Peace
Part 4 of the series
“Stairway to Heaven”
Previous posts are
published on this blog.
Following on the heels of love and joy is God’s peace,
a peace “far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.“21 You
may be thinking, Certainly I have peace … when I am all alone and when no
one is bothering me … when I have nothing on my mind. Peace as you know it may be only the absence
of conflict.22 Wouldn’t you love to have peace even during times of
strife and trouble? Impossible! You shrug off the idea, thinking, it’s not
possible to experience peace while I’m arguing or fighting with someone!
Assuredly,
if you are fighting and arguing, you are not at peace! However, when you experience God’s peace in
your heart, you will resist the temptation to contribute to strife, and you
will become active at being a peacemaker.23
“Avoiding a fight is a mark of
honor; only fools insist on quarreling.”24
“God blesses those who work for
peace, for they will be called children of God.”25
“And those who are peacemakers
will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness.”26
With
God’s peace your spirit is filled with His, and you will experience the calm
during the storm just as Jesus did during the tempest that alarmed and
frightened the disciples on the Sea of Galilee.27 You will be able
to hear the Holy Spirit speak to you, words that change your heart and give you
empathy for others, feelings to express and words to speak that bring about
peace or a conviction in the other to move toward reconciliation.28
Run from anything that
stimulates youthful lust. Follow
anything that makes you want to do right.
Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those
who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments
that only start fights. The Lord’s
servants must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone. They must be able to teach effectively and be
patient with difficult people. They
should gently teach those who oppose the truth.
Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will believe the
truth. Then they will come to their
senses and escape from the Devil’s trap.
For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.29
Finally, all of you should be
of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender
hearts and humble minds. Don’t repay
evil for evil. Don’t retaliate when
people say unkind things about you. Instead,
pay them back with a blessing. That is
what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it. For the Scriptures say,
“If you want a happy life and
good days,
keep your tongue from speaking evil,
and keep your lips from telling lies.
Turn away from evil and do
good.
Work hard at living in peace with others.
The eyes of the Lord watch over
those who do right,
and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face
against those who do evil.”30
Yes, others may bring strife into your life, yet you,
as a believer in Christ and growing in faith, can pursue peace, a fruit of the
Vine, a fruit of the Spirit manifested in you as you build with God, His
Stairway to Heaven.
a
Praise
to Our Father for the words He has given me. ~Jeff
Cambridge
Written
June 10, 2004
Copyright
© 2004, 2005, 2016 by Jeff Cambridge, Stellar Rhema Ministry
Footnotes
All
Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are from The Holy Bible, New
King James Version, copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.,
Publishers.
Verses
marked NLT are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New Living
Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Verses
marked NIV are Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International
Bible Society. Used by permission of
International Bible Society. “NIV” and
“New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States
Patent and Trademark office by International Bible Society.
Stairway to Heaven - 4
21.
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
22.
John 14:27, “Wall of Separation” Copyright © 2004
Stellar Rhema Ministry
23.
Proverbs 15:18; 17:14; 20:3; 26:17, 20; 28:25; 29:22;
30:33; James 3:13-18; Matthew 5:9
24.
Proverbs 20:3 NLT
25.
Matthew 5:9 NLT
26.
James 3:18 NLT
27.
Matthew 8:23-27
28.
Matthew 13:16
29.
2 Timothy 2:22-25
30.
1 Peter 3:8-12
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