“When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them; if not, it will return to you” (Luke 10:5-6).
We read this passage in Luke today in church. The last phrase became clear to me in a new way. If not, it will return to you.
In other words, be at peace no matter what happens. You cannot control other’s reactions, only your own. Don’t let their negativity infect you.
Christ teaches us to pray for our enemies, even love them. We are to forgive others because Christ has forgiven us. We are to be the peacemakers, peace distributors, and peace dwellers.
There is a skit on Christian radio. A policeman pulls over a lady and is surprised to discover she is the owner of the car because it has a Christian symbol on the bumper. “The way you have been driving and acting, I thought it was stolen,” he says.
Recent events in the United States have produced hideous violence that is spreading like wildfire. I saw this happening in the 1960s with the Civil Rights movement and in the 1970s protesting the war in Vietnam. What started as peaceful demonstrations voicing opinions turned into angry, destructive mobs. Those proclaiming that lives mattered and love was the answer soon forgot that was their message and became just the opposite in behavior. History repeats. It is sad to see.
I also am seeing a great deal of hate and slander being spread on social media. Much by so-called Christ-followers. This is not the way Christ wants us to act. He was not a rabble-rouser. Christians, let us be the ones who spread peace, not violence. Those who spread love, not hate, and forgiveness, not blame.
We have all sinned. None of us are righteous, except in Christ and through Christ alone. The writer to the Hebrews reiterated this: Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Everyone, even those with whom we disagree.
Please join me. Be a pebble that begins the ripple of peace in your community. Stop the hate. Stop the slander on social media and in conversations of those with whom you disagree politically.
Yes, we have a right to express our opinion and preserve our freedoms. Many are in danger of dissolving. That is what the ballot box is for. But honestly, if I am set in my ways and you are set in yours, there is very little we can do to change each others’ minds. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. Let’s not block Him from flowing in, though, and from us into the world. Anger rarely resolves anything. Instead of badmouthing them, pray for them.
Spead love and peace and let it return to you. Pray for those who need Jesus in their lives. Yield to those in authority because God has placed them there for a reason (Romans 13:1-7). As Paul warned, You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat (Romans 14:10).
We all will answer to One person in the end. What we give, we will receive once again. The boomerang effect. Whatever we send will be returned to the sender.
Now it makes sense that He would go there His last night on earth to pray and rededicate Himself for the torturous mission that lay ahead. It was the one place He’d often found peace. And that night, He needed it more than ever before.
off the beaten path stretch of beach. Maybe it is closer to home such as a bench in your garden, a soaking tub filled with bubble bath (and if you have kids, a locked door!), or a cozy chair draped with a prayer shawl.
I have heard serene and beautiful places described as a “little piece of heaven”. It may be a pristine beach with tumbling waves glistening in the moonlight. A vast mountain vista or a bubbling creek under the canopy of shade trees. But it is ONLY a piece. It cannot replace the inner peace that comes from Heaven.
Two words that sound the same but are so different.
This passage in my daily reading hit me in the way a punch in the gut snatches your breath. Scripture talks of making paths straight. What does that mean? I am learning.
We are entering what many consider one of the most stressful times of the year. Funny, how it began as a way to celebrate” Peace on Earth and Goodwill Towards Mankind”, isn’t it? Yet with the holidays come not only joy and frivolity, but economic worry, the unrealistic expectations of a greeting card time with family, and an onset of blues over the ones who are not here to join us this year. Couple that with not eating right, over-partying, and dashing around to find the perfect gift for everyone, and it can become a time bomb waiting to explode.
Where Did You Find God Today? 