Making Peace

We cannot manufacture peace. We cannot conjure it up and manifest it before others. Only God creates peace. Some people speak of making their peace with God, meaning that they get an understanding with their Maker before death - ask His forgiveness and finally set their spiritual affairs in order. However, I want you to consider today that it is not only important to "get right with God" but with people too and that none of it is possible without the Lord's intervention.

The peacemaker is God Himself. We are unable to make peace with Him or anyone for that matter without His divine intervention. Just as we cannot forgive ourselves of sin, or be good enough before a Holy God, we cannot make peace happen. But we can be peacemakers by allowing His peace to work in our hearts.


"Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God". 
Matthew 5:9, KJV

This verse implies that the children of God are those who make peace. It is through the relationship that we have with our Father that we are enabled or empowered to make peace. Jesus said "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you..." (John 14:27). Jesus is the One who make things right with God on our behalf so that we can be like Him and make peace with others.

Because He is the peace-giver, we can be peace-makers. It is not intrinsic of us, but due to the One who lives in us that peace ever happens.
Peacemakers have peace with God, make peace in their hearts with their enemies and with themselves. The Bible tells us that there is no peace or rest to the wicked (Isaiah 48:22, 57:21). A key to peace is forgiveness. Making peace can come through the avenue of forgiveness or be a dead end for those who refuse to forgive others. When we confess our sins, God forgives us and there is peace between us. True torture is being apart from the peace that come through forgiveness by God forever. We will be forgiven in the same way that we forgive others ( Mark 11:26). Now that can be a spooky thought. How do you forgive?

Peacemakers love their enemies. When we forgive those who hurt us, peace is restored in our hearts. We are to forgive others as we have been forgiven (Luke 6:27,28). Jesus was the perfect example. He forgave those who put Him on the very cross that He died on. The Bible does not instruct us to make our enemies our friends, it only says to love them. 

Love forgives and when we do that, we make room for peace.

When we also let go of bitterness and jealousy, we make peace in our own minds for ourselves. The opposite of peace is war. We truly wage war by holding onto things that do not belong to us. Sins of envy and roots of bitterness or pride can truly entangle the mind in spiritual warfare. There is anything but peace to the person who chooses to fill themselves with these kinds of things. Peace comes when we accept the fact that these are tools of the enemy to infiltrate our minds and we reject and renounce them before they reek havoc in our spirits. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. Renovate your heart and mind by evicting any other spirits that are in operation in your life so that you can experience the freedom that peace can bring. 

Peace is in Christ alone.











Comments

  1. candyApril 10, 2017 at 8:43 AM

    Finding peace can be obtained. Starts with mind set and changing your surroundings and who you may hang out with.

    ReplyDelete

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