Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. Isaiah 26:3

Peace; such an important topic these days. We hear alot in the news about 'world peace', 'peace talks', I even remember a little saying from my childhood..."peace on earth or earth in pieces". Usually when we talk about peace we think about peace outside of ourselves, or a lack of strife and war between our fellow man. God is not speaking of that kind of peace in this verse. He is speaking of a much more important kind of peace; a lack of strife between you and HIM.

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" This was the angels proclamation as Jesus was born. Were they declaring an end to earthly strife? No, of course not. They were heralding the birth of God's Son who would bring everlasting peace between God and man. This is the most important peace of all. God is the creator and sustainer of all things. Therefore when we are in agreement with Him we will be at peace in our souls. We can only be in agreement with Him when we know what He says. The Bible is our record of what God wants us to know. He tells us all things He wants us to know.

God is perfect and can except no sin into His presence in heaven, so if we want eternal life with Him in a perfect heaven we must find a way to atone for our sins. Romans 3:10 and 23 tell us our sin keeps us from fellowship with God. Verse 12 shows us that since Adam we all have inherited this sin. The payment we will receive for this sin is eternal death and separation from God - Romans 6:23. This is a sad pronouncement indeed, certainly not one of peace is it?

"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that , while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8) This is the great message we had hoped for! God loves us, yes us, filled with hate, violence, greed etc. God has love toward us, and that love is so far reaching and amazingly gracious that He extended it to US! God sent His sinless son, Jesus Christ, to this wretched earth to stand in our place, to take the punishment that was meant for us... death... and being God, Jesus raised himself from the dead and lives eternally.

Having overcome death, Jesus has the ability to offer that gift to us. (Romans 6:23) How do we receive this gift? Acknowledge your sin. That is; agreeing with God about how your sin is wrong, offensive, keeping you from Him and just plain bad. Believe that only Jesus can pay the penalty for that sin, since He is the only sinless one that has lived on this earth. Confessing all of this, call on Him to be your only Savior. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans 10: 9-10.

If you have done this then you have peace with God, you are no longer barred from heaven. You have trusted in Him for your eternal life. That trust is called faith. Your faith in God's promises are what give you that peace.

By keeping your mind on God and His word you can cultivate that peace in your heart. Daily time in His word, the Bible will give you fresh messages from God to think on. Talking to him in your mind and heart is prayer, that is something you can do anywhere and anytime. He wants to hear about your life. Your joys, sorrows, and concerns. Yes, He does already know even before you tell Him, but just like a parent wants to hear it from their child's own mouth, God wants to hear us talk to Him. He created us for that very purpose, to have fellowship with Him. A relationship that we decide to have of our own free will. All this produces that perfect peace in our minds and hearts.