By Barbara Rainey
First posted on EverThineHome.com
One of the biggest challenges in parenting is sibling rivalry. Without question it was the most difficult part of parenting for us. Period. It is as old as Adam and Eve who saw their first two sons compete so strongly that Cain killed Abel. It’s been with us all ever since. So …
What do squabbling brothers or sisters need?
What do playground disputes need?
Who is often called when adults need help solving problems?
What is the name of the person hired to resolve rivalry issues in businesses or churches or marriages?
A mediator.
From professionals like lawyers and judges whose job is to solve disputes and problems to hard working yet beleaguered moms and dads, all of us need a mediator, a peacemaker. We all need someone to step in and resolve difficult problems.
1 Timothy 2:5 tells us, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” This is what Jesus has done on our behalf—as our Mediator He came to earth to bring us back to His Father, to resolve our differences, to bridge the gap between us. Without His intercession we could not make peace with God whom we have offended.
How have we offended God? Simply and profoundly by our selfishness, our sin, and our pride. Once Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, every person ever born is infected with the disease of self-centeredness. As a result, our natural bent is to want our own way rather than the perfect way of our Father.
Jesus is named the Mediator of a new covenant, or agreement, “that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:15). By accepting Jesus as our Mediator, our debts to God are cancelled, our opposition to God is removed, and our distance to God bridged.
He has opened a new and living way for us to draw near to the throne of God! On the day we die and appear in heaven, Jesus will say to the Father, “Mine. I paid for this one.” The gates will swing wide; we will be welcomed into eternal happiness, because Jesus the Mediator has made us right with God!
Will you thank Him today that He has mediated your right standing with God the ruler of the universe?
This Christmas will you remember to thank Him every day for coming to earth on your behalf?
His mediation is the reason we can celebrate with extravagance!
My Heart, Ever His: Prayers for Women (NEW from Barbara Rainey)
As we search for meaning in our world of shallow online relationships and glamorized selfies, many are returning to traditional and liturgical churches. The repeated words, benedictions, and historic hymns connect us to saints who have gone before, giving us a sense of belonging, richness, and transcendence. Written prayers, once cast off as archaic, are now welcomed as guides to tune our hearts to the heart of God.
In My Heart, Ever His Barbara Rainey shares 40 prayers for women. Readers can read and meditate on one prayer throughout the week or read a prayer a day for 40 days as a way to express the longing of our hearts to our Father who loves us even as he sees who we truly are. Like the psalms of David, these prayers are honest, sometimes raw. Barbara uses these transparent expressions of common female experiences to encourage us to surrender to Christ and help us see God as he is, not as we assume him to be. My Heart, Ever His provides a stepping-stone to help you become more transparent with God and discover his welcoming embrace.
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