PEACE
Last night as I watched the presidential debate I kept asking myself, "Why isn't Mitt, hitting back?" It was so frustrating, I sat in front of the TV yelling out the answers, smacking my forehead like a moron. Then I thought about this scripture.
Galatians 5:22-26 (NKJV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christs have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
This is part of the Life Lesson listed for this scripture in my Bible.
"We live in an atmosphere of antagonism, an environment of enmity. Yet amid such adversity Christ calls us to produce peace.
This peace is love quietly, strongly, persistently meeting every onslaught against it with good will. It is that inner attitude of tranquility and tolerance in the face of angry attacks. It is the willingness to accept the assaults of others even at the price of personal humiliation. It implies that even though my enemies and detractors may be at war with me, I can be at peace with them." (From Salt for Society by Phillip Keller)
It really seemed to me the perfect scripture and the perfect quote for the day.
It's hard not to want to fight, to kick and scream when we know someone is lying, or insulting us. However because we are choosing to live as Christians the best we can, we must consider how we are called to act.
In recent years women have been portrayed in our movies and books as physically strong warriors, battling evil and injustice... They are built women, who oze sex appeal and need no man to come to their rescue, if anything they will be the one's rescuing the men.We are not the weaker sex, neither are we the warriors, not because we can not be, but because we choose not to be.
Do you remember the saying "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." I believe this is very true, women have always been the peace makers, not the instigators of violence. Oh we use our tongues to cause to much pain as it is, but now we have become a society where battling mama's take each other down on the FlyingJ over breakfast, they scream, yell, pull hair, throw punches and toss each other on the tables of other patrons. Men are just as bad, they either take macho to a whole new level or they walk around with their frilly girlie panties on insulting and belittling others any way they can.
So when we're surrounded by a society that thinks this behavior is not only okay, but totally encouraged and expectable, what do we do to stand apart from them?
We choose to give others the respect we would want given to us, not because they have earned it but because it is the right thing to do. We do that by following the advice the Bible so clearly sets out for us.
Be loving to others, be joyful, create peace wherever you can, be kind to each other, even when the other person is not kind, do good things, be a good person, be a faithful servant, be a faithful friend, be faithful to God, be gentle to those around you, show self-control in every thing you do.
These are the traits that set us apart, the Holy Spirit working in us, shines through our lives, others see Him through our actions. It's hard to be the peace maker, especially if the other person is challenging you to a fist fight. Others may think you look week, or that you are afraid, but the stronger person embraces peaceful solutions to volatile problems. Remember God is watching us and He loves us and forgives our mistakes, Big ones and little ones. There are others watching us too, people who are watching to see if we really are who we say we are, if we are the children of God, or if we're only play acting hypocrites, trying to sell them a bridge in NY.
Be the person God is calling you to be.... God will notice and so will others around you...
It really seemed to me the perfect scripture and the perfect quote for the day.
It's hard not to want to fight, to kick and scream when we know someone is lying, or insulting us. However because we are choosing to live as Christians the best we can, we must consider how we are called to act.
In recent years women have been portrayed in our movies and books as physically strong warriors, battling evil and injustice... They are built women, who oze sex appeal and need no man to come to their rescue, if anything they will be the one's rescuing the men.We are not the weaker sex, neither are we the warriors, not because we can not be, but because we choose not to be.
Do you remember the saying "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." I believe this is very true, women have always been the peace makers, not the instigators of violence. Oh we use our tongues to cause to much pain as it is, but now we have become a society where battling mama's take each other down on the FlyingJ over breakfast, they scream, yell, pull hair, throw punches and toss each other on the tables of other patrons. Men are just as bad, they either take macho to a whole new level or they walk around with their frilly girlie panties on insulting and belittling others any way they can.
So when we're surrounded by a society that thinks this behavior is not only okay, but totally encouraged and expectable, what do we do to stand apart from them?
We choose to give others the respect we would want given to us, not because they have earned it but because it is the right thing to do. We do that by following the advice the Bible so clearly sets out for us.
Be loving to others, be joyful, create peace wherever you can, be kind to each other, even when the other person is not kind, do good things, be a good person, be a faithful servant, be a faithful friend, be faithful to God, be gentle to those around you, show self-control in every thing you do.
These are the traits that set us apart, the Holy Spirit working in us, shines through our lives, others see Him through our actions. It's hard to be the peace maker, especially if the other person is challenging you to a fist fight. Others may think you look week, or that you are afraid, but the stronger person embraces peaceful solutions to volatile problems. Remember God is watching us and He loves us and forgives our mistakes, Big ones and little ones. There are others watching us too, people who are watching to see if we really are who we say we are, if we are the children of God, or if we're only play acting hypocrites, trying to sell them a bridge in NY.
Be the person God is calling you to be.... God will notice and so will others around you...
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