Vol. 6, No. 51 – December 19, 2021
Advent 2021, Peace
Luke 2:15-16
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. –Luke 2:15-16.
What is your response when “The Lord said it“? The shepherds said, “Let us go see this thing!” There was no hesitation; it was an immediate response, no waiting. I wonder what they did with their sheep. To adopt a current saying in our culture they were all in. They had immediate belief in what the angels said to them. The did not hold back. Too many hold back when their hearts are challenged by God; when they read God’s truth in His Word. I wonder why that is.
Families, schools, businesses, institutions, and governments withhold even acknowledging the greatest Christmas gift the world has ever received. Happy Holidays instead of Have a Joyous Christmas. Hope you have a Happy Season instead of a Blessed Christmas Celebration. It is the season run amuck with political correctness and intolerance. People with the wrong focus struggle having any Peace during the season. They do not even read the Scriptures that surround God’s Gift. Instead of listening to Linus recite the Christmas story, Elf has taken Charlie Brown’s Christmas place.
But that is not the end of it. Talk to one another about the things that have “replaced” Christmas in our conversations and our culture.
What has interfered with the Peace that God has brought to earth-bound humanity?
The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. –Luke 2:20. They certainly returned to their jobs; but also just as certain their lives were never the same. And these shepherds, whom the Jews said were worthless had God’s Peace because God had come among them. The most likely practiced the Matthew 28 before they heard about it. And then there are us—having to be challenged over and over to practice Matthew 28:18-20.
Life Application
Peace for all who will come to believe in the gift God sent; His Son the only qualified Savior. The least likely souls found the awesome hope, love, joy, and peace. There are so many struggling for the same gifts of God. When is the last time you offered that God has already brought what they need most. Our of our gratitude for what God has given, we need to be a people that just cannot hold back the announcements of His gifts.
Or in reading this, do you have questions about your own standing with Almighty God. He is still a God of grace and mercy. Now is the time to inquire of Him. If you would like help to be introduced to Christ, drop a note to my email address so that I might help. The Peace that God offers is free to all who will come to Christ.
When the hope, love, joy, and peace of God shows up it changes everything. And best of all, there is still Hope to come!
