February 24, 2010
Mark 11
Pastor Stan Wilson
Have you ever had one of those days? You know…the edgy kind where everything is affected by your mood. If so, you already know that those edgy days cause a ripple of negative effects.
Recently I had one of those days, and there was only one way to describe it: I was in a “funk.” Sadly, there were casualties along the way. Just ask my wife. While most often seen as a gentle giant, my behavior that day made the statement of a “man of war.” Obviously, I needed a course correction.
In Mark 11, we read about Jesus beginning his journey to the cross. Considering the pending circumstances of death, I believe that Jesus had every reason to feel a bit edgy or, in a funk. Yet, his approach into Jerusalem as Messiah and King proved quite the opposite. Unlike the victory statements of previous warrior kings, parading into the city on stallions, Jesus rode gently into the city on a young colt. This was the purposeful statement of a Peacemaker.
What kind of statement are you making as you approach the situations of your day? Are your moods having a negative effect on others? If so - like me - you need a course correction. It’s time to make a new statement.
Choose, like Jesus, to embrace your day as a peacemaker rather than a man or woman of war.
This is Stan Wilson’s second time to serve on Grace Covenant’s pastoral staff, preceded by ministry assignments as a senior pastor and executive pastor in California, as well as assistant to the president of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel.
