“No Peace for the Wicked”


BIBLE READING: Isaiah 48-50

"There is no peace," says the LORD, "for the wicked."  -Isaiah 48:22
          Away from God, walking habitually in sin, we are enemies of God Almighty. And we will never know peace with God nor have any real lasting peace in our lives while living that way. William Peck said, “There will be no peace so long as God remains unseated at the conference table.” But if we will surrender our lives to Him, and turn from our sins, He will begin a refining process in us that will yield a soul that has both the peace of God and peace with God.
            The Cripple Creek, Colorado, gold deposits, discovered in 1891, contained some pure gold, but most of it was a mixture of gold and tellurium together, creating telluride ore. The early refining methods of the miners could not separate the 2 elements, so the ore was thrown onto scrap heaps. One winter day, a miner mistook a lump of ore for coal and tossed it into his stove. Later, while removing ashes from the stove, he found the bottom littered with beads of pure gold. The heat had burned away the tellurium, leaving the purified gold. The discarded ore was put through a furnace and yielded a fortune. People living in rebellion against God are like telluride ore. Potentially, there is gold in there, but it is bound up in foolish, prideful sin. For many of us, God has had to put us into the fiery furnace of life over and over, until we finally cried out in surrender to Him. Then He began the process of transforming us, giving us peace with God and the peace of God, which rules our lives. The message of this chapter is that we must be very careful not to abuse God’s patience, mercy, and grace. We need to make peace with God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, today.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         -Ed Rea


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday - October 4, 2016

Woodlawn Family Bible Study TUESDAY BIBLE READING:    Genesis 32:22-32 Do you want to be blessed? That sounds like a rhetorical question, doesn’t it? Who doesn’t want to be blessed? I guess it really depends on your definition of “blessed.” Many people desire blessings that will make them wealthy or, perhaps, material goods. However, being blessed is not limited to those physical things. In fact, sometimes we can be blessed in the most unusual ways. For instance, in Genesis 32:26, we find Jacob wrestling with what we often call an angel. Within the story, Jacob is overtaking the angel and holding him down; refusing to let go until the angel gives him a blessing. The angel obliges Jacob, but not in the way he might have imagined. The angel changed his name from “Jacob” to “Israel,” but he also did something else. He put Jacob’s hip joint out of socket, causing him much pain and difficulty walking. In part, his blessing had to do with him walking with a limp. How is tha...
Read more

Resolutions: Draw closer to God through study of His word

BIBLE READING: John 14.7 Spend time alone with God’s Word.  Besides the spiritual growth we will gain from study, we will also come to know Him better.  Reading His word brings us in touch with Him.  Jesus tells us in John 14:7 – “If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also.”   Just studying the life of Jesus will help us to know God better.   In seeking God’s help, we can draw closer to Him through prayer, meditation, nature, and study.   “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate day and night.” Psalm 1:2  I Tim.4:13,15 - “Give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine… meditate on these things; give yourself wholly to them.”   Regardless of our circumstances we can rely on God’s unchanging character.  God is good. God loves me. God is with me. God knows my problems. God cares. Romans 8:31(b) tells us, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” Make a resolution to slo...
Read more

“Examples”

BIBLE READING: Mark 13- Luke 1 DISCUSSION                                                                                   This past week we have read of some great examples in the bible.   We read in Mark 13 about us being ready and being prepared for when Jesus returns.   We need to all stay awake!   In Mark 14 we read of one action having such an impact.   How this woman gave her very best to Jesus because of her love for Him.   In Mark 15 we read of Pontius Pilate and his desire to keep his power.   He loved his power and did not want to give it up even if that meant sending an inno...
Read more