identityinChrist

The Peace That Doesn’t Wobble

/ Terrence Burton / Leave a comment

Some peace only shows up when everything lines up just right. The bills are paid, the relationship is calm, the approval finally comes. That kind of peace works, until one piece of the puzzle moves, and suddenly it is gone.

Conditional Peace Is Exhausting to Maintain

Scripture describes a peace that surpasses understanding, a peace that guards the heart and mind regardless of circumstance. That is nothing like the wobbly, transactional peace so many of us settle for, the kind tied to a promotion, a person’s opinion, or a goal finally being reached. Chasing that kind of peace requires constant effort, because you are essentially trying to control everything around you just to feel okay on the inside.

Unconditional Love Removes the Performance

First John tells us that perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment, and love that has strings attached will always produce some version of that torment. Real, unconditional love, the kind God offers through Christ, keeps loving through mistakes and failure. Nothing in all creation can separate us from that love. Once you know your worth does not depend on your performance, you stop auditioning for approval and start simply being yourself.

Stability Is Rooted, Not Earned

Peace that is internally rooted comes from accepting who God made you to be, not from controlling your circumstances. That kind of stability fosters trust, honesty, and real connection with the people around you, because you are no longer protecting a fragile version of peace that could collapse at any moment.

If your peace has felt wobbly lately, it might be time to plant it somewhere sturdier, in the love that was never conditional to begin with.

-Terrence Burton

You Are in Covenant With God

/ Terrence Burton / Leave a comment

There is a word that changes everything when you truly understand it: covenant. Not a contract, not a transaction, not a temporary agreement. A covenant is a bond sealed in blood, a promise so permanent that God Himself staked His name on it. And the most extraordinary truth of the Gospel is that you are in one if you are a Christian.

The Foundation of the Relationship

God did not invite you into a performance based arrangement. He drew you into family. When Jesus took the cup at the Last Supper and said, “This is the new covenant in my blood,” He was not establishing religion. He was establishing relationship. The communion table is not a ritual to complete. It is a reminder of who you are and whose you are.

Every time you receive communion, you are declaring: I am covered. I am in relationship. I belong to something ancient and unbreakable. The body broken for you addressed your wholeness. The blood poured out for you addressed your standing before God. You come to the table not to earn favor but to remember the favor that was freely given.

Identity Flows From Covenant

One of the most powerful things covenant does is settle your identity. When you know you are in covenant with God, you stop striving to become something and start walking in what you already are. You are not trying to get God to love you. He already does. You are not working to be accepted. You already are, in Christ.

This is the finished work. Jesus did not leave anything undone. The cross was complete. The resurrection was confirmation. And now, seated at the right hand of the Father, He intercedes for you as your covenant partner, your high priest, your elder brother.

Remember and Walk Forward

The purpose of remembrance is not to stay in the past. It is to build confidence for the future. When you remember what God has already done, your faith rises for what He is about to do. Covenant means He will not abandon the work He began. It means His promises over your life are yes and amen.

Live like someone who is in covenant with the Most High God. Because you are.

-Terrence Burton