As we begin today, we need to pick up the calling to be ambassadors of peace. It’s depending on us because we read in God’s Word how we are to live at peace with everyone, as much as it depends on us, and it always does because we have a choice. So today will you answer the call to be an ambassador of peace into the world around you? Will you be the ambassador of peace in your home with your wife and kids? Could you be the ambassador of peace in the world as you come and go?
The Call to Be Ambassadors of Peace
In response to the divine calling to be ambassadors of peace (Matthew 5:9), our journey commences with a dedicated commitment to initiate reconciliation and sow seeds of peace, understanding that peacemakers are called children of God (James 3:18). This scriptural foundation challenges us to live at peace with everyone, urging humility and the embodiment of Christ’s love in our interactions (Romans 12:18).
Key Takeaways and Applications
The essence of being an ambassador of peace lies in the practice of forgiveness, mirroring Christ’s forgiveness of us (Colossians 3:13). As peacemakers, we engage in transformative conversations that seek resolution, demonstrating virtues of patience and kindness. The biblical principle of being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger guides our interactions (James 1:19). Through prayer, thanksgiving, and guarding our minds, we unlock the power of biblical peacemaking (Philippians 4:6-7).
Living Out the Calling with Profound Peace
By actively promoting unity, working towards reconciliation, and seeking God’s guidance in challenging situations, we fully embrace our role as ambassadors of peace. This commitment not only fulfills the divine calling but also opens the door to experiencing a profound peace that surpasses all understanding. Our journey becomes a testimony to the transformative and lasting power of biblical peacemaking.
Topic: HEART AND HANDS
Verse: Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Firstly, let’s be the dads who lean in and stick so close to God that His peace which transcends all understanding covers us. Additionally, let’s be the dads who even when we don’t understand the peace choose to live with the peace of God that guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, let’s be the dads who realize that as much as it depends on us we will seek to live at peace with everyone!
Today’s Devotional speaks to the importance of coming together and working together in unison. They speak of it using the phrase “working in concert”. It uses the visualization of “a cacophony created by hundreds of musicians playing several dozen kinds of instruments and playing separate pieces” and goes on to compare it to a concert where they “are playing the same score and produce a work of beauty.”
Today’s Devotional brings us back to today’s topic and the importance of “In the Christian life, hearts and hands must work in concert to produce a life of peace.” Today’s Devotional points to how our desires and our actions “must be working towards the same goal” or else “tension and disharmony” will happen and “cause peace to vanish.”
Today’s Devotional points us to Philippians 4:6-8 and the need to live prayerfully:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Settling in Peace:
Today’s Devotional takes for these verses “themes on which the heart can settle in peace: true, noble, and virtuous things.” Let’s be the dads who are “fixing our minds” on God and His purposes and His callings! Additionally, let’s be the dads who avoid “fixing our minds on the conflicts and struggles of this world” and miss out on the peace God desires for us! Moreover, let’s be the dads who realize that it depends on us and choose to live at peace with everyone!
Today’s Devotional closes with this challenge:
“If you are seeking peace today, spend time meditating on Paul’s words. Fix your heart, and then fold your hands in prayer — and receive God’s peace.”
Today’s Devotional
“We must never settle for harmony at the expense of holiness, nor for peace at the expense of principle.
JOHN BRADFORD
