Which one do you choose?

Scriptures:

John 14:27 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.

Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

James 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. 

Peace

We all long for peace. Peace is not just safety or lack of war, violence, conflict, and contention.

The Church is a refuge where followers of Christ attain peace.  In the Church, we fellowship, here the Word, and experience the joy of the Lord.

How do we stay close to the Savior? Humbling ourselves before God, praying always, repenting of sins, and becoming true disciples of Jesus Christ are profound examples of the righteousness that is rewarded by abiding peace.

What are the sources of peace? Many search for peace in worldly ways, which never have and never will succeed. Peace is not found by attaining great wealth, power, or prominence.²² Peace is not found in the pursuit of pleasure, entertainment, or leisure. None of these can, even when attained in abundance, create any lasting happiness or peace.

You can expect peace and joy to become a part of your daily life when you are a Christian – but just like all the other benefits of the kingdom of God, these attributes come at a price.  Things of great value, both natural and spiritual, come at a great price. God’s salvation may be free, but discipleship is costly. The gifts of the Spirit may also be freely given, but they are not cheap.  Without great trials, we would have no great victories. The Lord reveals Himself in the difficulties of life as our Deliverer, our Sufficiency, and our Lord. The psalmist tells us, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers [us] out of them all (Psalm 34:19).

A carnally minded person is one who is self-interested, self-indulgent, and self-sufficient. There is no peace in the selfish life. The spiritually-minded person puts God in the center of their life. They are interested in doing the will of Christ. They are motivated by the Lord to minister to others. They recognize that they are nothing outside of Christ.

The peace of God is like a compass for our souls, leading us in the direction that the Holy Spirit intends for our lives. We can take great comfort in knowing that the sovereign God is so involved in our lives that He would supply us with this internal compass as we seek to do His will.

At the same time, the mature Christian will recognize that there is another way that God uses the fruit of peace to direct our steps. As we surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives, He brings us to a place where we experience His blessed peace on an ongoing basis. Instead of anxiety, anger, or depression, the peace of God becomes the normal state of mind for the Christian.

SCRIPTURE: “…for the kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). The peace comes in knowing that the kingdom of God is here and now, and yet to come.

Confusion

Confusion comes from the enemy. He will always try and confuse, confound, and mislead us. We can overcome confusion through the Word of God.  1 Corinthians 14:33 states, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints”. Here, the term peace can also be translated to mean a quiet and restful mind, not troubled by confusion or doubt.

We must not allow ourselves to concentrate on the confusion or the lies, but look instead to the author and finisher of our faith.  Therefore, when confusion comes in, we must take authority over the confusion by pleading the Blood of Jesus Christ and by standing on what God PROMISES us as believers and children.

1Temptation: It is normal for a believer to be tempted to sin. James 4 tells us how to deal with temptation, and it’s by resisting the devil and drawing near to God. It is not uncommon for people to be held in bondage to things such as uncontrollable anger, or addictions such as pornography as a result of demonic influence.

2 Accusations: The enemy tries to continually badger us with our sinful past and gives us feelings of guilt and shame. If you’ve confessed your sin(s), they have been washed away by the blood of Christ, and there’s no need to look back. Philippines 3:13, “This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” Satan is the accuser of the brethren (Revelations 12:10), and is known for trying to drag a person through their past to pull them down.

3 Deception: The enemy is always trying to get us to believe his lies. What’s the first thing he did with Eve? He deceived her into thinking she would not surely die if she ate of the tree. He deceives people into believing there is no hope for them or that God is angry with them (even after they turned from their sin and repented of it). It is not uncommon for a person to have a hard time accepting the fact that they are forgiven, because the enemy constantly tells them that they messed up too much to be forgiven.