The Foundation of Peace

Much of the world believes that we are in trouble, that disaster looms.

There is an atmosphere of fear, confusion, and uncertainty among many people.

Is it possible to have real peace, and joy, in a world that seems out of control?

Yes!

We’re all affected in some way by world events and troubled times. For many of us the turbulence causes anxiety, confusion, worry and even anger. However, others have peace amid the turmoil, even when exposed to it more than most.

What is the difference?

Foundations

The difference is in the foundation on which a person builds their life.

Every person’s life is built on one of two foundations.

The majority build their lives on a foundation of shifting sand. As the storms and tides of life smash into the foundation of sand, it’s washed away and the building tumbles down.

The minority build on a foundation of solid bedrock. The exact same storms and tide smash the rock foundation, but it stands firm against every onslaught.

The sand that the majority build on is the ways of this world.

It’s the worlds version of your origin and destiny. It’s building a life on blind faith that the world’s governments, banking systems, education, science, etc., are all there is. It’s believing without questioning the world view that all life is a result of random chance, that is, in the beginning there was absolutely nothing, then it exploded in a cataclysmic eruption and every one of the impossibly complex ecosystems that make up life just fell into place as the dust settled.

Worse still, it’s believing that you alone know all there is to know to be able to build a life of lasting peace and joy.

The rock foundation that the minority build on is the hearing and doing of the Word of God.

Those that build their lives on the sand often have beautiful looking lives. While things are going well, they may be happy, free of money worries, self-confident and contented. Then, when a disaster strikes, the death of a loved, the routine blood test that heralds a life-threatening disease, the unexpected loss of a material fortune or the separation of a relationship, the foundation collapses.

Those that build their lives on the rock are those that hear the Word of God and do it. They hear that God is real. They look into the heavens and the beauty surrounding them and they see the evidence of a wonderful creator who has knowledge, wisdom and ability beyond their conception.

They learn that this Almighty God has left His complete Word for them with all the instruction and revelation they need to not only just get by but to have lasting peace and joy.

The first truth they learn is that man (man and women, mankind) once walked and talked together with God in an idyllic setting that is beyond the imagination of the human mind. However, a catastrophic separation took place when man disobeyed God and handed the whole creation to God’s enemy, Satan.

This resulted in the permanent separation of man and God. The very nature of man changed. He took on the nature of God’s enemy which is called sin. Death became man’s destiny.

Why death?

Because in God there is absolute and perfect justice, and that justice demands that sin must be punished. God has no choice. The only punishment for sin is death, not just the death of the body but the death of the spirit, the real you. The death of the spirit is permanent separation from God, forever. Never, ever will there be a parole.

The next truth the rock builders discover is that God loved the world so much that right from that dreadful day when sin entered mankind, He made a way that man could be reunited with his Creator.

God’s problem is that He still had to punish sin by death, yet every man born was due for the death penalty. The only answer was the offering of innocent blood. It had to be a man that paid the price, a sinless man. There was not one. ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. God Himself who knew no sin, was the only One who could pay the price. So, from day one God begins to pave the way for the ultimate sin offering.

God took on the form of man and entered the human race. However, He could not come the way of every other man, through the human seed. That would have caused him to inherit the same sin nature as everyone else.

This is where the masterplan is perfected. He displays His power and His glory by bypassing the man’s seed and coming into the world through a virgin. Thus, He is fully man but also fully God at the same time. He is called Jesus of Nazareth. He is Jesus “The Christ”. The Christ is a title meaning Messiah. He is the Messiah that He began telling men about in His Word from the very day of man’s fall.

He is a full-fledged man but without the sin nature, fully man and fully God at the same time.

Thirty-three years after being born of a virgin in a little town called Bethlehem, He sacrifices His life in the most horrific way, crucified on a cross of wood while he created the hill on which it stood.

No force on earth could have killed God Himself unless He willingly sacrificed His life.

As the last breath expired and the last drop of blood fell from His battered body He died, paying the price in full for the sin of mankind including you and me.

If the story had ended there it would have been incomplete. Jesus was innocent. He was the ONLY innocent. His death was not punishment, it was a willing sacrifice. He took our place Himself so we would not need to.

Death could not legally hold Him. After 3 days He rose again from the dead. This happened exactly as was foretold for in His Word for many generations. In His resurrection lies eternal redemption and hope for you and me.

Now, when we were created God gave us the one thing He cannot interfere with, a free will. He created us that way so that we could know Him and love Him of our own choice, not as a programmed robot.

So, if we are to inherit the eternal life that is ours, we must accept the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made by our own free will. It is NOT automatic.

How?

How do we do that? We simply ask!

We talk to God, who always hears us, and we tell Him we believe and accept the sacrifice He made for our sin. We tell Him that we are taking this step of faith knowing very little about Him or His ways. We ask Him to reveal Himself to us and to teach us His ways. We tell Him we are willing to trust in Him to lead us into the purpose He has for us even though we don’t see Him with our physical eyes.

This is called FAITH. It is the only way by which man can be saved. It is by God’s grace freely offered to us through faith. It is impossible to earn.

From this moment on we are on a new and magnificent journey. His Word says we became a new creature, old things have passed away.

He will guide us into all truth. He will reveal His great and precious promises to us little by little.

Even though life’s turmoils will still come we will know a peace and joy even the more so if we will live a life committed to learning of Him and knowing Him more each day. We do this by transforming the way we think. We replace the mindset of the world with the mind of God. This is done through hearing and doing The Word of God (The Bible).

As we mature in His knowledge, we begin to learn how to cast every care we have onto Him, and we learn His commands about being anxious for nothing but in all things make our request known to Him. He knows exactly what we need and He can direct our paths into our ultimate eternal destiny.

Please feel free to comment in the chat room below.