Showing posts with label Peacemaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peacemaker. Show all posts
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Peacemaker or Troublemaker
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
While teaching His disciples on the mountain that day, Jesus dwelled on the positive. Each of the beatitudes focus on what we should be. Calling us to a divinely ordered life made possible by the indwelling Spirit of God. Being a Peacemaker does not come natural to the flesh. We just weren’t born that way. No manner of human effort will transform us into something we are not. If our works could save us from the moral decay of this world then Jesus died in vain, there was no need for the cross, and God really messed up when He sacrificed Himself for our sins.
But the pages of history stand as a testament that men without Jesus are not Peacemakers. We are troublemakers! This is inherent in the DNA of everyone born of the seed of Adam. Pride is the domain of Adams Seed and sin our dwelling place. We revel in gossip, stirring discontent and spreading rumors, backstabbing and eviscerating those that are more successful, while stepping over the wounded and hurting. Wars and strife are the wake that follows the ship of mankind’s progress.
Even in our Houses of Worship we struggle with these same deadly sins. Those that call themselves Followers of Christ fall prey to the temptation of using the bodies of the weaker to make it to the top and using shame and manipulation to “keep the flock in order”. The habitation of the Holy Spirit is treated as a business with little or no resemblance to the Bride that Jesus will be looking for when He returns. There is little hope that those who practice such things will be seated around the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. They are not Peacemakers but Troublemakers.
We must experience a New Birth that will transform our hearts and cause us to walk in Divine Order. Blessed are the Peacemakers for they shall be the Children of God. No longer children of Adam. No longer hearts of stone. No longer walking in the dark. We are Children of God – Peacemakers!
If slander, lies, hatred, discord, dissension, and factions define your walk then I humbly suggest that you take time to be alone with God and find a place of repentance. God’s Word promises us peace. His peace will dwell in you if you seek Him and His peace will flow through you if you entertain His Spirit.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Finding Peace
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
We cannot give what we do not possess. I would love to give you all a million dollars the only problem is that I don’t have a million dollars. Those good wishes don’t better you at all. Peace is like that. Until we find peace in our own hearts and lives we cannot be Peacemakers.
Jesus told us that we cannot have both salt water and fresh water flowing from the same well. The pure water will be contaminated by the salt and while not as pungent as the original salty water it will become salt water. Today there are many that try to teach or counsel others how to live at peace when they cannot live that way themselves. They are always finding fault, picking a fight, throwing condemnation at those that live around them. It is not enough to know the words to speak we must learn them by practical living.
The old adage “practice what you preach” doesn’t mean we should try to do what we have told others but rather our preaching should flow from the actions that we have already put into practice. We should be able to say “I know it works because I have tried it successfully”. Reading a book or listening to a sermon on being a Peacemaker doesn’t make me a Peacemaker. Making peace with others and living in that peace makes me a Peacemaker. Standing in a garage and declaring “I’m a car.” doesn’t make me car. Sitting in church and crying out “I’m a Christian.” doesn’t make me a Christian. We must take action! James puts it this way, “Faith without works is dead.”
It is not easy to swallow our pride and approach those that have wronged us to make reconciliation. We risk being rejected. Our pride tells us to run the other direction. We can be very good at making excuses. We must fight the good fight. We must rise to the call and make peace with those that have ought against us.
Jesus thought this was so important that He commanded us that when we come to the altar to make an offering, if we remember someone that has ought against us, we must go and make it right first, then we can return and give our offering. What He is saying is that making peace with our brother is more important than worship, more important than sacrifice. Imagine the value that God puts on this way of life.
If God values the Peacemaker so much, we might do well to pursue peace – today.
We cannot give what we do not possess. I would love to give you all a million dollars the only problem is that I don’t have a million dollars. Those good wishes don’t better you at all. Peace is like that. Until we find peace in our own hearts and lives we cannot be Peacemakers.
Jesus told us that we cannot have both salt water and fresh water flowing from the same well. The pure water will be contaminated by the salt and while not as pungent as the original salty water it will become salt water. Today there are many that try to teach or counsel others how to live at peace when they cannot live that way themselves. They are always finding fault, picking a fight, throwing condemnation at those that live around them. It is not enough to know the words to speak we must learn them by practical living.
The old adage “practice what you preach” doesn’t mean we should try to do what we have told others but rather our preaching should flow from the actions that we have already put into practice. We should be able to say “I know it works because I have tried it successfully”. Reading a book or listening to a sermon on being a Peacemaker doesn’t make me a Peacemaker. Making peace with others and living in that peace makes me a Peacemaker. Standing in a garage and declaring “I’m a car.” doesn’t make me car. Sitting in church and crying out “I’m a Christian.” doesn’t make me a Christian. We must take action! James puts it this way, “Faith without works is dead.”
It is not easy to swallow our pride and approach those that have wronged us to make reconciliation. We risk being rejected. Our pride tells us to run the other direction. We can be very good at making excuses. We must fight the good fight. We must rise to the call and make peace with those that have ought against us.
Jesus thought this was so important that He commanded us that when we come to the altar to make an offering, if we remember someone that has ought against us, we must go and make it right first, then we can return and give our offering. What He is saying is that making peace with our brother is more important than worship, more important than sacrifice. Imagine the value that God puts on this way of life.
If God values the Peacemaker so much, we might do well to pursue peace – today.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
The Cost of Peace
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Filled with peace of God and able to stand and be honest about the things around them the Peacemaker is truly beautiful. They are able to be honest about the state of affairs whether in their personal life or the world around them and sensitive to those with whom they are dealing. However, they refuse to settle for cheap peace and will not cry out “peace, peace” when there is none. They are willing to risk being attacked, misunderstood, and hurt for the sake of peace. A Peacemaker knows that sometimes you have to stand your ground and fight for peace.
Jesus is the supreme example of being a Peacemaker. Paul tells us,
“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:19-20
Did you see that?
“Having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
When Jesus saw the depravity of man and the seriousness of the situation, He didn’t pretend everything was alright and go on His way. It would take a bold move, a costly sacrifice to bring sinful man back to right standing with the Father and Jesus was moved to action. He is our peace, he has broken down the wall of separation between God and man.
In our world there are many “walls of separation” that hinder peace. By their very definition those walls keep the two parties from doing what is necessary to heal the wounds and come together. The pride of men rises up and casts a shadow over the battlefield as each new offence is revisited time and time again until those wounds harden our hearts and consume any hope of reconciliation.
The only hope is for someone that will leave their comfort zone, humble themselves, and become the healing salve that bridges the gap between the warring parties. We see the need all around us. Husbands and wives, brothers, sisters, families, neighbors, gangs, religions, races, the list could go on and on. This world is filled with prideful men and women that have fallen deep into the pit of pride and conflict. We are destroying ourselves for lack of a Peacemaker.
On that early morning when the shepherds heard the Heavenly choir singing,
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
It was to herald the dawn of a new day. The day when the Prince of Peace would boldly step into the conflict and fight for peace. He would endure the insults, the attacks, the lies, and even the cross so that we might once again have a way into the Throne Room of God. He became that living way by dying to self and embracing the purpose of reconciliation.
If we are to follow Jesus, we must embrace that same purpose. It is the way! It is Truth! It is life!
Monday, September 23, 2013
Deceitful Hearts
Matthew 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
When you hear the word peacemaker what do you picture? Someone that never takes a stand? Perhaps someone that just goes along with the crowd in order not to cause waves? This is surely not what Jesus had in mind.
Ezekiel 13:9-10 tells us “My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. "'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,”
There are times when it is necessary to speak unpopular things. People will get mad and what culminates can certainly not be called peace. Anyone that has stood before an angry crowd and told them the unpopular truth knows this to be true. The Peacemaker doesn’t just whitewash the problem, putting off until another day the painful task of addressing the “cracks in the wall”. It takes courage to stand and deliver when the message is not one that will be accepted well. A peacemaker must be honest. There is no real peace unless it is built on truth.
A marriage must be built on honesty. Anyone that has been married past the honeymoon knows that the bed of roses can quickly become thorny. There will be disagreements but there can still be peace in the home. In order to navigate the dangerous shores of those disagreements both husband and wife must be completely honest. Yes, it will hurt. Yes, it will be hard. But once the foundations of dishonesty are laid all that is built on them will be unstable. Everyday will be filled with the trepidation of those untruths until the weight of the relationship crashes around the lies. Honesty is not just the best policy it is the only foundation upon which we can build lasting peace.
I have been known to use the phrase “hogwash” a little too much. (My wife bought me a t-shirt displaying a pig taking a bath that says Hogwash on it.) Of course, the phrase means to try and clean up something that is inherently dirty. No matter how many times you give a hog a bath it will run right back to the mud hole and lay down. Trying to find peace in that situation will never work. For example governments have tried to broker a peace in the Middle East for hundreds of years without success. If you look past all the claims made, you will find a cacophony of lies told by both sides. Lies that have been told so often that they are simply accepted as the “way it is”. There will never be any peace until the truth can prevail. Presidents and diplomats that try to whitewash these cracks in the wall will never bring lasting peace. Soon the rain comes and washes away the “fix’ revealing the broken foundation.
The only way to truly find peace is to make a change. The fleshly heart is deceitfully wicked and will never be able to know peace. Only Jesus can give us a new heart. He can expose the lies that we have built our lives upon and tear them down, replacing them with truth because He is Truth. Build your life on Him, build your marriage on Him, build your relationships on Him and experience real, lasting peace.
When you hear the word peacemaker what do you picture? Someone that never takes a stand? Perhaps someone that just goes along with the crowd in order not to cause waves? This is surely not what Jesus had in mind.
Ezekiel 13:9-10 tells us “My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will not belong to the council of my people or be listed in the records of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign LORD. "'Because they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash,”
There are times when it is necessary to speak unpopular things. People will get mad and what culminates can certainly not be called peace. Anyone that has stood before an angry crowd and told them the unpopular truth knows this to be true. The Peacemaker doesn’t just whitewash the problem, putting off until another day the painful task of addressing the “cracks in the wall”. It takes courage to stand and deliver when the message is not one that will be accepted well. A peacemaker must be honest. There is no real peace unless it is built on truth.
A marriage must be built on honesty. Anyone that has been married past the honeymoon knows that the bed of roses can quickly become thorny. There will be disagreements but there can still be peace in the home. In order to navigate the dangerous shores of those disagreements both husband and wife must be completely honest. Yes, it will hurt. Yes, it will be hard. But once the foundations of dishonesty are laid all that is built on them will be unstable. Everyday will be filled with the trepidation of those untruths until the weight of the relationship crashes around the lies. Honesty is not just the best policy it is the only foundation upon which we can build lasting peace.
I have been known to use the phrase “hogwash” a little too much. (My wife bought me a t-shirt displaying a pig taking a bath that says Hogwash on it.) Of course, the phrase means to try and clean up something that is inherently dirty. No matter how many times you give a hog a bath it will run right back to the mud hole and lay down. Trying to find peace in that situation will never work. For example governments have tried to broker a peace in the Middle East for hundreds of years without success. If you look past all the claims made, you will find a cacophony of lies told by both sides. Lies that have been told so often that they are simply accepted as the “way it is”. There will never be any peace until the truth can prevail. Presidents and diplomats that try to whitewash these cracks in the wall will never bring lasting peace. Soon the rain comes and washes away the “fix’ revealing the broken foundation.
The only way to truly find peace is to make a change. The fleshly heart is deceitfully wicked and will never be able to know peace. Only Jesus can give us a new heart. He can expose the lies that we have built our lives upon and tear them down, replacing them with truth because He is Truth. Build your life on Him, build your marriage on Him, build your relationships on Him and experience real, lasting peace.
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