SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/29/2020
9:58 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The
Messengers of Peace: Believers”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew 5:9
Message of the
verses: “Blessed
are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”
We looked at the first thing that characterizes
a peacemaker in our last SD and now want to continue looking at these
characteristics.
2. A peacemaker leads others to
make peace with God. Christians
are not some kind of elite group of people who look down at those who are not
believers similar to what the Pharisees did during Jesus walk on earth. What we have been given is a gift, a gift in
my case that I certainly was not looking for, so I have nothing that would
cause me to have my nose in the air about.
Jesus Christ deserves all of the glory.
Believers are a body of sinners who have been cleansed of their sin by
the blood of Jesus Christ.
John MacArthur
writes the following about something that I have mentioned about the Pharisees: “The Pharisees were the embodiment of what
peacemakers are not. They were smug,
proud, complacent, and determined to have their own ways and defend their own
rights. They had scant interest in
making peace with Rome, with the Samaritans, or even with fellow Jews who did
not follow their own party line.
Consequently they created strife wherever they went. They cooperated with others only when it was
to their own advantage, as they did with the Sadducees in opposing Jesus.
“The peacemaker
spirit is the opposite of that. It is
built on humility, sorrow over its own sin, gentleness, hunger for
righteousness, mercy, and purity of heart.
G. Campbell Morgan commented that peacemaking is the propagated
character of the man who, exemplifying all the rest of the beatitudes thereby
brings peace wherever he comes.”
Acts 10:36
gives us the purpose of the church to preach:
“"The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus
Christ (He is Lord of all).” (Notice the highlighted portion.) I have heard that a Christian is a person who
has been given bread and desires to give bread to others.
3. A Peacemaker
helps others make peace with others. At the very moment that a person comes to Christ he
then becomes at peace with God and with the church and becomes himself a
peacemaker in the world. One of the
things that a believer is to do is to build bridges between men and God and
also between men and other men. There is
another kind of bridge-building that must begin and that of course is between
ourselves and others. Jesus gives an
example of this later on in Matthew 5:23-24 “23 "Therefore if you are presenting
your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you, 24 leave your offering
there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then
come and present your offering.” Paul
writes the following in “Romans 12:18 “If possible, so far as it depends on
you, be at peace with all men.” Another
quote from Jesus in 5:44-45 gives us
more things to follow “44 "But I
say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is
in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
When a bridge is built by us to others
we must make sure that the side that we build has a lot of support under
it. So in our relationship our first
responsibility is to see that our own side has a solid base. However we also have the responsibility to
help the one on the other side as they build their base well. So both sides must be built on righteousness
and in truth or else the bridge will not stand.
As God’s peacemakers we must first be righteous ourselves, and then must
be active in helping others become righteousness.
I want to finish this third point in our
next SD, and then Lord willing, will do the fourth point.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: Building bridges must be done for
righteousness sake, and not my own sake.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I have a number of prayer requests that are
on my heart and so it is my desire to continue talking to the Lord about those
prayer requests that He has laid on my heart.
5/29/2020 10:33 AM
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