Luke 19:41-44 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Romans 8:20-23 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
- Reflect On: Luke 19:41-44 & Romans 8:20-23
- Praise God: For His promised redemption.
- Offer Thanks: For the ways you have experienced God’s mercy rather than His judgment.
- Confess: Any tendency to rationalize your sins.
- Ask God: To bring good out of evil, spreading the gospel of peace throughout the world.
…Sin has spoiled the peace, disrupted life, and caused fractures and division within the natural world. As a result our universe, though, it is beautiful, has also become treacherous. Life is not as it should be. As Paul so vividly put it, all creation groans, awaiting the day when it too will be delivered from its bondage to death and decay.
…No matter how broken our world is, it is still right to call God loving, still right to hail Jesus as the Prince of Peace. During His life on earth He calmed the storm, walked on water, healed the sick, and brought the dead to life. These are signs that He intends to restore God’s plan for creation, to bring it to completion by inaugurating and establishing the new creation. One day Jesus Christ will enable the lion and the lamb to lie down together … . Until then, we must help those who suffer and console those who grieve. We must pray for peace and work for peace and refuse to accept a world that is less than it should be… . And as we pray, let us remember that Jesus not only brings us peace, but He is our peace.
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