Citizen of the Kingdom: January 2006

Local Newspaper Picture

Nathanael's first "cat bath" at home

Da Silva Family - Picture from the local newspaper

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

     “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
     The greatest example of a peacemaker is found in our Lord Jesus, the prince peace. He brought reconciliation between man and God, restoring the peace that once was in the beginning of the world. It says in Eph 2:14: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, (NKJ). The fact that Jesus came with a message of peace shocked the Jews, since they were expecting the rise of a powerful and mighty Messiah, the one that would crush the Roman oppression, restoring the kingdom of Israel to its former glory. But for their disappointment, that was not how our Lord intended to bring peace to the world. It was with a message of peace, of love and mercy that He would build the fundaments in the establishment of His Kingdom. Being a peacemaker is to reflect our affiliation with God, expressing through our words and actions the character of the Prince of Peace. It’s important to allow the peace of God to permeate our hearts, infusing us and saturating us with the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil. 4:7).
     A peacemaker is the one who is, first, in peace with God. In Romans 5:1 we read: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (NKJ). Our justification by faith has granted us the peace from God and peace with Him. By believing in His Son’s death for the forgiveness of our sins we reestablished the relationship that was broken, restoring the peace that God had always planned for us. When we were separated from God because of our transgressions, we couldn’t receive His peace or be at peace with Him for in our state of sin we were already doomed to eternal separation from Him. But it was Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who restored the peace between us and the Father.
     Second, a peacemaker is in peace with himself through Jesus. In Philippians  4:6-7, the apostle Paul says: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (NKJ) The peace in our hearts comes from surrendering totally to God, knowing that we can only do so much, that without Him we can not receive the real peace we need.
Material possessions and physical things only bring temporary stability. Paul exhort us to no t be anxious for anything, by doing so we are able to enjoy God’s peace, the peace that the world can not fathom or understand, it surpasses our natural understanding and natural thinking, we receive the ability to have peace in the middle of the storm. As the famous hymn says: “It is well with my soul”, yes it is well with my soul; we can also sing the same no matter how bad the situation may be.
Third, a peacemaker is one who pursues peace with everyone, working towards peace, making peace part of his or her own life. In Hebrews 12:14 we read: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:” (NKJ).
The pursuit of peace must be a priority in the life of a citizen of God’s kingdom. As we read above, we must run after it, seek it with all people. It’s not an easy task, even the apostle Paul understood that when he wrote in his letter to the Romans chapter 12 and verse 18: “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”, also in Romans 14:19 he says that we should pursue the things which make for peace.
Sometimes the possibility to live in peace with men is quite small, but if we want to be real peacemakers, we must do everything in our power, as much as depends on us, to have peace with everyone.
Blessed are the peacemakers…our fortune and happiness does not rely on having things our way, at the cost of bitterness and resentment, division and unforgiveness, but we as citizens of the kingdom are called to be upholders of Peace, ambassadors of the Prince of Peace, Jesus our Lord.

Nathanael after 5 days!

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

As we get closer to God we realize the need to become cleaner; the more we expose ourselves to the light of God, the more we will see the need for cleansing in our hearts. Throughout the bible we are encouraged to acquire pure hearts, to have a pure style of life. David in Psalms 24:3-4 says: “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully.(NKJ) The requirement to be at the presence of God is to have a pure heart, a truthful heart, empty of deceit and self-righteousness. David asks: Who may stand in His Holy Place? Those with clean hands and pure of heart, meaning not having a lying tongue and trading God’s place for in our lives for something else.
Therefore, purity of heart is connected to our commitment to the truth and to giving the rightful place of God in our lives. Out of a heart that is clean come an uncompromised worship and a life that is ready to serve God with no attachments to the world. The psalmist in Psalms 51 gives us a beautiful example of someone who seeks purity and holiness, he says on verse 10: “Create in me a clean heart, o God!” It was his desire to be pure before God, to have the right attitude, his heart in the right place. We must seek purity, the cleansing of our hearts; wash me o Lord, and I shall be whiter than snow!
The blessing comes in seeing God, getting to know Him, becoming holy as He is holy. In Hebrews 12:14 says: “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which, no one will see the Lord…”
To see God is not limited to the physical sense of seeing Him with our eyes but to see Him for whom He really is, to see Him as He reveals Himself to us, we will see a new side of God! In Proverbs 22:11 says he who loves purity of heart will be the king’s friend! What a privilege for those who have God in the right place in their hearts. Jesus said to his disciples: I no longer call you servants but friends! The disciples had come to the position where the Lord had become priority in their lives. When we pursue purity of heart we are giving the first step in walking beside a Holy God. It is also God’s desire to see us clean and pure, to wash away filth and corruption of our hearts, taking away a heart of stone and putting a heart that is sensitive to His voice, pure and clean ( Ezekiel 36: 25-27). God is not interested only in the outward appearance. Some fall in to the trap of thinking that the purity of our hearts starts from outside. They become shallow and superficial, motivated by what others say, pumping up their ego and pride.
Jesus was really strict with the Pharisees, in Matthew 23:25-28 he says: “"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” How dangerous can be the path of self righteousness and hypocrisy! Their mistake was to become pure according to their own standard, not to God’s standard. In Exodus, the Lord speaks to Moses regarding the preparation of an altar for sacrifice. He says in verse 25 of chapter 20: “And if you make Me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stone; for if you use your tool on it, you have profaned it.” (NKJ) The preparation of an altar should not be devoted to the appearance of the altar; the altar itself was just an instrument to present the sacrifice to the Lord. God would not allow Moses to build an altar that had been altered in the effort to make it look nice or proper to the Lord. God Himself would sanctify them.
It’s not our job to make us holy according to our eyes, to our human perspective; instead, we must allow the Lord do the cleansing and purification of our hearts by His word. The apostle Paul in Romans 12:1 says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. We are a LIVING SACRIFICE, holy before the Lord; we can not do it in our own strength but understanding that God will do it in us. If we touch it we make it profane. The blessing of the purity of heart is getting to see the Holiness of God, His essence and character. The purer our hearts becomes the closer we get to God! Blessed are the pure in heart; they shall see GOD!

What a blessing a child is!

What a blessing a child is! I have been thinking a lot about that lately especially after Nathanael was born. I guess the question that always pops up in my mind is: Am I going to have enough love for these kids? Can I love this one as much as I love the other three? The answer is always YES! They are so unique yet they all have that commonality that binds them as one family.
So, briefly I would like to say: WELCOME NATHANAEL! Daddy loves you very much as your other siblings, YOU ARE A GIFT FROM GOD!