Gonna lay down my sword and shield

 

On my travels over the weekend, I spent a couple of hours at the National Museum of the US Air Force.  Within just a few years of building of the first successful airplane by the Wright brothers,  the Army looked for ways to make the amazing machine into a useful weapon of warfare!  The quick development of technology for air war unfolded as I strolled through the vast buildings of the museum.  In just 50 years, the war plane went from a slow, clothed covered machine to a flying fortress capable of raining death and destruction on  entire cities.  What would the world look like in 2015 if all the billions of dollars of wealth that those displays represent had been spent instead on education and economic development? 

One of the Bible’s great promises is peace! Isaiah, peering through the telescope of God’s Spirit, saw the day when the lion and the lion would lay down together! What a vision.  God told him that the day would come when streets would be full of peace, when a man would enjoy the vineyard he planted without fear of raiders. The Psalmist sings, "Come and see the works of the LORD, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire." (Psalm 46:8-9, NIV)  "The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah" (Psalm 46:12, NIV)  With all the threats of our present world (and that we knew in the past!) peace is almost inconceivable, a utopian vision, beyond our reach.  The only hope is the coming of the King that brings justice and peace on earth!

Let’s turn our minds this Monday morning to peace closer to home. Those who control armies and air power are well beyond our reach, but what of our relationships? Do you live in peace or does conflict follow you wherever you go? Is your life full of fighting?  The gentle Christian who refuses to raise his hand in violence, who follows Jesus’ path literally turning the other cheek, is viewed by most as foolish or at best, deluded by an unattainable ideal. We are so accustomed to pushing for our rights, to protecting ourselves with words and guns that to think of a radical pursuit of peace as an expression of our Christianity is almost an afterthought.  

Jesus, our Lord, offers us His care and teaches us to lay down our sword and shield!  Christians are to be people of peace.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9, NIV)  
"Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." (James 3:18, NIV)  

Peace will not come to us just by wishing it were so nor will it arrive without great cost. (I am speaking personally, not politically.)   If we want to show the fruit of the Spirit, which includes peace, we will have to learn to trust God and to suffer loss gladly. Yes, friend, that is often the price of peace.  Meditate on the words of Christ and ask Him how you can live at peace with your family, your coworkers, your world.  The word from the Word is a familiar passage.  Don’t rush through it. Ponder the way of peace.

“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.

“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. " (Matthew 5:38-47, The Message)

Peace!

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Down By the Riverside

Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside

Ain't gonna study war no more.

I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
Study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
Study war no more.

 
Gonna stick my sword in the golden sand;
Down By the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna stick my sword in the golden sand
Down by the riverside
Gonna study war no more.

Dumb Luck? Really?

I looked over the group in the room. There was a lot of pain there: poverty, addiction, multiple failed marriages, a couple of children born without an intact family. I pondered the why of those lives so marred with pain and sadness. Could it just be fate?  While I surely cannot know all the factors, I did know that the people had made some poor choices that were collecting a terrible toll on life's highway! At the very same time, I also realized that many of those who had chosen so poorly, had not enjoyed the blessing of a stable and loving home or solid, authentic spiritual training! 

Only God knows the full set of facts, seeing our lives in a context that begins before our birth. But, I also know that in Christ we can become new, the old slavery to sin broken by the arrival of the Spirit. Real and lasting transformation is possible for anyone who is willing to receive God's grace, accept responsibility, and make the choice for change.

The best life that God offers to us will not simply happen to us. We choose it with obedience- today, again tomorrow, and the day after that. Joshua, the wise old leader of Israel, called God's people together as he approached the end of his life and challenged them to 'choose today which god you will serve ... as for me and my house we will serve the Lord!'  Disciple, do not be passive!  We are not fatalists, we cannot just hope for a new destiny. 

 

However, the balancing truth is that there are situations beyond our control. The only choice is to trust - to actively surrender ourselves to the hand of God. The Word calls us equally to responsibility and trust, to acceptance and effort. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts... and be thankful." (Colossians 3:15, NIV)  Where we read 'rule,' the original text has a word that includes the meaning of referee who makes the call in a contest. Players who compete well respect the call of the ref! We live best when we allow God to make the call!  When the Spirit whispers a corrective word how will we respond?  When He urges us to a specific course of action, will we obey?

Do remember this! Nobody gets it right all the time. Even with the best of intentions, we do not always hear His voice clearly. None other than Paul, the apostle, had some difficulty sorting out the will of the Spirit. "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we (Luke, the writer of Acts had joined Paul there) got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them." (Acts 16:6-10, NIV)  There was some trial and error before they got it right!

Is your true heart's desire to know and please the Lord? Are you living honestly before Him?  The prophet Hosea heard the voice of the Lord, speaking to sinful Israel. He called for change. "I said, 'Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of my love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.'" (Hosea 10:12, NLT)

How about it?

Are you ready to choose for change that leads to the blessings of our God in your life?

Here's a word from the Word. "Don't be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone-especially to those in the family of faith." (Galatians 6:7-10, NLT)

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Take Time To Be Holy

Take time to be holy,

Speak oft with thy Lord.

Abide in Him always,

And feed on His Word.

Make friends with God's children,

Help those who are weak,

Forgetting in nothing

His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy,

The world rushes on.

Spend much time in secret,

With Jesus alone.

By looking to Jesus,

Like Him thou shalt be.

Thy friends in thy conduct

His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy,

Let Him be thy Guide.

And run not before Him

Whatever betide.

In joy or in sorrow

Still follow thy Lord,

And looking to Jesus,

Still trust in His Word.

George Coles Stebbins | William Dunn Longstaff

? Words: Public Domain

Will you bless me, my Father?

God loves to bless His kids!  Do you believe that? Throughout the Old Testament wealth was viewed as a blessing given by God. In a passage much misinterpreted, but never the less, full of promise for us, God says "Fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his laws and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, to everything I say. Be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you." (Deuteronomy 6:2-3, NLT)

We do not serve God to get rich. We do not come to Christ is to join the ‘Bless Me’ club. However, as we learn to live in obedience to Him, as we discover the joy of belonging to Him,  the blessings of God will emerge as surely as fruit grows on healthy trees.  Are His blessings only wealth?  To think that is to miss many greater gifts!  

We find peace with God because of His grace in Christ.

We are blessed with joy because our eternal home is secured by Jesus. 

We live without condemnation and guilt because we are saved from sin by the Atonement.

We are loved by our God without reservation and are therefore able to love others deeply and authentically.

We are forgiven and forgive.  The list goes on.  

I am a father and few things bring me more happiness than providing good things for my children.  I love to help them in some small way.  I love to offer sincere praise, to provide support or encouragement, even to give them gifts.  Jesus said, "If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." (Matthew 7:11, NLT)  Look at these passages that speak of the blessings of the who live near their Father.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers." (Psalm 1:1, NIV)

"Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." (Psalm 34:8, NIV)

"Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods." (Psalm 40:4, NIV)

"Jesus replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” (Luke 11:28, NIV)

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3, NIV)

I am not a preacher of the prosperity gospel! Many wonderful Christians suffer terrible things in a world full of evil.  But, I also am firmly convinced that God desires to bless and His plan for us is good.  He has created the world so that when we live as He teaches, we generally prosper.  Curiously, that very prosperity can become a stumbling block in our spiritual development!  Moses warned Israel that the Promised Land, with all of the bounty there, would tempt them to forget the One who gave it to them.  "When God, your God, ushers you into the land he promised through your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give you, you’re going to walk into large, bustling cities you didn’t build, well-furnished houses you didn’t buy, come upon wells you didn’t dig, vineyards and olive orchards you didn’t plant. When you take it all in and settle down, pleased and content, make sure you don’t forget how you got there." (Deuteronomy 6:10-12, The Message)

Here is my counsel.  Do not chase the blessings, pursue the One who blesses! 
Listen and obey, as Moses taught Israel. And God’s blessings will follow.

This is the word from the Word.

"If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones.
But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities.
And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?
And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?
No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other;
you will be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and money." (Luke 16:10-13, NLT)

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Joy In Serving Jesus

There is joy in serving Jesus,

Joy that throbs within my heart.

Every moment, every hour,

As I draw upon His Power,

There is joy, joy,

Joy that never shall depart.

There is joy in serving Jesus,

Joy that triumphs over pain!

Fills my soul with heaven's music,

‘Till I join the glad refrain.

There is joy, joy,

Joy in serving Jesus;

Joy that throbs within my heart.

Every moment, every hour,

As I draw upon His Power.

There is joy, joy,

Joy that never shall depart.

Bentley DeForest Ackley | Oswald Jeffrey Smith

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