Peace

14 “Give glory to God in ·heaven [the highest place/heaven],
    and on earth let there be peace among the people ·who please God [or he favors; L of his pleasure/approval].” Luke 2:11-14 EXB

Let’s be honest. How many times have you heard these verses? They can become so commonplace. Oh, we can say, how lovely. How nice. Let’s just settle on these verses for a moment.

Today YOUR Savior. Your. Personal. Ownership. Each and every one of us has a part of this Savior. He isn’t meant to be held at arm’s length. He is yours. He is mine. How amazing.

He is Christ the Lord. When my daughter was young, she wondered if Jesus’ last name was Christ and if we needed to address Him as Mr. Christ. Laughing, we explained to her the names of Jesus (God saves) and Christ (the Messiah). The long awaited one, the anointed one…

This ·is how you will know him. I can’t imagine anyone expected this is how the Messiah to come. Enter the world, as a baby? Infant? So the God gave the shepherds a map.

lying in a ·feeding trough. Pause. Breathe. Wrinkle your nose. Think about the nice, clean, lovely crib you slept in your first night. And then, think about a feeding trough for the King of the world. Savior. Blessed Jesus. He lit up that stable with His beautiful presence. That feeding trough was all Mary had to hold her sweet baby.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlfcPbwFtOc&spfreload=10

Then a ·very large group [or great army] of angels from heaven ·joined the first angel, praising God. The shepherds were given a window into the worship of God by the angels. Giving honor to God!

“Give glory to God in ·heaven [the highest place/heaven],
    and on earth let there be peace among the people ·who please God [or he favors; L of his pleasure/approval].” On earth, let there be peace among the people who please God. Peace. Oh, how we long for peace. Each day this month has brought more distressing news. It hasn’t felt peaceful. It hasn’t felt like Christmas. It hasn’t felt magical. 

We watched A Christmas Story last night and yes, it is funny. Yes, it’s a classic. It’s also representative of a time when life seemed simple. Maybe it wasn’t, but as a child, life felt carefree. Now today, each day seems to bring more and more.

My husband flies home from Florida today. He says good bye to his dad who was recently diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. The family has spent the last week together, building memories, helping one another, talking, working. It’s been a good week for my husband that I know he will treasure for the rest of his life. If you would like to join us in praying Joshua’s dad, please visit his page: https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/qk17/harold-butch-bruinius-pancreatic-cancer/updates/105900?utm_source=facebook

The peace cannot be found in our circumstances. The peace can only be found in Jesus. We can only rest in Him. He is the one who can choose to calm the storms or calm the child in the midst of the storms.

And today, as the storms rage around us, remember this, my friend, He is our peace.