Peace On Earth
2003 Advent Devotional Collection
Monday, December 15
Reading for Today: Isaian 26:3
"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You."
Our world today is anything but peaceful, from the pressures of everyday life to the conflicts between peoples and nations. We hear about the lack of peace in our world daily in the news. We pray for peace among the nations in our churches and in our personal prayers, and yet world peace continues to elude us. During this season of Advent, we especially long for peace in our personal lives, our families, our communities and our world. Why is it so hard to achieve?
Jesus saw the world in all its humanness, and even experienced its violence personally, and yet He spoke to us of peace. Peace not as the world gives, but the peace that passes all understanding that comes from God the father. Peace is sometimes defined not as the absence of conflict, but the absence of inner conflict. I believe this is the kind of peace that Jesus had in mind for us. God wanted us to know peace, love, joy, and freedom from sin. He also knew that we could never achieve that on our own, so He gave us a wonderful gift. He gave us His only son to come into our world as a tiny infant, to live here among us to teach us God’s ways, and to be sacrificed upon a cross to pay our sin debt, so that we could become the children of God. Because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we have eternal life. We realize that this life is only the beginning for the wonderful life we have ahead of us. Because we know that God loves us and has forgiven us all our sins, and has prepared a home for us in heaven, we can experience peace even in all the turmoil of our world.
So this Christmas as we unwrap our earthly gifts, let us remember that greatest gift of all, the gift of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and celebrate it with all of our heart, mind and spirit.
Prayer for Today:
Dearest Lord Jesus, come into our hearts, come into our lives, and give
us peace. Amen.
Liz C.
Central Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
(217) 428-4336