Sisters (Day 2, from Cleansing Thoughts)

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       Just as my sister and I could not stand rightly before each other until Christ stood between us, our forefathers could not stand before God until the shed blood of the animal sacrifice, symbolic of the blood of Christ, made them at one with Him. In the New Testament, we are encouraged not only to be reconciled with God but with our fellowmen. He states if we remain angry with our others or harbor hate against them or continually speak unkindly against them, we are in danger of being judged as harshly, as we are guilty of judging them by our own words and actions. "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" Matthew 5:23-24, NKJV). In the Amplified Bible, the word peace is used for reconciliation. 

    My sister and I had had not known peace in our relationship for a number of years and were both guilty of judging each other, at times very harshly. Yet in the first part of the message, Jesus stated, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" Matthew 5:9, NKJV). When we look at this passage in the Amplified Bible, we learn that to be blessed is to live life with joy and satisfaction in God's favor. I had not experienced that kind of joy, or peace for that matter, in my life. When I came to know the Lord, many things changed for me, but I still found it hard to reach out to my family and found myself restless knowing what I knew God wanted me to do and finding the courage to sept out and do. I realized through this passage that praying wasn't enough. The Word said we are to be makers as well as maintainers, of peace if we truly want to experience the fullness of God's favor. We cannot let the past or the circumstances we might be facing today keep us from the joy and satisfaction of living our life as God would have us to do. The word Christian means to be Christ-like; therefore, if we choose to live our life judging others in this manner, we are only fooling ourselves into believing we are living a Christ-like walk.

    My sister and I have had a wonderful relationship for many years no, we share each other's hopes and dreams, as well as, our sorrows and disappointments, and I am so grateful for answered prayers on both
our parts. You see, she was the first of the two of us to come to the Lord, and it was my sister that prayed for me that God answered before He could even hear the ones I offered up for her.  We are not just sisters we are best friend and sisters in the Lord! I thank God every day for having her in my life and I can't imagine my life without her.


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