It is Everywhere, If You are Just Look for It

"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5, NIV)

The concept of "Shalom" is everywhere in life. More specifically, it permeates the Bible. See the words in the passage above: "Remain in me, as I also remain in you.........apart from me you can do nothing."

God wants oneness. He exists in oneness (3 in 1, the Trinity). He created us in Oneness (in His image). Adam and Eve originally walked in oneness with God, until they broke it. We broke it, and we break it everyday. We not only sin, separating us from Him, but we choose other things rather than Him. 

We choose hours and hours on end binging on mind-numbing TV shows. We spend hours on social media and our phones finding some other thing to look at or look up, rather than spending time in the peace and quite of a conversation with God. We burden ourselves with so many things that pull us out of alignment with Him, to the point of making ourselves sick. We chase intelligence and new ways to be productive, or wealthy, or SEEN, while forgetting that we are being SEEN by HIM. 

Remember, Shalom is about being whole, about being complete, about being in full connectedness with God, and those things do not exist independently from Him or of Him. 

Another passage to visit is Psalm 27:4. Look at what the Psalmist says here:

"One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." (NIV)

Keywords here are: "One", "only", "seek Him". David knew the value of being One with God; the value of pursuing after Him who pursues us, by being active towards Him. He knew the value of connection!

What is keeping you from making that connection today? What things in your daily life are separating yourself from Him, from Shalom with Him? The enemy is crafty and can use a phone, an illness, a workload, a broken relationship, work drama, or anything else to divide you from Him. That is what he wants, separation.

God just wants us whole and holy, as ONE.

Shalom,

Cody