Blessed Are the Peacemakers - Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional December-16-2023

Joyce Meyer (December-16-2023) Daily Devotional: Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Pursuing peace means making an effort. 

We cannot maintain peace simply by our own fleshly efforts; we need God's help, and we need grace, which is His power assisting us and enabling us to do what needs to be done. 

The efforts we make must be in Christ. Too often we just try to do what is right without asking for God's help, and that type of fleshly effort never produces good fruit. 

The Bible calls this a 

"work of the flesh." 

It is man's effort trying to do God's job. 

What I am saying is, be sure you lean on God and ask for His help. 

When you succeed, give Him the credit, the honor, and the glory because success is impossible without Him.

Jesus said, Apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing (John 15:5). 

It takes most of us a long time to believe this Scripture enough to stop trying to do things on our own, without leaning on God. 

Also Read Previous Devotional:The Test of Character  — Joyce Meyer Daily Devotional  Daily Devotional December-15-2023

We try and fail, try and fail; it happens over and over until we finally wear ourselves out and realize that God Himself is our strength, our success, and our victory. 

He doesn't just give us strength—He is our strength. He does not just give us the victory—He is our victory. 

Yes, we make efforts to keep peace, but we dare not make efforts without depending on God's power to flow through us; failure is certain if we do. 

The Lord blesses peacemakers, those who work for and make peace. Peacemakers are committed to peace—they crave peace, pursue peace, and go after it. 

They don't just hope or wish for it, they don't just pray for it. They aggressively pursue it in the power of God. 

Make a commitment to pursue peace from this day forward. 

Prayer Starter: Lord Jesus, I trust you to make me a peacemaker—one who works for and pursues peace with You, myself, and others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Ministries of Joyce Meyer

The early Joyce Meyers Ministries began in 1976 - she was a Bible teacher. First, Joyce began preaching the Bible in a local cafeteria, later in a local Lutheran church. In the eighties she became a pastor's assistant. After several years, the church became very popular in many ways thanks to the Joyce Meyers service. At the same time, Joyce began to speak on the radio - local radio station allocated 15 minutes for her service.

The breast cancer experienced by Joyce Meyer became the subject of the book Look Great, Feel Great: 12 Keys to Enjoying a Healthy Life Now. In which she set out her experience of victory over the disease.

In the mid-eighties, Joyce Meyer left her former ministry and founded her own church, which in the beginning was called "Life in the Word". Her ministry was broadcasted on six radio stations. In the 93rd, she held her service on television in a studio in Chicago for the first time. Over time, the television Joyce Meyers Ministries became very popular and reached several million viewers. According to the Time magazine, Joyce Meyer was one of the most influential Evangelicals in the United States.

At the moment, Joyce Meyers Ministries covers more than 30 countries. The central office employs more than 600 people, in the regional - more than 300 people.

Service the Hand of Hope

The ministry of the Hand of Hope is an important part of the world Joyce Meyer Ministries – its goal is to validate the truth of God's gospel with real affairs. The geography of the ministry is the whole world, the objects of service are the suffering and poor.

Joyce Meyers personal experience

Life and personal experience have become a kind of visiting card of the Joyce Meyers Ministry. For more than fifty years, she has been bringing God's gospel to the people, reinforcing the sermons with her life experience.

Criticism of the Joyce Meyers Ministries

Although Joyce Meyers Ministries is very successful and versatile, it is worth paying attention to the critical moments of the ministry:

It is often criticized for living an excessive lifestyle: large amount of real estate, major savings, a huge fleet of vehicles, own aircraft - according to numerous critics it contradicts the basic idea of ​​Christian doctrine;

There is also frequent criticism of a one-sided ministry of success and prosperity.

Local magazines conducted their own independent investigation, which revealed a large number of private real estate owned by Joyce Meyer. After the locus of service and development investigation, US Congress Committee on Finance interested in Joyce Meyers, which, as a result of the investigation, found no violation of the law.

Summarizing:

The ministry of Joyce Meyer has a great influence in the modern Christian world, thanks to her ministry, millions of people have heard the Gospel, but one shouldn’t forget about criticism that can be fully justified.

Whatever it was, listening to sermons, weigh everything on the scales of the Bible and draw conclusions!