Greetings in the name of “Yahweh-Shalom”,(The Lord is peace) … and Jesus Christ – THE Crucified and Risen Saviour! IWhat a beautiful ‘crisp’ and sunny morning in the Kingdom! I trust that you had a good weekend and Monday-Tuesday… and are ready for the task of putting January 2015 away. Today I will be praying for you, asking Father to meet you in a moment today when He can get your attention – He wants to tell you that He loves you!
On Monday as we gathered to pray for our city and our county – a theme emerged, and it must be significant because God has been speaking into it. The theme was – “reconciliation within the church” and it was introduced by a testimony concerning two men dealing with a past situation and being reconciled with each other. We became aware that one of the ‘enemy’s’ most destructive tactics is to create disunity in the body of Christ through broken relationships and bitterness and resentment and wounded spirits. So that was Day 1’s breadcrumb on God’s trail.
Yesterday, in two separate sources, God’s word was given: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20a NIV We are ambassadors carrying the message of reconciliation – not holding on to the sins of others. So that is Day 3’s breadcrumb.
This morning in the daily devotional planner is one of God’s names – Yahweh-Shalom (The Lord is peace)…and the thought/question is posed: God desires peace for the world. His desire is for us to live without conflict, so that goodness and love can flourish! Think about your relationship with others, with creation, with yourself, and with God: where is God making peace? Where do you need reconciliation? – Bible League. Ambassadors of Jesus Christ: reconciliation is our message – living at peace is our mandate – a transforming encounter with Jesus in our method – the Holy Spirit is our means.
We are praying for revival and renewal and restoration…God, I believe, is telling us to be reconciled to Him – to ourselves – to others! Let us pray for the ministry of reconciliation to be released in our congregations: let there be repentance and forgiveness and compassion – and let it begin with me! Will you pray that? – Be blessed!