Peace be with You!

“Now we ask you, brothers,

to respect those who work hard among you,

who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.

 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work.

Live in peace with each other.

 ...be patient with everyone.

Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong,

but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

 Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

(1 Thessalonians 5; 12-18)

        Each week our pastor starts out with similar words. Something like, "We gather together to celebrate what we know is true; Our God is a loving and caring God who loves all humanity."  Hold that thought and realize that we were made in his image.

          Please note that term “all humanity”. Without checking all sources, all religions preach peace in their creeds and in Christianity it is said that love your neighbor is the most important commandment.

        Then why are we sometimes resentful, angry, depressed and concerned?  Why is there segregation and unwelcome people in our society?  Certainly, none of us are perfect and we have these emotions and thoughts. Truly, if we could "...Live in peace with each other.  ...be patient with everyone…" we would be meeting God's expectations and free ourselves of many of the anxieties of life. Paul in his letter tells us how, "...Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances...”

Thought for Today:  Today things will not always go in our favor. We will have opportunities to be resentful or angry. We must choose to be thankful, caring and joyful. In the words of Nike, "Just do it"!

Prayer for Today: Dear Lord, our world seems to have slipped into a hate driven society. Around the world there are wars, terrorism and discrimination based on too many issues. We are confused by it all. Today we pray for some understanding, for knowledge of your role in this and insight on how we should react.

We pray that each of us may find a way to contribute to a joyful and peaceful society.

Amen