Seed To Plant

     After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples.  The 20th chapter of John tells us about His appearances to His people.  Look at verse 9, 21 and 26.  It's apparent that Jesus was saying, "Stay in peace."
     Look at 1 Corinthians 14:30:  Jesus gave us peace, but it will certainly slip away from us if we are not determined to hang onto it.
     Look at Proverbs 17:1:  How many people come to church fighting all the way there?  Then when they reach church, they put on their "church face."
     God isn't looking for phony Christians.  He wants the real thing and not just people who talk the talk, but those who walk the walk.
     We have many promises in God's Word that He will bless and prosper us.  God is faithful and true to His Word.
     Look at 1 Corinthians 1:9-11:  Where there is strife, there will be no power or prosperity.
     We like to read God's promises without the "buts" and "ifs."  In this scripture Paul says God is faithful to His promises, but we must get along with one another.  The Corinthians were people just like us.  They were people in relationship with one another arguing over trivial things they should have left alone.  Look at verse 12:
     Only the names have changed in today's arguments:  I'm Catholic; I'm Lutheran; I'm Baptist; I'm Pentecostal or I'm Charismatic.  Look at verse 13:
     Paul was telling the Corinthians to keep their minds on Christ and not men.  We must do the same thing.
     The blessings are abundant for those who will pay the price.  Look at Matthew 18:19:
The prayer of agreement will not work for someone who gossips about the pastor, then gets sick and asks the pastor to agree with him for a miracle in his body.  The Amplified translation states that this power in the prayer of agreement is only effective when it's prayed by those who "harmonize together, make a symphony together" in verse 19.
     Turn to Psalm 133 (Amplified):  I love this Psalm.  It says it is good and life is enjoyable when people live in unity and keeps strife out of their homes and lives.  There is nothing worse than a home or relationship filled with an angry undercurrent of strife.  Unity is like the oil of anointing upon the priest.  Where there is strife, there will be no anointing.  Where there is unity, God will command His blessings.
     Strife is a killer.  It kills the anointing, the blessings, the prosperity, the peace and the joy.  Keep it out of your life.  Be determined that strife isn't going to steal from you that which is rightfully yours as a child of God.
     You may not be able to walk in peace with every single person you know.  The Word says in Romans 12:18, "If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone"  If you are a peacemaker, then God's blessings will flow to you as they did to Abraham.
     We know from scripture that Abraham was a very rich man.  Look at Genesis 13:2:  But let us look at one of the reasons riches and prosperity flowed into his life.  Look at verse 6-8.  The first thing we see is that Abraham dealt aggressively with strife.
     God spoke some powerful words to Abram and Abram evidently was determined not to let strife come in and steal the blessings of God.
     Do you have strife in your home? On the job? In your church?  You must treat strife like some dreaded disease.  Do all you can do to keep it from coming near you.