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www.truthworks.com 26 Sept 05 devotion archive |
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WORLD PEACE I tell you the Truth, “My deepest hope is to see a cure for all deadly disease, to eliminate world poverty and to see world peace.” For those of you who’ve never experienced the thrill of a Miss America pageant, I’ve just given you a typical quote from a contestant that’s trying to play to the soft side of the judges. After all, who could argue with such serene thoughts? I guess if you’re in a beauty pageant, those are some nice thoughts. But if you are like me (living in the real world), those thoughts are just what they are – thoughts. To be realistic (no offense, but I don’t find beauty pageants all that realistic) we will never cure all deadly diseases, poverty will never be eliminated and there will never be world peace until the return of Christ. While the ideas are admirable, the reality is not. Deadly disease is a result of our sinful nature and Jesus himself said, “The poor you will always have with you.” (Matthew 26:11) I’m not saying that we should give up on advances in medicine or that we should ignore the poor. That would also be contrary to God’s word. I’m just stating the fact that man will never eliminate these ills of society. What I really want to focus on today is this idea of world peace. World peace would mean no war. Again, I’m sorry, but that idea again has no biblical foundation. To be honest, we should expect more “wars and rumors of wars” as we get closer to the return of Christ. Jesus even exclaims that his initial purpose in coming was not to bring world peace, but to bring division (Luke 12:51). Beyond wars, the world also attempts to offer us “peace” in a variety of forms and substances. We can buy peace in a pill, in a game, through meditation, financial security, alarm systems, the perfect dating website, home ownership, education, professions, or simply by petting your dog. Again, there’s probably nothing wrong with any of these ideas for bringing a little peace in our lives. Peace of mind can be a healthy thing. But the peace the world offers is not a lasting peace. It’s a very shaky peace, a peace that is often destroyed because it’s so dependent upon the circumstances. A game of golf can be a peaceful outing or it can turn into a stress filled battle. Financial planning and security brings great peace of mind, until the market crashes and you loose it all. Petting your dog may lower your blood pressure – until the poor pooch passes on. The world offers peace, but it never tells you about the downside of depending “things” for that peace. On the other hand, our Creator offers us a peace that is not flimsy, isn’t affected by circumstance, and doesn’t depend upon anything that’s fallible. While Christ has promised us to not expect world peace, we can expect a peace that transcends our understanding, a peace that maintains us through storms and tragedy. Jesus provided us with the secret to peace through a simple parable that most of us sang about as children:
Matthew 7: 24-29 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. If you want real peace in life and not a shaky peace that will leave you destitute when the storm comes, then find your peace in the words of Christ. His words are the rock that we need to build our lives upon. As Christ said, it’s foolishness to seek peace of mind anywhere else. Don’t be foolish. Like the bumper sticker says, “No Jesus, no peace. Know Jesus, know peace.” In the next devotion, we’ll take an even deeper look at how to find peace in a world of turmoil. Until then, I pray that you seek the peace of God that passes understanding.
<*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< Prayer Requests (and Praises!) “THAT GOD WOULD TURN THIS SITUATION AROUND. THE SITUATION IS SINGLE MOM TWO SONS, OLDEST SUPPOSEDLY BROKE THE LAW AGAINST ANOTHER TENNANT IN THE APARTMENTS I LIVE IN. THEN THE APARTMENTS SERVE ME AN EVICTION NOTICE TO VACATE BY SEPT.10, TODAY I RECEIVED A PAPER FROM JUSTICE OF THE PEACE. WHEN I GOT IT I HAD NO FEAR AT ALL. TOTAL PEACE. I JUST NEED PRAYERS OF AGREEMENT FOR GOD TO TURN IT ALL AROUND. MAKE A WAY FOR MY SON 16 AND I TO CONTINUE TO LIVE HERE SINCE WE HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG AND HAVE BEEN GOOD TENANTS FOR 9 YEARS NOW. ONLY GOD CAN WORK THIS OUT. EVEN THOUGH IT LOOKS IMPOSSIBLE, SINCE AT THIS TIME I HAVE NO OTHER OPTIONS TO MOVE TOO, NOR THE MEANS TO MOVE. BRAD IS 19 IN JAIL. JEREMY IS 16 IN HIGH SCHOOL. PLEASE PRAY FOR US ALL. THANKS, SUSAN” Please reply if you have prayer requests, comments or simply need an open ear. I always enjoy hearing from you. <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))< <*))))))<
Unless otherwise specified, all scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE,
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Randy & Aaron
