Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Exhortation- Put Aside Strife

In the Fall of man, both man and earth became subject to futility. The Earth began to produce thorns and thistles, man was divided against man and murder entered into the heart of Cain. While the glory of God on the Earth remains, the first glory of true unity in the midst of God’s vast creation, was shattered. And so we live in a divided world where there is trouble from every side. We have trouble with the environment, trouble with our neighbors, trouble within our families and trouble in our own hearts. But Christ came to save us from all of this and to save us in the midst of all of this.

That peace must first begin in your own heart and flow out from there. If God has called you His own, and He has, then He has called you to peace and to a ministry of peace. Where there is strife and division, there you will find the devil. But we who belong to Christ do not have to obey the devil, the world or the flesh. We are Christ’s workmanship created for good works in Christ.

So, where is your strife? Is it with spouse? Boss? Neighbor? Friend? Foe? But where does this strife come from? Does it not come from your own heart that is not at peace with God and with what God is doing in the world and in your own life?

Put aside the strife. Confess your sins. Repent of your divisions. Be reconciled to God and man. And receive the peace of Christ.

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