The Father of John the Baptist prophesied the before John the Baptist was born, saying:
“You, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for ‘you will travel before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways.’
You are to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins,
through the heart of mercy of our God,
in which the rising of light from on high has visited us,
to appear upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death;
to steer our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79)
Jesus came to His people after John the Baptist had prepared them for His ministry among them. What Jesus taught the people was the Gospel of peace, within which can discover the way of peace.
Without Jesus we ‘sit in darkness’ and our lives are lived only in the ‘shadow of death’, but with Jesus we have the light of God’s covenant promises and God’s way of living, and that way of living brings peace between people who follow in Christ’s way.
The way of peace has many sections that make it up; here are some:
- Having a lowly spirit, not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought
(Matthew 5:3, Romans 12:3)
- Considering the interests of others as well as ourselves (Philippians 2:4)
- Speaking a soft word to turn away anger (Proverbs 15:1)
- Forgiving others as we wish to be forgiven (Matthew 6:12)
- Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us (Matthew 7:12)
- Loving our neighbours, including our enemies as well as our families and fellow believers, (Leviticus 9:18, Matthew 5:44, Ephesians 5:25, John 13:34)
- Loving the Lord our God with all we have and are.
(Deuteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37)
In a dark world where every day terrible acts of violence are done to innocent people, the light of Christ still shines, if people would but look at Him. So, if you live in a place where people are being attack, injured and killed, the main reason is that the people doing these things are not looking to the Prince of Peace. If people want the attacks, injuries and murders to stop, they need to look to the Prince of Peace.
The Lord bless you,
Graham Ford
President – Jesus Christ for Muslims &
Partners with the Persecuted