Peace on Earth Introduction

I wrote "Peace on Earth" to counter a common perception of Christians today, that we are really uptight about the culture in our nation.  I address it from two perspectives: one, that we have nothing to be afraid of, and two, that we are not called to legislate people to righteousness.  When I put it out for review several people said I seemed to be caving in (my words not theirs) to the pressures of the day.  That's why I added this introduction and another one toward the end.

You can purchase a paperback copy for $7.95, or download a Kindle version for $3.00 here.

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

“This world is not my home; I’m just a passing through.”[1]

I

 have written two books challenging church members to get up out of the pews and charge out into the streets to carry God’s message of love and to help whomever we see that can use some help.  So why am I now counseling Christians to relax?  Am I saying we should leave the pews and go home to the couch?  Are we to start putting our cash into relaxation programs to relieve our muscles and our minds?  Is our top priority the proper operation of one remote in each hand?  No, not really. 

I am not changing my course; I am further describing an important element of it.  As we go about the essential and urgent business of the church, we should do it in a way that instills confidence.  We must approach the world calmly and with assurance.  If we run around like Chicken Little proclaiming that the sky is falling, or that the foundation is crumbling under our nation, many will not believe us about that, or about anything else we have to say.  We need to focus our message on Jesus and on him alone as Paul indicated in the first Corinthian letter.[2]

We need to be peaceful and bold at the same time.  We are not called to be reluctant messengers.  God does not want us to be ashamed of the Gospel.[3]  Being bold, yet peaceful in our service to God seems a tricky proposition, one that requires a bit of balancing.  We will talk about maintaining that balance without tipping one way or the other.

Toward the end of the book I write about what some would call political matters.  I suppose I would refer to that part of the book though as being "anti-political."  I operate from the position that God called on us to change the world by our preaching. teaching, and example; not by legislating people into righteousness.  Whether you agree with that section or not, it makes an interesting read.  Hopefully it will cause you to think somewhat differently about what we read and hear so often from politicians and political activists these days.

This is a book about being peaceful, confident messengers of God’s communication to the people around us.  I hope it will be an encouragement to you that we don’t have to be nervous and fearful about our assignment here.  God still has our backs

---

[1] Traditional

[2] 1 Corinthians 2:2

[3] Romans 1:16