I grew up in a family that consisted of four boys and one sister. My sister was the oldest of our clan and as you can probably imagine, the four born back to back boys lead to a rough and tumble upbringing. The no-holds-barred approach to survival amongst the brothers was often more than our brave mother could handle.
You see, Mom was a peaceKEEPER, doing all that she could to keep the four brothers from killing each other. The pecking order was well established in our hierarchy and as my mother often said to us “Boys, might does not make right.” She did her best to referee our noisome upbringing…spending most of her day refereeing the latest spat. Our mother was an expert at being a peach KEEPER.
But eventually she would reach the end of her rope and wail to our rowdy bunch of ornery boys those famous words that made us all shiver in our shoes.
“I’ve had it with you boys!! You wait until your father gets home!” I can still feel the remnants of the rumble that went down my spine with the thought of Dad and his belt when he got home from his hard labor in the factory at Kaiser Aluminum.
You see, my Dad was the peaceMAKER. When he showed up, all of the Tom Foolery ceased. Our father never uttered the words “boys, this is going to hurt me more than you” because the swatting of his belt brought peace to the entire home. He wasn’t worried about our feelings.
I find it interesting that Jesus warned us about the same thing. Fear is the greatest of all motivators and properly applied nothing will get the attention of a rowdy bunch more than the price that must be paid for disobedience. We are told in Matthew 5:9 “ Blessed are the peaceMAKERS: for they shall be called the children of God.“
There is a huge difference between a KEEPER and a MAKER. Our mom was a successful peace KEEPER because our father was a great peace MAKER. Those two jobs are not the same. One requires fear and discipline, the other, compromise and negotiation. As uncomfortable as it might make sissy Christians feel, Jesus promoted fear and discipline. In fact, he said the peaceMAKERS were the BLESSED ones. A compromised Christianity has given us the weak version of America that we see today.
Go with me if you will to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. The invasion was launched with an offensive strategy described by our military as “shock and awe.” This overwhelming military OFFENSIVE incapacitated the Iraqi forces. That was a perfect illustration of peace MAKING…in fact the military named the offensive Operation Iraqi Freedom. What followed after the offensive was an initiative to KEEP the peace that the peace MAKERS had established.
The peaceMAKERS paved the way for the peaceKEEPERS. It is the peace MAKERS that the Bible calls ‘the children of God.”
Sometimes the forces of darkness have to wait until the Father comes home.
That’s why some Americans hate President Trump so much. He understands that sometimes ONLY raw power and force will get the attention of the unruly children. There can be no peace keeping until the peace maker has done his job. That seems so…well…unChristian in today’s “who are you to judge” post-Christian society.
Study the Bible and you will find that many of the leaders that God used were not soft, compliant men. Have you ever heard of David…Daniel…Moses…John the Baptist…Joshua…rough men that God used to advance His Kingdom? I doubt if there is a chapter in there of Benny Hinn…Rick Warren…or Joel Osteen…and their made for TV Christian productions.
Peace MAKERS….those are God’s men. Compromising men cannot defend a Kingdom…only forfeit one. Donald Trump is God’s man.
Let me explain. You do not have to be a “man of God” to be God’s man. In fact, history is replete with strong, sometimes compromised men, being used by OUR LORD to advance a Kingdom. Say what you will about hard talking, hard living John the Baptist, but Jesus declared of his cousin “of all those born unto a woman none was greater than John the Baptist.” Let that one soak in your soup. God sent an unpolished man to do a Christian man’s job. They locked John up…Jesus didn’t even go to visit him..
This is not by any means a full-throated endorsement of Donald Trump. I, too, have my eye on him and much of what he does concerns me. But I can tell you one thing that you can put in your pipe and smoke…Donald Trump is God’s man for this day and hour. I’m sorry if he is too harsh for you…not soft like most men in America’s pulpits today. We should all be praying FOR him…not against him. To do otherwise in disobedience to God’s word.
“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour. Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Or how about Daniel 2:21? “He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.”
No one becomes President without the approval of God. HE gave us Donald Trump. Is it for deliverance or is he the judgment of God on a once Christian nation? Time will tell. May God be merciful in the spanking we deserve.
“You wait til your Father gets home!!”
Blessed are the peace MAKERS…for they will be called the Children of God…
Pray for our President. Pray God’s will be done.
