DO THIS! (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Live in peace with each other.

1 Thessalonians 5:13b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

At the end of Paul’s first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, we find him providing a series of exhortations or “Do this!” statements intended to remind his brothers and sisters about the responsibilities and behaviors they were to display in their Christian living. These demands will frame each message in this series and so let’s look at number one:

Live in peace with each other. 1 Thessalonians 5:13b

You may remember these words from the prophet Isaiah as he foretold the coming of the promised Messiah, Jesus:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 9:6

We know Jesus carried many titles but for the purpose of this message and the first “Do this!” statement, we are most interested in our Savior known as the “Prince of Peace”.

In biblical times, a prince was a male ruler and Jesus identified as a Prince, capital “P”, established the supremacy He would hold as a leader upon His coming. Indeed, Jesus was placed in authority over everything in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and currently reigns in power over all things while sitting at the right hand of God the Father.

And so we know that Jesus is the Prince of everything and that includes peace, something I think we all crave today as it seems conflict and unrest rage around us daily. If we are going to have any hope of bringing calm and serenity to our lives and then share that peace with others, we need to turn first to Jesus and gain the peace that only comes from trusting and believing in Him and the salvation God gave us through His Son. Look at these words from the fourth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians:

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Vv. 6-7).

Jesus said He was One with God the Father (John 10:30) and so anything a Christian could gain from the Father would also be accessible through the Son. We’re reminded in Philippians that we need to simply trust the Lord, laying all the burdens that would hijack our solitude at the foot of the throne. Then, unencumbered by the weight of our worries, the Lord fills us with His peace which is like no other peace anyone has experienced, a perfectly divine and perfect peace underscored by Isaiah when he wrote:

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4

Personal peace, a peace that is easily accessible and attainable by anyone to then pass onto others. This is the key to achieving today’s command to “live in peace with one another”. It starts with everyone seeking and finding peace in their own lives first and then with all living in the peace of the Lord, it becomes easy to live in peace with one another. It’s simply a matter of enjoying a life of peace with those having the same experience.

Can you imagine a world like this, a world where everyone lives in perfect peace with one another?

It seems impossible until we remember that we serve a Lord who specializes in making the impossible possible. Let’s hold onto hope and pray over the matter of sharing peace under the auspice and influence of the Prince of Peace.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at the second message in this series.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com