Piece of Peace: How to Get the Real Peace You Seek, Now

By Lionel Merritt

The book, Piece of Peace, examines a topic which is of interest to everyone. We all want to know how to have peace, real peace, in our lives. This is especially true, when we are facing challenging circumstances. People try many routes to find lasting peace. But most of these attempts end in frustration.
Amazingly, God has made access to lasting peace easy for us. True peace that flows from God, is virtually free, and demands no exotic rituals. Yet most people do not know how to prepare to access this peace. Piece of peace, is probably the only book of its kind, which shows methodically, how a person can access lasting peace. But the book goes further. It also shows how we can address those issues which can rob of us peace.
However, the book is not just for reading and enjoyment. It contains a solid structured program, to take the reader along the path to perfect peace. Wherever you are in life, whatever your lifestyle, you will benefit greatly from reading this book, and doing the simple exercises. The book is very readable, and cuts across complex theology and psychology, to give the reader effective tools to access and keep true peace.
Make reading Piece of Peace, a personal gift you give to your life this year. We are sure you will also want to give a copy to a friend or family member, who needs deeper peace in life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Dec 3, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496943774

Lionel Merritt

Lionel Merritt has been teaching Bible principles, and applications for effective living, for over 20 years. He has held both formal and informal teaching roles in a number of church denominations. He is an accomplished Bible teacher, trainer, and coach, and is well known for the practical flavor he brings to his workshops. Lionel’s approach to teaching and coaching sits on an interesting fundamental. He believes the promises of the Bible are for us today. God would not hold out a promise to us, if its fulfillment was not possible. But his teachings goes further. God’s promises are not reserved for ministers, prominent church members, or special people. Everyone (including those who are not formal church members), who satisfies God’s requirements, have access to God’s blessings. Many Bible teachers and some preachers, seem ready to exclude ordinary people from God’s goodness. Coach Lionel on the other hand, goes to great lengths to show ordinary people how they can be included in God’s blessings, without elaborate religious rituals. Anyone who reads Bro. Lionel’s teachings must appreciate God’s love for ordinary people. Readers will also see how easy it is to align themselves with this love. Lastly, Bro. Lionel’s writing style is engaging. It takes the reader along in the discussion with amazing flow, and straightforwardness. Even if you are not a Christian, you will appreciate and actually enjoy reading his insightful teachings and coaching.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

THE ANCHOR.

For the discussion in this book, I will examine a loose blend of the Scriptures quoted above. Therefore, I am using for an anchor:

God will guard, protect and sustain any person in the best and highest form of peace (spiritual, mental and bodily); if that person fixes and keeps his thoughts and desires firmly on God; leans on God for strength, guidance and support; and confidently looks to God for the best outcome in any given situation.

We live in a modern, 21st century, high-tech, quick- pace world. We enjoy cars with speeds and luxuries undreamed of in earlier generations. The one feature, cars do not provide yet, is flying over highways. This special capacity could be coming soon.

We now fill our homes with smart appliances: smart stoves, programmable refrigerators, seconds –cooking microwave ovens, and space-age vacuum cleaners. Some models of premium cleaners catch the dust, before it settles on the floor.

Add to those, power clothes-washers and dishwashers, flexible beds, and automated self-adjusting mirrors and fittings. Did I mention the latest generation of coffee makers? These add exotic flavors to our coffee. Our modern homes contain everything we need, to make housework effortless, even pleasant.

For amusement, the list is never-ending. We now amuse ourselves at cinemas, theaters, parties, and live shows. We also have DVD’s, Internet, HD flat-screen TV’s, smart-phones, and iPads. For games, the youth has U-pads, the X-Box, Z-Box, and other gadgets I am still trying to understand. Together they offer endless hours of gripping amusement.

Further, today we do not need to leave our homes to see the latest movies. In an instant, we download them from online (legal or illicit). Do you want music? Google it, select, and play straightaway. Are you feeling alone and want a chat? Just log into a chat link, and chat the night away, with both known and unknown people.

In science, we are seeing astonishing advances, in and beyond this world. Space ships now reach further and deeper into space. High-tech medical machines keep the dead alive longer. Plastic surgeons make undesirable body parts appealing. Moreover, doctors now have advanced solutions for women who previously had problems becoming pregnant or keeping a pregnancy. Today, doctors routinely solve these problems for a fair fee. Fertility clinics can even help women to conceive twins, if that is their fancy.

Scientists can clone sheep at will. Perhaps, to clone humans is just around the corner. In rare cases, multiple copies of outstanding heroes could be useful. Perhaps, soon we will be in a position to trade in our old out-of-shape, obese, bodies, for the classic shapes of runway models and bodybuilders.

Millions of people spend billions of good dollars yearly, on diet foods, exercise programs, and body-shaping gadgets. Say nothing of the mega-millions, which we spend on high-fashion clothes, to make us look our best.

As a rule, we are working fewer hours, earning extra money, and enjoying more freedom. Further, today, we have an endless range of fun events for pleasure. Also, we have better jobs, and many new appealing job titles. For example, office workers who before were just filing clerks, are now Junior Office Administrators with responsibility for records integrity.

Our senior citizens and children are better cared for in a network of government -sponsored social programs. Women have well-deserved liberation, and are leaving their footprints in every facet of life. Schools are teaching more. The kids are indeed smarter. There is no real doubt about that. You dare not challenge a 9-year old child, in the workings of the newer technologies. Moreover, you cannot out-text our junior school students on the new smart phones.

Likewise, on the spiritual or church level, we never had it so great. There is an overabundance of church organizations, and appealing church buildings. TV, the Internet, and satellites, pump religious programs (or shows if you prefer), within most homes in the western world. At present church groups are working to saturate eastern and Middle Eastern regions.

In comparison with these developments, personal relations are in the doldrums, to put it in mild tones. Everywhere around us, there are alarming rates of murders, rapes, assaults, robberies, infidelity, family-crashes, divorces, depression, and every class of war. National and global conflicts are setting new records, although for the worse.

And so if you have a tuned ear, and if you are listening, you will hear a deafening, persistent, piercing cry. It is the cry for peace. And it echoes through the entire world. Everywhere, people are begging for peace. Children in the streets, plagued by gang violence, are crying, We want peace. World leaders at the United Nations are pleading, Let us work for peace in the world. Relatives, dealing with domestic violence, are demanding peace with one another. The whole world is screaming for peace.

Further, families are spending millions in counseling. Yet peace remains an elusive shadow to them. Churches (as part of the sow-a seed, and get-rich-quick agenda) sell many programs on peace. Yet conflicts, splits, and sinful behavior abound in popular church groups.

Governments hire the best brains in foreign affairs. They send many skilled, learned, and tested diplomats around the world. Still skirmishes and full-scale wars abound. Therefore, many nations, including poor countries, which cannot feed their starving people, spend billions on armies and weapons, just in case. We want peace. That cry echoes from every part of society, and multiple regions of the world. We hear it in differing forms. Peace, Oh Dear God, give us peace!

Chapter 1

WHAT IS PEACE?

Webster dictionary describes peace as a state of quiet or tranquility; freedom from disturbance or agitation: calm; repose. Specifically, absence or cessation of war.

In the normal sense of speaking, peace relates to external induced pleasantries and serenity. This peace comes because peaceful circumstances exist.

However, there exists a superior peace, which is independent of outward circumstances. Do you understand the properties of peace that arises from within? Such peace influences a person’s response to the external state of affairs, which may be horrible.

This peace, which surpasses the external environment-induced peace, is the peace we shall examine. This inner peace is a display of favor from God. In Psalm 29: 11 (NAS version) we find, The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace. My Dear Friend, grab this truth and hold it with a firm grip. True peace is a blessing. It is not a sensation you enjoy, because you hold or can access stuff. Recall this truth often. Pure Peace is a gift from the Almighty. It is a gift, although a conditional gift.

With this insight, and using the working definition cited, here is a potent bombshell that ought to excite you instantly. You can gain full access to this gift. The access is available, despite your current personal circumstances. This access is within your reach, in spite of the mistakes of your past. Further, and perhaps here is the real shocker: not only is the peace within your reach; God wishes you would enjoy it. Besides, God demands no extra financial offering. We have just one rule to satisfy.

Chapter 2

GETTING STARTED

You have read the opening, and the first chapter, and you are committed to the journey. I want to thank you, and extend to you a warm invitation, to draw God peace into your circumstances. I know for sure you did not reach this point by accident. In addition, both you and I sense that, God will use this book as a tool to usher you into His real peace.

So let us start with an exceptional welcome and disclosure. The disclosure is you motivated this book. I wrote it with you in mind. It is not targeting friends you love, or enemies you may despise. Please see this book as a personal outreach to you. Come and enjoy divine peace.

Further, this book does not deal with arguments and theories. It is no thesis, written to show vast learning, although readers may find a trace of intellect among the pages. Also, recognize the simple language used is deliberate. I wanted to make sure that people at every level, grasp the powerful message of true peace. The call to taste deep personal peace is the invitation, this super-paced things-crazy world, is longing to hear and understand.

It is truly sad that, people are too busy to recognize, the main missing life-ingredient is just peace. Today what people lack is not more stuff. Too many adults go to bed depressed and angry, because their lives lack true peace.

Even though I stress the book’s language is simple and straightforward, people at every level can profit from the discussion. Scholars, commentators, theologians, pastors, counselors, laypeople, and ordinary brothers and sisters, can gain useful insight on the issues I raise. The topic of perfect peace, and rules for its enjoyment, are always worthy of deeper reflection. So the book targets no specific group.

You will find the freestyle format is a powerful approach, in which to deliver the liberating truth of perfect peace. As you read, keep in mind your understanding, not literary correctness, was the key determinant of style. I have slanted the discussion in this book, towards the average reader. The book takes readers on a step-by-step walk towards a deep personal peace experience. Anyone who seeks such an experience will find the discussion invaluable.

So at this point, let me salute you again, and recognize who you are. You are a seeker. Therefore, at various points throughout the book, I refer to you by this term, seeker. As a seeker, you are in circumstances where you need to grasp and enjoy God’s perfect peace.

Allow me to add another detail, about the readers I had in mind, when I framed the discussion in the book. This is a crucial point to keep in mind as you read. This book is not targeting Christians; nor is it aimed at condemning or excusing sinners. Both groups will find it exciting, informative, and rather useful.

With that clarification behind us, I hasten to declare that I am not trying to display an impressive stock of Bible verses. Also, I will not try to show, the variety of Scripture references, on which I can pontificate. Oh no my friend, I had no such motives.

This book stands on, and projects, one solid principle. If you stay your mind on God, you will live in and enjoy perfect peace, whatever your position in life. Please accept the reference to God includes, Jehovah the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Also, note a key truth, before we start the discussion in earnest. This book is not about, nor lauds, special heroes. We have all heard, or read about, amazing stories with daring heroes. We find these in both Christian and secular books and shows. There are tales of people, who survived such events as airplane crashes, terminal illness, and critical injuries. These are stories of people who survived against incredible odds.

Those tales are wonderful, uplifting stories, and they can motivate people to reach within themselves, for greater hope and resources. Nevertheless, the Lord will invite a mere chosen few to share those experiences. For that grace, most of us are grateful. For sure, I will not protest if I never get a personal plane disaster story to tell.

Likewise, most of us are thankful we did not get the chance to visit death’s door, so we could return to normal life, with a dramatic story. God, in perfect discretion, knows who are worthy of such events. I am thankful those dramatic life events, are not for the entire population. For that, we rejoice.

Those dramatic happenings are excellent in the right context, and for special purposes. I respect that. The main thought, to keep before you, is this book does not lean towards such a focus.

In addition, consider this point. Perhaps about ten in ten thousand will face hero-defining events. Contrast that negligible percentage with the countless millions who daily must grapple with, the usual challenges. These normal challenges may include debt and money problems, addiction to illegal drugs, breakdown in family relations, and problems on the job. It is for this reason I wrote the book for you and seekers like you. You are a special inquirer. Yet you represent most of the population. You struggle with the problems of the ordinary person, and want to find lasting peace. Yes, you are a seeker.

A further note on style.

I did my best to keep this writing real and focused. There has been no artificial brushing. Further, I did not set out to strive for bestseller status. (Should that rating come, may it bring more glory to The Lord). Instead, my goal is a best-application ranking. I want you, to understand and apply the principles of perfect peace. A deep awareness of the key principles will open the doors, for you to enter real peace, as promised to you by Almighty God. Such peace finds you, whatever your station in life, in ways that are right for you.

Therefore, I invite you to walk with me through this book, with an open heart and a teachable spirit. As you do, you will prove that God, who is never slack concerning promises, does keep the promise of perfect peace. Yes, the promise is valid. You can enjoy perfect peace, even in a world of chaos.

Chapter 3

THE BOOK IN FOCUS.

You may wish to ask, Why write another book on peace? I am happy to explain, since the true answer is not complex. I wrote this book, because it speaks to a great perennial need, in people’s lives right now. As an example, consider this illustration. Assume you could do a small quick survey. In this informal survey, you ask a dozen close friends, about the greatest need in their lives right now. Of course, you know their answers will vary.

As expected, several will give their primary need as money. For most people, money is the classic response. Others may choose, house, car, love relationship, college degree, family harmony, a job, clothes and the like.

What do you believe accounts for the vast disparity in answers? The disparity comes because first, people give answers based on their current station in life. In the second place, your friends’ ideas of what peace and happiness are, and how to accomplish these, will influence their answers. To prove what I am saying, let us consider six such persons and their state of affairs. The characters in the six cases are Bill, Marc, Cindy, Clare, Maude and Jerry.

Bill believes the key to peace and happiness is the money and prestige, he will earn as a popular registered pharmacist. Therefore, he is focusing on getting the college degree he requires for this job, on which he has set his heart. Therefore, we can say, for Bill, the answer to the happy life is a college degree.

In contrast, Marc has a Job he enjoys. Marc is a skilled carpenter, and gets excellent opportunities to display his work in many public places. He is passionate towards his work, and definitely enjoys it. While his pay is good, and he can afford to buy the supplies he wants now, Marc has a money problem.

Marc’s business went through a patch of low sales revenues, during the recession. During that period, he incurred heavy debts. Marc still likes his Job, but he knows he needs a financial miracle to get the debts off his back.

Cindy, unlike Marc, is not struggling with Job or debt. Cindy’s problem is her daughter Tina. Even though Tina is sharp by general college standards, she refuses to go to college. Cindy has pleaded, begged, threatened, bribed, and cried. Still, her daughter is a dropout. What is far worse, Tina is deep into illicit street drugs and Cindy knows it. Therefore, Cindy is desperate, and ready to pay any sum of money, to free Tina from horrible street narcotics. She believes that if she could get her daughter straightened out, life should be peaceable. For Cindy, Tina’s emotional freedom is the route to peace in her life.

Clare, on the other hand, has no children, but her rapport with her husband is dull. They enjoyed wonderful peace and happiness in earlier stages of the marriage. What happened to their marriage, since the early stage, when she felt loved and excited, Clare is uncertain. There is no knowledge of sexual betrayal; yet both she and her husband, Roger, are miserable. Oh, supposed Clare, How wonderful life could be, if Roger and I could find a slice of peace (and happiness) for our marriage. Of course, she could get a divorce, but she now dreads taking that route. She tried that once before, and she is still living on Unhappy Avenue.

Next, we move to Maude. She is special. Therefore, we follow her a little more than we did with the others. She has an OK job, and manages her money, similar to a banker with an accountant’s training. Her haunting little concern is her weight. Despite her best efforts, she just cannot reduce her body weight to the l45 pounds, which her doctors said was right for her. This does not signal she is sick, nor has physical complaints.

Her greatest result so far was a weight of 162 pounds, which she held for two long weeks. To Maude those two weeks felt like an eternity. The result so far are not impressive, but Maude gets a full 110 percent for trying.

Similar to the millions of dieters in her position, Maude has had the yo-yo circle of diet rides. The low- carbs, high-protein diet was her first try. It excited her at first. She had an intensive eight-month battle switching potatoes and eggs, and milk and apple juice. However, her taste buds did not adjust, to accept the unfamiliar food items. Therefore, Maude dropped it. She declined to admit the diet did not work. Her explanation was the diet just did not fit her lifestyle.

After that, she went to a fruit and juice diet. That resulted in problems as well. Maude started to develop a serious body itch. This she attributed to the extra acidity in her body, from the large volume of fruit juices. With a grave heart, she abandoned the fruit and juice diet, as thousands before her had done.

Maude then turned to the gyms and rigorous exercises. The exercise routines gave her intense feelings of well-being, at the start. Unfortunately, she failed to keep the set schedules. Therefore, Maude stopped going to the gyms, despite the fact she had taken out yearly memberships.

However, Maude remained hopeful. She was sure her miracle diet was out there, somewhere. Therefore, in her quest for the perfect size, Maude kept searching for and trying different diets. She has tried the herb blends diet, a conch-salad diet, the Barbados bush tea diet, and even yoga meditation. One after one she tried. One after one she dropped them.