Maybe we don't fight on a nationwide scale, but surely within our families, workplaces, and even churches, we experience unrest and strive.
Not an easy task
This should not be so. The apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:17-18, Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.
Do all that you can do, to live in peace with everyone. Not an easy task, but a serious request nonetheless.
Peace at a personal level
Of course, it all starts with peace within our own hearts. Peace at a personal level. Jesus wants to give us a peace that surpasses all understanding. Quite a good start if we desire to change the world.
In the Bible, we can read about wars and rumors of wars... a lot. Nowadays (well, actually since Jesus came to earth as a peace offering), God calls us to a different kind of battle, the good fight we must fight.
Mighty weapons
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
We use God's mighty weapons. No tanks, no guns, no bombs. But truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God.
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Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
[Ephesians 6:11-12]
➤Check out my blog series The Good Armor for more on this topic.
These days cry out for using God's armor each and every day. Yes, there will be human wars, but the spiritual battles are the most consequential. Blessings, Marha!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Martha Jane!
DeleteMarja: I have often wondered about the reasons for bearing arms. Did the people at the end of the 100 Years War understand or even know why they fought for generations? In our country, there is the historic Hatfield and McCoy feud. It came to the point that the only reason descendants fought the other was ""because he's a member of the other family." Sometimes, nations have very strong reasons to consider bearing arms. Before Desert Storm, Congress debated both sides of the issue, - do we or don't we (go to war.) I really don't have any answer to why people and nations cannot get along.
ReplyDeleteGood points here Cecelia, often a feud has been going on for so long that people forget what started it. Why do people fight? Honestly, I don't have the answers either. Although I think that having the Prince of Peace abide in us, will help us to calm down and refuse to fight.
DeleteThe fighting goes back as far as Cain! It's part of the nature of fallen man. I like Micah 5:5: "And this man shall be Peace"; it could only mean one Man!
ReplyDeleteAmen, and this man shall be peace. Jesus is our Prince of Peace!. Thanks David.
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