Peace in Jerusalem
I was glad when they said to me,
"Let us go to the house of the Lord!"
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem--built as a city
that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers."
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, "Peace be within you."
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.
DEVOTION
I don't know about you, but I love to go to church on Sunday! I look forward to it all week long and I enter into the sanctuary with great anticipation for the good things that will happen there!
It is in the house of the Lord, that we pray for the peace of the whole world!
At Jesus' birth, the angels heralded, "PEACE on Earth and goodwill toward all people."
It is a sad fact that as human beings we have yet to live into the awesome promise of the coming of Messiah.
Our failure--is not God's failure. Our failure, is as a result of sin. We have simply failed to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Every single week we gather to affirm the promise that God has done everything necessary to ensure our peace by giving Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life!
As we gather to worship, hear the Word, fellowship with one another, and celebrate the sacraments, we declare God's intention for a peaceful earth and our commitment to be used to usher in the Kingdom of Love.
One day, we will all know perfect peace. Either we will pass from earth to glory, or glory will come to earth in the second coming of Christ!
Either way, eternal peace will be ours...
Until that great day, let us do all that we know to do to be peacemakers within our spheres of influence.
Peace be with you, friends.
Let us pray:
God, you have said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." Please forgive me for the many times I have sown seed of discord and please fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can do those things that make for peace in my world. I pray this in Jesus' Name, Amen.
If you have questions about how to become a friend and follower of Jesus, please see the devotion entitled, “Come to Jesus” @ http://bit.ly/JVhaL
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