Our Steadfast Christ
5/25 Reading Portions: Numbers 34; Psalm 78:38-72; Isaiah 26; 1 John 4
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3
There was no time in the earthly life of Jesus of Nazareth when He was not at peace with others and His surroundings. Although He was grieved with the sin and conspiracies of religious leaders, He had perfect peace in His mission; though He groaned over His disciples’ disbelief and ignorance, He had perfect peace with His Father; though He cried from the tree,
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46
…Jesus possessed perfect peace— the shalom shalom of eternal trust. Yes, difficult, nay, impossible for our finite minds to grasp, yet, ever true.
Today, the spirit of antichrist works in the world to rob us of our perfect peace in Jesus Christ. We recognize the term antichrist does not mean “against” Christ, but rather, “in place of” Christ. The spirit of antichrist is established in the love of the world (1 Jn 2:15) and manifested in pride, idolatry and adultery (1 Jn 2:16). It also takes on many forms, as there are many antichrists (1 Jn 2:18). The spirit of antichrist is also full of deceit, and at its worse, will deny the Father and the Son (1 Jn 2:22). The most harmful form of antichrist denies some aspect of Christ’s incarnation (1 Jn 4:3).
We possess perfect peace through a renewed mind by the washing of God’s Word, trusting in God’s incarnate Son and cherishing every aspect of Jesus Christ’s person and work— most specifically, His sacrificial death upon the cross. Anything attempting to remove our minds from Christ removes our peace.
Although there is an antichrist
Who’ll come in the last days,
This spirit works within the world
To deny gospel praise.
To battle this, our faith must be
Kept strong with thoughts of Christ;
Rejoicing in His birth, His blood,
His death, which paid sin’s price.
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