Making the First Move in Peacemaking

A bully approached a little boy. The boy was scared he was about to get beaten up, so he quickly drew a line in the sand. He told the bully, “Step across that line.” The bully stepped over it. With a grin on his face the little boy said, “Now we’re both on the same side!”

Jesus said, “Make friends quickly with your opponent at law, while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge …and you be thrown in prison” (Matt. 5:25). We are usually too slow in resolving conflict, which allows strained relationships to fester and creates painful consequences. Jesus said to make peace with your enemy “quickly” to prevent something worse that could happen to you.  

You might be reluctant to make the first move to reconcile, but God will bless the one who makes the first move in peacemaking. You step over the line—not to fight, but to make peace. “If possible, so far as it depends upon you, be at peace with all men” (Rom. 12:18). Many times reconciliation is not possible, but God says to make an attempt.

If your attempt fails, you can still have peace of mind because you obeyed God, even if your enemy won’t accept you. Sometimes your attempt to make peace will break down the wall of enmity. You may never be reconciled with someone refuses to work out differences. However, your attempt can ease the tensions of a strained relationship, and might even soften your enemy’s heart. 

Imagine if you were “both on the same side.” It might even bring a grin to your face.

www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net

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Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net  

Making Plans

When President Ronald Reagan was a boy, his aunt took him to a cobbler to have some shoes made. The shoemaker asked young Ronald, “Do you want a square toe or a round toe?” Reagan couldn’t decide, so the cobbler told him to come back later.

Two days later he told the shoemaker he still hadn’t made up his mind. “Very well,” the cobbler replied. 

When Reagan picked up his shoes, one shoe had a square toe and the other a round one. “Looking at those shoes every day taught me a lesson,” Reagan said years later. “If you don't make your own decisions, someone else will make them for you.”

 If you don’t make plans for your life, someone else will. Without plans you’ll bounce around like a ball in a pinball machine, reacting to every circumstance until you run out of energy. Suppose you’re on a cruise ship and ask the captain, “When do we plan to arrive?”

He answers, “Plans? I don’t make plans. I just trust God to control the waves and guide the boat to the right destination.” Some people drift through life that way. They float around like a rudderless ship, hoping they’ll drift to the right dock.

However, God’s guidance includes making plans. “The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” (Prov. 16:9). Once you have prayerfully made your plans, commit them to the Lord. “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established” (Prov. 16:3). www.kentcrockett.blogspot.com  www.makinglifecount.net  

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BIBLE STUDY: What is the Q Document?

Making Life Count Ministries
P.O. Box 680174
Prattville, Alabama 36068-0174
www.makinglifecount.net