Dear God, Is Peace Possible?

In my quiet and peaceful prayer spot yesterday morning, I prayed for peace in our country. My heart ached as I thought how divided our country is -- seemingly louder and noisier than ever before. I saw these words by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman "Civil War in America may be coming if we cannot find a way out of the tribalistic political and cultural fracturing that threatens our future." I remembered studying American History with my young grandson a couple of months ago. The studies were about the deadly Civil War -- the most turbulent, violent years between the North and the South. I thought "Dear God, is peace possible?"

Oh, but very quickly, to straighten me out like He often does, my loving Father/Dad/Papa sent me these words: "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.' 2 Chronicles 7:14. Notice He said, "If MY people....." Scrolling through my FB timeline yesterday morning, I saw that one of my Canadian friends' "shared" a video of a huge prayer meeting that was going on in Washington D.C. on Thursday. God's people were humbling themselves and praying.

Judge Kavanaugh will be confirmed to the Supreme Court if a favorable final vote count comes in today. Whatever way it goes, God's Word gives no room for gloating or pouring "vinegar in a wound" to those who opposed this confirmation. In fact, King Solomon put it this way in Proverbs 25:20-22 "Don't be like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or pours vinegar on a wound, or who sings songs to a heavy heart. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you."

God’s Word calls us to defend our faith “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). We are to “honor everyone” (1 Peter 2:17), whether they honor us or not. We are to “show no partiality” (James 2:1) as we show the world “brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind” (1 Peter 3:8).

In so doing, we continue the earthly ministry of Jesus. He prayed that we would live in such a way that the world would believe in Him because of us (John 17:21). Then He returned to heaven so his Spirit could bear witness to Him through Christians all over the world (John 15:26-27).

Our work of loving, giving, serving and living as Christ did should be stronger than ever before. Charles Spurgeon said: “You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of Christ is His living biography, written out in the words and actions of his people.”

Living Above Reproach

I've really done some personal soul-searching in the light of the supreme court hearings of the last few weeks. I’ve thanked God, innocent or not, that no one has ever pulled something from my past and accused me of something I did. If anything good can come out of all this, perhaps it’s to awaken us to be certain we are living a “clean” life because simply being at the wrong place at the wrong time can have serious consequences. As the saga continues on with the hearings, I've reflected on the questionable “act” and the importance of living our lives above reproach.

I was reminded of the “tawdry” story of Joseph in Genesis 37:1-36 and Genesis 39 to 41:57. You must read it for yourself. It’s a story of false accusations that turned into redemption. Here is a quick overview: Joseph’s brothers sold him to a caravan of traders who in turn sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh in Egypt. Potiphar saw the Lord was with Joseph, and “that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph’s charge." Wow! That is favor!

But, that’s when the plot thickens. Joseph was “handsome” and after a time, Potiphar’s wife began to "sexually harass" him as she asked him “to lie with her.” Joseph’s refusal of her advances was honorable. He reminded her of the trust that Potiphar had placed in him and described her intentions as “wickedness” and "sin". Joseph continued to resist her, but eventually, after being physically assaulted by her and his cloak stripped from him, he made the choice to flee. After his escape and arrest on false charges, Joseph seemed to have had no legal recourse.

Unfortunately, Joseph’s godliness didn’t rescue him from false accusation and imprisonment. Our godliness and good character is no guarantee that we will escape unscathed. But if we read on to the end of Joseph’s story, we see the favor of God on his life and how his redemption unfolded when he was promoted to Governor of Egypt and became the “savior” to his family and nation.

The story of Joseph is a story of hope that by God’s grace, good may eventually prevail in the situation. Joseph also provides a model for us, that even when we are falsely accused and wrongly treated, we carry on, living above approach, allowing God to make it right in the end.

I remarked to my daughter how important it is that we instruct our children and young people (and even the rest of us) to be careful who we hang out with and where we hang out; to be wise in our activities; to be above reproach in our decision making and being sure that we are in the right places at the right times. Only God and the individuals know the total truth in the Kavanaugh hearings. And, only God and you and I know about the mistakes we have made in our lives. Living our lives with the WWJD perspective: “What would Jesus do?” would most certainly help steer us in the right direction of living above reproach.

I heard this question asked: “If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" Never has it been clearer, that character should be the highest priority for being trustworthy and credible to our children, our peers, our neighbors, our constituents, but most of all….to God. He has a front row seat in our lives. Our actions DO speak louder than words. It makes Dad so proud of His kids when He sees them “doing the right thing when no one is looking."

Psalm 119:9 "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your Word."