Where Peter Tchaikovsky thought that inner peace couldn’t be FOUND, Jesus offered it as a GIFT when we belong to him. “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” John 14:27.
Why do we fruitlessly seek peace of mind until we find—which never happens—when we can accept it as Christ’s free gift to all believers? Isaiah 53 tells us that we are healed by Christ’s wounds, encouraged by his sufferings and forgiven by his sacrifice. We’re always confident, then, against temptation since Jesus pulverized Satan. But we’re never, ever, less confident by Christ’s conquest of Satan. We always take Joy from Christ’s Sorrows, but never, ever, take sorrow from his Joy! Like him, other Bible personalities positively impacted others by first being impacted by GOD: Abraham, Moses, David and Deborah, but four of more. And each one possessing a personal life equal to his belief system. So Paul could say to the Corinthians, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ” I Corinthians 11:1. And to the Philippians, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice” 4:9. That’s called life and doctrine in equilibrium! It’s possible that Frank Lloyd Wright had been scarred for life by having his wife and her two children hacked to death by a shingling ax, their bodies incinerated by the killer’s arson. While Paul could have claimed being scarred by all the grief he encountered serving Jesus...he wasn’t. For...beyond all he suffered he gained immeasurably greater grace from Jesus. Do we want to be victims of what our humanity can’t stand, or examples of Christ’s Presence that makes us “more than conquerors” of all we encounter? End Part III
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