Deep
breath—Christmas is here. Peace is in
the air. The angels sang: Peace on Earth Good Will to Men. They should know. Angels are messengers of God’s peace. They bring the message without delay. The question is: Do we receive the peace the
angels describe?
Peace
in your soul evolves from a heart that has received the message of
Christmas—that God gave His only Son to live, die, and rise again. This reality is what leads to peace. Peace is the destination we all desire in our
souls. Advent paves a way to peace.
Peace
begins when we hope in the promised Savior Whom the prophets foretold. A Savior taking on flesh to save the world
can have no other motivation than pure love.
The love of heaven to earth is unlike any other love. It is the love our hearts were created to
enjoy. God proved His love for us
through sending Jesus to us. He sent Him
to become one of us. There is no greater
love than taking on the sin of the entire world so that we can be saved through
His righteousness. Hope and Love
naturally lead to joy. The Gospel is joy
given to the world. It is the
too-good-to-be-true Good News! Who can
contain the joy of a soul who comes to salvation through faith?
Advent brings
us to peace this fourth week. We light
the Angel Candle because the angels were the bearers of the good news: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests (Luke 2:14.) Their song is
short and sweet yet penetrates the reality of a fallen world. The recipients of this undeserved favor will
have hearts that glorify God and feel peace in the difficult circumstances of
life. The angel’s message contained news
of great favor and ultimate peace. They
were clear that this favor and peace should naturally lead to hearts that
glorify God. If you know the peace the
angels speak about, your heart will be full of praise and thanksgiving to God.
People
who know me personally know that my circumstances are full of challenges and
heartbreaking realities. If I did not
have the peace of God, I think I would be sitting in the back of my closet in
the fetal position paralyzed by the harsh realities of my life. Perhaps I’m being a little dramatic, but my
life experiences could overwhelm me, if it were not that I know what the peace
of God can do. When I recognize that the
hard things I am facing are not punishment from God rather opportunities to
grow in faith, my soul opens to deeper spiritual experiences. The peace I have cannot be found anywhere on
earth. It comes directly from heaven. If I could bottle up the peace I have and
sell it on the open market, I would become the richest person in the
world. The peace on earth will literally
come in the future when Jesus comes the second time and remakes the heavens and
the earth. In the meantime, peace on
earth can only be experienced inside the hearts of individuals who put their
hope, love and joy in the work of the baby who came at Christmas, then lived,
died, was buried and rose again and now lives in heaven interceding for us.
The
pathway to Christmas is through hope, love, joy and peace. Glorify the Father by lighting the white
Christ Candle in celebration of God’s utter goodness to you.
Copyright © 2104.
Deborah R Newman teatimeforyoursoul.com
All Rights Reserved.
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