“Blessed are the peacemakers”. (Matthew 5:9)

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Be a peacemaker!

Buuuuut… “Lord, is it I?”

There is probably a more “spiritually mature” way that I could work on becoming a peacemaker, too.

In my home, yes, but also every sphere that I interact with!

Here are some ideas I’ve thought of:

– Fulfilling your church calling without adding any drama⁣

– Serving your spouse in a way they would appreciate ⁣

– Not posting things on social media with the sole purpose of riling people up⁣

– Reaching out to serve someone in a way that will add peace to their life

– Not passing gossip or dramatic stories on when they aren’t your stories to share

– Choosing not to complain to or guilt trip someone

– Making time a priority for your own quiet “peaceful” time to reset yourself or study the gospel ⁣

– Learning new parenting strategies and applying them to help you in interactions with kids⁣

– Following guidelines at work or at school that help others to also be peaceful and successful

– Allowing others to make decisions you disagree with⁣

I did hear once that “being a peacemaker is different than just agreeing with everyone”.

And I like that.

We can still have our opinions, needs, boundaries, and standards while also being a source of peace.

Or rather… while pointing people to the real source of peace.

The Prince of Peace.

The more Jesus that I experience in my life, the greater peace I feel.

And the greater peace that I feel on the inside, the more likely I am to be able to spread that with the people around me.

Everyone’s looking for peace.

Peace on earth.

And if we can’t make everyone see that there is peace in Christ, we can at least find our own peace.

And then become a peacemaker to share a bit of that calm joy with others.

Blessed are the peacemakers.

How are you a peacemaker?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Blessed are the peacemakers  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I can already tell you that one of my kids would choose to wait for the two marshmallows.

And the other would gobble up the first one before I even finished the question. 

Let’s consider this famous marshmallow experiment in the spiritual sense.

Has it ever seemed like people who are not members of God’s covenant church have a lot of good things going on in their lives?

Of course, there are amazing people who are not members of the covenant who are still building up the kingdom of God in good, righteous, amazing ways.

But even the people who deliberately choose evil or purposefully break covenants can often seem super happy, successful, rich, and indulgent.

When that happens, I think a part of us goes, “huh.” ⁣

But Christ has told us that this is what happens!

People do “find happiness” in things other than the gospel.

Not lasting peaceful joy, but some immediate happiness.

And in Matthew 5:12, Christ teaches:

“Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”

Are we “spiritually mature” enough to not need the greatest of our rewards RIGHT NOW?

Can we wait and endure?

Can we be okay with being persecuted and poor if that is part of our path?

Can we find joy and peace along our journey, no matter what we may encounter?

If we can endure some time right now looking at the marshmallow that others are enjoying, then later we can receive unspeakable rewards in heaven!

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post The marshmallow experiment  first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

I immediately had a name come to mind.

The teacher then invited us to try to sincerely pray for that person.

I was shocked to discover that I couldn’t do it!

I was so angry that I couldn’t even say a prayer on their behalf.

I knew I had a problem.

I worked for a long time to have my heart softened toward this individual.

A lot of intentional effort, prayers, and pondering.

And then finally…

I could do it.

I could say a sincere and honest prayer on their behalf.

And it was at this point that I realized that even though this person hadn’t changed, I had changed for the better.

When Christ preached His Sermon on the Mount, He first talked about the lower law.

“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.” (Matthew 5:43)

Doesn’t the world teach that lower commandment all the time?

Love everyone, but hate the people who aren’t nice to you.

But Christ teaches us the higher law. This is the law He hopes the more spiritually mature individuals will follow.

“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)

It’s a higher law that is easier said than lived in this messy mortal life filled with very imperfect people.

But we aren’t asked to make the judgment call for others.

We are just asked to love.

Because God knows that when we love our enemies, it doesn’t change them; it changes us.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Pray for your enemies first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Whole. Complete. Finished.

But I heard one alternate translation about 10 years ago sitting in a religion class at BYU that I’ve never forgotten.

What if we replaced “perfection” with “spiritual maturity”?

As the mom of a 5 year old, 3 year old, and almost 1 year old, I am very very VERY familiar with what it is like dealing with emotionally IMMATURE (but very cute) little human beings all the time.

Crying about wanting a popsicle when I’ve just offered them ice cream.

Getting frustrated that I insist they wash their hands after going to the bathroom.

Wanting to do everything by themselves, even if they absolutely are not able to.

Not understanding that temporary situations or requests won’t last forever.

They are immature adorable little kids who I have full faith with grow in maturity as they develop patience, broadened perspectives, empathy, and reasoning abilities.

So when Jesus invites us to “Be ye therefore perfect”, (Matthew 5:48)…

What would that look like if we thought about it in the sense of:

Be ye therefore spiritually mature.

When I examine my life, I find many areas of spiritual immaturity.

Impatience for when I want prayers answered on my timeline, or when I want other people to change immediately.

Pride that makes me think I don’t need constant humility and dependence on the Lord.

Annoyance that other people are doing better than I am, and boastfulness that urges me to judge others for everything they are doing wrong.

And that’s what I see as I read the Sermon on the Mount!

Jesus is teaching principle after principle aimed at raising our levels of spiritual maturity.

No one expects us to reach perfection in this life.

But it seems reasonable to me to keep moving toward that mark of spiritual maturity.

To grow and develop so much that I start to realize how silly it was that I had all those rules about keeping the Sabbath, or how embarrassing it was that I judged that woman by what she was wearing, or how blind I was in thinking that God was nowhere to be found.

Be ye therefore spiritually mature.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Spiritual maturity first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.