Matthew 5:9, Blessed are the peacemakers

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

A peacemaker is someone who, rather than making war, makes peace.

A peacemaker is not only someone who brings a peaceful influence to a strained situation, although that is one important part of their role, but rather someone who takes the ingredients of a situation that may or may not have already begun to over-boil, perhaps adding a few special ingredients of their own, and making peace from what could have before only led to a charred and unappetizing mess for all involved.

I need to focus more on those times when I see tensions rising and the waters of life beginning to boil so that I can pray, calm down, pray some more, then roll up my sleeves and do what I can to keep temperatures in check and cooking on track so that we can serve the Lord a full course meal of our praise and ministry from every corner of our lives that will be pleasing in His sight and sit well on His tongue.

We have all been made sons and daughters of God through the Spirit of adoption [Romans 8:15; Galatians 3:26], but those who desire peace; love peace; those who are the peacemakers, THEY are the ones who are blessed and shall be called sons of God.

It is in my opinion that by nature anyone who truly believes in Christ and has accepted His gift of salvation must be or have become a "peacemaker" to one extent or another (regardless of if they are always the ones actually making any peace.) To me it just seems that if one has accepted forgiveness and desires after God some part of them must also desire and love and long after peace. It is fundamental to our lives in the Spirit, even if in the flesh we are often the ones to destroy the peace rather than build it.

However, how much more blessed are those who are not only peacemakers in their most inward and hidden parts, but who love peace with the entirety of their being, seek it, and are willing to struggle and grow by the Spirit through the anger, discontent, wildness and peacelessness possessed in the flesh; chains which we carry but are no longer bound to, that through the cross Christ broke and freed us from once and for all and has promised that through the Spirit those chains are not only broken, but by his power from us can be taken.

How can I be a peacemaker, blessed to be called a son of God?

God please teach me to show greater grace when wrongs are done and to confidently sow the seeds of peace into even the most tense of situations. Teach me to turn to you, my rock and my foundation, so that I would stand solidly in your peace and radiate it; to look to you when angers flare for the wash of your calm Spirit; that I would be one who actively seeks peacemaking for your glory amongst the children and to be your example amongst the lost. You have saved me, but please keep sanctifying me; I love you and want to honor you, may I be ever more like you.

Written March 5, 2012

Acts 27:17, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him

". . . so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though His is not far from each one of us;"

And what a beautiful thing it is. The Lord of heaven and earth and every created thing living or dead came down and touched broken man to save him from his own wayward nature. Sending Son to die as payment and Spirit to bring life to we who were already dead, the Creator of all things built a bridge that closed the gap of separation brought about by our own disobedient natures so that any willing to walk by the narrow road, desiring more than the cares and fleeting desires of this world, could come to Him, the Judge, seeking forgiveness; and find that their sentence for all wrong doings, for sin, has been paid for and God's wrath and judgement poured out on another, undeserving, who sacrificed Himself for us so that both the justice and mercy of the perfect and loving God would be brought about in full righteousness and truth.

More than this, having forgiven, the only God adopted as children those who were once lost and enemies of His divine and perfect nature so that they would be more than debtors and slaves bought with a heavy price by the sacrifice of Jesus, who is God and was sent by God, being Himself the eternal God, to come into the world in the form of man and free us from our own imperfect fallen natures, doing what we could never do, living a perfect life without sin, and accepting as one undeserving of death the death of a transgressor, a criminal, that of the cross, an execution, and more than these the judgement and wrath of a God who, though loving, being perfect and just, would act in imperfection and deny His very nature by allowing crimes and wrongdoings to go unpunished.

Seeking forgiveness we are forgiven, and the God of Creation receives not as debtors and therefore servants those who cry out to Him; but rather, by adoption, we are received as undeserving children through His Spirit and our dead souls are given new life, and in death we have no fear for the greater death which comes after. Before the judgement seat we are found as saints, His perfect children, whereas the unrepentant, those who in this life spat in the face of their Hope, the sacrifice and death of Jesus; the Spirit who convicts, offering truth and salvation; and God Himself who chose to make us more than stones and dirt by giving freewill and the freedom of choice and whom in freedom the unrepentant reject and blaspheme, will be judged as God who made all things finds just.

We come before our Father in heaven as loving children who were first loved, just as a child with their earthly father, and we thank Him for being a God so far beyond us yet willing to step close and wrap us in His arms, whispering, "Sweet child, you were unloved and yet I love you. Come with Me you who had no home and I will give you rest. You will be Mine and I will be yours, in this short and imperfect life I will guide you by the hand, I will be with you in your joys and your sorrows; in death I will receive you to a new place eternal, where joys are many and sorrows will not be known, and you will know Me as I have always known you. Come away from the fallen world, you do not yet know the lack of its satisfaction and have not yet seen the better things I have for you. You do not yet see Me but soon you will see fully. I have drawn close to you; wrap your arms around me and I will never let you go, for though you have not seen it long have my arms been around you, able to carry, yet you were unwilling."

Though eternal He has made Himself not far from us.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." [the words of Jesus, written in the book of John, his personal testimony to the life of Jesus, chapter 3; reference: "John 3:16-18"]

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [the words of Jesus, written in the book of Matthew, his record of the life of Jesus, chapter 11; reference: "Matthew 11:28-30"]

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I will be prayerfully posting the above to facebook and writing it out to place in envelopes and give to my friends who do not yet know Christ in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him.

Written April 26, 2012

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Michelle's study of Acts 17:27

Acts 17:26, their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.

And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

Even in the most uncertain times.

Paul says in Romans 8:28, "we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

It's not that "all things are good", but rather that "all things work together for good".

We preach no prosperity gospel.

The good message we have been given is that which was carried by Paul: from his brethren the Jews five times receiving 39 lashings, three times beaten with rods, once stoned and three times shipwrecked. Journeying often he faced perils of water, robbers, and the enmity of countrymen, his fellow Jews, and gentiles alike. Perils while in cities, wilderness and sea. He faced false brethren pretending to know Christ. For the gospel he was wearied, toiled and went without sleep often, at times naked and cold. [2 Corinthians 11:24-27]

It was the gospel carried by John whom Jesus loved, the beloved disciple, when exiled to the island of Patmos as an old man.

Ours is the gospel proclaimed by those 11 disciples who had to face the death of their Christ and with it their hope, only from it to grow beyond despair and find an even greater as they came face to face with their savior once again, having risen from the dead.

When we exercise we push our bodies to the limits so that they grow stronger and the load which can be managed before hitting our limit increases.

Sometimes God puts us through the hard times and experiences, allows us to experience our limits, so that our faith will grow stronger through a greater dependency on him.

It's easy to depend on God when our world is crashing down around us; but when everything is right as rain? When the sun is shining and the birds are singing and it's the perfect day to go lay in the hammock and take a nap?

Those days are a blessing from God, but it can be so easy to lose sight of him in the midst of them.

Although preaching to unbelievers we are assured by Paul's words that, regardless of circumstances, God hasn't been taken by surprise at what is happening. He pre-appointed the good times AND the bad; the boundaries of our dwelling whether a large house or a small apartment, even if we have no place to lay our heads [Luke 9:58], has been known by God and decided upon before time began.

I will set aside a half hour tonight to pray about things to come after I return home, mainly about my living arrangements and finding a job, but also wherever the Lord leads in prayer; that He would keep reminding me everything falls within his plans and that nothing catches him by surprise. Wherever I end up, I will be in the Lord's hands.

Written April 25, 2012
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As a praise report, I have since gotten a job working part time with my friend's dad and think the circumstances for getting the job, as well as the time I spent searching for a job, all fell together rather . . . 'divinely'; but you know, maybe that's just me. With flexible hours I'm able to help out at church as much as I like while still spending some time with my family, and even though I'm not making a ton of money with the hours I work, but should have enough saved to meet my first school payments and cover initial (and I mean very initial) living expenses come September.

On that note . . . if you would, please pray for me to find a place to stay and work, or more accurately the right sort of place to stay and the right sort of work, while attending the School of Worship at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. The first semester starts the beginning of September and I am submitting my application tomorrow (or mailing it off anyway); all that is left is to record a sound sample (voice or instrument), transcribe my application questions (typed for editing and revision) onto the form (paper and pen) and send them off (envelope and stamp)!

I suppose before anything else you could pray for my application to be accepted too. (Perhaps prayers that I would stop thinking parenthetical monologues on inane details are in some way entertaining for you all would also be in order. Just kidding! I'm sure you all are rolling on the floor laughing right now. Because I'm hilarious. Totally. ;)

If you happen to personally think of any living arrangements or job positions opening up that might just possibly be an answer to prayer I wouldn't at all in the slightest be bothered by your sharing of this information. In fact, I might say thank you and shout hallelujah.

The school is located at the edges of Costa Mesa, CA and Santa Ana, CA; both cities are in Orange County and right next to Newport Beach. Anything come to mind for you? If you've been in the area but don't know of any employment opportunities I would still love to hear your recommendations for taco joints, parks, the best grocery stores, etc; basically anything that would be helpful for getting settled in, or maybe just fun stories about the place. What have been your experiences while living there or visiting, and what would your recommendation be for someone moving down there?

As an additional thought, it was my birthday 6 days ago and I gave it to charity:water. Curious? Clicky! Or paste http//www.mycharitywater.org/1bucket/ up in your address bar! Pleeeaaase~? Receiving support for this fundraiser would kind of be one of the best present you could ever give me right now. (Other than giving a million dollars directly to me I guess, 'cuz then I could give over half and still have my living expenses covered for the year. :D Except I pledged my entire birthday, so I guess if it's birthday money I still wouldn't have those expenses covered for the year. Oh well, receiving a million dollars would still be cool insanely; or . . . I forget what I was going to say. I stared off into space for a second, and now I can't remember. This could be a sign I should get some sleep soon. D:? )

Comment written July 18, 2012

Acts 17:25, as though He needed anything,

nor is He worshiped with men's hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things.

nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

We are his children who worship in Spirit and in truth.

More than any service or act of devotion, God cares for us, his children.

"More than the song I sing" God desires my everything, and I want to give him it joyfully.

I've been allowing myself to rollover and go back to sleep after the alarms have been turned off in our room, but I'm going to refocus on giving God my day by more intently giving him my mornings.

He isn't worshiped with men's hands, but I can glorify him in the secret hours of the morning by spending time alone with my loving father in heaven in thanks and praise, talking with him and thinking on the wonderful ways he works.

Written April 24, 2012
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"More than what your hands are doing, where is your heart?" - Michelle

Matthew 5:7, Blessed are the merciful:

Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

I think I've mentioned it before and I'll mention it again, lately I've been troubled with a negative heart. A condemning heart. A hard heart that sees the faults of others and doesn't let them go.

And when I say, "I've been troubled with a negative heart", I mean, "I've been troubled by MY negative heart".

The devil isn't telling me to think badly of others and I'm not struggling to resist his mind control. I'm just human, and I'm just this particular human: me.

A self absorbed, condemning, impatient, peace-less, anger mismanaging, oblivious, manipulative and lying jerk who owns a telescope perfect for finding faults and failures; who fails to find or care about his own Dwarf-star class faults whenever there's a new mini-meteor momentarily passing-on-by.

It can be hard to remember to stop and check for planks when someone splatters ketchup on my new, white shirt, and I've gotten it into my head it's blood gushing from their face. I just NEED to help them get that sliver out of their bleeding eye, now don't I? It's making such a mess of their OWN shirt/life, isn't it!? They should WANT my help, shouldn't they?!? They'll be BETTER for it, AND for God, I know it!

After all, I'm right . . . Or didn't you know that?

God has shown me mercy and he shows that same mercy to others, and they certainly don't have a greater need for it than I do (every single day).

I need to pray for God's wonderful mercies to flow over my life; and from there, that they would overflow into the lives of those close, and not so close, who 'dare' to cross my line of sight being just as messy, unkempt, uncontrolled, uncoordinated, clumsy and willful as I am on the best of days.

There is a time when God would have us speak to our brothers and sisters about their actions or behavior and how they may not be glorifying Him with that part of their lives; but when someone makes a mistake or slips up once and they don't seem ready to make a habit of it, if you aren't in leadership over them and feel the need to address it, there is a good chance that the little 'Word of Wisdom' from God I'd like to speak into someone's life may not have actually come from anywhere but my own steaming big head.

I need to always pray, and take the time to decide, and probably pray some more before deciding whether or not an issue is important enough, if God would use me in such a way, to bring it to their attention as a matter for them to take to God in prayer and consideration. I need to ask the question: Am I concerned for my brother, or bothered BY them?

I do not convict, God convicts. The most I could possibly do is act as the means by which He convicts, and that certainly isn't anything to be puffed up about. On the rare occasion what I see is not the result of my own blindness, the work my God would call me to may be one of nothing more than prayer; to the world an inglorious ministry, but one that contains a glory many, sadly, never come to know, and in all the ministries He gives I desire to be faithful in action and heart.

Written February 20, 2012

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"The only reason we are unmerciful is the misconception that we deserve more from other people." - Colin Sandberg

Matthew 5:3, The poor in spirit are blessed,

"The poor in spirit are blessed,
for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

"The poor" here comes from the Greek "πτωχός " [ptō-kho's]. Biblically it is used as 'lacking in anything' and 'destitute of wealth, influence, position and honour', 'poor, needy' and even 'helpless, powerless to accomplish an end'.

It's use also includes 'lowly, afflicted, destitute of the Christian virtues and eternal riches'.

Fun right? Well, I wouldn't be so sure that's the way it is used in this particular instance.

First and foremost, the word ptōchos is listed on Blue Letter Bible as having a Biblical usage of being "reduced to beggary, begging, asking alms".

"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?" [Luke 11:13]

Personally, I think these other words of Jesus help to make this come together.

He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’ Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s persistence, he will get up and give him as much as he needs.
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:5-13

Sinful man is not just destitute of spirit. We are DEAD of spirit and it is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Christ Himself, who brings us life.

Having said that, let's bring it all back to selfish little me.

Lately I haven't been feeling good, but that's not to say that I've been feeling sick. (At least not in the physical sense anyway.)

I have good, God fearing Jesus loving times where I look at the world and people and my heart is just so 'right'; but lately I've also been having more times where my heart is just empty a lot more than I like. (As if there are ever those times that, at least in hindsight, we really 'like' them.)

I have a struggle with a critical spirit for which I depend on Christ, and lately that critical spirit seems almost as if it is rearing it's ugly head any chance it gets.

I have my high times floating on cloud nine and praying happily; then I have some low time in the same day, unable to recall that joy of seeking God with my life from only a few hours before.

No surprise that I haven't been devoting as much time to prayer as I'd like, or that time spent in the Word has been almost non-existent. Last Monday my application from Titus 1:3 was to work on this, but that was of course a week ago and I have made little headway in taking back control of my schedule (from my easily distracted busy-busy-work-work-work oriented self, who hasn't been keeping to a more rapid pace to get things done lately in my downer state) and practicing prudence in the mornings and a measure of control to do only what I should do, and not whatever things pop up that I am capable of doing from moment to moment.

I have been trying to devote what free time I have to finishing my last required reading as soon as possible, because you know, "If I can just finish it sooner rather than later I will then have PLENTY of time to read the Bible and pray and do everything without worrying and stressing about finishing it and getting on to the 'next thing to get done'.

(Sarcasm warning) And forget that getting it done now to free up time and eliminating one distraction for later means that the time I should be spending in the Word has been taking hit after crippling hit. ("The Great Omission" actually happens to be a really great book which I would recommend and even encourage everyone to read [not part of the sarcasm; really, it's great.])

As a matter of fact, something that I really need to think about was mentioned, that whereas most people 'work to live' we North Americans 'live to work'.

Anyway, to get back on track with this little rabbit trail that has slowly been making it's way to the application God actually led me to before sitting down to type. . .

In one of Pastor Joe Focht's audio teachings he mentioned how in many cases a new Christian who is still riddled with problems may be walking more fully in the Spirit than a mature Christian who has by then 'gotten everything down' and knows 'the right things to do'.

A new Christian doesn't know anything yet, and may still look a lot like the world, but the thing is that they may very well have, through Christ, ceased being an alcoholic and getting into fights just two weeks before and loving every new thing they learn, whereas the older, more 'mature' Christian may very well be refusing and ignoring the Holy Spirit as they are convicted on better managing their time or being a better husband or wife, even if only in some small and particular way.

Well, awhile back some of you may remember an IBS, or two, maybe even three that had mentioned my eating habits and near obsession with sweets.

So far I've been failing/blatantly refusing what I believe to be the conviction of the Holy Spirit about taking better care of my body through my diet SPECTACULARLY, and I intend to do something about this.

Written February 6, 2012