Hebrews 12:14 – Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

Be at peace with all men; that is, with all who will let you be at peace with them. There are some people who just won’t be at peace. Pursue peace with all people, especially with your brothers and sisters in Christ. “And holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” If that means that you and I have to produce holiness, then we are going to give up, because we don’t have any holiness. But, oh, the peace that you have which came through the blood of Christ! “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). If you have any holiness, it is because Christ has made you righteous, He is your righteousness. If you get into the presence of God it will be because Christ died for you. That is encouraging, my friend. It should make you want to get out and live the Christian life and never give up.

Challenge:

Can you confidently say there is total peace in your life? Do you feel settled in all relationships with your family members, your coworkers and your friends? You see, when you harbor anger or frustration in your heart it disrupts any hope of peace. You can try to ignore those negative feelings for awhile, but eventually something will happen that will bring back the emotions and remind you of how you were hurt by others and peace will be gone. I hear all the time how family members do not talk any longer and won’t even be in the same room with each other. Yet I also see a total unwillingness to work through the issues and come to a resolve and reconciliation. So tragic in the eyes of God. Your challenge this week is to seek to be at peace with all people as much as is in your power to do so. You see pursuing peace does not always guarantee peace will be the final outcome. But at least you would have given everything you have to make things right and seek peace. God bless you.