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Ep 3.52 Jesus Is the Only Way to Peace:Tony Peters :Daily Devotion
Jesus Is The Only Way To Peace
I was watching Raya and the Last Dragon with my family. This movie is steeped heavily in Asian mysticism and belief. The meaning behind the movie is a message of peace through trust. This got me to thinking why is it that peace and prosperity is the meaning behind so many Asian stories, yet so often they come in war. Then I gave my head a shake and thought, isn’t that what all cultures do? They tell stories of peace and dreams of living together in harmony, yet they shake their fists and react in anger. Driving wedges of hate, disunity, war, and death. Hypocrisy, that is what we as a human race are full of. We teach and preach one thing, all the while stabbing others in the back with forked tongues, lies, anger, theft and literally death. We seem to think that as humans, we can somehow bring about peace between us. It is a lie we tell ourselves. How can someone full of sin hope to be peaceful with the rest of society? We can’t. Look at the world around you. We see riots over splinters in belief systems, anger, rage, looting, death, beatings, territorial claims. With the threat of world-wide war always looming, now again more than we have seen in decades. Look at what is going on in our countries and the world. We see Black Lives Matter riots, claiming that white lives don’t matter, a racial hypocrisy. Antifa taking control of areas within the US, claiming the territory as their own, and politicians who simply ignore and allow these groups to have their way, resulting in police and military officials stepping down. In Canada natives are rising up and taking over areas of towns and cities, burning down churches, sadly these natives are from the area my native relatives grew up in. Also look at past residential schools abducting children, resulting in death and destruction of cultures, native as well as other cultures. Slavery still runs rampant across the world, as it has for centuries. How did we get to this point? Through pride, greed, hatred and deceit. As a people we have been guilty of believing the lies fed to us, further splintering and dividing humanity. Who is responsible for this? The devil. The Bible shows us this in many places, showing exactly what the end result of all of this will be, but it also provides us with a message of hope. Let’s look at this further, from a Biblical perspective.
Where did this sin nature begin? If you answer with the sin of Adam and Eve, you are very wrong, it began before that. Ezekiel 28: 12-19 explains it’s origins. Satan or Lucifer was in a high position among the angels of heaven, before pride overtook him, wickedness then was found in him and he was filled with violence. God then cast Satan and the angels that followed him, from heaven. The beginnings of evil. Satan would then use his army of demons to bring down mankind in Genesis 3, tempting Eve with deceitful lies, which Adam willingly fell to as well. The very next chapter we see violence and murder enter the world through Cain and Abel. This shows pride, anger, violence and sin are all one in the same. The problems we see in the world today, that are leading us towards war, and have already led to violent clashes between peoples groups, are a combination of these sins. Look at what is going on with China and Russia, countries challenging them out of pride and fear, and the pride of China and Russia running so deep, that their power is going to their heads, leading to entitlement in land claims, for countries they used to own, but have since been recognized as separate countries. I would say that pride is the main root of these problems. As long as pride remains at the center of what humanity does and is a justification for our actions, violence will overtake mankind, and peace will never be accomplished. Peace will always just be stories we tell, and we can’t even call them fairy tales, for fairy tales are full of violent actions. We tell ourselves that the only way to get peace is through violence. Another lie woven into our minds by the devil, the ultimate weaver of deceit and hate.
How then does humanity overcome this? How do we truly accomplish peace on earth? The answer is, WE CAN’T, only Jesus Christ can bring about the peace we desire deep down. We see Jesus being the blood sacrifice to erase our sins and provide forgiveness that we need to get to the point of peace. Without this blood sacrifice we could not be made clean, and thus could not come before God, as is noted in Hebrews 9:22, “The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. Sins cannot be forgiven without a blood sacrifice.” Jesus was our blood sacrifice, now we are made clean, allowing us to be able to live out eternity in heaven, in true peace and harmony, worshipping God and being in awe of His Glory forever. What must happen before this peace can be achieved? Satan must be purged from the Earth. He must be removed and locked away for a time as noted in Revelation 20, when mankind will have 1000 years of peace, before Satan is released one final time, where mankind will have a final choice to make, serve God and have peace, or serve Satan and be sent to the lake of fire for eternal condemnation.
Before this end result of peace, the devil will have 7 years to bring the Earth and mankind through trials and devastation, the Tribulation period. This entire time of deadly havok is laid out in great detail throughout the entire book of Revelation, but Isaiah, Daniel, and other people through visions also refer to this period that John lays out. We are given very figurative language to see how terrible this period will be. The world shall see how violent and damaging the devil can be. Sadly many will still be fooled and choose to follow Satan, instead of God. Many will be given the chance to be a part of the ultimate peace, we claim to long for, the “world peace” falsely stated by many. World peace is not really the aim of most world organizations, or rich people. Control and manipulation is their aim, tools of the devil. We as Christians must be guarded against the wiles of the world around us, the tools used by the devil to strike us. Put on the full armor of God referred to in Ephesians 6:11-13. Be mindful of what we allow into our lives and pray for God’s protection from the devil, as He is the only one who can protect us. Only the Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, can bring about peace and harmony. Trust Him and be ready, for He is coming. His Second Coming is imminent, but will still take humanity by surprise, as noted in 1 Thesselonians 5:2, “the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” Be ready, and make sure you give those around you no excuse for not knowing God, so that they too may experience true peace and harmony.
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Ep3.46 God Uses Visions to Prepare Us for the Future:Tony Peters: Daily ...
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Pray: By Tony Peters
I feel like today prayer is not taken seriously. So many people tend to pray not with grace, but in demands and things that are not for God's glory, but for self-interest. We need to pray by humbling ourselves before the Lord. Asking in patience, not impatience. The Lord works in His own time, not in our rushed schedules. We don't take the time to stop and pray, but pray on the fly. Pray with respect and faith. We are all guilty of these things, and need to stop and check our prayer lives.
I wrote this poem with these thoughts in mind.
Pray
Pray for me brothers and sisters, as I have prayed for you
Pray for wisdom, as man lacks much wisdom
Pray for even tempers, as rage swells across nations
Pray for peace, both in spirit and on this earth
Pray for love, as we are called to love our neighbour
Pray for humility, as Jesus, our King, was humble
Pray for strength, as time weakens both mind and body
Pray for boldness, that we may preach God's Word
Pray for faith, as the flesh tries to cast much doubt
And finally pray for unity, as Satan brews division
Always we pray Lord, in the name of the King
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Wash over us, keep our eyes fixed only on You
Amen
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Ep 2.26 Kingdom Divided: Daily Devotion: Tony Peters
Kingdom Divided
How many times throughout history have we heard of powerful kingdoms,empires, and dynasties, falling? Once powerful, mighty, conquerors, now nothing more than a puff of wind, swallowed up by the hurricane that is a new power. Alexander the Great led one such kingdom, but upon his death, his generals bickered and fought, dividing a once great kingdom into several kingdoms, easily crushed by the next empire in line. Rome, the nation who ruled for decades much of the known world, crumbled into nothingness once they also became divided, Emperors who could not hold power, for everyone wanted to be in command. Britain, France, Spain, all empires who fought to control the world, exploring new lands, then conquering them, only to find that they were too divided to remain in power. Each Kingdom or Empire was thought to be too powerful to be defeated. They greedily took as much as they could, until that greed became disdain, everyone wanting a piece of the Kingdom or Empire, until that disdain festered into a bitter battle for power. No longer united they each became a victim of their own making, falling prey to countries they once controlled. A kingdom divided is a Kingdom conquered.
The same can be said of the church. The church is supposed to be united in their love for God, following the teaching of Jesus Christ. Together we stand, divided we fall. Jesus himself speaks of this very thing in Matthew 12 verses 25-30 “25 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 “Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house. 30 “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
We see this theme again and again throughout both the Old and New Testaments. From David’s own sons fighting over power, to the Sadducees, God’s own people, fighting for power, feeling Christ, our Messiah, was a threat to their very comfortable existence. We need to be a united front, focused on spreading the Word of God to every nation, to the ends of the Earth. We have a mission set out by Jesus Christ, to share his love. Given the gift of the Holy Spirit to assist in this commission, who are we to waste this gift? Why do we squabble over things and allow these issues to divide us? Paul also speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 1: 10-17 “10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with wisdom and eloquence, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.”
As both Jesus Christ and Paul point out, divisions and disagreements in the church are preventing the spread of His Word. We are to be united, not allowing disagreements to divide us. Jesus compares this to Satan, for that is exactly who is behind these divisions, Satan. Satan wants us as Christians to be bickering amongst ourselves, for then he can conquer us one by one. To prevent this we need to look to our church leadership for guidance, pray, read our Bibles, talk to our pastors, and pray some more. We cannot let Satan weasel his way into our lives and into the church, stick to the Word of God, keep this at the focus of our churches. Disagreements have a tendency to get blown out of proportion and splinter churches.
Recently I have seen this in the handling of Covid measures. Many churches are following guidelines set out by the government, guidelines that many disagree with. The church then is put in the awkward position of either following these guidelines and being allowed to continue to hold services, or disregard the guidelines and risk being shut down completely. Fellowship was brought up as a main area that has suffered as a result of these guidelines. This is true, fellowship has suffered, but to blame this on the church for following guidelines is a mistake. During these Covid times we have all had to get creative in our personal lives, we take that responsibility upon ourselves. Why should fellowship and church lives be any different? If we can get creative to suit our personal needs, then can we not get creative in ways to fellowship with other Christians? Meet at a park, go for coffee, talk to each other outside of the church after the service. Why does it matter if talking inside the church building itself is not encouraged? Who says church is the only place to come together in fellowship? The only place to speak to other Christians? Get Creative! Do not lay blame upon the church and create divisions! Do not let disagreements on how to handle Covid measures splinter the church! We should not wish to be responsible for hindering the work of God! Stand united and stop bickering! Trust the church elders, deacons, and pastoral team to do what is necessary to ensure we are all kept safe, and able to continue to meet at church. Pray that they will be given wisdom in how to go about doing this, encourage them to pray and ask God for guidance. Do not let yourself get upset when every decision does not line up with what you feel is right! Did God say every decision He makes for us is going to be agreeable? Where in the Bible have things ever gone down like that? Name a place, I challenge you. No God makes decisions and guides our leadership teams. We may not see the bigger picture, but God does. He wants what is best for us, trust Him to guide your life. Do not let Satan take your eye off the ball, or you will take that ball straight to the eye! When we let Satan guide our paths, a painful lesson is sure to follow. Give God the power to allow the Holy Spirit to work among us. United we stand, divided we fall. A kingdom divided is a kingdom conquered.