Where's the Peace?

2 Cor 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him v.15 For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,everywhere. v.16 to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?

"And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you. Amen." Romans 16: 20

One day soon, this crushing will be a reality.

Peace...the world clamors for it. But without knowing the God of Peace they cannot find it.

"For when they say, Peace and safety! then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape." I Thessalonians 5: 3

Isaiah 2:3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2: 4 He shall judge between the nations, And rebuke many people; They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.

When will this happen? We can never effect this "peace on earth" by ourselves! Can people suddenly have a change of heart on their own and the whole world will suddenly become good on its own? Not a chance! No, this will only be when the Messiah returns and is with us once again! All men will have to make their choice as to whose side they are on: with Christ or with the Devil and his angels. There is NO middle ground.

This weekend I attended a cultural event honoring a famous photographer, born in our local area, who certainly beheld some of the world's most tragic moments in the 21st century. He brought them to our attention through his famous work. He captured them with a click,and some of these shots even changed history. Yet at the end of his life he despaired at all of the destructions he had witnessed and possibly didn't have personal faith that Someone had come into human history, Someone who cared about every detail of these tragedies, every single loss. That This Man was the solution to them. He was the One who had borne every sorrow, every grief. (See Isaiah 53.) Faith in His person mitigates the sharp blows of life on this tragic spinning ball we call "Earth." For believers, we are only pilgrims passing through, the Earth is not our Mother, but God is our Father and Jesus is our Brother and Best Friend.

The Beatles sang, "There will be an answer" in Let it Be.I like to sing to myself, "Jesus is the answer." You see, no matter what the problem is, the answer was solved at the cross of Christ. Tetelestai! That does not minimalize in any way the suffering or tragedies of man down throughout the ages. But a Perfect God has provided a Perfect Solution to any one who is willing to "Look Up." The problem is never with God but always with man and his unbelief. That is the only sin that will keep one out of heaven.

John 8:24: "Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins."

When we behold human injustices, simply asking God why, while acknowledging that He has all knowledge and we do not, (instead of shaking our fists angrily at Him) can be the first step in getting to know this Person who would be so kind as to bear our sins on a tree of wood.

In knowing Him as our Saviour, He gives us Peace.Ephesians 2: 14-18 tells us:

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Washed Squeaky Clean in the Blood of Another

How often I think I must "do" when the Lord says its "done." Tetelestai! (John 19: 30) How appropriate, since we approach tomorrow (Good Friday) the day when we remember the Lord's sufferings for us upon Golgotha's tree. I think to myself, "Oh, I know this already, but when it comes right down to it, I act (and feel) like I don't really believe it.

I have undergone health problems for the past month or so and lately, became somewhat lethargic and just wanted to sleep the day away. Instead of just accepting that this was one way of God letting the rest heal me, I fretted over not getting anything accomplished in my house, or with my writing, really having nothing to show for the day at all. Just lots and lots of sleep.

Do you think the Lord was upset over the fact that I wasn't doing much? No, but somehow I got into this slave mentality thinking, basing my "merit" on works.(Yep, just like Martin Luther!) I should know this by now, the Lord deems us all as pitiable, for that is why He had to come and do all for us, bear the full weight of all our sins and iniquities upon His back upon the wood of Golgotha. I love what our friend David the Psalmist says in Psalm 103:

Psalm 103:10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, [So] great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

12 As far as the east is from the west, [So] far has He removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father pities [his] children, [So] the LORD pities those who fear Him.

14 For He knows our frame; He remembers that we [are] dust.

The Hebrew word for pity is racham. In the Hebrew lexicon it is #7355 and means " to love, love deeply, have mercy, be compassionate, have tender affection, have compassion"

http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H7355&t=NKJV


For me to even think I can add something is shameful.


Today is a new day though. I woke up rested and aware that the Father has magnificent love for me, even though it seems a battle rages inside me to believe it. How could He love someone like me?

Well, the answer comes that it comes from Him the Giver Himself and of His own essence, which is Love.

Psalm 130:3 If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

4 But [there is] forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.

5 I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.

6 My soul [waits] for the Lord More than those who watch for the morning--[Yes, more than] those who watch for the morning.

There, we have it! We do not have to go around the world searching! Right in the book of Psalms again we hear that the Lord will not, cannot hold our iniquities against us! For Jesus Christ's sake, He cannot! The main problem I have, (and if I may be so bold to suggest that maybe some reading may have too) is our own guilt and shame over our iniquities that holds us back from fully daring to receive it all from Him. It is certainly not God or His Son who stops us as Christ was poured out as the Final Sacrifice upon the cross for us that day outside Jerusalem.

Oh, Lord let me wait like the Psalmist in joyful expectation, knowing that all my shortcomings, failures and faults have been washed clean in the Blood of the Lamb. Thank You, no matter what is happening in this world, I can place my confidence in You for Your free gift of salvation. Amen.


One last note- For a testimony of one man who received the grace and love of God after losing everything he had in this world materially at age nine, tune in to CBS's 60 Minutes for an interview with Bishop Abraham Nhial, one of the original Lost Boys of Sudan. It will be aired Easter Sunday evening, check your local listings.