Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

Let’s continue hearing from the LORD about His followers’ discord. Today let’s remember Jesus said Blessed are the Peacemakers.

Jesus said in today’s scripture, Matthew 5:9 (NIV)…
[9] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Consider…
Today’s verse makes me think of how adopting parents have attributes or characteristics they are looking for in the child they want to adopt. The same is true to with God.

First, according to Galatians 3:26 (NLT), adoptee’s must believe in Jesus Christ…
[26] For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Next, per Romans 8:14 (NLT), adoptee’s must be Spirit led…
[14] For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Unconditional love is another attribute that adoptee’s must possess. Matthew 5:44-45 (NLT) explains…
[44] But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! [45] In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.

Lastly, I see that according to Jesus, in today’s scripture, adoptee’s must be peacemakers.

Many people proudly claim to be children of God, however I don’t necessarily see the peacemaking loving treatment of others that our Heavenly Father requires.

For instance, I seldom see Romans 12:17-18 (NLT) on display by publicly professing children of God. By the way the verses say…
[17] Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. [18] Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Neither do I often witness Hebrews 12:14 (NLT) lived out in the contentious discord among believers over differences. Remember we’re told to…
[14] Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

Could our issue be that we’re relying on our peace of mind rather than submitting to the Prince of Peace as instructed in Colossians 3:15 (NLT)…
[15] And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Perhaps our misunderstanding of being peacemakers is attributable to the hopeless emptiness we feel inside about what’s going on around us. Perhaps that’s why the Holy Spirit led the Apostle Paul to write in Romans 15:13 (NLT)…
[13] I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Speaking of the Holy Spirit, which by the way we mentioned must lead adoptees, we’re told that He PRODUCES love and peace in Galatians 5:22.

Surely it’s not a coincidence that two of the first three fruit produced by the Holy Spirit are love and peace. But here’s what’s even more important to understand about the fruit of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit PRODUCES it!

At first this made me think of a movie producer, whose role is to plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script, coordinating writing, directing, editing, and arranging financing. The producer is responsible for finding and selecting promising material for development.

Similarly, the Holy Spirit also writes, directs, edits, and arranges. However, He does this for our spiritual living.

Let’s expound. He…

• Inspired the writing of the script for adoptee’s (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
• Directs the lives of adoptee’s (Galatians 5:16)
• Edits adoptee’s attitudes (Ephesians 4:23)
• Arranged everything adoptees need to live Godly (2 Peter 1:3)

Unlike movie producers, who only coordinate the work of others, the Holy Spirit is hands on and does all the spiritual development work Himself. Accordingly, I needed to pivot to a different type of producer, which led me to manufacturers. However, when I googled manufacturers I found the following…
Producers create raw materials or provide services, while manufacturers specifically transform those raw materials into finished products. Every manufacturer is a producer, but not every producer manufactures goods.

That’s it! The Holy Spirit creates the raw materials of love and peace that we need to serve others for God!

And with that revelation the Holy Spirit showed me the important misunderstanding that adoptees have. They didn’t listen to the the perfect Son of God’s words in Mark 10:43-45 (NLT). He said…
[43] But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, [44] and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. [45] For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Some believers are so fixated on leading that they forget our Father’s children serve sacrificially. That’s why we’re exhorted in Romans 12:1 (NLT)…
[1] And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

When we realize it’s not about us, but it’s about Jesus…

• Faithfulness becomes more important than feelings
• Obedience becomes more important than opinions
• Loving becomes more important than leading
• Peacemaking becomes more important than prevailing

So today, if you consider yourself the ‘King’s Kid’, remember He expects you to be a peacemaking loving child.

Today’s song is…
Let There Be Peace On Earth

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)