KEY PEACEMAKING INGREDIENTS - by Russ Fochler


 “Happy are the peacemakers for they will be called God’s children.”  Matthew 5:9 The Source New Testament


This past Saturday night, I had the joy of sharing two stories by Jamie and Donna Winship that beautifully illustrated many things - including peacemaking, suffering persecution for the sake of justice, and experiencing insults and all kinds of evil lies about you as you follow Jesus. (Matthew 5:9-11)


You can find the whole service here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyRfuYL9KsM&t=6590s

My talk starts at about 1 hr 23 min.


Here are what I consider key peacemaking “ingredients”:


  • Jesus is the Prince of Peace.  The “Sar Shalom”.  Jesus is the One whose reign is Shalom: Completeness, safety, soundness, welfare, health, and prosperity.  Jesus orchestrates the establishment of peace in situations of conflict - and He includes us in this beautiful, important work when we obey Him and surrender our fears, offenses and judgments.


  • Focus on forgiving those who hurt you and your reputation.  As Donna Winship explains, forgiveness is the oxygen we breathe in the Kingdom of God.   Donna and Jamie started to pray for opportunities to forgive because this revealed the Good News of Jesus.


  • Look for opportunities to love strangers and enemies.


  • Ask God “what do You want me to know?”  and “What do You want me to do?”


  • Live in such way that people see your integrity and recognize you are trustworthy.


  • Ask God for “the Third Way” when opposing groups only imagine one side “winning” and one side “losing”.  Dennis Lafayette talks about how he would say to people opposed to each other: “What about the Third Way?” and then listen for what God would show him.

I will be sharing Part 2 of “Blessed are the Peacemakers” this coming Saturday September 12th.  We’ll consider another remarkable story by the Winships.


With Affection,


Russ Fochler

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