Are you a Peacemaker?

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PART II

A Renovation of the Heart is Needed
Some people pray a lot about revival. Revivals... infused with enthusiasm and excitement are thought to be a way to reorient our thinking and focus towards God and his purposes. Light the fire once again. I'm all for that. But revivals seem to be needed much to frequently in today’s church. It’s frustrating that we Christians continually need a “relighting of the fire” to get us moving in the direction God wants us go. I believe the revival that God wants us to experience requires hard decisions that can only emanate from within our hearts. The changes he wants in us... do not require revivals to relight and reignite the fire and passion to live the Christian life and be immersed in his service. He wants us to be willing to allow him to finally and completely renovate our hearts... to make us "new creations" suitable for his purposes.

It’s not easy to humble ourselves before God. We usually wait for someone else to lead the way. But each one of us.... must choose to deal with his or her own pride, self-importance and ego.

Confessing and telling God what He already knows about the sinfulness of our hearts and our selfish ways is real hard to do... like pulling teeth without Novocain. We need to ask God and others to forgive us for our critical spirit. This is a very hard thing and the normal reaction from us is.... “why me... why not him or her?” Whether we think our sinful attitudes are major or minor, we need to voice it in prayer to God and take that really hard step and confess it in the church. We tend not to confess our sins where people would hear them and think less of us. Who of us is not guilty of this? It’s pride that holds us back and it will be pride that blocks the gate to eternity, if we don’t humble ourselves before the Lord and let him remake us... NOW!

Do we seek to protect our elders and leaders? Protection here is a complex Godly standard not easy to learn and even harder to put into practice. The standard means not hiding their shortcomings but also not allowing them to be criticized when not present. God has called them to minister on your behalf. Support them in their roles and work. When we cannot endorse what they are doing, we need to go and tell them, not someone else. That’s grumbling at its worst. Openly attacking them to discredit them and destroy there ability to serve God as He has called them, is an affront to God the Father and shows disrespect for the governing authority of the church as ordained by Christ to carryout the Great Commission.

Make a commitment not to speak negative things about people. Our goal should be to speak to people not about them behind their back. We need a return to Jesus' statement on this in Matthew 18:15-18. Read it... it’s a simple model and it works.

If you have problems in your church, with divisions and divisiveness among brothers, think of what is at stake. Jesus' reputation in the world today depends on the world's perception of our unity. John 17:20-23 makes this clear. Read it.... and ponder your attitude and conduct among brothers. Together, one to another, united by the Spirit, let us guard the reputation of His Body, the Church.