And we know how necessary it was that Christ should come forth as God and man; for salvation cannot be expected in any other way than from God; and Christ must confer salvation on us, and not only be its minister. And then, as He is God, He justifies us, regenerates us, illuminates us into a hope of eternal life; to conquer sin and death is doubtless what only can be effected by divine power. Hence Christ, except He was God, could not have performed what we had to expect from Him. It was also necessary that He should become man, that he might unite us to Himself; for we have no access to God, except we become the friends of Christ; and how can we be so made, except by a brotherly union?
John Calvin

Seek peace

Seek peace

Be sure to read the article first, omitting the Scriptures. Then look up the Scriptures and mark them in your Bible. Feel free to pass copies of this article to others who want to know God’s truth. You will be doing God’s Will when you show and tell others how to live this special Way.

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How do we seek peace and pursue it?

Disciples of Jesus Christ must seek peace and pursue it earnestly in order to enter the peace of Christ (1 Peter 3:11). The Bible says we are to think about whatever is good, peaceful and of good report (Phil. 4:8-9).

If all you said was continually a blessing to the hearer, and you blessed those who cursed you, and if all the words that came out of your mouth were as the words of God, and all the thoughts you thought were happy thoughts, this would be most pleasing to the Lord (1 Peter 4:11; Eph. 4:29).

‘The cheerful heart has a continual feast’ (Prov. 15:15). A disciple of Jesus Christ has the most for which to be thankful. He has eternal life and he receives answered prayers (1 John 3:22). His life is abundant, peaceful and joyous (Prov. 13:21). If he has any anxious thoughts, he doesn’t dwell on them or worry. He just gives them to Christ, as he is commanded to do (1 Peter 5:7).

What are some of the things in this world that can rob us of being cheerful, and would grieve the Spirit of God and take our peace (Eph. 5:10-11)? How about violence on television, violence in sports or violence in the news? Even negative weather reports take our peace. For the most part, we can’t change these things, but there is something we can change.

We can change ourselves with God’s help! Don’t be concerned about the way the world is going. Rather, be concerned about the way you are going. Make sure it is pleasing to the Lord. Remember, we have God’s protection in all things when we are living to please only Him (Job 5:20-27; Is. 3:10; Prov. 10:3). So let us consider those things that are violent, distasteful and rob us of our peace, and control what goes into our minds (Is. 33:15-16)!