What is “peace”? The word certainly has several meanings. This page is not dedicated to the avoidance of war, or getting along with neighbors, at least not directly. This page is dedicated to a deeper peace, the peace that must occur within a person’s heart before true peace with others can exist.
I have found the answers to life’s most important questions through my relationship with God. I now have a true peace in my heart, not because of any good that I have done, but because God has reached down to me and freed me from my burdens. If you are burdened by life’s heavy load, I hope you will find the undying peace and hope that I have found since I discovered the truths on this page. These are just a small portion of the promises God has given to us in His Word, the Bible.
If you have questions about how you can have peace in your heart and hope that extends far beyond this lifetime, please e-mail me. No business I might be conducting could be more important to me than sharing with you the love of God that I have found.
Thanks.
Dave
Peace with God: He wants this for you.
The Bible says…
“We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10
Why don’t most people have this peace and abundant life that God planned for us to have?
Free will: You have the power to choose peace.
God has created us in order to experience a deep and meaningful, eternal relationship with us. He could have created mindless robots who could only do His will, but what kind of love could exist in such a situation?
Every day we choose between our own way and God’s way. We often choose ourselves over Him; and we choose our needs over those of the people in our lives. These actions separate us from God and others, and eventually ruin our lives, separating us from God and those people with whom we could have meaningful relationships.
The Bible says…
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
No “bootstrapping” allowed!
I live in the USA, where the idea of the “self-made man” is glorified. The self-made man has worked hard to make something of himself, often rising out of poverty to become rich and successful in business. This is not something that is possible where God is concerned. He only accepts utter perfection, a state which no human being can reach. You could think of the gap between us and God as a great chasm, hundreds of meters across. Even the greatest Olympic champion long jumper could never jump across, or even get close. He might get closer to the other side than you or I could, but we’re all going to end up broken at the bottom of the ravine if we try to jump across.
The Bible says…
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” Proverbs 14:12
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2
Mercy and Grace: our salvation
If I broke into your house and stole from you, and you in return spoke kindly to me and offered me gifts, you would have shown me a great deal of grace, giving me something I did not deserve. If I had done these unkind and unlawful things to you, and you forgave me and did not seek punishment against me, you would also be showing me mercy by not giving me what I did deserve. God has shown us both mercy and grace, by offering us forgiveness for the wrongs we have done, and offering us innumerable gifts, such as peace, hope, and everlasting life.
God has promised that all wrongdoing must have consequences, and the punishment is death. This is where Jesus Christ enters the equation. Jesus died on the cross, and God is willing to accept Christ’s death as substitution for our own punishment. God has declared that this is the only way that we can escape punishment for our sins. Jesus embodies the mercy and grace of God toward us, offering us a gift of grace that we don’t deserve, and in mercy, allowing us to avoid the punishment that we do deserve.
The Bible says…
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.” 1 Timothy 2:5
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” 1 Peter 3:18
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
A rejected gift does no good.
Let’s assume I had robbed you, as mentioned previously. If I reject the gifts you offer me in return for my sin against you, and I refuse to accept your pardon from wrong, I would end up in jail, with none of the good things you kindly extended to me. Unless we accept God’s mercy and grace in the form of forgiveness, peace, and life, we will not receive these gifts from Him. Instead, we will receive rejection and eternal separation from God. He does not want this for us! Still, He has given us free will, and we choose our own destiny.
We can live with God forever and have a deep and loving relationship with Him. All we have to do is accept the gift that God is holding out to us. He offers it freely; we must only accept it.
The Bible says…
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” John 1:12
“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Where are you?
I meet people all of the time who are “working their way to Heaven”. This is a most tragic scenario, as they will never be able to jump across the great divide between man and God. Are you trying to work your way to Heaven? Good works make us feel good, and can make us appear to be very religious, but no amount of good works can get us across that great divide. Only accepting the gift of Jesus Christ will save us, and allow us to enter the family of God.
The Bible says…
“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy.” Titus 3:5
“The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'” John 14:6
Do you want peace in your life?
God is not offering His priceless gifts of mercy and grace only to certain people. They are available to anyone who will reach out and accept them. You can have peace in your heart, and the love of God, which will never cease. I want you to know this peace, which also brings joy and hope. That is why I have added this page to my web site. God loves you, and wants you to know and love Him in return. This relationship begins with your acceptance of the gift of Jesus Christ, and God’s pardon of your sin.
I long ago admitted to God that I had done wrong, and that I needed His help to get to Heaven. I prayed to Him and told Him that I was sorry for the wrongs I had done, and asked Him to please forgive me. I accepted Jesus Christ as my “door” to God, the only way to know Him. That was over 30 years ago, and I have never looked back. There’s no denying that I’m still not perfect. I still fail God in my state of human imperfection, but He has never failed me. He has promised that He will never leave me, and He always forgives me when I go to Him and ask for forgiveness for doing wrong.
Knowing God is the greatest experience of my life, and it offers me hope beyond this difficult life. I know that I will live with God and get to know Him even better after this short life has ended.
You can know God personally, and have a most wonderful relationship with Him. First, though, as any relationship is started, you must meet Him. If you will accept His love, you will receive it, and I can assure you from my own experience that it will be the greatest thing that will ever happen to you.
The Bible says…
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
“No eye has seen, nor ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
I am here for you!
I’ve often had people approach me wanting to argue about God and religion. Please know that I have no interest in arguing with you. My goal is to spread love and peace, not futile bickering and hostility. If you have questions about God, or about the things I’ve talked about here, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I would like nothing better than to see you in Heaven some day, and to know that God used me in some small way to help you know the peace and love that are part of having a relationship with Him.