God Bless America

Today is July 4th, the day we celebrate our country’s independence. All over America, people will be firing up the grill, spending time with family and friends, gathering to watch fireworks displays and enjoying a day off of work!

In the midst of the merriment, let’s not forget what Independence Day is really all  about. A day to celebrate freedom. A day to remember that our founding fathers escaped to this country so that they (and we) could have the liberty to serve God. I for one am thankful for this great land of ours. Let’s not take for granted what we have.

There are so many all over the world who are not afforded the same luxury we have been freely given. Freedom. To serve God, to pray out loud, to read our Bibles, to live without fear of consequences.

On this Anniversary of our nations founding, let’s take a minute out of our day to say a prayer for this country of ours. Let’s thank God for what we have and then pray that we will continue to be one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone sing this better. I hope you enjoy!

 

Let Peace Be Your Umpire

Matthew 5:9 Blessed (enjoying enviable happiness, spiritually prosperous–with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the makers and maintainers of peace, for they shall be called the sons of God!

One of the rights that we have as believers is to have peace. Psalm 29:11 tells us 11The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace. In Psalm 34:14 it says, 14Depart from evil and do good; seek, inquire for, and crave peace and pursue (go after) it! If we actively pursue peace we will be called sons (or daughters) of God.  Even though it is something we have been given, we still have to make the effort to keep it. There will always be an opportunity to allow strife, discord and dis-unity to crop up in our lives, but if we set our hearts and minds to walk in peace we can bring agreement to whatever situation we are in. Peace can be defined as harmony or freedom from conflict or disagreement among people or groups of people. A peacemaker is someone who brings peace and reconciliation to others, someone who calms the situation.

Being a peacemaker is not always easy. Sometimes it may mean we have to bite our tongues, turn the other cheek, or walk away, but even though taking the high road may seem hard at the moment, the long term rewards are eternal. To be sons and daughters of God is the greatest benefit we could ever receive. There are lots of children that I know and love- my nieces and nephews, my friend’s boys and girls, the kids in the nursery at our church. As much as I genuinely love these children, my own children are even more dear to my heart. My son and my daughters get extra attention, favor and blessing from me. So how do we become peacemakers? Colossians 3:15 says 15And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. I love how this verse says it- let the peace of God act like an umpire, deciding and settling all questions that arise in your minds. That means before you speak or act in a way that wouldn’t promote peace, stop and ask yourself if you can say or do it. If you let Christ’s peace be your deciding voice, not only will your life be more tranquil, but you will also bring that peace to others around you.