{"id":722,"date":"2023-12-23T18:21:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-23T18:21:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jolenekinser.com\/?p=722"},"modified":"2024-03-05T23:30:03","modified_gmt":"2024-03-05T23:30:03","slug":"the-path-to-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jolenekinser.com\/zh\/the-path-to-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"The Path To Peace"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Setting Our Feet on the Path to Peace<\/h3>\n

In Luke 1, once John was born and named, Zechariah\u2019s \u201cmouth was opened and his tongue set free\u201d (Luke 1:64). He was filled with\u00a0the Holy Spirit and prophesied about the life and ministry of John in Luke 1:67-79. Zechariah then said to John,<\/p>\n

\nAnd you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the\u00a0tender mercy of our God,\u00a0whereby\u00a0the sunrise shall\u00a0visit us from on high to\u00a0give light to\u00a0those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into\u00a0the way of\u00a0peace<\/em>\u00a0(Luke 1:76-79).\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Zechariah likens the coming of Christ to the rising of the sun, proclaiming that his son John would bear witness to the One who would give light to those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, while setting their feet on the clear path to peace. We now know that in Jesus the mystery of God revealing and reconciling himself to humankind through his son has been revealed. As a result, \u201csince we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ\u201d (Romans 5:1). This is the centerpiece of the good news, but there is more.<\/p>\n

Jesus also promised to bless his peacemakers, calling them God\u2019s children. By definition, a peacemaker is always someone who takes initiative. It is also clear in the scriptures that a peacemaker is someone who actively works to reconcile people\u00a0to God and to one another,\u00a0as well as to live in peace with everyone as far as it depends on us (Romans 12:18). We often have the toughest time with the personal\u00a0side of peacemaking, and that\u2019s why Jolene Kinser\u2019s\u00a0\u201cPeacemaking in China\u201d<\/a>\u00a0blog series, related to personal peacemaking in Chinese cultural\u00a0contexts, has been especially meaningful to me.<\/p>\n

How often do we say or silently conclude, \u201cthere are certain teachings in Scripture that are almost entirely overridden by the influence of culture,\u201d or \u201cthat simply won\u2019t work in\u00a0this context?\u201d Taking the initiative to be a personal\u00a0peacemaker requires a Lordship step of faith in any culture, and I have learned so much from my Chinese brothers and sisters who have courageously shared their stories throughout\u00a0this series. The love, courage, humility, and actionable, Holy\u00a0Spirit-dependent prayer in these life accounts have stirred\u00a0me to continue\u00a0to be a learner and to seek out new growth in personal peacemaking and reconciliation.<\/p>\n

Available Soon!<\/h3>\n

I have enjoyed reading and re-reading all the posts in Jolene\u2019s blog series, and was glad to discover that Jolene\u2019s new book,\u00a0Changing Normal: Breaking Through Barriers to Pursuing Peace in Your Relationships,\u00a0<\/em>will be available on Amazon starting January 14, 2024. The book will feature more examples of how prayer can impact movement from being in conflict\u00a0to experiencing restoration in a relationship. We all need life examples to help us keep our feet on the path of forgiveness, reconciliation, and personal peacemaking, so this will be an encouraging contribution. May our God of all grace and peace continue to keep us steadily walking on the path to peace!<\/p>\n

Merry Christmas and happy New Year from the entire ChinaSource Team!<\/h4>\n
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Kerry Schottelkorb
\nPresident<\/p>\n

Ways to Pray<\/h3>\n