SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT!

SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT!
From Pastor Carey

Here is the text of 1 Peter 3:10-12—“Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

As we grow together in the gospel of peace and develop knowledge and skills required for Christ-exalting, biblical peacemaking, 1 Peter 3:10-12 is a great passage to believe and act on! Shall we expect God’s blessing on us as we seek peace and pursue it? Yes! Why? Because “the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.” When we are in Christ by the grace of God by faith in Jesus Christ, we have assurance that the Lord is aware when we go after living out the great peace gospel! Plus, we know that He is listening when we talk with Him about our efforts to make peace with others! Or to put it another way, we have an ally in our peacemaking, a Divine Ally whose name is Jesus Christ!

“We have an ally who is eager (His ears are open and His eyes alert!) to see us make peace with others. And this Ally is not distant or passive. He is near us, and He is ready to place all of His resources at our disposal. As Ephesians 1:18-20 indicates, our Savior wants us to ‘know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead…’(emphasis mine).”

“Our Ally is ready to come to our aid. Seek His counsel; bank on His limitless resources; trust that He will never leave your side as you seek peace with others.” (quote adapted from sermon materials for week #1 of the “Peacemaking Church”)

The people of Rocky are already experiencing blessings on their peacemaking initiatives and it is sweet to celebrate! Rynette and I share in a LIFE group with a man who has experienced “miraculous” blessing in a business conflict and resolution. What a joy to hear his testimony in our LIFE group meeting last Sunday night! And I heard another great peacemaking testimony during a staff meeting on February 25.

So be encouraged! Be on the lookout for conflicts/opportunities in which to live out the gospel, relying on your Ally, the greatest Peacemaker of all—Christ Jesus!