First century people who professed faith in Jesus as the Messiah were identified by names that placed a greater emphasis on becoming like Jesus and not just believing in Jesus. The Way. As we see in Acts, this descriptive designation (The Way) used to describe first century disciples of Jesus should be instructive for us today. He is still The Way. Jesus must not just be a means to Heaven. He is our pattern for living. This series is entitled Shalom because it is one of the four “ways” of Jesus (The Way of Jesus’ Peace). Tonight’s message specifically looks at being at peace with yourself. Jesus was at peace with God, Himself, others, and creation. Each week we will look at one of these four. The subtitle for this series is “peace with your portion.” The Biblical concept of Shalom is a lifelong exploration, and I believe the first step is understanding the portion principle. Think of all the aspects of your life that were and are beyond your control. You didn’t choose the family you were born into. You didn’t choose your time in history. When we stop to think about these, it is quite a long list! These parts of our lives are unchangeable. So we start here. Making peace with those “portions” God has assigned to each of us is the beginning of Shalom. And in this message we learn how to see these unchangeable aspects of our lives through a Genesis lens. I believe this message is going to be the beginning of breakthrough for many people who are struggling with self-loathing. Freedom from self-hate and the beginning of Shalom!