No Peace

Collins Concise Dictionary defines the word peace as:

1. (noun) the state existing during the absence of war.

2. A treaty marking the end of war.

3. A state of harmony between people or groups.

4. Law and order within a state: a breach of the peace.

5. Absence of mental anxiety (often in peace of mind).

6. A state of stillness, silence or serenity

7. At peace. (a) In a state of harmony or friendship.

    (b) In a state of serenity.

8. Hold or keep one's peace; to keep silent.

9. Keep the peace; maintain law and order.

The above definitions give us a general overview of the word peace. Looking at these definitions, we could also state that peace is an absence of conflict. A period of peace following war is an absence of conflict. If there is harmony between people or groups there is no conflict between them. If there is an absence of mental anxiety then there are no conflicting thoughts or issues disturbing a person's mind. To be at peace and to keep the peace means there is no attempt to stir up conflict between parties.

If countries are at war, and peace negotiations are being sought; the major stumbling block is often that neither party wants to give in to the conditions that the other party is demanding to be fulfilled. So the conflict continues, even at the negotiating table. What is behind this? It is mankind's desire to have the upper hand and be in control!

Men, women and children will never know true peace until they are at peace with God!

Let's look at some verses in Psalms 53:1-3:

"(1) the fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

(2) God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God.

(3) Every one of them has turned aside; they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, No, not one."

No one does any good in God's eyes because, "They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity; there is none who does good."

Isaiah 57:20-21:

"(20) ...the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.

(21) "There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked."

Isaiah 59:2:

"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."

Our iniquities separate us from God and our sins hide His face from us. So how can we achieve peace with God? There can be no grounds for peace until the issue of our iniquities and sins are dealt with. Thankfully, the true and living God has the answer!

Let's look in the Epistle to the Colossians for some answers.

Colossians 1:13-22:

"(13) He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

(14) in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

(15) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

(16) For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

(17) And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

(18) And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the pre-eminence.

(19) For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

(20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

(21) And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled

(22) in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight."

Who is the Son of His love? It is Jesus Christ - the Son of God - God the Son! Let's take note of some of the points raised in these verses.

Verse 13

God delivers us from the power of darkness and brings us, "...into the kingdom of the Son of His love,"

Verse 14

We are told that, "...we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” God had paid the ransom for our souls - redeemed us - through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. Since the ransom has been paid through the blood of Christ we can have forgiveness of sins.

Verses 15-17

In these verses the glory and majesty of the Son are revealed to us. The Son is the image of the invisible God. All things were created through Him and for Him. He is the head of all creation. All creation is held together in the Son.

Verse 19

A more literal translation of this verse can be found in the Darby Translation of the Bible. "For in Him all the fullness [of the Godhead] was pleased to dwell." All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in the Son.

Verse 20

Here we find the crux of this blog post. All things will be reconciled through the Son. In business all the ledgers and all the accounts have to be reconciled. There can be no discrepancies for it must all balance. Here in this verse is also something most precious, "...having made peace through the blood of His cross."

Verse 21

We who are alienated and enemies to God through our evil mindset and wicked works can be reconciled to God.

Verse 22

The reconciliation can take place because Jesus the Son of God paid the ransom price for our sins at the cross at Calvary. Only a dead sacrifice has value in God's eyes. Romans 6:23 tells us that, "...the wages of sin is death ... " 1 Peter 2:24, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed." Jesus Christ the Son of God voluntarily died on a wooden Roman cross to pay the ransom price of our sins.

There is no peace for the wicked person in his, or her, natural sinful condition. God chose to send His Son to be born of a woman, to grow to manhood in a flesh and blood body like ours. Yet, Jesus was sinless and incapable of sinning. So a perfect man, offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God at Calvary for our sins and His perfect sacrifice was accepted by God. "...having made peace through the blood of His cross."

Do you want true peace in your life? Do you want to be at peace with God? If you do then you need to receive Jesus the Son of God as your Lord and Saviour. He knows all about your sins - He died to clear the debt of your sins. He has made peace with God on your behalf. He can give you the full enjoyment of that peace today!

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]

Is there a Creator God?

We live in a sea of humanity that increasingly denies the existence of a Creator God. Mankind increasingly looks within to find the answers to life and death. Mankind by its knowledge and wisdom has decided that they can run this planet of ours without any help from a Higher Supreme Being. There are many, many people who do not believe there is a God. There are some who may believe there is a God, but as long as He stays out of their life they will be happy.

The problem with this is that mankind is operating on a false premise. If you build your life on a false premise it will eventually lead to major trouble. The cars we drive or ride in, did they suddenly appear as if by magic? Did somebody gather all the components of these motor vehicles leave them in a heap and expect them to miraculously assemble themselves into motor vehicles? Preposterous isn't it! No one in their right mind would believe it was possible. The roads the motor vehicles ride on didn't suddenly appear because the motor vehicles needed them. In every instance careful thought and planning was required to achieve the outcome needed.

Yet there are people who believe that our universe started with a 'big bang'. Somehow, miraculously there appeared stars, planets and constellations to form the basis of our universe. Everything just happened to haphazardly form into the right type of matter to form these heavenly bodies. It's a bit farfetched isn't it? Almost like a heavenly jigsaw puzzle. Except even a jigsaw puzzle has a creator, someone who designed it and brought it to fruition.

Now let's take a case in point. If I want to build a house for myself, I will need to have a design for the house. I will need to work out what materials to build the house from. I will need to ensure that I can obtain those materials. I will need to have the necessary funds to buy those materials. I will need trades' people to build my house. I will need to choose what colour schemes to use on my house and I will need to choose and purchase all the fixtures and fittings necessary to furnish my house. None of this happens by accident. I cannot expect to bring all the components of my house to the building site and expect the house to build itself!

So let's take a closer look at whether or not there is a Creator God. In a previous blog post 'Man thinks - God knows' I wrote these words:

"Mankind lives in a Space - Matter - Time universe. Everything we do from the moment we are born happens in time. Even our thought processes, either consecutive or sequential, occur in time. All our lives we are continually learning and our actions and deeds are based on prior learning.

From our early childhood we are taught to think and to reason e.g. to avoid danger or perhaps embarrassment as a result of our actions.

Why have I emphasised time? It is because as created beings we live in a time universe. God is eternal and He exists outside of time in eternity. Eternity is not elongated time! Eternity encapsulates time within itself.

Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Before the universe came into being - God was already there! Before there was a Space - Matter - Time universe - God was already there. God created our Space - Matter -Time universe! Therefore God created time within the framework of eternity.

Because God is eternal He already knows the end from the beginning. God does not have to think about things - He already knows! We don't know what the future holds for us even on a day to day basis; but God already knows the future. Nothing ever takes God by surprise."

Our universe came about because the Creator God designed it and brought it into being! The animal kingdom, the vegetable kingdom, marine life, bird life etc. and human life all came into being because God created them.

Genesis 1:26-27:

"(26) Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."

(27) So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."

The 'theory of evolution' is the figment of one man's imagination. Please note, it is only a theory yet many consider it to be the whole foundation of their beliefs.

1 Corinthians 1:19-25:

"(19) For it is written:"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent."
(20) Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

(21) For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through [its] wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

(22) For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom;

(23) but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness,

(24) but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

(25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

Where do you stand in all this? Are your beliefs based on false premises? God holds you responsible for your beliefs and actions. Galatians 6:7 tells us,”Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."

Let's look at some wise advice from Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the Son of God.

Luke 6:47-49:

"(47) Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:

(48) He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
(49) But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great."

Are your life's beliefs firmly anchored in Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Or, are they lacking a solid foundation? When the wrath of God comes in judgement will your ruin be great?

Hebrews 9:7:

"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,"

Revelation 20:11-15:

"(11) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

(12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
(13)The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

(14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
(15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire."

It is your choice - whether to choose eternal life and blessing, or the Great White Throne judgement and the Lake of Fire!

Jon Peasey

Words of Life blog www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

[If you have any questions or comments you are invited to contact me via the comments section below.]