PEACEMAKERS
Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers" (Matt. 5:9). But not everybody in this world is a peacemaker. Some people are troublemakers. They enjoy making trouble, and sometimes we have to live or work with them. That's the kind of situation the psalmist found himself in when he wrote Psalm 120. "In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue" (vv. 1,2). He continues, "My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace. I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war" (vv. 6,7). That sounds like a description of Jesus when He was on earth. He was the Prince of Peace and came to bring peace to the hearts and lives of people, yet people did not want to follow or trust Him.
Ever since Cain killed Abel, we've had conflict in this world. Nations war against one another; families fall apart; and even Christians don't get along with each other. David went through conflict. Jesus went through it. And we experience it also.
Still, we are to be peacemakers--not peace breakers. After all, we have the peace of God in our hearts, and we have peace with Him--we are not at war with Him the way unsaved people are. So wherever we are, we will experience conflict but also the opportunity to bring peace.
"I am for peace," the psalmist says. Literally, the Hebrew text means, "I am peace. They are war." Each of us is either a battlefield or a blessing. Each of us is either declaring war or declaring peace. Some people enter a situation, and peace comes in with them. Other people walk in, and war follows. Let's ask God to help us in this wicked, conflicting world to be people who promote peace, not war.
God's people are to be peacemakers. This world of never-ending conflict affords many opportunities for you to make peace. However, peacemaking often is not easy. Are you quick to promote peace when you confront conflict? Strive to be a blessing to others--be a peacemaker.
It is also important to not give others the impression that because we have Christ in our lives, that we are perfect. We are not perfect, we are saved. We are filled with the spirit of God, but we still struggle in our flesh with our sinful nature. Others need to know that we are transformed, but not perfect and we still struggle. It is Christ living in us that gives us the power to overcome that struggle. We don't do it on our own.
Youth are like wet cement, if we don't mould them the culture will. - Unknown
Settle it in your mind once for all: Christians are not supernaturally protected from the blasts, the horrors, the aches, or the pains of living on this globe. Christians can be unfairly treated, assaulted, robbed, raped, and murdered. We can suffer financial reversals, we can be taken advantage of, abused, neglected, and divorced by uncaring mates. Then how can we expect to be joyful, unlike those around us? Because God promises that deep within He will give us peace . . . an unexplainable, illogical inner peace.--Charles Swindoll
Our feelings do not affect God's facts. They may blow up, like clouds, and cover the eternal things that we do most truly believe. We may not see the shining of the promises-but they still shine! -- Amy Carmichael
Prayer is the engine room of God's workshop where the power is developed. - Ps Howard Sands
A repeat of a devotion sent on 12 May 2006
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