“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?” James 4:1.
History is the story of human conflict, violence and war. Even times of relative peace seem in the long-run to have been nothing more than the time of preparation for the next war. But it’s not that the human heart doesn’t long for peace or that many individuals haven’t devoted themselves to trying to mediate conflicts and promote peace. Those who work ceaselessly for peace are to be applauded. But their efforts are too often in vain. The Bible accurately described the human condition in Rom. 3:17: “The way of peace they have not known.”
The Bible explains how our first parents rejected God’s peaceful way and were deceived into accepting the deadly, destructive way foisted on humanity by the serpent in the Garden of Eden. And ever since, violence and war have been the result of this wrong, selfish way of thinking. The Bible tells us that Satan, humanity’s greatest adversary, currently rules this world, and broadcasts his attitudes of hate and violence into the minds of men. His influence helps amplify our natural selfishness to a fevered pitch as described by James. 4:1.
Striving to live in harmony, not allowing pride to stir up conflicts, leaving revenge to God, serving our enemies—these are challenging assignments, but they are essential to the way of peace. Many people nurse their wrath to keep it warm; they brood over their wrongs until it is impossible to forget them. Christian love has learned the great lesson of forgetting. If we learn these lessons of love, of controlling our tempers and fighting the desire for revenge, we will be able to practice and later to teach these essential components of the way of peace. Anger and revenge lie behind so many of the fights and wars going on in the world today. But God has called us to peace not war, It may not be easy but it is possible to learn and practice peace with all men within the confines of scriptures. Selah!
FURTHER READING:
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 2:3-5.
“Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.” Rom. 12:10.
DECLARATION:
Dear Abba Father, I confess that I walk by faith and not by sight. I am strong, mature and I’m an ambassador of peace. I practise godliness daily. I hear God clearly and I continually speak His Word over my life. I confess that I am growing spiritually daily and becoming all God has designed me to be. Signs, wonders, and miracles are manifested through my life and I attract others to Christ. I confess that I am anointed and by the anointing on my life, every yoke is broken and is destroyed; in the name of Jesus, amen.
1 YEAR BIBLE READING PLAN:
Psalms. 90:1-17.
Psalms. 91:1-16.
Psalms. 92:1-15.
Psalms. 93:1-5.
QUOTE FOR THE DAY:
“You Will Be Remembered For Two Things The Problems You Created And The Ones You Solved.”
The Fortress Int’l Church, 2 Floor 10 Coker Road, Opposite Chicken Republic Ilupeju Lagos, Nigeria.
http://www.thefortresschurch.com.
email: info@thefortresschurch.com.
