Peacemakers

Therefore declare: I grant him my covenant of peace.

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the LORD, and he will give a reward to the lender.

They have treated the brokenness of my dear people superficially, claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. j

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the humble, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

“You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me.

Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Whoever insults his brother or sister, will be subject to the court. Whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to hellfire.

leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.

“Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Therefore, whatever you want others to do for you, do also the same for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and most important command.

The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.

All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven will also forgive you your wrongdoing.”

Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them.

If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit  — just as you were called to one hope at your calling —

one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.

For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people.

But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth?

The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.

And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers,

equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ,

until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, by human cunning with cleverness in the techniques of deceit.

But speaking the truth in love, let us grow in every way into him who is the head  — Christ.

From him the whole body, fitted and knit together by every supporting ligament, promotes the growth of the body for building up itself in love by the proper working of each individual part.

Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer live as the Gentiles live, in the futility of their thoughts.

They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts.

They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more.

But that is not how you came to know Christ,

assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus,

to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires,

to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,

and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

Therefore, putting away lying, speak the truth, each one to his neighbor, because we are members of one another.

Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,

and don’t give the devil an opportunity.

Let the thief no longer steal. Instead, he is to do honest work with his own hands, so that he has something to share with anyone in need.

No foul language should come from your mouth, but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.

And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit. You were sealed by him for the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness, anger and wrath, shouting and slander be removed from you, along with all malice.

And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.

and to regard them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense.

And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.