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Jesus Willed Us Peace, September 21
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27
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Before our Lord went to His agony on the cross, He made His will. He had no
silver or gold or houses to leave to His disciples. He was a poor man, as far as
earthly possessions were concerned. Few in Jerusalem were so poor as He. But
He left His disciples a richer gift than any earthly monarch could bestow on his
subjects. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you,” He said; “not as
the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid.”
He left them the peace which had been His during His life on the earth, which
had been with Him amidst poverty, buffeting, and persecution, and which was to
be with Him during His agony in Gethsemane and on the cruel cross.
The Saviour’s life on this earth, though lived in the midst of conflict, was a
life of peace. While angry enemies were constantly pursuing Him, He said, “He
that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those
things that please him.” No storm of satanic wrath could disturb the calm of that
perfect communion with God. And He says to us, “My peace I give unto you.”
Those who take Christ at His word, and surrender their souls to His keeping,
their lives to His ordering, will find peace and quietude. Nothing of the world
can make them sad when Jesus makes them glad by His presence. In perfect
acquiescence there is perfect rest. The Lord says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”...
Every man’s experience testifies to the truth of the words of Scripture: “The
wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest.”... Sin has destroyed our
peace.... The masterful passions of the heart no human power can control. We
are as helpless here as were the disciples to quiet the raging storm. But He who
spoke peace to the billows of Galilee, has spoken the word of peace for every soul.
However fierce the tempest, those who turn to Jesus with the cry, “Lord, save us,”
will find deliverance. His grace, which reconciles the soul to God, quiets the strife
of human passion, and in His love the heart is at rest. “He maketh the storm a
calm, so that the waves thereof are still.... So he bringeth them unto their desired
haven.”...
The heart that is in harmony with God is a partaker of the peace of heaven,
and will diffuse its blessed influence all around. The spirit of peace will rest like
dew upon hearts weary and troubled with worldly strife.—
The Signs of the Times,
December 27, 1905
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