For the fourth and last Sunday of Advent at our church, our theme was peace. Peace is nearly as elusive as Joy. Peace is defined as "freedom from disturbance". I think that is an appropriate definition, but piggy-backing onto last week's post, I think that peace is contentment as well...being content in your circumstances. I also believe that no one can find true peace without God. The Bible mentions that idea several times.
Isaiah 26:3--"You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you."
John 14:27--"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."
Romans 8:6b--"but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace."
How great is that second verse....Jesus gives us His peace. Jesus not only has peace, but He IS Peace. He is the Prince of Peace as we so often call Him this time of year. The rest of the year we tend to forget that He is the Prince of Peace!
Isaiah 9:6--"For to us a child is born, to
us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his
name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace."
Because we as Christians are brothers and sisters of Christ, it is our responsibility to exhibit that peace. We are called to be like Christ and share His love (and peace) with others.
2 Corinthians 13:11--"Finally, brothers,
Hebrews 12:14--"Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness, since no one will see God without it."
Romans 12:18--"If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
As mentioned before, peace is one of those things in life which is sought after all the time by everyone. The Bible tells us in several verses to "seek peace and pursue it", which implies it is hard to find and hard to keep. Seek peace and keep seeking it. The good news is that if we know Jesus as our personal Savior, we can find that peace. We may not always keep it, but in Him, we can find it. Christmas is the time of year we focus on the birth of Jesus, who came from the glory of Heaven to the dregs of Earth to begin His journey to save Mankind.
Colossians 1:19-20--"God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth."
Ephesians 2:15--"He offered His
body on the sacrificial altar to bring an end to the law’s
ordinances and dictations. His
desire was to create in His body one new humanity from the two opposing
groups, thus creating peace."
May you find Jesus this Christmas! Only in Him will we find peace and peace that lasts for eternity!
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