Peace Keepers and Peace Bringers

For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (Titus 2:11-14)

Grace revealed - in each of his children - so salvation can come to all people. How do we reveal the true magnitude of his grace to others? It is revealed primarily in the choices we make and the actions those choices lead us to do. Sinful pleasures seem to matter less and less to one who has been touched by the grace of God, leaving a transformed life for those around us to see. 

God sent his Son - so he could give his life to free us from everything that kept us from God's presence. Isn't it a silly thing to reject such a magnificent gift? That gift is one that 'keeps on giving', as the saying goes. Grace upon grace, until one day we find our choices reflect we are totally committed to doing good. Too many of us believe the transition from 'sinner' to 'holy one' is kind of a long shot. It is like we don't believe the grace that saved us from sin could be the same grace that brings us into transformed lives.

Grace is good, but there are some actions required of us if we are to find ourselves living as Christ intends. We must turn from godless living. In other words, we don't listen to the world's wisdom, but pay close attention to the wisdom given by God through his Word and wise teaching. We stop looking for some way to 'be well' and we start living well! We find that we don't resist the movement of God in our lives as much when we make the decision to turn away and turn toward. 

What does a transformed life accomplish? Greater and greater things because of the power of God at work within us. What can a grace-filled life bring into relationships? Much love, goodness, and even forgiveness. Some of the greatest work God does in transforming our lives is in redeeming lost relationships. People totally committed to Christ are 'peace-keepers' and 'peace-bringers'. That means we might just find ourselves as instruments of his grace more and more the closer we get to him. Just sayin!

Rejecting the invite?

How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

We all probably have a place of blessing - a place where we set our minds to rest and just breathe a bit. Some of us would describe an actual "place" - like a cabin in the woods, a quiet corner in the house with a comfortable chair, or maybe even our local church building. Others would describe a place of relationship, such as their spouse, kids, or even a dear friend. Maybe even a few will say it is a place of rest - where they can just shut off all the worries of the day and gently glide into some sense of quiet repose that re-energizes their body and mind. For the child of God, HE is our place of blessing - physically, emotionally, relationally, and even in our repose.

His places of blessing are not simply the comfy chair in the corner of the room, but the places of deep peace and tender mercies found only at his feet. Those places of blessing are what we refer to as places of repentance, forgiveness, and restoration. In those places of blessing come the hopes of wrongs made right and renewed vision in place of crumbled lives and shattered dreams. The nearer we draw to his heart, the nearer we draw INTO the place of his blessing. God had us in mind even before he made this planet upon which we live. Before there were habitable regions on this earth, while it was without form and void of life, he had us in mind. He envisioned you, just as you are, completely his. You were the focus of his love - first in his visionary creative mind and heart, then made by his creative hands. The very image of what he saw thrilled his heart and directed the creative power of his hands. You and I are the direct result of his creative love.

He created us to be made whole and holy by his love. All we can bring to him is brokenness - all he envisions for us is wholeness. For our every need, he has a perfect solution. Our sinfulness could not be made right by anything we could do, so he even provided the means by which we could be made spiritually "whole" - Christ Jesus. In restoring what sin took away, he makes us whole; in re-energizing us with his Spirit through Christ Jesus, he makes us holy. Whole and holy - that is how God envisioned us. God knew our need even before we were created, and he planned for it all the same. Each of us probably has a little bit of savings set aside in case an unrecognized need in arises in our lives - by setting aside a little of our earnings, we are planning for our future needs like car repairs, appliance replacement, and the occasional vacation. God knew there would be need and he planned for it before it even existed - knowing the end from the beginning. He "recognized" the need and knew exactly when it would need to be met. He "recognized" the one means by which that need could be met, as well.

He took "pleasure" in planning for our needs. If you are someone who likes to entertain, you might recognize how much pleasure you take in planning out each detail of the event. From specific place-settings, serving pieces, and even decorations, you set things in motion. Then you consider each specific member of the crowd you will be entertaining and cater to their need - some liking soda, others juice, still others bottled water. You craft the dishes you will prepare with those who you will entertain specifically in mind. You take "pleasure" in planning and preparing. In much the same way, God took pleasure in planning for his creation and then preparing for their every need. Wouldn't it be silly to reject the invitation to participate in what has been prepared specifically for us? Just sayin!