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Power Point:
If you
think about it, peacemaking was Jesus’s key assignment wasn’t it?
He made peace between God and every single
person who wanted to accepted that peace.
Peace. Do you remember when you first asked Jesus to become Lord of your
life and everything changed in a moment?
I remember the joy of knowing that God really loved me and I especially
remember that probably for the first time in my life, I experienced perfect
peace. Nothing bothered me anymore. No one could penetrate the extraordinary
shield of peace in me. After a period of time though, the peace began to
evaporate slowly until one day I found some of the old “unpeaceful me” coming
alive again. It was then I discovered
that although I still had access to peace, it was my job to guard it, keep it,
and maintain it.
In case
you haven’t noticed, those words are all verbs!
In other words, they are action words!
Maintaining peace will always require
action on our part. It’s a gift that
we’ve opened and we are the ones responsible for keeping it on display.
There are
two words for “peace” in the Bible.
Jesus is called the “Prince of Peace” meaning that wherever He goes and
whatever He does, He offers His peace.
That word is “shalom”.
Here’s
the full definition:
A.
completeness (in number)
B.
safety, soundness (in body)
C.
welfare, health, prosperity
D.
peace, quiet, tranquillity, contentment
E.
peace, friendship
F.
of human relationships
G.
with God especially in covenant relationship
Isn’t God good to offer us that? That’s really good news!
In John 14, He says that He has left us with the same ability and the
same assignment. The word for “peace” in
that chapter is
“eirene” .
Here’s
that definition:
Peace between individuals, i.e. harmony, concord
Security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because
peace and harmony make and keep things safe and prosperous)
Of the Messiah's peace
Of Christianity, the tranquil state of a soul
assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and
content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is
The blessed state of devout and upright men
after death
SO, if Jesus’s job was peace, can you see
that it is our job to make and maintain peace as well? He advised us to not
“LET” our hearts be troubled. He said, "God forbid that you should let your hearts be troubled!"
He told
us to “keep” peace within ourselves and with each other. He said to guard it,
maintain it and be filled with it. In fact, He says that those who make and
maintain peace in their lives are the ones who can be identified as “sons of God”.
The
choice is always ours Beloved.
We say we want to be like Jesus. We say that we want to do what He did. What did He do? He made and maintained peace. In Luke 2:29,
He said, “I must be about my Father’s business.” What was that? PEACE!
To make
and maintain peace around us, we have to make and maintain the peace that Jesus
died to give us don’t we? Aren’t you glad that you don’t have to do that on
your own? Aren’t you glad that Jesus’
own Holy Spirit lives in you and a by-product of His presence is P-E-A-C-E.
Not feeling it? Perhaps its time for a maintenance check. Have you allowed UN-peace to trickle into
your thought life? Did you forget that
its YOUR job to maintain peace? With him. Or her.
Or them. “As far as it depends on
you, make peace with one another.”
Isn’t it exciting to know that today, with
Holy Spirit as your partner, you can be “in peace”, and offer peace, and make
peace?
I’m taking my car in for a “tune-up” this
week. There is nothing wrong, I’m just trying to maintain it’s ability to have the
power to work at capacity. Does your
peace need a “tune up”? When peace
fills you, it fills your life. When it fills your life, it enfolds others in
your peace and everyone can maintain their capacity for peace. That’s the
Father’s business.
Power Thought:
"God is the supreme Peacemaker, and His sons follow His example." Matthew 5:9, note from NSFB
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