“Our once great western Christian civilization is dying. If this matters to followers of Jesus Christ, then we must set aside our denominational differences and work together to strengthen the things that remain and reclaim what has been lost. Evangelicals and Catholics must stand together to re-establish that former Christian culture and moral consensus. We have the numbers and the organization but the question is this: Do we have the will to win this present spiritual battle for Jesus Christ against secularism? Will we prayerfully and cooperatively work toward a new Christian spiritual revival ― or will we choose to hunker down in our churches and denominationalisms and watch everything sink into the spiritual and moral abyss of a New Dark Age?” - Mark Davis Pickup

Saturday, July 12, 2014

PEACE OF GOD PASSES ALL UNDERSTANDING

We read in Isaiah:

“The wolf will live with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the kid,the calf and the lion and fatling together,
And a little child shall lead them.”

There seems to be a longing deep within the human heart for universal peace. But until Christ comes again to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, it will not be. But until then, He offers his followers internal peace that passes all human understanding (see Philippians 4. 6-7). That peace has a transforming quality that can change even devilish people in into saints.  History is replete with examples.

On the other hand, the absence of Christ’s peace can turn gentle souls into cynical, stone-hearted people. The world’s cruelty can sear individual and even collective human conscience.  We see this in such things as abortion, child and elder abuse, euthanasia, assisted suicide and pornography.

And yet in the midst of human violence Christ offers his peace to all who come to know Him. This peace that passes human understanding was made evident to me in that even in the storms of life and the terrors of degenerative disability, I found peace. 

The darker my physical reality became, the more evident the light of Christ became. There were times when my disease threatened to engulf me; my prayerful cries were met with a deep peace overtaking the fear. I can not explain it logically. The inaudible but real message of assurance “Be not afraid, I am with you” descended upon me to over-take the raging flames of a terrible disease.


There is nothing that can happen to me in this world that can rob me of the eternal hope that is within me. - Mark

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