The world is in turmoil and unrest, like a giant volcano boiling and churning inside, ready to erupt at any time. There is distress among nations. Leaders are perplexed on every side as the powers of evil prey upon the heart and mind of humanity. They cry peace, peace, where there is no peace, like the troubled sea, always casting up dirt and mire.
Peace comes from within, not from without. To have peace, one must have a conscience void of offense toward God and man. A peaceful condition of heart and mind cannot exist where the passions of sin control one’s life. For when one knows right from wrong and is not able to do that which is right, being bound by the power of sin, there is a continual conflict of conscience and will, and peace of mind is impossible.
In Romans 7, Paul writes of such a condition, in fact, his own experience before he found Christ, “For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I…For to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not…Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.” Oh, wretched man that he was---having to do against his will, things that condemned him! He had remorse and guilt instead of peace and satisfaction. He had a Pharisaic profession of religion, yet such turmoil and unrest inside that he was driven to the place of murder. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, went down under his uncontrollable passions of sin
Then Jesus appeared to Paul on the Damascus road, showed him his true condition, and spoke peace to his troubled soul as he yielded unto God. He writes in Romans 8:1, 2, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh (the passions of sin), but after the Spirit (God’s Spirit, being made a partaker thereof by the new birth). For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
Now, let’s ask ourselves, how is it with our life? Are we able to do that which we know is right, or does the power of sin have us in its clutches, leading us into things we are sorry for afterward? If so, sin has us bound; but we can take heart---Jesus Christ came to open the door of sin’s prison, to proclaim liberty to its captives, to bind up the broken hearted, and to give peace to those who are troubled.
There is no other source of real peace. It must begin in the individual heart and mind. Peace is impossible without righteousness, and righteousness is impossible without Christ. Our only hope is in Him.
Psalm 85:10 reads, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” all in Christ Jesus.
For those who have never been "born again" ("passed out of death into life")...we invite you today! The following "Guide", we trust, will help you! Also, those who have been "born again," but have "slipped back" (wandered away)...we invite you also to consider the "Guide"...and "come back home"! Here's a "Guide:"
Jesus is Lord!
Every person on earth needs forgiveness for having disobeyed God. We cannot be saved from sin by doing better, but by the grace of God and through faith in Him. Yet, faith that does not produce action, is no faith at all. The gospel according to Jesus is: Believe in the LORD Jesus Christ and you will be saved. A believer in God will confess that Jesus is LORD and give evidence to believeing it by obeying Him. Whosoever says he knows God, but does not obey Him is a liar: (1 John 2:4). A believer in Jesus Christ is known by whom he obeys.
How To Be Saved
1. Confess to God that you are a sinner and deserve death. "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
2. In sorrow, turn from your sins to God and ask His forgiveness. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts...let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him...He will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7).
3. Believing that "Christ died for our sins...was buried and rose again" (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4), trust Christ as Saviour and confess Him as Lord. "If thou shalt confess with Thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9). Then "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him" (Colossians 2:6). [ The End ]