I'm doing a Beth Moore bible study on the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). This week's teaching was on peace, and there were so many awesome truths shared that I had to pass on.....
The increase of peace accompanies the increase of Christ's government (Isaiah 9:6-7). This means allowing Christ to rule in our lives results in uncontested peace. To the degree we bow our knee, we have peace.
The sinful nature actively resists peace.
God promises peace like a river, not a pond, because he knows the pace of daily life.
Proverbs 14:30 says "A heart at peace gives life to the body".
When Peter was walking toward Jesus on the water (Matthew 14) and became afraid after taking his eyes of Jesus, he sank and the waves threatened Peter's life. "Immediately Jesus" came to him, not parting the sea like He'd done before, but bringing peace in the midst of the storm, walking on top of the circumstance, not changing it. This means peace comes with authority, not with the answer! Praise God we don't have to wait til a situation has resolved to experience peace.
Sometimes peace takes a sword, cutting us away from some thing or someone.
There is a vast difference between a peacemaker and a peacekeeper. A typical peacekeeper often attempts to keep peace at any cost. Ironically, this brand of peace is primarily a false peace. Jeremiah 8:11 says "they say 'peace, peace' where there is no peace." (Note: RB, that was the verse I was telling you about and trying to remember where it was in the Old Testament, that same morning before bible study!) This is like thinking you have a garden of Eden, but there's a tiger and alligator in it!
One of the primary definitions of shalom is "health", therefore, unhealthy peacekeeping is an oxymoron.
There are opponents to peacemaking. The opposite of "peacemaker" is "friend or lover of contention".
Keepers of false peace are motivated by fear and distrust. The fear of losing a relationship causing peace keeping brings misery.
Lovers of contention are motivated by misery, power, and lack of discipline. They like to keep the environment in an uproar, control the house.
1 comment:
Hmmmmmm.... This is like one of those large multivitamins. Absolutely necessary, but a little hard to swallow. It gets stuck in your throat- ya know it's there and you have to think about it.
I am going to chew on this a while and I know God is going to rain(reign) down on it and reveal Himself through it! I savor your blogs April. They are a joy to me!
Stephanie Phillips
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