The Seventh Blessing Devo

June 30th, 2019

Devotional

“The Seventh Blessing”

Matthew 5:9

Keep the sermon topic and Biblical text preaching all week by following Pastor Michelle on twitter @tinypastor and reading her sermon blog www.revmichelle.blogspot.com

Monday: “Peacemakers” -  Matthew 5:9

Whenever I think of peacemakers, the first thing that comes to my mind are my friends who have served with the PeaceCore. Folks that gave years of their lives to leave their families and travel to places where they did not know the language to serve a people who become their new community.

Maybe that’s what holds us back when we think of the word peace. We think of big things like the PeaceCore or ending war or solving the world’s problems - things that seem so big and so impossible that we stop before we even start. 

What Jesus is talking about in this particular passage is also big - Shalom - wholeness, health, safety. 

But as big and daunting as being a peacemaker may seem, it can also happen in little ways everyday. In the way we treat other people. In the conversations we have. In how we value the people God puts in our lives. 

  What does everyday peace look like for you?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you invite us to be part of the work of your Kingdom as peacemakers. Not just peace dreamers. Or peace hopers. But peacemakers. Help us recognize the opportunities that we have every day to work for your peace in our lives, our communities, and beyond. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Children of God” - Matthew 5:9

  I think I have a pretty great family. We are not perfect. But we know that we deeply care about one another, and I am so honored to carry my family’s last name as a mark of identity. But I also recognize that isn’t true for everyone. Some folks have deep struggles in their families or origin. Things that make it hard to identify with your necular family.

But we also bear another identity, are part of another family, the family of God. Jesus said that these who work for peace, those who want to make Shalom a reality, they will be called children of God. 

Take a moment to reflect on what it means to be a child of God. We are beloved by the creator of the world. We have kinship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And this family isn’t tied together by biology, but by the blood of the cross.

When we recognize that our true identity lies in being a child of God, we start to see those around us with the eyes of Christ. We want to work for peace more in this world, because the people its effecting are our kin, our family. We are tied together not just by what we do, but by who we are.

  What does it mean to you to be called a child of God?

Prayer: Lord, open up our very spirits so that we can see with your eyes and deeply care with your heart for our brothers and sisters, here and around the world, as we draw closer to you. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Building Up the Neighbor” - Romans 15: 1-3

Some of the ways we work towards peace in our every day lives are through the people we interact with, people that we are in relationship with. Sometimes its as simple as paying attention to the cashier at the grocery store and offering a smile or picking up the phone to call someone who has been on your mind. 

We often don’t think of these as acts of peace, because they are small things that we do every day, often without thinking about them, yet, at the heart of peace lies relationships.

Paul writes to the Church in Rome some words that are also about how we treat those we are in relationship with - lifting up the weak, thinking about our neighbor and working for their good. Living a life like what Christ did in this life. 

What are small things that you do everyday, without thinking about them, that help build relationships?

Prayer: Lord, help us to recognize the opportunities that you give us every day to build relationships and work for the good of our neighbors as an act of peace. Help us to follow the movement of your spirit and respond, in ways big and small, to bring glory to you and to your Kingdom. Amen. 

Thursday: “Live in Harmony” - Romans 15: 4-6

  We have bought into a lie about peace - thinking that peace means that everyone needs to agree about everything all the time. Friends, if we are honest, we realize that this will never happen. God has created us with unique gifts and talents, and yes, even unique perspectives. Being at peace does not mean we never disagree, but it does say something about how we treat folks, even when we disagree.

Paul says that we can live in harmony with one another, which once again is not the same as never having different perspectives. Instead, living in harmony means that our eyes are all focused on the same thing, first and foremost, God’s glory and God’s kingdom. When we are looking at the same thing, even if we see it in different ways, we can set aside other things as an act of peace. 

I will often tell folks in meetings that we can have different options and we can talk about those differences, however, we will treat each others as brothers and sisters, and when we leave this place we will have one message, together. In other words, even when we disagree, we can have one voice that glorifies God. 

How do you hold in tension the ideas of disagreeing and being a people of peace? Do you think it is possible? Why or why not?

Prayer: Lord, at times we act like we want every one to be like us, instead of the unique people you have created them to be. Help us instead, if we do disagree, to strive to put not ourselves first, but you and your Kingdom, for the sake of our witness in the world. Amen. 

Friday: “Peace” - Isaiah 2:4

  There are many Biblical passages that speak about what peace looks like, both between neighbors and on a global scale. Perhaps my favorite verse is this one, where Isaiah casts a vision for a new, peaceful world. 

Isaiah is writing to folks who are struggling with being in exile. Yet, he speaks forth this hopeful vision of people taking weapons of war and instead using them as tools for the harvest.

We can this in our own world as well. I two friends right now, who every day since the beginning of 2019, are posting something online that they are thankful for, something they want to give God praise for. Others may use social media to spread messages that drive us apart, but they want to use this tool to give glory to God. What things do we have access to that others use for ill, but that we can use to testify to God? 

What tools could you be using to sow peace?

Prayer: Lord, nothing is beyond your use and control, precious Lord. Take what we have and use every day, and bless it to touch others lives in such a way that the message of your cross goes forth, we pray. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “The Eighth Blessing” - Matthew 5:10