Weekly Devotional 1-7-19 Peace with God / Peace of God
Do you enjoy the peace of God? I image all people would like to have that peace, who wouldn’t? But, many people don’t. Perhaps this is because they haven’t understood that to have the peace of God they must first experience peace with God. Understanding this isn’t enough. A person must act on that understanding to have peace with God because alienation exists between God and the natural man, the unregenerate man. Alienation is what happened to Adam. God told Adam that if he disobeyed Him, and experimented with that which was forbidden, he would lose the spiritual connection with God that he enjoyed. God warned Adam that he would become spiritually separated from Him (Genesis 2:17). God restored that lost spirituality to Adam, but it wasn’t without Adam coming to understand and repent of what he had done. He was forgiven, but he had gained a new nature, a new set of desires. Scripture tells us that nature has been seminally passed to all of his offspring, which means all persons. (Romans 5:12; 3:10-12; 3:23). That is why Jesus said that a person must be reborn spiritually in order to see (understand) the kingdom of heaven or enter into it (John 3:3; 5). This qualifies that he who must be born again spiritually is spiritually dead toward God.
There are those who will never have peace with God nor will they have the peace of God because they continue to reject the light that has come into the world and hold on to that which alienates them. Again, referring to Jesus’ words recorded in the gospel of John, we read, “19And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19-20). This hostility must be brought under control and surrendered by said individuals if they want peace with God and the peace of God.
That said, there is a road that leads to peace with God. That road leads to Calvary and to the person who gave His life for us all. Those who hear the voice of God and listen soon will find that road. It is not hidden. Once again turning to the words of Jesus we hear Him say, “14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:14-18).
All who hear and listen to God’s voice and turn to Him for His mercy and grace will hear His quick answer, “Enter into my peace for I have forgiven you of your sins, peace between us has been restored and now enjoy My peace.”
Steve
stevelampman@comcast.net stevelampman.com
Transforming Power; The Work of God on Behalf of Man
All Scripture usage is from the NKJB