Peacemaker
It is Tuesday morning, 17th of May and this is your friend, Angus Buchan, with a thought for the day.
If we go to the Gospel of Matthew, the word of God says:
“Blessed are the peacemakers,
For they shall be called sons of God.”Matthew Chapter 5:9
Not blessed are the peace-lovers, no - Blessed are the peacemakers.
And then we go to John 20:21:
“So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
Jesus was sent down to earth by His Father to be a peacemaker. Today, he sends you and I out into the world as peacemakers, not troublemakers. There are more than enough troublemakers in this world, aren’t there? Remember, it takes two to fight. God has called us to bring peace in the home, not strife but peace. It takes a much stronger person to turn the other cheek.
But I can hear you saying, “I have my rights as well.” Well, actually, we don’t have any rights do we? We gave them up the day we said we were going to follow Jesus. To be a peacemaker you have to be at peace with yourself. An angry, bitter, hurting person can never display the fruit of peace, the peace that Jesus is asking us to produce today. We need to forgive just as we have been forgiven. We need to love, just as we have been loved.
Our farm is called Peace, that’s right - it is just spelt in Hebrew: Shalom. Whenever Jesus came into a home, the first thing he said was, “Shalom,” which means “Peace be in this home”. But you know, you can’t earn peace, you can’t do a course in peace, you can’t get a degree in peace, no! You have to let peace come into your heart. Jesus says:
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”
Revelation 3:20
Remember, the handle of the door is only on the inside... We need to invite Him in.
Many years ago, when we had those massive men's conferences on the farm, Shalom, I remember a beautiful story.... There were three or four young guys who were going to come down to the Mighty Men Conference, they had a friend who was taking a lot of strain. I don’t know what it was - He was so uptight, so intense and they invited him. He didn’t want to come. They actually conned him into it, saying they were going on a fishing trip. He got in with his fishing rods and tackle and off they drove. When they came to the farm, Shalom, this man got out of the pick-up and asked, “Where are we?” As his feet touched the ground he started to cry, uncontrollably, as peace started to enter his heart. Now, that peace didn’t come from the ground or the surroundings. It came from tens of thousands of men who had peace in their hearts and the Lord Jesus Christ was there, in all His Glory.
Today, be a peacemaker. Jesus bless you!
Goodbye.