Saturday Motivation! Be a peacemaker!

Saturday Motivation! Be a peacemaker!

Text: John 20 v 21: Peace be Unto You!

What is peace?
Literally, peace is freedom from disturbance. A state or period in which there is no war or war has ended.
Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence.

In a social sense, peace means a lack of conflict and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups.
Peace thrives when people are able to resolve their conflicts without violence and can work together to improve the quality of their lives.

What is Peace according to Scriptures?
According to scriptures, the peace of God which transcends all understanding is the harmony and calmness of body, mind and spirit, through trust in the power and grace of God!

Biblically, it is only God who can give us unending peace.

Peace is a blessing from God and it is harmonious with His character.
The peace of God is a tranquil state of appreciation of the goodness of God in our lives through our faith in God!

When we submit and trust the commandments of God and Christ, it requires a mixture of humility and courage to experience God’s peace and seek Him over and beyond our own abilities or understanding. The more we move closer to God, the more of His peace we will experience. We are able to rest assured in God’s love that He will make all things work together for our good.
God’s peace is a permanent peace offered by the only one who can be trusted to keep His word and never fail us. The peace of the world is fleeting and is only available for a short time. The peace of the world is an empty promise that can only bring temporary relief.God’s peace is a permanent peace offered freely, willingly and always available in His Word.
God’s peace is secure and is made available to everyone in the midst of chaos. The peace of God does not change with circumstances. It is secure notwithstanding what our situation might be. Even when we experience the pain of a broken promise due to a breach of trust or disappointments, God’s peace is always available to encourage us if we can search the scriptures.
As believers, we experience eternal peace through reconciliation with God in Christ. We also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit through our faith in God`s promises. Because of His promises, we are able to enjoy the blessing of peace in our daily lives even when we find ourselves in the midst of turmoil or in an unpleasant situation.

Different Kinds of Peace
According to scriptures, there are three different kinds of peace namely,

1. Peace with God: This is the reassurance we receive through faith in God’s promises (Romans 5 v1). This is possible if we continue to learn and grow in faith. Faith is similar to a journey that we embark on from childhood It’s a continuous journey that never ends. We all have an itinerary of how we are to live our lives but it is God that makes available the resources that we will need to live a life worthy of Him. Dwelling in the presence of God continually gives us His peace. His grace is sufficient for us all.
2. Peace of God: God`s amazing arms is able to shelter and embrace us to help us calm the storms we experience in life during times of trials and difficulties. This Peace of God is a reminder that God is good and is constantly working things out for our good. (Philippians 4 v 6-7)
3. Peace with others: This is a stillness we find inside when people around us or circumstances we are facing tries to push us over the edge. On a daily basis, we are constantly reminded that we are on an earthly journey and are bound to meet people with different character traits and temperament. This peace is internal and can only be experienced by faith in God. We are encouraged through this peace to know that we cannot change anyone but ourselves because we are responsible for our own actions but not the actions of others. We must therefore leave everything to God after having done our part and allow God to take absolute control. In order to achieve this peace, we must be willing to move on by forgiving the wrongs of others. (Romans 12 v 18)

How can we experience the peace of God?

1. We can experience the peace of God when we try our best to live in peace with everyone. This is made possible through prayers to an awesome God. By asking him to help us strengthen our faith. We must learn more about God because the more we learn of Him, the more we know and love Him. God is the only one that can help us to find everlasting peace that can never wear-out.
2. We can receive the permanent peace of God by shutting out negative thoughts, forgetting our hurts and working on our imperfections. Instead of hurting those who have hurt us, we must show them love. We must not repay evil for evil but we must repay evil with good.
3. As believers, we must not be worried about criticisms because we will receive a lot of them. People will always have their opinions about us because not everyone will like us. What God knows about us is what matters and not what man knows about us. We can never please everyone no matter how we try so sometimes, we must stop trying when we are faced with such people. We must therefore focus on pleasing God by helping those of the household of faith.
4. Forgiveness: We must forgive ourselves of everything and anything because if we are unable to forgive ourselves, it will be hard for us to forgive others. Not forgiving others can hinder our prayers. We must first love ourselves, be happy with who we are and appreciate God for who He has made us to be. If we do not love ourselves, we cannot love others because no one can love us the way we love ourselves except the heavenly father. We must remember that God has given us grace to do exploit! We must therefore showcase this grace. We will never be perfect and so we must get over trying to be perfect and stop trying to satisfy people. Instead of being men pleasers, we must be God pleasers.
5. We must make time for God and not give up on Him no matter what we face. God will never give up on us. We must therefore acknowledge God in all we do. There is no sense in beating ourselves up over something that we cannot change. Rather than trying hard to change what can never be changed, we must move on and face our future with confidence.
6. Make amends: We must try to mend the past by making amends. We must always be willing and ready to say sorry when we hurt others. We must break the ice and diffuse the tension by admitting that we are wrong. Letting go will only be easy if we can let go of bitterness and resentment and let God intervene. (Matthew 5) (Mark 11).
7. Love everyone; We must try to love everyone we meet. Although it may be hard to love people that we disagree with or dislike, we must do our best.
8. Study the Bible; by looking into this perfect book, we will find peace for everyday living. We must therefore do our part to meditate on the Word of God (Joshua 1 v 8)
9. Be angry but do not sin. We all must learn to control our anger.
10. Help the poor and the needy. Volunteering or working together with others is a great way to find peace with ourselves. Giving is living and it’s the fuel of happiness so we should not hesitate to lend a helping hand and give to the poor.

Let`s Look at some examples of peace from the Bible;

Lord Jesus; The prince of peace himself. His whole life was about peace. He kept the peace and encouraged others to live in peace with all men. He calmed the storm and encouraged the fisherman to be at peace. In Matthew 5 v 9; Jesus said; blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.

King Asa: In 1 Kings 15 v9-24; King Asa in his wisdom made a pact with the King of Syria Ben-Hadad who helped him to defeat King Basha of Israel who had risen up against Judah and built Ramah so that no one could go into Judah. This allowed peace to reign in Judah during the reign of Asa.

King Solomon: In 1 Kings 3; v 1-15, King Solomon made a peace treaty with Pharaoh the king of Egypt, by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the city of David. This was when Solomon was still building his palace, the Temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. In 1 Kings 5 v 12; Solomon also made a treaty with Hiram the King of Tyre thereby making a formal alliance of peace. According to scriptures, Solomon had 40years of peace during his reign as king.

Let`s look at some Bible verses on peace

1. Psalm 4 v 8; In peace I will both lie down and sleep for you alone, oh Lord make me dwell in safety
2. Matthew 5 v 9: Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
3. Psalm 34 v 14: Depart from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.
4. Luke 2 v 29: Lord, now You are letting your servant depart in peace according to Your word.
5. Psalm 119 v 165: Great peace have those who love your law, nothing can make them stumble.
6. John 14 v 27: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you, Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
7. Romans 5 v 1: Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
8. Isaiah 32 v 17; The effect of righteousness will be peace and the result of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.
9. Luke 24 v 36-37: As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, peace to you, but they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.
10. Romans 12 v 18: If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
11. Philippians 4 v 7: And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
12. 1 Thessalonians 5 v 23: May God Himself, the God of peace sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
13. Colossians 3 v 15: Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body, you were called to peace and be thankful.
14. John 14 v 27; Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you and not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
15. Jeremiah 6 v 14: They have healed the wounds of my people lightly saying, peace, peace, when there is no peace.
16. John 16 v 33: I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world.
17. Isaiah 26 v 3: you keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you.
18. Ephesians 2 v 14; For He himself is our peace who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
19. 1 Peter 3 v 11: They must turn from evil and do good, they must seek peace and pursue it.
20. Psalm 29 v 11: The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people with peace.
21. 2 Thessalonians 3 v 16: Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all

Prayer

May the Lord make us instruments of peace to sow love where there is hatred, hope where there is despair, faith where there is doubt, thereby changing our world as we go winning more souls to our Fathers` Kingdom.

Amen!