GracePoint for Today – “PEACE” – 10/12/18
Romans 5:1-2 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
PEACEThere is a gentle breeze blowing, birds are singing, the sun is shining, and the air is a little cooler… in short, the scene from our back porch this morning is quite peaceful. Particularly when you compare it to the conditions just yesterday when the residual winds and rain from a weakening hurricane blew through! Then there are the pictures from the Florida panhandle in the aftermath of hurricane Michael, devastating! What is normally considered a very “peaceful” place (how often did those residents sit out on their porches and enjoy the gentle and tranquil scenery?) was transformed into a place of turmoil and horror with 150+ mph winds, torrential rain, and crashing seas! Today? Calm breeze and gentle surf. What a contrast! You see, the shoreline of the Gulf Coast is a beautiful and peaceful place, until there is a storm of course. But, in reality, it is still the same place, circumstances change, but the seaside is still the same.
Peace is also explained in contrast. The scripture verse above establishes peace in terms of “peace with God” while Paul also describes peace differently in Philippians 4:6-7 – “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Here Paul refers to the “peace of God”. And what a contrast there is between the two! Peace WITH God is like the shoreline itself, the bedrock of the continent, the place where land meets sea; it is there! Why? Because God made it that way! Peace with God for the Believer is always “there”, why? Because God through Christ established it and it will NOT fade away. However, peace with God is like the varying circumstance of the weather. There are times of great peace, times when we sense and know the abiding peace of the Holy Spirit’s presence in our life. BUT, there are times when (whether through no fault of our own, or when we bring it on ourselves through disobedience) the storms of life are raging all around us. It is in those times that we may not experience the “peace OF God”, but even in the storm we must remember that storms rage but they also subside, and the bedrock remains… PEACE WITH GOD!
Friend He will never forsake you! He will always remain, faithful. Peace WITH Him has been established by the justification of faith in Jesus!
Draw near to the Lord today, rely on Him and experience the PEACE OF GOD today!
In His Amazing Love,
Pastor Ben
