Real Everlasting Peace
What is it about the 1971 movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”? I find that people either absolutely love it, absolutely hate it or have never seen it. For those who have seen it, there are very few fence straddlers when it comes to this movie. For me, it has a fantastical appeal that I love!
In the movie, a candy is introduced that is the center of the plot, the Everlasting Gobstopper. It was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only changes colors and flavors when sucked on, but also never gets any smaller or disappears. Hence the name “everlasting”.
While there is real candy in today’s market called a “Gobstopper”, it does not last forever. The peace that the world chases after is like that. They think it will last forever, but it never does. There is only one peace that lasts and that is the Peace of God.
The Bible talks about this peace. Jesus promised this peace to everyone who believes in Him. The Apostle Paul experienced this peace time after time and described as a peace that “passes all understanding.” It is God’s gift to believers, and it is eternal.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has “set eternity in their heart” meaning that God has placed in every soul an awareness that there is something more than our present state. It is a longing for the eternal. That “eternal” is God.
However, the very heart of the problem for mankind is our rebellion against God. We want to walk our own path; meet our own needs; be our own god. As a result, we fight and battle against the Living God of the Bible.
But God sent His Son to be a mediator between us and Him. Jesus came to reconcile us to God. When we believe that Jesus died for us and we are willing to turn from our sins and ourselves, the Holy Spirit of God transforms us into new creations.
This simple act of faith reconciles us to God and gives us peace with God. When we have peace WITH God, then we will have the Peace OF God. Until you are reconciled with God through Jesus, you will never have lasting peace. Instead, you’ll be chasing after a fictitious Everlasting Gobstopper form of peace.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
This Sunday afternoon we will have an outreach to the Ballentine Subdivision and we need all hands on deck! This will a great opportunity for you to interact with the families of Ballentine while at the same time having a great time together as a church body. Festivities will begin at 3:00 pm but we need you to come at 2:30 pm to help get things set up. I hope to see you this Sunday for worship and our outreach! Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
In the movie, a candy is introduced that is the center of the plot, the Everlasting Gobstopper. It was intended "for children with very little pocket money". It not only changes colors and flavors when sucked on, but also never gets any smaller or disappears. Hence the name “everlasting”.
While there is real candy in today’s market called a “Gobstopper”, it does not last forever. The peace that the world chases after is like that. They think it will last forever, but it never does. There is only one peace that lasts and that is the Peace of God.
The Bible talks about this peace. Jesus promised this peace to everyone who believes in Him. The Apostle Paul experienced this peace time after time and described as a peace that “passes all understanding.” It is God’s gift to believers, and it is eternal.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has “set eternity in their heart” meaning that God has placed in every soul an awareness that there is something more than our present state. It is a longing for the eternal. That “eternal” is God.
However, the very heart of the problem for mankind is our rebellion against God. We want to walk our own path; meet our own needs; be our own god. As a result, we fight and battle against the Living God of the Bible.
But God sent His Son to be a mediator between us and Him. Jesus came to reconcile us to God. When we believe that Jesus died for us and we are willing to turn from our sins and ourselves, the Holy Spirit of God transforms us into new creations.
This simple act of faith reconciles us to God and gives us peace with God. When we have peace WITH God, then we will have the Peace OF God. Until you are reconciled with God through Jesus, you will never have lasting peace. Instead, you’ll be chasing after a fictitious Everlasting Gobstopper form of peace.
These are your Words for Wednesday.
This Sunday afternoon we will have an outreach to the Ballentine Subdivision and we need all hands on deck! This will a great opportunity for you to interact with the families of Ballentine while at the same time having a great time together as a church body. Festivities will begin at 3:00 pm but we need you to come at 2:30 pm to help get things set up. I hope to see you this Sunday for worship and our outreach! Have a great rest of your week!
In Christ,
Kevin
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