Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God. [Matthew 5:9]

“Peace.” Just the sound of the word slows the heart rate and brings calm to the soul or the home. But let’s not pretend: “Peace” is a rather rare experience these days, whether on the global scale or the personal one. Yet Christ calls his followers to be peacemakers wherever they find themselves.

“And they will be called children of God.” To manifest that God is my Father, I need to be a peacemaker, even in *that* situation. Is there a family resemblance between the Prince of Peace and me? Am I a chip off the block?  Where is God asking you to facilitate peace today?

Listen to this: From Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi, for your blog-reading accompaniment.

Believe this: From the Westminster Confession: “As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation; so there is no sin so great, that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.” Go ahead, read that again, slowly.

Read this: As an Elder team at Trinity, we are reading Finding the Right Hills to Die On by Gavin Ortlund. This is a timely read that encourages Christ-followers and churches to know how to prioritize the many beliefs of their faith. Ortlund simultaneously encourages humility and confidence in the reader, ranking our various Christian doctrines as either essential, urgent, important, or unimportant. It’s a helpful read that calls for doctrinal precision (on one’s majors) and leaves room for authentic fellowship with those who may differ with me.

Other good reads:

• Knowing God by J.I. Packer. I recently read this classic for the umpteenth time. A “mandatory” read for thinking Christian people, in my book.
• The Day the World Came to Town by Jim DeFede. An uplifting, fun read about the town of Gander, Newfoundland that welcomed all the planes that were rerouted after the September 11 attacks. It was on my mind because Ron, a man who is in India with me, told us how his father was one of those pilots that landed there.
• Image Bearers: Restoring our identity and living out our calling by Rachel Atkinson and Michael Lloyd. A nice blend of theology and pragmatic devotional, even spiritual formational material.

Watch this (or don’t): Sue and I went to see the movie Conclave. It was a fictional story about the selecting of a new pope. It was interesting enough, showing the machinations that go into this momentous election. It was filled with quite a few well-known actors who supposedly will be up for many Oscar nominations.  But in the end, it became a predictable caricature of the supposed bigotry and cut-throat dishonesty of traditional conservatives and a championing statement for the heroic, inclusive progressives. I was rather disappointed. I won’t give away the surprising, over-the-top, incredulous ending that was meant to seal their point.

Now if you do want to see a movie on papal succession and a healthy dialogue between traditional and more progressive positions, then The Two Popes is for you. Two very good actors, Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce, play out the warm and intimate dialogues within the transition from Pope Benedict to Francis.

I love this: Two new friends from India (see the photos below). The young man is the first special education teacher of this Good Shepherd School (DFN). Poor and marginalized himself, he graduated from this school and then went on to college to get a teaching degree. It works!

And this dear lady was rescued a year ago from the trafficking network. Part of her rehabilitation was to teach her business skills. She was given a loan and opened her own little store in the village. I bought a bag of Cheetos. 😊 Praise God! It really works!