I'm Warren Smith, and today you'll be listening in on my conversation with theologian,

author, and speaker, Dr. Jeremiah Johnston. His new book is called Unleashing Peace,

experiencing God's Shalom in your pursuit of happiness. I think Jesus's most countercultural trait was he was unprovocable.

He was able to live the shalom of God because you just couldn't provoke him.

And yet, what do we see?

Christians are so provoked.

And if you're easily provoked, you're not going to live in the shalom of God.

We live in an age of turmoil, divisiveness, anxiety, and unrest. Even Christians are often

sucked into this chaotic vortex. We sometimes spiritualize our own unbiblical behavior, dressing

it up as righteous anger when we come face to face with the outrages of the world.

But how righteous is it really?

Yes, Jesus did overturn the tables in the temple, but we know him best as the Prince of Peace,

who willingly submitted to the outrage of the cross.

The Apostle Paul, who wrote more books in the Bible than any other person,

began most of his books with the greeting grace and peace.

It's as if the two go together.

If you've received God's grace, you should be experiencing

God's peace. So why are we not? Jeremiah Johnston helps us understand why even Christians do not

experience God's peace as we should. And he gives us some practical advice for what we can do about it.

Jeremiah Johnston is a New Testament scholar, president of the Christian Thinkers Society, and the author or co-author of more than 10 books.

He and his wife, Audrey, have five children, and they live in Texas,

which is where he was when we had this conversation.

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