The Heart of Pastoral Care
22 The LORD said to Moses, 23 “Tell Aaron and his
sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say
to them:
24 “The LORD bless you
and keep you;
25 the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
26 the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace. (Shalom)”
27 “So they will put my name on the Israelites,
and I will bless them.”
The New International Version. 2011 Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
In the Old Testament Shalom, the most
prominent OT term for “peace,” held a
wide range of connotations (wholeness,
health, security, well-being, and salvation)
and could apply to an equally wide range
of contexts: the state of the individual (Ps
37:37; Prv 3:2; Is 32:17), the relationship
of person to person (Gn 34:21; Jos 9:15) or
nation to nation (e.g., absence of conflict—
Dt 2:26; Jos 10:21; 1 Kgs 5:12; Ps 122:6–
7), and the relationship of God and people
(Ps 85:8; Jer 16:5).
Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). Tyndale Bible dictionary. Tyndale reference library (1004).
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
To all in Rome who are loved by God and called
to be his holy people:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Εἰρήνη (eirene): a state of freedom from anxiety
and inner turmoil—‘peace, freedom from
worry.’
Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Vol. 1: Greek-English lexicon of
the New Testament: Based on semantic domains (electronic ed.
of the 2nd edition.) (314). New York: United Bible Societies.
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Shalom, therefore is a state of being where
everything is as it should be, as it was created
to be. Nothing broken, nothing missing,
completely whole, in perfect harmony, etc…
Further, it means unity and harmony among
differing parts.
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If you'll recall, Yeshua (Jesus) is called Sar
shalom, Prince of Peace, which perfectly
describes the ministry and personality of our
Messiah (Isaiah 9:6).
As we participate in the ministry of Jesus, we,
like Him become an agent of Shalom.
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At its most basic level, it means avoiding
harm to others.
At its most intentional level, it means doing
what Jesus does.
The first thing Jesus does is leave Glory and
descended into our chaos and darkness.
In your relationships with one another, have the same
mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be
used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
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Being an “agent of Shalom means that other’s
darkness will likely pierce us as well…
God’s way of dealing with evil seems to be
allowing it to pierce. This piercing ironically
is how evil is neutralized. Evil’s intent to
destroy becomes transformed into the
capacity for freedom.
Moreover, its important to note that light
always pierces darkness.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word
was with God, and the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through him all
things were made; without him nothing was
made that has been made. In him was life, and
that life was the light of all mankind. The light
shines in the darkness, and the darkness has
not overcome it.
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
…but the crowds learned about it and
followed him. He welcomed them and
spoke to them about the kingdom of
God, and healed those who needed
healing.
 Consider
what the writer to the
Hebrews said:
“There remains then, a Sabbath-rest
for the people of God.” (Hebrews
4:9).
 The writer goes on to say:
“for anyone who enters God’s rest
also rests from his own work, just as
God did from His.” (Hebrews 4:10).
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The key to entering God’s rest is not to cease
from all activity.
The key is to cease from labor that has its
beginning point with us. We rest from our
works.
Until we do this, we have not entered into
God’s rest and are subject to being
influenced by a religious spirit.
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Consider Jesus invitation:
“Come to Me, all you who are heavyladen, and I will give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you and learn from Me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is
light”
Matthew 11:28-30
1.
Pressures of life
◦ Relationships
◦ Finances
◦ Work, school
2.
Other voices than God’s
◦ World, Flesh, Devil
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“Un-Comanded Works (see Eph. 2:10)
◦ Doing this can actually lead to
disobedience. We are too tired to hear or
do what God has made us for.
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Yeshua’s Example
◦ “I only do what the Father is doing” (John
5:14)
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We have lived the Christian life like it’s a
struggle.
Its not meant to be a struggle. Its meant to
be a rest.
We enter that rest when we learn to live as
Jesus lived: from the life of Another within us
and out through us.
This does not mean that you won’t have
fluctuations in your thoughts and feelings. It
does mean that deep within you, you’ll be at
rest.
Tree of Life
God’s
Rest
Tree of the
Knowledge of
Good and Evil
System of
“Righteousness”
The Tyranny of the
Should and
Oughts.