Peace or Conflict

I will always remember the day when I became a born-again Believer.  It was the most life-changing and memorable transformation that has ever affected me in such positive ways.  It was the turning point for the rest of my life, a newfound freedom.

My encounter with God was like trading a rusty, old ‘Conflict for Life’ badge that Satan pinned on my lapel, in exchange for a solid gold ‘Peace Like a River’ placard that Jesus handed me.

Conflict departed from me and peace took its place at the time I said yes to the Holy Spirit’s beckoning.  His gift of grace broke the death grip I had on worldly calamity the moment I opened my heart to receive Christ as my personal Savior.

My spirit grabbed the Lord’s outstretched hands, and with love He pulled me to His bosom out of the mire in which I was stuck.  He freed me from my wayward lifestyle.

When God forgave my sins, I was able to ‘let go’ of the sin-nature that had me bound and ‘let God’ become the giver of life to my soul that was void of peace.

Before I met Jesus, my surrounding environment was like quicksand.  I was sinking deeper in sin and looking for something substantial to grab on to.  I was held fast in a cesspool of scum on a stagnant pond of transgressions that smelled like death.

The Lord shined His beacon of hope in the darkness of my despair and became the solid rock, a firm foundation that I so desperately needed.  I was in a world filled with calamity of my own making, having no one to blame but myself.  My life reeked of sin, with many regrets, while oppression became my bedfellow.

An unanswered question was always looming in my mind: “Where can I find lasting peace?”  Since Jesus took up residence within me, I do not have to search hard to find sweet memories that came after my transformation to Christianity.  There are many.  God has become the fulfilling hope of past, present, and future experiences in Him.

The question I had about peace was answered as soon as God’s love flooded my soul; a river-of-life flowing from the throne of Almighty God.  The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit inhabited my being and breathed life into me.

The smell of death subsided when salvation became reality after I asked God to forgive my sins.  There was now no question as to where the ongoing peace was coming from.

Have you ever searched your memory for something to provide lasting peace in lonely hours of despair that you may have been facing?  The key word above is ‘lasting’.  If you found nothing, I pray that this writing will help to shine God’s persona on your pathway ahead.

Know this, God loves you with a never-ending love.  He also knows your name and where you live, because you are important to Him.  He wants you to experience an abundant, peaceful life that is free from ongoing conflict.  God desires that you have a life filled with His mercy and grace.

There is nothing I can think of that compares to the peace that God gives the moment a person is born-again, when the Lord forgives their sins.  Nothing on earth can provide lasting peace except Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace.

Fame, fortune, possessions, or holding the highest position in a company are insufficient to sustain long-term happiness.  They are nothing more than fleeting mirages that are disguised as peace if a person places their misdirected allegiance in these things.  They are not the source of peace.  We should not value them as such.

I pose this question: “Peace or conflict?”  I sincerely believe if anyone takes a minute to fully digest this question, they will choose peace over conflict.  Everyone has a choice in the matter.

After knowing what I know now, I cannot understand why anyone would willfully choose to live in peril when peace is just a prayer away, but as I said, it’s their choice.  I can somewhat relate, because I was running from God too long. 

I forfeited years of peace when I refused to go God’s way.  I chose the wide road to destruction instead.  I regret holding onto things that were less important, rather than submitting my life to the God of peace.

Possessions can sometimes become pacifiers that people suckle and latch onto in their quest to find joy, but when the short-lived highs fade, peace, if it is present at all, takes flight as well.

A new life through Jesus Christ is like trading materialism for a special friend that will never leave nor forsake us.  This person is Jesus, the Savior of humanity.

When an individual asks God to forgive their sins, they are trading corruption and conflict for incorruptibility and peace.  The old ‘sin nature’ releases its hold on the one seeking peace and a new ‘God nature’ takes its place when they become God’s child.

Nothing we possess or give credence can compare with lasting peace that Jesus brings.  The choice is simple.  Jesus exceeded my expectations when I chose peace over conflict.  I will never regret choosing Him as Lord.

God wants everyone to try Him and see for themselves that He is absolutely worth the trade.  Jesus will open our eyes to the pure beauty of God’s love, which is the full spectrum of agape love.  God will manifest Himself in living-color with rays of ‘Son-shine’, not the drab, gloom, and doom that sin overshadows us with.

Are you searching for purpose and meaning in your life?  Has peace evaded your efforts in finding it because you’re looking in the wrong place?  It’s not by chance that you came across this writing.  God wants you to experience real and lasting peace.

Jesus was crucified and died on a cross for the sins of every man, woman, boy, and girl.  You and I are included.  He paid a debt He did not owe, for the debt we could not pay.  Believe, and you will be saved; it is that easy.

Through Jesus, we inherit eternal life in Heaven.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  There is no other way to receive salvation and become part of the family of God except through Jesus. 

Peace or Conflict?  Jesus Christ, God’s Son is truly the peace that you are seeking.  He is at the opposite end of the spectrum from conflict.

(1 John 1:6-10), “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.” (vs 7) “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (vs 8) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (vs 9) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (vs 10) “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”

www.wordsfrompapa.blogspot.com

Written by,

Papa Boyd