Vicar’s Message – April 2013
Dearly beloved in Christ
Greetings in the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ
The message for this month is based on psalm 120. Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matt.5:9). But not everybody in this world is a peacemaker. Some people are troublemakers. They enjoy making trouble, and sometimes we have to live or work with them. That is a kind of situation the psalmist found in himself in when he wrote Psalm 120. “In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue” He continues “My soul has dwelt too long with one who hates peace, I am for peace, but when they speak, and they are for war. That sound like a description of Jesus when he was on earth. He was the prince of peace and came to bring peace to the hearts and lives of the people, yet people want to follow or trust Him.
Ever since Cain killed Abel, we have had conflict in this world. Nations war against one another; families fall apart; and even Christians don’t get along with each other. David went through conflict. Jesus went through it. And we experience it also.
Still, we are to be peacemakers, not peace breakers. After all, we have the peace of God in our hearts, and we have peace with Him, we are not at war with Him the way unsaved people are. So wherever we are, we will experience conflict but also the opportunity to bring peace.
“I am for peace,” the psalmist says. Each of us is either a battle field or a blessing. Each of us is either declaring war declaring peace. Some people enter a situation, and peace comes in with them. Other people walk in, and war follows. God’s people are to be peace makers. This world of never-ending conflict affords many opportunities for you to make peace. However, peacemaking often is not easy. Let us ask God to help us in this wicked, conflicting world to be people who promote peace, not war.
May God Bless us all
With love and prayers
Saji Achen