Today is Sunday the Fifteenth day of Advent. Our word for today is "peace."Note the picture. The bird is at peace in the midst of turbulence.
Luke 2:13 Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel, praising God and saying:
14 “Give glory to God in heaven,
and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God.”(NCV)
and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God.”(NCV)
Christ was born into this world to bring peace. With all that has happened in the last few days, we are crying out for peace. But we who hold to a "Christian World View" know that real peace, lasting peace, can never come without the Prince of Peace, who is Jesus.
13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death. 14 Christ himself is our peace...
It is not a peace that the world can offer. What the world gives, the world can take away.
The peace the world gives has conditions attached to it. The world's peace can be broken by people, nations, and circumstances. The world's peace is more like temporary happiness. It often depends on the condition of things around us.
If things happen to happen like you want them to happen then your happy. If things do not happen to happen like you want them to happen you are not happy.
The peace that Christ brings is not just the cessation of hostilities. It is that, but much more. Note John's words in John 14:27 "...Let not your heart be trouble, neither let it be afraid."
The peace of Christ means being untroubled, or not filled with agitation and confusion. It also means not being afraid. The Scripture declares in 2 Tim 1:7 God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and self-control.(NCV)
This Christ given peace is an inner contentment. It means being at rest in our mind and heart. In Israel the common greeting today is "Shalom." It is often translated as peace. But it is much more than that. It means being whole, or being complete. It is related to the word for salvation. The "Peace Offering" in the Old Testament was sometimes called the salvation offering.
Are you at peace with God during this Christmas Season? Have you accepted The Lord Jesus Christ who paid the price so we could have peace with God?
Do you enjoy the peace of God? To put it another way, are you allowing the Spirit of Christ to rule in you heart and life?
Are you experiencing peace with yourself and peace with your family and others around you? All it requires on your part for you to know and experience this peace is unconditional surrender to the Savior, Jesus the Christ.
CAN YOU SAY SHALOM AND MEAN IT?
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