– 2 Chronicles 14:5
Peace Man!
Would you like to have peace in your kingdom? You know . . . a household where things like conflict, and strife, and arguing, and back-biting, and name-calling, and murmuring, and sassing, and sneaking, don't exist? Where your finances, and your health, and your career, and your family, and your neighborhood, and your kids, and your spouse all get along? Where the roses are blooming, and the grass is growing, and the butterflies and hummingbirds are dancing happy-joy-joy jigs?
OK, OK . . . a little too "sweet?" I agree, but I think you get the picture, and the reality is that the "sweet-life" isn't really that far out of reach. Peace in our own personal kingdom is God's design for all of us . . . REALLY . . . I promise! And I also promise that it CAN be achieved . . . but there is a BIG role each of us has to play in order to realize that peaceful kingdom, and I'm afraid that for some of us . . . well . . . it's gonna take a war of the "wills" and the "will nots."
You see in order to get peace, true peace – God's Peace – in our lives and the lives of those around us (the kingdom), we have to be willing to do some house-cleaning. That's right . . . Kingdom-building, Peace-achieving, world-denying, house-cleaning. We have to be willing to get rid of all the idols, and gods, and self-indulging shrines and altars that displease God and which prevent His Peace from settling on our kingdoms. We have to be willing to live the life of a fruit-salad (Galatians 5:22-26), allowing the Holy Spirit free reign in every area of our lives. We have to become worthy of the Salvation and the Grace that our God so freely and lovingly gifted each one of us, and we need to deny (to "will not") the "pleasures" that this world would tell us we have the "rights" to as outlined in Galatians 5: 19-21.
The Peace that surpasses ALL understanding (Philippians 4:7), really isn't that difficult to understand when you live your life as a fruit orchard. It becomes a natural, every minute-of every hour-of every day, walking, talking, eating, breathing, thinking, sleeping part of who you are. And your life – your "kingdom" – will exist under the protection of God's Peace . . . so much so that the "world" will not be able to understand it. In fact, they will be jealous of your peace. They will try to destroy your peace by attempting to make life difficult for you, but their efforts will be fruit-less because you have already taken care of business! You have cleaned house, and you've destroyed the world-things that keep HIS Peace at bay! And even though you, walk, every day, through the valley of the shadow of death, no-thing, no-one, no-circumstance, no-predicament, no-doctor's report, no-job situation, no-anything, will ever be able to bring you down . . . because You have created a magnificent fruit orchard, in your kingdom of Peace!
Prayer
Father thank You for Your Peace! Thank You for giving us the ability to understand how to achieve that Peace. Help us to recognize the areas of our lives that need tearing down – the shrines and the altars and the idols that need destroying – so that we can realize a fruit-filled life, living comfortably in the embrace of Your Peace.
Have a Blessed (and Peace-filled) day everyone!
– Richard
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