TRUE PEACE, FALSE PEACE
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).
This one verse contains an incredible command; the entire body of Jesus Christ has been called by God to let His peace rule and govern our hearts, minds and bodies! The peace of God is to sit as ruler over everything. And if there was ever a time this call needed to be sounded, it is today in this hour of turmoil and confusion!
The Lord commanded the early Church to allow His peace to rule their lives, because He knew what was coming and He wanted to prepare them. In just a few years’ time, they would be persecuted, even tortured. They would face loss of homes, confiscation of all worldly goods, and attacks from vicious men who thought they were doing God a favor by killing them. God foresaw all this and was preparing them. “You must be grounded in My peace in order to get through all the incredible changes ahead.”
A false peace is sweeping through many churches today, a peace that will fail in the troubled days ahead. Moses called stubborn Israel “self-blessed,” meaning self-deceived. He warned Israel that a curse would come upon all wicked, disobedient children of God who walked in idolatry. They would plaster over their sinful ways with a false sense of peace: “When he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart” (Deuteronomy 29:19).
Moses is describing the child of God who decides to satisfy his lust for evil by finding a cozy doctrine that tells him he’s still saved, heaven bound — while still sinning. He says to himself, “I will do as I please and still not lose the peace in my heart.” False peace!
No matter what happens to America or to the nations of the world, no power in hell can rob you of the peace of God through Christ Jesus, which He implants in your soul. God will have His people governed by peace. True peace!
Let the true peace of God rule in your hearts!