God is my Spinach

“Peace I leave with you;

my peace I give you.

I do not give to you as the world gives.

Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

(John 14 vs. 27) 

            Peace is something that all of the world’s religions teach and somehow we humans manage to mess it up. In our Christian sense if we could ask the old question “What would Jesus do?” we would not go to war. Hymns like Onward Christian soldiers and The Battle Hymn of the Republic would not have been written. That is the reality of our world.

            June and I are considered world travelers. Two years ago we did a western Mediterranean trip that was wonderful and probably our final. You see, every country and city, but one, that we visited has had riots and revolution since we were there; the one exception was Monte Carlo. When travelling, we feel the  need to understand what they are saying on the evening news to feel safe. In most countries we could not find English speaking news. We see no need to travel again to non-English speaking countries.

            The fact of life is that peace is something that needs to be from within because bad things happen to good people everywhere; down the street, in the home as well as when travelling. We need to bring our faith and our prayers with us. We need to publically practice our Christian principles. Maybe June and I are coping out by limiting our travel. We are not sure.

            As believers we need to contribute to the other side of the scale. There are three important contributions we are taught to make daily. First we need to pray for our enemies, the bad guys; crooks, burglars, terrorists and the whole lot. Pray that they can find a better way through the Lord. Second we need to pray for our safety and happiness. We need to run our lives confidently and without fear. Third we need to give thanks for the opportunities given us to contribute.

            We live in a world of differences. We need to live and set the example for others and ask WWJD!

Thought for Today: For today let us exercise the freedom afforded to us through Christ. Let us not be critical of others and demonstrate our love as we do our daily activities. 

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, today we simply pray for a lasting peace.