Advent: Day 10:
“Christmas does not Bring Peace to All”
Scripture: “This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and
lying in a manger. And suddenly there
appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising GOD and
saying, ‘Glory to GOD in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He
is pleased” (Luke 2:12-14).
Not everything about JESUS is to bring peace. JESUS Himself said, “Do not think that I came
to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).
JESUS gives peace to those who believe (this is the fruit of the
Spirit mentioned by Paul in Galatians
5:22-23). But His authentic Gospel
causes much conflict within this lost, dark, and fallen world in which we
live. Many are unwilling to follow His
radical teaching. Many want to
compromise His Gospel.
But without faith in this authentic Gospel of JESUS CHRIST it is
impossible to please GOD. So Christmas
does not bring peace to everyone. JESUS
said, “This is the judgment that light has come into the world and men loved
darkness rather than the light because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19).
It is only to His followers that JESUS says, “Peace I leave with
you. My peace I give to you; not as the
world gives do I give to you. Let not
your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
The Christmas message is that the only way you and I can
experience real peace in this world is when we come to believe JESUS is “the
Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John
14:6) and we chose to follow Him.
This is why Christmas is so special and why we are so excited to
celebrate it in a big way. Through JESUS
we have peace regardless of our circumstances.
Without JESUS we strive to find peace through whatever means we
can find. And so we party as the world
in our attempts to be filled. But we are
only filling ourselves with things that satisfy for the moment but leave us
starving, destitute, and dying.
JESUS is the Bread of Life and He is Our Living Water. Embrace Him as the miracle baby of Bethlehem
. . . embrace Him as the Good Shepherd . . . embrace Him as the Sacrificial
Lamb of GOD . . . and you will have embraced Peace on earth.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Richard
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