CowboyCountryGospel

Peace

“Peace is what I’m leavin’ with y’all now. My own peace I’m givin’ to each of you; not the kind the world claims to sell. So don’t fret none and don’t be afraid. John 14:27 (“The Gospel of John Cowboy Style”).

Peace . . . What is peace, really?

Of all human needs, the quest for peace is likely at or near the top of the list. We seek it in our personal lives, in relationships, in world affairs, and in a general desire for a quiet tranquil life. Beauty contestants say they desire world peace. Summit meetings of national leaders speak of peace. Think tank strategy sessions plan and talk of ways and means toward peace. But, like slippery mercury, often talked about, hoped for and planned for, peace promised is seldom achieved.

Most likely when we think of peace, thoughts of harmony, tranquility, the absence of hostility and trouble comes to mind. And frankly, that is the world’s concept of peace. Look at any definition of peace, and that is the universal concept of peace; a tranquil life void of conflict.

But, is it possible to have peace when there is no harmony, when strife and conflict abound, and when the storms of life have engulfed us? The answer is, yes!

Yes, there is true peace–peace not measured by the world’s concept–but that which comes from the heart of the Father Himself.

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Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in  Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” John 16:33.

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An artist was commissioned by a wealthy man to paint something that would depict peace. After a great deal of thought, the artist painted a beautiful country scene. There were green fields with cows standing in them, birds were flying in the blue sky and a lovely little village lay in a distant valley. After examining the painting, The man said to the artist, “This isn’t a picture of true peace. It isn’t right. Go back and try again.”

The artist went back to his studio, thought for several hours about peace, then went to his easel and began to paint. When he was finished, there on the canvas was a beautiful picture of a mother, holding a sleeping baby in her arms, smiling lovingly at the child.

But again, the wealthy man said no. “This is not it.” “Go back and try again.”

The artist tired and discouraged returned to his studio and earnestly prayed for inspiration to paint a picture of true peace. Then, all of a sudden an idea came, he rushed to the canvas and began to paint as he had never painted before. When he finished, he hurried to the wealthy man.

He gave the painting to the man. He studied it carefully for several minutes. The artist held his breath. Then the wealthy man said, “Now this is a picture of true peace.”

And what was this picture of true peace? The picture showed a stormy sea pounding against a cliff. The artist had captured the fury of the wind as it whipped black rain clouds which were laced with streaks of lightning. The sea was roaring in turmoil, waves churning, the dark sky filled with the power of the furious thunderstorm.

And in the middle of the picture, under a cliff, the artist had painted a small bird, safe and dry in her nest snuggled safely in the rocks. The bird was at peace amidst the storm that raged about her.

Peace is not about stopping the storm, or about escaping the crises, conflicts, and up evils that often rage around us. And certainly it is not about what the world offers, but true peace is found only in the offering of the One who is the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

It is only when we seek the One who is the source of peace, that regardless of circumstances without and within that we can find true peace.  Real spiritual peace comes only through the savior, when like the little bird nestled in the safety of her nest above the raging storm that we too find true and lasting peace nestled safely in the palm of the Hand of our Lord and God.

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“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7.

 

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Planting Seeds of the Gospel

“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

                                                                     – Matthew 13:23

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During the late 1700’s into the early 18oo’s, the legend is told of Johnny Appleseed who traveled the American frontier randomly spreading apple seeds wherever he went. The popular image of Johnny Appleseed, born John Chapman in 1774, describes him as dressed in pauper’s clothes and wearing a cooking pot on his head. It is said that he planted nurseries rather than orchards, built fences around them to protect them from livestock and wildlife, and returned every year or two to tend the nursery.

But history records that apple seeds were not the only thing that he planted in his itinerant travels. He also planted the seeds of the gospel, often by reading and sharing the stories of Jesus.

As born-again believers, we too are urged to plant the seeds of the gospel as we go about our daily routines. The fruits of Johnny Appleseed’s casting of seeds still proliferates and bears fruit to this day, as well as his planting of the seeds of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Here is a lasting legacy we too may leave for generations to come. For what we plant today may continue to bear fruit in days and years to come.

We may never know, until we get to heaven, what fruit may have been produced by a single seed dropped in the heart of someone today.