Each week during the season of Advent, our blogs will focus on a central theme which is associated with the coming of Christ—His Advent. This week’s theme is PEACE. Christians throughout the world celebrate Advent. Some light candles or sing songs; some give gifts or hang wreaths. All of these are simple joyous ways of extending the celebration of Jesus’s coming beyond a mere 24 hours on December 25. Our prayer is that these devotionals throughout this season of Advent would help you to celebrate His first Coming and anticipate with the peace and joy of His second Coming.
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I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don’t be troubled or afraid
John 14:27
The greatest gift ever given to us is the gift of salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If we truly accept this gift, our hearts and minds should be at peace. The world cannot give us this peace; no matter how hard it tries.
The universal Christmas wish every year is probably peace on earth. Yet what is peace on earth? To many, peace would be no fighting, no hunger, no pain, and no sickness. The world would be giving us everything we need to be at peace. Yet, it can’t. No matter how hard we strive for peace from the world the world cannot give it. Only Jesus can do that.
Jesus’s birth brought the promise of eventual peace on earth. His birth also brought the promise of peace in the heart. When we accept Jesus into our hearts, spiritual peace of the mind and heart is part of the gift of salvation. We should never have to worry about what the world cannot give us. We are granted peace as part of the gift from Jesus.
I will give you a case in point… From around November 1-January 2, it is chaos in our house. We have school, church, work, and our home lives to deal with. We are constantly on the go during these weeks with family outings and get-togethers. Just when we need a weekend at home or a day of the weekend at home, we can’t get it. We can’t get the peace of our home for one single minute during the weekend. The case this year: December 7-Live Nativity, December 8-Calloway Gardens; December 14-Christmas Parade; December 15-Christmas Lunch and Sports Banquet; December 20 (and on) – family dinners, Christmas, and New Year’s. We can’t get a moment’s peace until at least January 2. Because of the busyness of the world, we cannot get peace of mind because our minds our constantly going with everything that is going on. However, when we think of Jesus, we get a little bit of peace because that is what His birth, death, and resurrection has brought us.
In this season of hope, love, joy, and peace, the main point to remember is the peace that Jesus brought to the world and the peace He will bring again when He returns. Just the thought of eternal life in heaven should bring peace to the mind and heart.
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Dear Heavenly Father: Please be with us as we go through this busy time of year. Bring peace to our minds and hearts as we go through the motions of the holiday season. In Jesus name. Amen.
