The Peace Maker
Isaiah 2: No more will nation fight nation; they won’t play war anymore.
We think that our day, with all its international stress points, is somehow unique but we know it really isn’t. It isn’t war thatās unique to human experience, its peace. Human history, including that which is included in the Bible, is filled with war and every generation seems to take its turn at it. Israel’s possession of the Promised Land started with a war and it’s still at war today. Isaiah’s promise of peace sounds as fantastic today as it did then. However, his promise isn’t that of a politician who sincerely promises a “war to end all wars” but all too soon sees an even more devastating conflict break out. Isaiah’s promise isnāt man-centered, but is, instead, God-centered. The secret to peace on Earth isnāt “one more war” or “bigger weapons” or even the leadership of some gifted peace-maker. That’s because the real battle field isnāt in the Middle East or any other geographical location. Rather, itās the human heart. James put it this way, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Donāt they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1). Until the conflict of the human heart is resolved there isn’t a chance “in the world” of peace between nations. Our hope then is Christ. Itās the peaceful rule of the Messiah that Isaiah looked to. Today, Iām reminded that the dominion of the one who “on earth brings peace to men” begins, not out on the battle field, but in my heart.
Take Away: The only hope of peace in the world is Christ.
Tag: peace
Devotional on Daniel
Donāt worry about it
Daniel 12: Go about your business without fretting or worrying. Relax.
The things Daniel sees contain some disturbing and confusing information. Heās concerned about that. He doesn’t want to miss out on the message he’s been given. However, God’s messenger tells him not to worry about it. What he’s been shown is a long way off and, while some will waste a great deal of energy “running around, trying to figure out what’s going on” Daniel isn’t expected to grasp it all. Rather, he’s to merely pass the word along and when the time is right itāll be opened up to those who need to understand. When he’s done that, Daniel’s off the hook. He’s to go about living life without fretting or worrying about how it will all play out. The Lord’s final message to Daniel is “relax.” I firmly believe that there are crucial events in world history when God puts specific people in a specific place for just that moment. However, most of us are called to simply live for God day by day. We don’t have to figure it all out and we don’t have to become famous Christians. If I give my life to Jesus and by his grace live for him I can “relax.” As Daniel’s promised, “When it’s all over, you will be on your feet to receive your reward.”
Take Away: Most of us are called to simply live for the Lord day by day.
Devotional on Micah
Open, Under New Management
Micah 4: Nations will…quit learning how to kill one another.
Micahās promise of world peace always sounds good and itās especially attractive when strife and war are close at hand. Later on, when the Messiah comes his arrival is accompanied with heavenly cheers of āpeace on earth.ā Every reasonable person is drawn to the possibility of world peace. Some have declared the promise of Micah and then of the Gospel writer to be a sham. And why not: we’re no closer to world peace than we were when Micah first said these words. The thing is our world hasnāt cooperated with this promise. Micah describes this when he says, āMeanwhile, all the other people live however they wish.ā The solution offered in the Bible is a spiritual one. As people and nations yield to the sovereignty of God, peace reigns. As people and nations reject God peace becomes more and more distant. Godās answer is to march onto the world scene and reorder it all. When that happens weāll see the equivalent of an āOpen, Under New Managementā sign placed on the world, and peace will, at least, reign.
Take Away: We canāt expect to receive the promises of the Lord while we, at the same time, refuse to cooperate with him.
Devotional on Zechariah
Palm Sunday foretold
Zechariah 9: Your king is coming!
Israel is without a king and under the rule of the Persian King Darius. As the returned exiles accept the call of God to rebuild the Temple, the Lord encourages them through the messages and visions of the prophet Zechariah. God’s pleased with them and their commitment to the huge Temple project and promises to be with them. Heāll do for them what they cannot do themselves. Good days are ahead. Not only will the Lord help them in the reconstruction project, heās going to make them into a great nation that will influence all the nations of the earth. The day will come when theyāll be freed from the rule of Darius and will, instead, be ruled by a King sent from God. That king will come into Jerusalem, not riding a mount of war, but upon a mount that symbolizes humility and peace, a donkey. It will be 500 years before that event takes place and then at least 2000 years more before the promise Zechariah gives is totally fulfilled. However, the ādonkey riding Kingā has already ridden into Jerusalem. It happened when Jesus, the Messiah, rode a borrowed donkey into Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday. When that took place, the words of long dead Zechariah were proven literally true.
Take Away: The Lord always keeps his promises.
Devotional on Acts
From persecutor to follower
Acts 9: Things calmed down after that and the church had smooth sailing for awhile.
From the Day of Pentecost on thereās tension between the followers of Jesus and the religious leaders in Jerusalem. Obviously, the murder of Stephen is the primary example of that. Now, Saul, who was there as Stephenās last words were addressed to Jesus, becomes the main enemy of the believers. He terrorizes them, showing no mercy. Then, on the way to Damascus to root out even more Jesus followers, he encounters Jesus, himself. Itās a dramatic turnaround. The greatest enemy of Jesus and his people is now one of them. Saul is as zealous for Jesus as he had been zealous against him. Following the martyred Stephenās approach Saul debates the enemies of Jesus in Damascus. Then, when opposition is stirred to murderous proportions he returns to Jerusalem. Thanks to Barnabas, Saul is welcomed into the Church there. Soon heās debating with the Hellenists of that city. Before long they decide to deal with Saul as they dealt with Stephen. Saul is hustled out of town and soon is sent to his distant home town, Tarsus. Itās only then that things calm down for the infant Church. As I read of these events, I once again wonder if debate is the best way to advance Christianity. Itās Stephenās use of this approach that touches off the firestorm of opposition and itās when Saul, with his debate style is moved from the mix that things calm down and the Church advances under a banner of peace. Also, I canāt help but wonder if Saulās conversion doesnāt frighten the enemies of the Church. Saul was one of them, in fact, the most zealous of the lot. If attacking followers of Jesus can somehow make a person into one of āthemā maybe itās best to just leave them alone! No real application here but thereās plenty to think about as I consider this chain of events.
Take Away: Debate probably isnāt the best way to influence people for Jesus.
Devotional on Acts
Midnight visitations
Acts 23: That night the Master appeared to Paul: āItās going to be all right.ā
Paul, the former pursuer and persecutor of Christians is now himself, a Christian who is pursued and persecuted. When similar pressure broke out in other places the believers have secreted him out of town and out of danger. Now, though, heās held prisoner by the Romans. When forty or more men take an oath to kill Paul the Romans take action similar what has been done before; they move him out of town. Paul, at the center of this whole storm, is surprisingly calm and filled with hope. Why? Itās because heās heard from the Lord that āItās going to be all right.ā His confinement has just begun and things will get worse. How many times will he return in spirit to that night at the Roman garrison in Jerusalem when the Master, himself, came to encourage him? This visitation of the Lord will become his anchor as the storm of adversity crashes down on him. We not only need some midnight visits from the Lord as we deal with the issues of life, but we also need to cherish them; to remember them and draw strength from them. Then, as the stormās fury is unleashed on us we can draw from those midnight visitations and be strengthened to perseverance and peace.
Take Away: We not only need some midnight visits from the Lord as we deal with the issues of life, but we also need to cherish them as well.
Devotional on Genesis
Covenant of peace
Genesis 31: So letās settle things between us, make a covenant.
Thereās a saying that you can choose your friends but you canāt choose your relatives. Jacob is related to Laban both through his mother and by marriage. He and Laban have a strange relationship. Laban has lied to Jacob and cheated him. However, every dirty trick Laban tries backfires and Jacob comes out ahead every time. Laban hasnāt really lost anything because the overflow of Jacobās blessings has spilled over onto him. Finally, Jacob has had enough. He, who arrived at Labanās doorstep with nothing, is now leaving as a man who’s rich in family and belongings. Given the relationship between these two men, itās no surprise that Jacob attempts to leave in secret. However, this is no small relocation and Laban and his men easily catch up to Jacobās huge entourage. The two men have it out; Jacob complaining about how Laban constantly changed the rules and Laban about how everything Jacob has is his. This, apparently, clears the air. Neither man admits to any wrong doing but Laban suggests a truce between them. Out in the wilderness they make a covenant of peace. From now on they’ll do one another no harm. To commemorate the occasion they build a monument called āGaleedā or āWitness Monumentā and part on good terms. They call upon the Lord to hold them to their new covenant. From now on they will treat one another with respect. Sometimes itās a good idea to let the past go and get a new start with those with whom weāve had issues.
Take away: Is there someone with whom I need to make a fresh start?
Devotional on Genesis
Canāt we all just get along?
Genesis 45: Take it easy on the journey; try to get along with each other.
Having revealed his true identity to his brothers Joseph informs them that the famine will continue for another five years. He urges them to relocate to Egypt where he can take care of them. As he sends them back to Canaan he adds, āTake it easy and try to get along.ā Isnāt that an odd statement? Theyāre returning home with lots of good news. Joseph is alive, heās a powerful man, and heās going to take care of them all. Itās been over 20 years since he spent time with them, but heās experienced firsthand the results of the rivalry among them. With that in mind he cautions them against disagreements in their number. Centuries later, Paul says something similar to the Christians at Rome: āIf it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyoneā (Ro 12:18). Apparently even people with good news and better things to do sometimes fail to get along. Joseph wants his brothers to keep the big picture in mind. Paul wants the same thing for the church. Once in a while, maybe all Godās people need to be reminded to take it easy and to try to get along.
Take away: Getting along sometimes takes real effort on our part, but itās a worthy goal.
Devotional on 1 Samuel
Strategic insanity
1 Samuel 21: He pretended to go crazy.
Itās been confirmed that Saul intends to kill David, so David’s desperately on the run. He has no provisions and doesn’t have so much as a sword for self-defense. He temporarily remedies that by stopping at the place of worship at Nob where heās given bread and the sword of Goliath thatās been stored there. Now what? He decides to seek refuge at Gath. His intention is to go there incognito, but heās immediately recognized. King Achish will almost certainly turn him over to Saul. So, what can he do? Weāre told that he pretends to go crazy. Apparently, he put on a pretty good act; good enough that Achish wants nothing to do with him and sends him on his way. Now David is a skilled fighter and he has an excellent weapon, so maybe he could have fought his way out. Or, he might have been able to play “let’s make a deal” with old king Achish. In fact, heāll do just that with the king of Moab. In this case, though, he fakes insanity. I wonder why he did that. Maybe, as he has entered Gath heās seen a number of poor, demented people, so insanity is on his mind (pun intended). King Achish alludes to that when he says, “Don’t you think I have enough crazy people to put up with as it is without adding another?” Anyway, Iām thinking about the value of “strategic insanity” here. Sometimes itās better to simply not notice an offense than it is to force a confrontation. It can be better to be blissfully ignorant of what people are saying or thinking and using “strategic insanity” to just go on loving them as though they’ve never said or done anything negative about us. I know that this isnāt always true, but on this day David saved himself a fight and walked away because the king thought he was so crazy that he wouldn’t be of any use to him. There are probably situations in my life in which “strategic insanity” is the best response too.
Take Away: Sometimes ignorance is, indeed, bliss.
Devotional on 2 Kings
Nothing special, just life
2Kings 15: He was king for fifty-two years in Jerusalem.
The stories of the twin kingdoms are told in parallel but theyāre very different stories. Judah is rather stable with kings generally ranked as āgood with some failuresā while kings of Israel receive failing marks. Because of that, God blesses Judah with consistency of leadership thatās lacking in Israel. In fact, Israelās throne at this time has the feel of a revolving door. There are numerous assassinations and one fellow, Shallum, only manages to hold the throne for a month. Meanwhile, Azariah and his son Jotham, rule Judah for 68 years. Judah isnāt perfect, but thereās a spiritual, God-connected element thatās missing from Israel and during this period of their histories one place we see it is in the stories of their kings. While intrigue and subterfuge make for the best stories, I think most citizens will say that peace, security, and prosperity make for the best lives. Israel might be more often talked about in the region but Judahās the better place to call home. Thank God for the blessing of living, more often than not, a life that doesnāt make the headlines.
Take Away: We tend to take common, day to day life for granted; but we shouldnāt.
Devotional on the Psalms
Safe days
Psalm 7: I’m feeling so fit, so safe: made right, kept right.
Don’t you just love those “safe days”? What a blessing to look inward and see a heart made right and kept right. How pleasant it is to think serene thoughts, imagining soft, easy-going days in which I relax in the assurance of God’s pleasure with my life. It’s too bad that that’s not the message of this Psalm at all. David is under attack and he’s running for his life. He’s been accused of all kinds of failure, including spiritual failure. If his enemies get their hands on him he’s finished. This isn’t a day at the beach. This is war. And itās in the middle of this war that David looks to God for help and vindication. As some of his life’s most difficult days rage all around him, he looks upward and finds hope. He looks inward and finds peace. While I really do love soft “safe days” I know that the real test of God’s work in my life is out on the battle field. If I can sense his pleasure with me and find inner peace there, well, I can find it anywhere.
Take Away: Life isnāt always easy but the Lord is with us and in us even on hard days.