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| That me in the middle taking notes during Navigate |
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| This is our Pacific North West Navigate team of 3 churches |
“ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure,
then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated,
full of mercy and good fruits, with out variance,
without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness
is sown in peace for them that make peace.
I am running way behind today in getting something posted. Last night tired caught up with me and I just had to say I'm done and go to bed. So for those of you who look forward to this early in the morning I apologize. I have a couple of things that I have been working on that are in the process of being ready to post. This is one I wrote while in route to Minnesota for the Navigate conference. Finding Gods peace in the midst of a busy day seems to be something I need today as well.
I am on the plane in route to Denver where we will have a quick layover on the way to Minnesota. I’m currently listening to Rich Mullins song Hold Me Jesus which seems a good spring board from which to write. So Hold me Jesus - cause I’m shaking like a leaf - you have been King of my glory, won’t you be my prince of peace.
Seems the Lord is speaking to me a lot about peace lately. I was struck the other day by how many salutations and greeting in the New Testament letters are about peace. The writers seem to think is an important thing with which to open a letter and to pray over their readers. So I will follow that example and pray that God would bless you with a greater understanding of Him as your Prince of Peace.
James 3:17 - 18 Says “ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, with out variance, without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.
Peace often requires standing up for what is right. It is often walking into a difficult situation and rather than escalating the situation helping to diffuse the anger of those present. We have ample opportunities to practice this in our work in the inner city with the homeless and poor. There are days when people come in very agitated. On those days our job as believers in the room is to help settle and calm the the tension in the room.
You may have opportunities to bring God’s peace into the situations that you find yourself in today. There may be very traumatized people that you encounter today that need not only your prayers but for you to bring peace, to remind them that they will be ok, that they need to breathe and trust and accept the help that is being afforded to them by your very presence.
I think we often wrongly think that peace is all about floating in our own personal peace bubble. Quite often it is more the ability to walk into a stress filled situation and bring peace to others. It is the mercy of God working through you to bring grace and peace into a situation in which little or none existed until you came on the scene to bring the fruit of peace that you have gained from the wisdom of spending time in the presence of the Lord.
Prayer:
So Hold Me Jesus - walk near me in difficult situations as I am dealing with troubled and difficult people. Help us to be a living bible - the only one they may read today. Help us to demonstrate the your peace in the midst of the storms we are personally facing and those of others whose lives we touch. Lord I think of the line in Rich Mullin's sings that says “I’d rather fight you for what I don’t really want than take what you give that I need”. Help me to accept those things I need and to stop fighting you for those things that I don't need. Help me to have the wisdom to know the difference.
Help me to accept it when you say no, or not now, to maintain trust and hope that you are working and you know better than I what I truly need.
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