"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27
"And you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that you be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet." Matthew 24:6 You might be saying: "Wait a minute here: In one verse you cite peace and in the other verse you cite war. What gives?" Jesus was/is the promised "Prince of Peace," but He did not look at the world through "rose-colored glasses." He knew, and knows, what is in the hearts of people and He knows that real world peace will come at the end of the ages. Take a look at John 14:26: "But the comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you." The peace of Jesus comes in with the Holy Spirit. It is not peace "as the world gives," rather, it is peace that the Holy Spirit gives. If Jesus came to bring peace between nations, He failed in His mission. Even as I write this, there are "wars and rumors of wars" going on all around us. There is the Arab-Israeli conflict that has been going on for thousands of years - as least as far back as Ishmael. We have been at war in Afghanistan for the last ten years. There are probably wars going on in obscure nations at the present time that we know nothing, or little, about. There are what I will call "mini-wars" going on in corporations and families all of the time. Come on, let's admit it, we can't even get along in the church for whom Christ died. Then what kind of peace did Jesus promise? He promised personal peace to those who profess Him as Savior and receive the Holy Spirit. But, wait a minute preacher, there are people who are not Christians who have peace. I don't doubt that, but it is not the peace that Jesus gives, for that peace comes only from the Holy Spirit. There are even times when we Christians are not at peace within ourselves. Paul gave the remedy for that in Philippians 4:6-7: "Be careful for nothing (Do not be anxious about anything.); but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Prayer draws us closer to God and reminds us of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I am sorely tempted to "tear into" a mini-sermon on the text just cited, but for the sake of brevity I will let Paul's inspired words stand on their own. If you want to have the kind of inner peace that only Jesus gives, then give your heart and life to Him and receive His Holy Spirit. Stay close to Him in prayer and you can pass your brief sojourn on this earth at peace within yourself, with your fellow Christians and with the world. Do it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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