There is too little peace in our world. Let’s study the Holy Scriptures and reflect on the divine pathway to peace. Yesterday’s US announcement recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is causing concern about the potential for increased violence in the region.

Please “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you. May peace be within your walls, and prosperity within your palaces. For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, “May peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.” Psalm 122: 6-9

“When the LORD takes pleasure in anyone’s way, he causes their enemies to make peace with them. Better a little with righteousness than much gain with injustice.” Proverbs 16:7-8

“Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15

“Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, “Whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good; they must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:9-12

“What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” James 4:1-3

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6

“Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165

“You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.'” Mark 10:19

How does peace begin?

Let me tell you a real story that touched my heart and made me see the wisdom of God in the gentleness of children.

There were two little boys around 6 years of age. One little boy had just had his head shaved so the other little boy decided he would play a trick on his teacher. He got his head shaved in the exact same way. He thought ‘now the teacher will never be able to tell us apart!’

The beauty in the story is that the little boy who thinks he can trick his teacher is white and the other little boy is black. What are the odds that the teacher would not be able to tell them apart? But the beautiful part in this story that brings tears to my eyes is that to the little white boy, his black friend is just like him. In fact he thinks they are identical! And to the black boy the white boy is his twin!

Now if I put two little boys in front of you one Jewish and one Palestinian you may not be able to tell them apart.

Does one little boy deserve peace and prosperity and the other little boy oppression and poverty?

Economic disparity generally breeds social unrest. How can we resolve that?

Jesus says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” Luke 6:31

When we begin to love one another as we love ourselves then we begin to realize that peace requires a WIN-WIN mentality.

War and violence always results in LOSE-LOSE! There are always precious lives lost that can NEVER be replaced on both sides of a violent conflict and that spells TRAGEDY!

So let us pray for the Holy Spirit of God, the Spirit of Truth and Love that gives us the grace to resolve our differences without violence as we commit to finding a WIN-WIN sustainable solution that breeds peace and prosperity for all!

Our Lord Jesus died just outside Jerusalem to create the ultimate peace—a peace between God and Man. After the Resurrection of Our Lord, Jesus remained with the Apostles for forty days and during this time He told them: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5

The Holy Spirit creates the willingness and ability to pursue peace and love.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5: 22-23

Friends of Jesus – we are living in dangerous times. It grieves me to continue to read about the threat of nuclear destruction. I grieve for the refugees of war. I grieve for all affected by violence especially the little children who want to play and learn and laugh.

It’s time for all true believers to understand that there will never be peace and understanding without the intervention of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

Please join the Christian prayer movement that is uniting us as One Body of Christ every day @ the Time Jesus died for us, 3pm, in our local time zones. At this time we stop to remember the Passion of Christ and pray for peace in our world. We pray for Jesus to send His Holy Spirit upon us so we silence the force of evil and violence and reinvent our world in a way where everyone WINS, and God is given the glory and honour He so deserves!

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Words of Jesus, John 14:6