Blessings, Phil
Matthew 5: 1: And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ….. 9: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Nothing sooths the soul like peace does. One who makes peace is always welcome. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. He will keep you in perfect peace if you stay your mind on him. With prayer, you can ensure your heart and mind are guarded by peace. He is a Shepherd of still waters and quiet resting places. He is peace.
Following Him in the peacemaking business will grant you “child of God” status. Hmmmm.. Others are impressed, when you lead to peace troubled situations. Others are impacted when you take a conflict and bring it to resolution. Peace or conflict affects so many people around you that everyone notices the peacemaker. They like to be treated with a peacemaking mentality. People just love it. They will call you a child of God, they love it so much.
A friend walked into a hectic computer facility some years ago. As he recounts the story, another worker looked straight at him and commented on his peaceful attitude. He laughed. He had felt anything but peaceful. Problems had been growing in number and impact on the company. The constant push and pull had wearied him. Yet, the other person saw was peace. Yes, he had helped many others resolve conflicts. Yes, he tried to put it all on God instead of carrying it. It just made him laugh to think that they saw peace and he felt turmoil. The work of peace in him and on him from the Father amazed him. It was impacting others and he did not realize that fact.
ACT! Do you make peace with yourself? Do you make peace with others? Do you make peace for others? Think about a situation with strain exists. Don’t pick a conflict, just a strained issue. Take time to speak some encouragement and confidence to the other person before conflict develops.
PRAY! Father, my heart wants to live like You. Being Your child is all I want. Help me follow the paths of peace to be called a child of God. Embrace my heart with peace from the Lord of Peace. Collapse my self-made bubbles and pride with peace in the midst of self-created conflicts. Show me a strain so I can apply the balm of Gilead in peace and encouragement. Peacemakers have more fun. Let me have it.
Phil Larson, 508 Tumbleweed Dr., Yukon, Oklahoma 73099 405-388-8037
Matthew 5: 1: And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2: And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, ….. 5: Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
What does it mean to inherit the earth? The meek get to do it. We can inherit money. We can inherit a business. We can inherit land. What does it mean to inherit the earth? Must we wait for someone to die? What does it mean?
Jesus was meek among meek. Moses was declared the meekest man. Both of these men were bold beyond measure. Both were powerful with miracles. Conflict surrounded them. Both were directive and unashamed of their message. Is that meek? Yes. Both allowed God to be their defender. Both protected the dignity of the individual. Both were full of kindness. Meekness represents confident power self-controlled. It does not put others down. It considers the plight of all. It demands correct response. Meekness never puts the person above others in order to achieve a goal. The meek rightly know who they are and act confidently and considerately to achieve Godly goals with compassion.
These meek inherit the earth in this life. There is no need for the death of anyone to inherit this earth. When we meet Jesus, we receive great authority and power and call to task. To move in meekness means to proceed to get our assignment done with all resources supplied. The earth, the world system, submits to the meek. The earth will comply for the meek. Others move out of the way for a person of confidence on a mission. Many will quickly give resources to them to steward, understanding a good return will be had. They inherit the earth and all it has to give.
Blake scratched his head. For the sixth time this week, someone called and offered him what he needed to arrange his meeting. First a caterer called and asked if he had any needs. They had a few dates open in April and would like to give him a discount to try them out. The first date was the date of his meeting. Second, he was at lunch and overhead a person waiting to be seated talking about their business of supplying meeting rooms. He arranged with them for the date for half of his budget. Then his sales assistant informed him she was starting a part-time personal printing service from home. She agreed to help him design all the invitations and handouts in exchange for using the business name as a reference. This was too easy. He was confident from day one this was the right thing to do, but it seemed everyone was cheerfully willing to embrace the idea with him and help.
ACT! Meek? Do you know your own strength? Do you know the strength of God that is with you? Are you submissively confident so that others can see? The next time you approach someone about a decision you want them to make, believe in yourself and God’s ability to bring it to pass. Then talk to them. See what happens.
PRAY! Father, teach me the truth that it is not by my power or my might, but by Your Spirit that the task is accomplished. Teach me that You own and the fruitfulness of the earth. Teach me that You have equipped and accepted me to do what is ahead of me in the day. Teach me that I don’t have to put myself forward, put others down, or force anything to happen. Instill in me confident power exhibited with meekness. Let me see this earth submit to Your will even as the angels in heaven respond to Your commands. Thank You for being You.
Phil Larson, 508 Tumbleweed Dr., Yukon, Oklahoma 73099 405-388-8037
A friend reminded me of a quote in this little essay. "Accepting reality while pressing for change is the task of a real believer." It makes sense. Tonight, I am in Vegas speaking at a conference for an international equipment dealer. Really I am here for many reasons. Learning. Giving back to others. Looking for a God appointment of a new client. Listening to others who struggle with similar issues. Maybe I'm just here to enjoy the fountains. Set against the Eifel tower replica at the Paris, they are phenomenal. It is relaxing to sit above all the noise and chaos and just enjoy the pleasantness in the evening. So here is a thought from some day earlier this year.
By the way, don't forget the Father/Daughter Summit. Time to register and bless your daughter, Dad. Time to register and bless your dad, Daughter. http://www.fathers.com/summit
Ecclesiastes 11:3 If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.
The rain falls where the rain falls. Be blessed.
While I write this, a pleasant and cool rain is blessing the cooked earth. It has been a normal and hot summer. Today, the rain blesses. Other days, the rain has caused pain with lightening and power outages. Enjoy the rain. There is a pleasant detoxification in watching the rain with a cup of coffee early in the morning.
Over the last few weeks it has been a source of comic relief to think on the amount of control we would like to have over the world. Interacting with many ministries and business and community entities a fluid thought comes up quite frequently. How do we make this world conform to our view and expectation? Why does the world just do what it does and not meet our definition? How long will it take to gain the understanding needed to make today’s decisions? What is left that we don’t know? Why do some fail and some succeed? Can’t I just shout at the mountain and it will disappear?
Really, these questions and the underlying quest for conforming others to our definitions can lead us to frustration. The premise that the world should conform to our view is hilariously warped. Sure, we are here to carve a notch in our sphere of influence and bring more of the kingdom of God into reality in our neighborhood, our metro. Sure, we should leave the world a better place than what we found it. But there is a reality at work that this world will groan in birth pains until the day of Jesus’ appearing. Every worshipper of the Creator God looks for this. The Jew looks. The Christian looks. The Muslim looks. They all look for the Messiah to come and stop the madness.
Accepting reality while pressing for change is the task of a real believer. Getting mad that it doesn’t work as fast as we would like is the mark of immaturity. Staying unsettled and unsatisfied so that we keep working on it is an indicator of a healthy world-changer. Just make sure you laugh at yourself often. Just make sure you have fun in the mirror while comparing the enormity of the task with your personal inadequacy. Just be ready to find out that some doctrine you have made into a sacred cow may have to fall dead in the face of reality and lifetime learning. Just stay open to God peeling away layers that took you years to secure and anchor against His breath of lifelong revelation.
There is blessing to receive in every day. There is pain to confront every day. Our choice is one of life or death. We can speak life. We can speak death. We can receive life. We can receive death. Both are open opportunities every moment. Trees are falling where they will fall around us every moment. There is a dance of avoiding too much pain and accumulating massive blessing that is our lot on earth. Enjoy the journey. Don’t get too hung up in making a perfect dance. Every once in a while one of those trees will fall close and cause the pain of disease, death, abuse, slander, gossip, envy, jealousy, attack, or some other violence or loss. Every once in a while one of those trees will fall close and cause the reality of conflict, friction, misunderstanding, or some other present reality of relationship. Every once in a while one of those trees will fall close and bring a bucket of blessing unexpected and welcome. Don’t get too convinced that you have as much control as you think you have. Sure, doing the right things bring the right results. Sure, there are principles that are unfailing. Just remember there are trees falling, too. It is one of the principles.
Relax and watch the rain with wonder. Take a falling tree to lunch and laugh with them. Call a fallen tree and have a quick chat with an encouraging word. Listen to a tree split by the electricity from the sky and render more compassion and less judgment. Enjoy God’s creation that defies our control and conforming desires. Some days, it is okay to just enjoy the rain. Be blessed.
Take Action: Not today. Just enjoy.
Let’s Pray: Father of Blessing, help me to dance the dance. Help me to place my bucket to catch more good rain than bad. It falls all around me. You put me here in this forest. You placed me in this moment. I accept the charter to live within it and bring it closer to Your will. It resists. It fights. It falls hard and in places where I don’t want it to fall. Yet, the blessings outnumber the pains. I choose to take heart, You have overcome the world. There is trouble, but You have overcome. There is pain, but You have overcome. After the heat, comes the refreshing rain. Give me joy in all moments. You stay connected with every moment in my life that my joy might be full. Let Your promises overwhelm my premises.
Phil Larson, 508 Tumbleweed Dr., Yukon, Oklahoma 73099 405-388-8037
