“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:15-16).

So often, the problem I have with peace is that I really want peace with God, but I kinda like some of the stuff I struggle with. Let’s call it the problem of “AND.”

• Of course I want peace with God – AND I don’t want to change my ways
• I want peace with God – AND there are some sin things I kinda enjoy relishing in that I don’t want to give up
• I want peace with God – AND I don’t want to work at it

Basically, I want peace with God AND I want to stay the way I am.

That’s the problem. I am the problem. You see, God is at war with sin and what it does in God’s creation. There is no room for compromise with sin for God. Sin is serious enough that God would die on the cross and descend into hell to rid our world of sin.

As long as there is any inclination of peace with sin, there can be no peace with God.

Charles Spurgeon wrote: Until you have humbled yourself before God and sought and found mercy, God is at war with you and you are at war with God. There can be no peace where there is no purity. God has no peace with sin, and never can.

You want peace? You want peace with God? Holiness matters.

“Again the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you,’ he said, ‘If you will bow down and worship me’” (Matthew 4:8).

As soon as Jesus was baptized and set apart for his public ministry, the very first thing that happened was the temptation in the wilderness. There the devil tempted Jesus for three days with power, notoriety, control, fame.

We know that Jesus refuted and rejected these temptations.

Fast forward two thousand years. I can’t help but wonder if the modern day evangelical church is pursuing the very temptations Jesus rejected in the wilderness. The kingdom of God was never about earthly power, notoriety, fame, or control. It’s about the crazy love story of a God who so loved sinners that he could not imagine an eternity without them in it. So God made a way through his Son’s death and resurrection that whosoever should believe in him – red, white, black, yellow, democrat, republican, American, Chinese, Russian, Iranian, North Korean – WHOSOEVER should believe in Jesus will be saved.

Could it be that we’re pursuing peace in the wrong way?

I will finish this entry with a quote from the renowned philosopher and thinker, Jimmy Hendrix (you do know I’m joking about the philosopher and thinker thing right?)

Jimmy Hendrix said, “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

I think Mr. Hendrix might be onto something.

“One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side of the lake.’ So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger” (Luke 8:22-23).

Today, I share with you what Pastor Craig Groeschel says about this passage. Pastor Craig is the pastor of Life Church who shares the YouVersion Bible app with the world for free:

The same peace that calmed the raging storm on the sea is the very peace that can calm your heart today. It isn’t a peace that depends on everything around you being quiet, orderly, or easy. It’s not found when the world finally settles down or when all the questions are answered. This peace shows up when Jesus is close – right in the middle of the noise, the fear, and the uncertainty. Waves may still crash and winds may still howl, but his presence brings a deeper stillness that nothing else can touch. When he speaks peace, it reaches beyond circumstances and settles the soul, reminding you that you are held, seen, and never alone.

Pastor Craig Groeschel