Wednesday, September 24, 2014

WHERE IS THE ROAD TO PEACE WITHIN?

The late seminary professor Howard Hendricks once told of a neighbor of his whose pride
and joy was his speedboat. This man was really proud of this boat and spent all of his spare moments washing and waxing it. One day, he boasted to Hendricks that "I now have 38 coats of wax" on the boat. That must have been one exquisite looking boat.

Every time he boasted about the mint condition of his vessel, Howard Hendricks was kind to him, encouraging him. He never said an unkind word to this rich lost man, as he said to himself "this man has to stay busy and always doing something so as to hide the completely useless emptiness of his life". If you ever watch some of these hyper or active men or women who pursue self-gratification and pleasure with a passion, you will find that same type of emptiness. I see them on most Sunday mornings (except in the middle of winter) when I drive by the lake on the way to church, and see these guys fishing....sometimes in the rain.


Do ALL of them have empty lives? Do any of them have peace? Sure they have great families, the best homes, cars, jobs and even boats like this guy Hendricks lived next to. But do they have the peace that passeth all understanding? Are their souls at rest in the Lord? Do they even know what that means? Sadly, the majority does not and this problem cuts across all classes, races and stations in life. 


Scripture gives us the roadmap to the way of Inner Peace, the Peace within. Ephesians 2 tells us that "14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father." There is NO peace unless we have God in our lives and that can only happen if Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior.


In this older Plumbline program. I look at one of the fruits of the Spirit - PEACE, and give part of my personal testimony as to how I found that peace....and it was only through coming to the end of myself. It was only hitting the ground so hard that all I could do was look up and choose Him....then give my life to Him and see His forgiveness for all my sins - Repentance. You too can have that fruit of the Spirit - Peace...we all can, so we don't have to make busy plans or occupy our minds with mindless books, hobbies, sports, activities etc just to run from ourselves, and the convicting conscience we have been ignoring. Please watch:

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