God's Name is Peace
OPENING PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, thank you for sending Jesus to bring peace to this broken world. We are eternally grateful! Amen
“So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites” Judges 6:24
REFLECT:
In Judges 6 Israel’s fifth judge, Gideon, is being called to a great mission of taking down Israel’s enemy the Midianites. His heart was anxious as he recognized his inadequacies and knew on his own he could not succeed. When Gideon made a sacrifice to the Lord, God revealed his peace to Gideon’s heart. There he built an altar to the Lord and called it Jehovah-shalom “the Lord is Peace.” There were many challenges in his journey, but like the children of Israel in Egypt, God showed his greatness through each obstacle. After his great victory, the people wanted to make Gideon their ruler, but he replied to the people in Judges 8:23 “I will not rule over you, nor will my son rule over you. The Lord will rule over you.”
APPLY:
As we journey through this life, remember where our peace comes from. In Isaiah 9:6 Jesus was born to be the Prince of Peace and through his death, burial and resurrection he accomplished our peace. In our world today we have a great lack of peace. What is the challenge, the mission, that God has in front of you that is putting you in an “unpeaceful” place? Ask God to help you be like Gideon in the face of this challenge, to accept it and to move forward with the Lord’s peace. Be faithful to share Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to others.
CLOSING PRAYER:
God of Peace, we ask that you fill us with a peace that passes understanding.
Peace not as the world gives but as only you can give.
May we strive to be peaceMAKERS rather than peaceKEEPERS, knowing that you have called us to an active faith.
Help us keep our eyes focused on our similarities even as we work in different lanes to pursue your will.
Teach us to rest in the true peace of our hope in you.
Amen.
(Prayer from Weekend Service)