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Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15
What does the peace of Christ look like in your life? The Apostle Paul tells us, in his letter to the church in Colossae that we are to let that peace be the governing rule in all we say and do. Peace is to be the one defining characteristic of the body of Christ.
It’s important to remember that the body of Christ (what we refer to as the church) is not a building. The body of Christ is not a set of rules and doctrines designed to brainwash us into being clones of one another. The body of Christ is simply NOT church as we think of it today. The body of Christ is like any other body. It’s a living organism made up of many parts that look different, act differently, and perform different yet work in complete harmony with one another for the good of each other.
A body that is not at peace is a sick body. It is unable to function properly and fulfill its duties to one another. If you have ever hit your thumb with a hammer or stubbed your toe in the dark you know how great a body is affected when one part is not at peace. The same is true in the body of Christ. When we set up rules and regulations that exclude people or take us on a path away from the word of God we weaken the entire body.
Wherever Jesus went on earth, he brought peace. He did not bring peace in the way the religious community wanted peace. He did not bring peace politically. Jesus brought a peace that can not be acquired through religious dogma or sacrifice. He brought a peace that can not be dictated and controlled by government action. Jesus brought peace to the soul. He brought peace to the soul of the woman caught in adultery; to the parents of the demon-possessed boy; to the parents of the little dead girl.
The peace of Christ will dwell in us only when we come to a realization of who we are and grow in relationship with Him. His peace comes when we confess our anger, our guilt, our shame or bitterness. His peace comes when we admit to Him our doubt, our judgmental spirit, our pride. His peace comes when we leave the emptiness of religion and enter the freedom of relationship.
The defining characteristic of a body in which the peace of Christ rules is being thankful. A heart at peace with Christ is a heart that in the midst of any tragedy can be thankful. Not thankful for the pain or the loss, but thankful that Jesus loves and forgives us and promises to walk with us along the path of life.
PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Son of God, Savior and Lord of the world. I confess to you that there are many times I exchange your peace in my life with rules and regulations that keep me from experiencing all the joy I can have in relationship with you. I get angry. I let my past or the brutal, stupid attacks of others get in my way. I retaliate rather than let you protect me. I judge other people. Empower me with your Holy Spirit to live in peace because of the relationship I have with you. In Your holy name I pray, Amen.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 2 Corinthians 9:12
“The best way to get people to praise God is to bless them. Even works with your enemies!” These were the words of a friend of mine I’ll call Ben. Ben had a casual friend we’ll call Steve several years earlier. This ‘friend’ and Ben had a falling out and, unfortunately, even though both parties were Christ-followers, the relationship was never the same. One day, shortly after the falling out, Ben received some unexpected money.
“I went to bed that night wondering how to spend the money,” Ben told me. “It wasn’t a large amount, but I wanted to spend it wisely. The Lord brought one name to my mind over and over again,” Ben smiled as he told the story. “I just couldn’t get Steve out of mind. I knew he needed some work done on his car. I also knew that if I tried to give him any money it would be rejected or misunderstood. So, I decided to send him an anonymous letter in the mail with the cash I knew would repair his car.”
Ben went on to tell how, several days later Steve was praising God to everyone he saw because of how the Lord had blessed him. “I wanted to come forward so bad!” Ben still smiled to tell the story, “but we were both blessed by the gift and that’s the important thing.”
How do you get people to praise God? By blessing them! It may not be money. It may be shoveling their sidewalk after a snowstorm, or mowing their grass while they are on vacation, or throwing out the guidelines on tipping at the restaurant (even if the service is terrible!).
It’s not always easy to bless someone else with our service. We can be abused or taken advantage of, misunderstood or criticized. It’s especially hard when the ones God calls us to serve are our ‘enemies’ or hate us. During the times when serving others is hard remember that our service to other people is really service to God.
Serving others is a three-fold blessing. We are blessed in our giving, those we serve are blessed by our service and God is blessed by their praise! When you get the opportunity to serve others, remember that your service never affects just one person. Our Heavenly Father loves to hear the praise of His people and serving others always leads to our Father being praised as well.
PRAYER: Awesome Heavenly Father. You have blessed me in so many ways. I have life. I have Jesus. I have the promise of eternity with You. Empower me by your Holy Spirit to reach out to those around me and bless them so that they in turn will give you the praise you so richly deserve. Help me remember that it isn’t my praise I seek but Yours. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
I love big, juicy, red raspberries. One day I decided I would plant my very own raspberry patch. I took some apple seeds from an apple I’d just eaten and went into my yard. I found a place in my yard that would be nice and convenient for me, right under a large oak tree and close to the house. I threw the seeds down on the ground and went into the house. I made sure there was just enough rain and sunshine for my plants. A few days latter the seeds had begun to grow several nice raspberry plants and in a few weeks I went out to pick my own bucket of fresh, juicy red raspberries.
If you know anything about gardening you know that the story above is pure foolishness. You can’t grow raspberries from apple seeds; you can’t just throw seeds on hard, uncultivated ground and expect them to grow; and most importantly of all, you can’t control the rain or the sunshine.
In order to have a healthy crop of whatever I want to plant there are some basic rules that need to be followed. Rule number one: plant the right kind of seed. If I want raspberries, plant raspberry seeds! Rule number two: plant my seeds in ground that is prepared for them. Rule number three: wait patiently. Plants don’t mature overnight and fruit can take years to develop. Rule number four: All my preparing, planting and patience will do no good without divine help. God is the one that controls the rain and the sunshine.
The same four rules apply to life. If we want to see positive things in our lives we need to plant positive seeds. Planting seeds of understanding and compassion will eventually produce love. Planting seeds of forgiveness and acceptance will eventually produce trust. Planting seeds of humility will eventually produce respect. Planting seeds of discipline and accountability will eventually produce self-confidence.
Planting positive seeds not only produces good fruit, it keeps disease from attacking us. When we plant positive seeds anger, bitterness, loneliness and hate will have less of an impact on us.
Producing fruit isn’t painless. Imagine the pain the soil must feel when we churn it up and rip out all the dead roots and rocks to make it healthy. Imagine the loneliness of the seed as it lays in the darkness of the ground waiting for growth to begin. Imagine the frustration of the young plant as it anxiously awaits the first buds the signal the beginning of fruitful growth.
None of this will happen of course without rule number four. Healthy fruit in our lives begins with God and ends with God. He is the one that needs to be involved in showing us all the ugly stuff that needs to be removed from our lives for fruit to flourish. He is the one that gives us wisdom and patience in knowing where to plant, when to plant and how to plant positive seeds in the ones around us. He alone can bring fruit in the lives of others and us.
PRAYER: Father God. I want to make a difference in my world. I want to be fruitful in my own life as well as producing fruit in the lives of others. I ask that you would show me the things in my own life that need to be removed in order to produce fruit. Give me patience with others when they don’t ‘grow’ at the rate I was hoping for. Protect as I patiently cultivate the relationships in my life so that they may produce healthy fruit as well. In Jesus name, Amen.
See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. 1 Thessalonians 5:15
‘I don’t get mad, I get even!’. We hear it said, or even say it all the time. Most of the time it’s meant in jest, but if we are honest, there are many times we get even when we’ve been hurt or offended. There are a variety of subtle and not-so-subtle ways of retaliation, but all have the same goal, to make sure the other person ‘pays’ for hurting us or crossing us.
Getting even is usually counter-productive. We are hurt by others so we hurt others in hopes of making our pain less. I’m not trying to minimize the pain of being attacked. Whether the attack is physical or emotional, the pain can be unbearable. Sometimes I think the emotional pain is worse because it leaves no visible bruises and we suffer alone.
It may be hard to admit it to ourselves, but many times our desire to ‘get even’ is a result of our own self-image. When we’re attacked, the enemy likes to whisper in our ear and tell us we are unworthy, unlovely, ugly, fat, stupid, weak and a whole list of other lies. The enemy loves to get us to think badly of ourselves so that we forget who we really are. We are children of the King!
Retaliation almost always leads to a negative spiral. You hurt me so I hurt you so you hurt me so I hurt you…and on and on. Many marriages and other relationships are destroyed because no one steps out of the circle.
When Christ-followers are involved in a negative spiral it shows the world that we are no different than they are. We talk of love and forgiveness but show none! In fact, sometimes the ‘evil sinners’ of the world are far kinder and forgiving than those of us who call ourselves Christians.
Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica and reminds them that retaliation (paying back evil for evil) should never be a part of the body of Christ. Rather, we are to do good to each other. This should be the defining mark of every church. People may not always agree with our stands on issues, but they should never question our love for each other and for them.
There’s an old Christian song that says “We are one in the Spirit….they will know we are Christians by our love’. If we are to impact our corner of the world for Jesus this should be our way of life. We will be hurt and offended. We will be attacked and misunderstood. We’ll be lied about. Our response should always be one of kindness even in situations where we have to separate us from our attacker because of the physical/emotional damage they have done to us.
Remember this. You are loved by God. He made you just as you are. If God had a chance to make you over again, He’d make you the same way that you are now! Let Him handle the crabby customer at work, the jerky driver on the interstate, the know-it-all gossip at your church. Rely on the Holy Spirit to empower you to show kindness and wisdom every time you are attacked. In this way, the world will know what it means to have the love of Jesus in our lives.
PRAYER: Father, I confess to you that it’s far easier for me to retaliate than to react with love, kindness and forgiveness. I’m ashamed to admit that I’m harder on my ‘Christian’ friends than I am on the ‘evil sinners’ I pray for each day. When someone hurts me, remind me that I’m yours. Empower me to remove myself from danger and rely on you for justice. Anoint my wounds with the healing oil of your love. If there is anyone to whom I should ask forgiveness please show them to me today. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 