Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

September 21
Saturday


A PRIZE
FOR PEACE

READ:
EPHESIANS 2:11-18
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These things I have
spoken to you that
in Me you may have
peace. __John 16:33
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Alfred Nobel made a fortune from the invention of dynamite, which changed the course of warfare. Perhaps because of the horrors that wars inflicted with the use of dynamite, he made a provision in his will for a prize to be given annually to those who work to promote peace. Today it's called the Nobel Peace Prize.

God's expression of peace to the world was His Son. When Jesus was born, the angels' clear, unmistakable message to the shepherds was "on earth peace, goodwill toward men" (Luke 2:14).

The biblical definition of peace is, first of all, peace with God (Rom. 5:1). Sin makes us enemies with God (v.10), but Jesus' coming to this earth and dying on the cross turned away God's wrath. We can now be reconciled with Him. Having put right our relationship with God, Jesus now enables us to work at breaking down the barriers between us and others.

Another kind of peace is having the peace of God (Phil. 4:7). There is no need to be anxious about anything, for we are told that we can make our requests known to Him.

Having brought peace, Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father (Heb. 12:2). Today, we can have peace with God and the peace of God. __C. P. Hia

`````````````````Hark! The herald angels sing,``````````````````
`````````````````"Glory to the newborn King;````````````````````
``````````````Peace on earth, and mercy mild__`````````````````
```````````God and sinners reconciled!" __Wesley````````````````
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True peace is not the absence of war;
it is the presence of God. __Loveless

********************Today's Bible Reading __ Ephesians 2:11-18*********************

11 Therefore remember that
you, once Gentiles in the
flesh__who are called
Uncircumcision by what is
called the Circumcision
made in the flesh by
hands__ 12 that at that time
you were without Christ,
being aliens from the
commonwealth of Israel
and strangers from the
covenants of promise,
having no hope and without
God in the world. 13 But
now in Christ Jesus you
who once were far off have
been brought near by the
blood of Christ.

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.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Many Old Testament Jews believed that circumcision marked them
out as God's favored people (Gen. 17:9-14) and that God would
never save the Gentiles (Eph. 3:5-8). Feeling superior, they labeled
the Gentiles as the "uncircumcision" (2:11). By affirming that
everyone is saved by grace through faith (vv.1-10), Paul declared
that Christ had reconciled humans to God, torn down the wall of
hostility that separated Jews and non-Jews (vv.12-14), and brought
together Jews and Gentiles into a new unified humanity, the body of
Christ__the church (vv.15-18).