one thing peace is not…

JESUS is the secret of peace.  When you get HIM in your life you're going to be at peace.   And peace is a secret of great relationships.

Proverbs 28:8 (LB), "Fools start fights everywhere; wise men try to keep the peace."  It's foolish to start arguments but it's wise to keep the peace.  JESUS said, "Blessed are the peacemakers."

You may not need this material now but you're going to need it someday.  You will have conflict in relationships.

Now it is important to first of all understand that peace is not avoiding a problem. 

It is not running from a problem, ignoring an issue, pretending that it doesn't exist, sticking your head in the sand. 

A lot of people simply avoid issues rather than face them "Let's just don't talk about it.  Don't make waves."  But an unresolved conflict is like termites in your relationship.  If you don't deal with an issue eventually it will bring the house down.  When you avoid a conflict by just running from a problem it is important to see that's not peacemaking, that's cowardice.  Peacemaking does not mean "I'll just ignore the problem, run from it."

So many of us do that.

Just a thought from the front porch…