Tuesday, August 8, 2023 Some material taken from The Final Four
The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11
Live at Peace With God and Others
This past Sunday John Strappazon gave us four very important points to remember in our daily walk with God and others. The first two are live at peace with God and live at peace with others.
Live at Peace with God. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Romans 5:1
· God initiated it. On our own, there is no way we can ever have peace with God, but God created a way for us to have peace with Him. This is not the peace of God, but this is peace with God. He initiated peace with us before we knew who He was, separated from Him by sin. We were dead in our sins, yet while we were dead in our sins, He died for us.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
While we were sinners… he initiated it. We don’t have to wait until we get our lives straightened out, He just wants us to come as we are.
· Jesus affirmed it. This peace can only come through Jesus. Jesus’ shed blood on the cross covers our sins so that we can be reconciled with God. Our sin keeps us from a relationship with Him, but the blood of Jesus washes us white as snow and makes a way for sinful humans to be at peace with almighty God.
· We must choose it. God initiated peace with us, and Jesus affirmed it, but we have to choose it. He will meet us where we are and accept us how we are but we must choose this peace over the false peace of the world.
Live at Peace with Others. - If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Romans 12:18
As Christians, we are different than the world, but we do not want to be seen as enemies of the world.
· It makes life enjoyable. When we can get along with others, life is much more enjoyable. We can focus on what God has for us to do, with unity.
· Not everyone choses to be enjoyable. Some people are never happy because they choose not to be happy. We may not enjoy being around them, but we can still show them the love of Christ. We are responsible for our own actions. Pray for this person. Pray for eyes to see them as God sees them and open your heart to love them in Christ.
· Make every effort to be enjoyable. – You can change the whole room by allowing Christs love to shine through you. Be intentional with your efforts to spread kindness and love to others.
You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
