.

He served others.

And ultimately, He gave His life for us.

That kind of love is not passive.

It is intentional.

It sacrifices.

It serves.

It forgives.

It reaches out.

And when we love like Jesus, truth no longer becomes a weapon we use against people.

Instead, truth can become a healing medicine.

Peace is no longer something we simply hope for.

It becomes something we actively pursue.

And love becomes more than a feeling.

Love becomes a way of life.

THE JOY FOUND IN SERVING

Church, when we put these Scriptures together, we see a beautiful picture:

Truth gives us integrity.

Peace gives us direction.

Love gives us purpose.

Service gives us opportunity.

Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve.

And that changes everything.

The world tells us happiness comes from accumulating more, having more, being recognized more, and putting ourselves first.

Jesus showed us another way.

There is a joy that comes when God uses our hands to help someone else.

There is happiness when a hurting person discovers that someone cares.

There is joy when a hungry family receives food.

There is joy when a child discovers that church is a safe place where they are loved.

There is joy when we sit beside someone in a nursing home and remind them they have not been forgotten.

There is joy when we offer bread, encouragement, prayer, friendship, or simply a listening ear.

There is joy when we become the hands and feet of Jesus.

And I know this isn't just something we read about in Scripture.

We have lived it.

FROM HOMELESSNESS TO PEACE AND HAPPINESS

Ross and I know what it is like to be without a home.

There was a time when we were homeless, and we could not see how God was going to make a way for us.

But God did.

He opened doors we could not open ourselves.

He gave us a home.

He gave us a community.

He gave us a church family.

And then, in one of those beautiful God moments, He placed us on Lovejoy Road.

So what did we call our home?

Peace and Happiness Farm.

Isn't God something?

He brought us from homelessness to a home called Peace and Happiness, on Lovejoy Road.

That isn't just an address.

That is a testimony.

God didn't simply give us a place to live.

He gave us a place to serve.

He opened doors for us to work in the food cupboard, serve our community, participate in church leadership, and preach when needed.

He gave us opportunities to host Tribe Thursday for children.

He has allowed us to participate in nursing home ministry and help with Bread of Life.

He has given us opportunities to reach into our community and help wherever we can.

And through all of it, we have learned something incredibly important:

God can take what we thought was the end of our story and turn it into the beginning of our ministry.

Our past does not disqualify us.

Our struggles do not make us useless.

Our scars do not make us less valuable.

Sometimes, the very places where we have been broken become the places God uses us to help someone else who is hurting.

God took us from needing help to being able to help others.

He took us from wondering where we would sleep to giving us a home where we can welcome others.

He took us from uncertainty to purpose.

And we are forever grateful.

BE A CONDUIT OF GOD'S LOVE

Nehemiah reminds us that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

And I believe that joy grows when we stop living only for ourselves and start allowing God to work through us.

We are not meant to be reservoirs that simply collect God's blessings.

We are meant to be rivers that let those blessings flow through us.

God blesses us so we can bless others.

He comforts us so we can comfort others.

He strengthens us so we can strengthen others.

He teaches us so we can teach others.

And He loves us so completely that we can turn around and love someone else who desperately needs to experience that love.

Maybe today God is asking you to tell the truth.

Maybe He is asking you to make peace.

Maybe He is asking you to forgive.

Maybe He is asking you to serve.

Maybe He is putting someone in your path who simply needs to know that they matter.

Don't overlook the small opportunities.

A meal can be ministry.

A loaf of bread can be ministry.

A conversation can be ministry.

A child's smile can be ministry.

A prayer can be ministry.

A visit can be ministry.

A helping hand can be ministry.

Sometimes the greatest ministry we will ever do doesn't happen behind a pulpit.

Sometimes it happens in a kitchen, a food cupboard, a nursing home, a church hallway, a community gathering, or simply beside someone who needs a friend.

THE CHRISTIAN BLUEPRINT

When we tie these Scriptures together, we see a beautiful picture of what a disciple of Christ should look like.

We are called to be people of TRUTH, whose words reflect the trustworthy heart of God.

We are called to be people of PEACE, who refuse to allow bitterness and division to have the final word.

We are called to be people of LOVE, who love others not because they deserve it, but because Jesus first loved us.

And we are called to SERVE, because serving others is one of the greatest ways we can show the world what Jesus looks like.

Don't believe the lie that obedience to God makes life dry, restrictive, or joyless.

Quite the opposite.

There is freedom in truth.

There is peace in forgiveness.

There is joy in love.

And there is happiness in serving.

So this week, let's choose integrity over convenience.

Let's choose reconciliation over pride.

Let's choose compassion over judgment.

Let's choose service over selfishness.

Let's choose love over division.

And let's remember that our job is not to change the whole world overnight.

Our job is to allow God to change us and then let His love flow through us to the people He places in our path.

Who knows?

The person you encourage today may become the person who encourages someone else tomorrow.

The blessing keeps moving.

And that is how God's kingdom grows—one heart, one act of love, one helping hand, and one surrendered life at a time.

Ross and I are living proof that God can make a way where there seems to be no way.

From homelessness to a home.

From uncertainty to purpose.

From receiving help to helping others.

From searching for peace to living on Lovejoy Road at Peace and Happiness Farm.

And through every season, one truth remains:

God has been faithful.

He has blessed us beyond measure, and we are forever grateful.

Amen!

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for showing us what it means to live a life built on truth, peace, love, and service.

Help us to be people whose words can be trusted. Give us courage to speak truth with grace and wisdom.

When conflict comes, help us pursue peace as far as it depends on us. Give us humble hearts that are willing to apologize, forgive, listen, and extend grace.

Teach us to love as Jesus loved us—not conditionally, not conveniently, but sacrificially and sincerely.

Lord, make us willing servants. Open our eyes to the people around us who need encouragement, food, companionship, prayer, forgiveness, or simply someone who cares.

Thank You for every blessing You have placed in our lives. Thank You for the doors You have opened, the people You have brought into our lives, and the opportunities You give us to serve.

Thank You that You can take our hardest seasons and use them for Your glory.

Help us never forget where You brought us from, and never stop being grateful for where You have brought us to.

May our homes, our churches, our communities, and our lives become places where Your truth is spoken, Your peace is pursued, Your love is demonstrated, and Your people are served.

Use us, Lord.

Let our lives point people toward You.

In Jesus' precious name,

Amen.

THE LORD'S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom,

and the power,

and the glory,

for ever and ever.

Amen.

BELIEVE, OBEY, BE BLESSED!

AMEN.

BOBBA ❤️

Love, Penny 💛