We hear it every Christmas: Peace on Earth, goodwill towards men. Did we get it right?.Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men."

But no, when you consider the original:."...peace among men of good will", and this because:.Matthew 10:34 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword." Luke 12:51 "Suppose you that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather a sword.".(a sword is an instrument of death, and to send a sword is the same as to produce hostility and war, to create a division between the side of the light and the side of the dark:.Hebrews 4:12; typified by what the old and new covenants meant to mankind's heart. One of the reasons Jesus came was to so get rid of the Mosiac Law with all it's do's and don'ts that the religious leaders back then added to it in order to control the people)."

Barnes Notes has it: "This.(scripture).is taken from Micah 7:6. Christ did not here mean to say that the object of his coming was to produce discord and contention, for he was the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6; 11:6; Luke 2:14), but he means to say that such would be one of the effects of his coming. One part of a family that was opposed to him, would set themselves against those who believed in him (one example from.Fox's Book of Martyrs, Chapter 6. The wickedness of men, and not the religion of the gospel, is the cause of this hostility. It is unnecessary to say that no prophecy has been more strikingly fulfilled; and it will continue to be fulfilled, till all unite in obeying his commandments...".(the commandments of love toward others with all that means, spread across mankind's heart:.Romans 5:5)

The Infinite Everliving One became human in the form of one called Jesus who became the Christ, in order to sever the connection between the faulty old covenant (the Mosaic Law) and bring in the new covenant, which now had to do with a person's heart:.Hebrews 8:6-8. Under the old covenant (Old Testament rules and regulations that kept out the Gentiles), the Gentiles could never be equal with those of the children of Israel, so Jesus got rid of it:.Ephesians 2:11-16. 

Bringing it up to today: If you had no bad circumstances, you would not discover the truth that thoughts of your heart become things of your life, and that your life today is a product of your previous heartfelt (true for you) feelings. And with this key you can then use your mind to put new stuff there, stuff that will bring you a new and better future, one of your own creating and choice:.Luke 1:77-79 "To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

"One step to peace is to stop doing what causes fear in others." ...Deepak Chopra

Otherwise the Bible would contradict itself (considering the above scripture with what Jesus said earlier above. But God wrote it. He stands behind its accuracy.

And when we look at the world there is no great peace over the earth yet. That is what we thought it meant. That is not what it meant.

Jeremiah 33:6 ".....I will.....reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth." 
Luke 1:79 "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."

Ephesians 2:14 "For he.(Jesus Christ).is our peace.(and now you can see why), who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.".And what is the Father? The brilliant engineer of the universe and the laws that make it work in such harmony; the laws that we too can use as we are now equal with God. In this we can have confidence!

One of the reasons Christ came to Earth was to make a personal relationship with the Father possible -verses 16,17. People seek all their lives for peace involving many pursuits. Why do you think some try drugs? Or go into alcoholism? Or become proud and avaricious, never resting in their quest for enlargement of self. They want life to be 'a smooth and increasingly secure ride baby'! But, they lack wisdom as they fail to understand why it is easier to slip into the evils than into good things.

An unembarrassed man is easily tempted and succumbs rapidly to small, trifling evils; his spirit is weak, inclined to sensual things, and he has little if any interest in refraining from base desires. It may make him sad to forego them and he is quick to anger if reproved.

Yet if he satisfies his desires, remorse of conscience overwhelms him because he followed his passions and they did not lead to the peace he sought.

Lacking vision of really why they are here, people like this flow into all kinds of problems.

But the Bible also says that the gospel is a gospel of peace (Acts 10:36; Romans 10:15; Ephesians 6:15; Hebrews 12:14) and in Christ, a rest for Christians, but not by some of Jesus teachings when He was here physically:.Hebrews 4:8,9. That is not why He came then. 

In Jesus' time the Mosaic Law was still in effect. For those into 'law' back then, this caused great dissension. Why?

The Pharisees often sought to kill Jesus. Finally they succeeded. Even after Jesus' resurrection, the disciples of Jesus often faced conflict. There was no small stir about the way of God back then:.Acts 12:18,19; 19:23, 25:1-3; 26:26-32. 

The world seems to get worse. Is it really? Or, has it always had a less than peaceful lifestyle for its inhabitants here and there?.Ecclesiastes 1:9-15.

The world has known both horrible times (Genesis 6:11; Ezekiel 7:23; Micah 6:12) and peaceful times:.1Samuel 7:14; 1Kings 5:12. Such has the history of life been:.Matthew 24:37; Luke 17:28. 

God does give us peace. Peace is His will for us:.John 16:33; Romans 5:1. Peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit:. Galatians 5:22. If you agree with what God thinks of you, that you are righteous, then you have peace with God and are happy knowing nothing you can do can ever take the Holy Spirit from you:.Romans 14:17,18. 

Believing in God should fill one with joy and peace (knowing God is pleased with you) which enables one to abound in hope. Any belief that doesn't do this has something wrong with it:.Romans 15:13. 

Need much more peace in your life? Making the concept of righteousness real in your life gives you great peace:.Isaiah 32:17. The key to increasing peace in your life:.2Peter 1:2-4. And, an effective proven way to world peace.

Let us look at it. 

Apart from the obvious meaning, the word 'peace' in the  original Greek (New Testament is Greek and Old Testament is Hebrew) also means 'to have all your needs met'. When you think about it, you cannot have much peace in your life when bill collectors are taking you to court, your partner is leaving you, you have lost your job, you are sick, people at work are causing you frustration, etc. 

Isaiah 26:3 "You wilt keep him in perfect peace.(original Hebrew is 'safe, well, happy), whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."....continue?