Peace that surpasses all understanding

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." - Romans 5:1

Almost every now and then we read in the newspapers of people committing suicides, not just the poor and needy. But even people with a lot of money and fame. At times students too anxious of their results commit suicide. People around the world today are longing for peace in their lives, in their families, in between communities and nations; the Lord Jesus Christ still stands tall and calls out loud to everyone "Peace, Be Still and know that I am God" The wind and waves sure do obey him, but how often we human beings are ignorant to his call and are busy messing and entangling up our lives. He is the prince of peace, and no one can experience peace without experiencing Jesus. We serve a God of peace and not of confusion. (1 Corinthians 14:33) Perfect peace is experienced by every Christian filled with the Holy Spirit, because peace is a fruit of the spirit. Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost are the three things that characterize the kingdom of God and the people belonging to it! (Romans 14:17)

In the Torah, God instituted peace offering for the Israelites. Offering burnt offering and peace offering were the main event in every significant biblical Israelite function (including the dedication of the temple, the celebrations and the revivals). Whenever the nation of Israel returned to the Lord during the reign of the kings, they offered a peace offering. It was kind of a covenant made between them and God. Where they expect God to deal peacefully with them because of the sacrifice of the blemish less animal. That was always the custom. Today we are justified by faith, through the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and through him we have peace with God. (Romans 5:1) Sin has destroyed man's peace with God. None has the guts to stand before God and prove his conscience clear. All of us have sinned and like Adam and Eve, we are running away from his presence. The only thing that can give us confidence to stand in the presence of God is faith in Jesus Christ and his redemptive work on the cross. (Colossians 1:20) No matter how basic it sounds, you and I need to be aware of the theology behind attaining the peace with God. That'll help us stand strong when we face a difficult situation tomorrow.

God has called you to a life of peace. (1 Corinthians 7:15, Colossians 3:15) The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace… if any man say that he belongs to the Lord, but is not experiencing true peace with God and people around him, he ought to examine where's it going wrong. Cause Jesus said, you shall know the tree by its fruit. (Matthew 12:33) It can never happen that the Prince of peace be the Lord of your life, of your family, of your church and of your nation and still you don’t experience that peace that he promises you. Jesus said, in John 14:27 "My peace, I give to you," and its not the kind of false peace that world gives you with the sedatives or the secured banks or the fire and theft alarms! It is the peace that surpasses all human understanding. As Christians we are supposed to radiate the peace of God, in our lives, in our families and even the very homes that we visit. (Luke 10:6)

The first and foremost requirement for peace in your life is a genuine born-again experience. It means that you repent from your sinful ways and you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Lord of your life. The moment you do that, all heavens will come down and heavenly peace will flood your heart and mind. If you are a born again Christian, the key behind remaining in peace is to be filled with the spirit and to set our mind on the spirit. (Galatians 5:22, Romans 8:6) For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. As long as our mind is set on things of the flesh or the world, we will always be anxious and restless. Its only in the spirit that we find true rest, true peace, true joy and true love. It doesn't mean that if you led by the Spirit, you will have no trouble in this world. The bible says, when trouble comes, when testing times come, when you are tempted to give up holding on to God, when life cannot get any more scarier, just don’t be anxious about anything, instead PRAY about it, thank God for already taking care of your trouble. And when you do that, the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7) Your peace depends on your prayer life, the less you pray, the more you will be anxious and wanting to be in control over everything in your life. But when you pray, you realize the greatness of God and just do the act of releasing all your cares and worries into his hand. When Adam and Eve sinned their first response was to cut off from their everyday time of communion with God. Lack of prayer life is one of the symptoms of you not being at peace with God. Its not just absence of conflict but also the presence of healthy communication that indicates two countries who are at peace with each other. Else they are known to be at cold war with each other.

PEACE cannot be earned, no matter how much hours you religiously pray or how regularly you go to church, peace comes only by faith in God through the sacrificial death of his son and our Lord Jesus Christ. As Christians we are called to a life of peace in this world. Living at peace with God and the people around and spreading the peace everywhere we go, Perfect peace can be experienced only by setting our mind on the Spirit and in a consistent communion with him. When trouble comes your way, speak to your self from Psalm 116:7

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you."

If you would like to know more about the above mentioned born-again experience, please feel free to write to priji4jesus@yahoo.com