OUR DAILY BREAD : WHERE IS PEACE?

[cimi]

THURSDAY OCTOBER 25, 2018

THE BIBLE in ONE YEAR
JEREMIAH 6-8 and TIMOTHY 5



WHERE IS PEACE

READ:
JEREMIAH 8:8-15
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We have peace
with God through
our Lord Jesus
Christ. Romans 5:1
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"Do you still hope for peace?" A journalist asked Bob Dylan in 1984

"There is not going to be any peace," Dylan replied. His response drew criticism, yet there's no denying that peace remains ever elusive.

About 600 years before Christ, most prophets were predicting peace. God's prophet wasn't one of them. Jeremiah reminded the people that God had said, "Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people" (JEREMIAH 7:23).

Peace is rare. But amid Jeremiah's book of dire prophecies we discover a God who loves relentlessly. "I have loved you with an everlasting love," the Lord told His rebellious people. "I will build you up again" (31:3-4).

God is a God of love and peace. Conflict comes because of our rebellion against Him. Sin destroys the world's peace and robs each of us of inner peace. Jesus came to this planet to reconcile us to God and give us that inner peace. "Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," wrote the apostle Paul (ROMANS 5:1). His words are among the most hope-filled ever written.

Whether we live in a combat zone or dwell in a serene neighborhood with nary a whisper of war, Christ invites us into His peace.
____________________________________________________________________ __TIM GUSTAFSON

**God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself,
because it is not there. C. S LEWIS