Peace

Peace on Earth December 24, 2013 "He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me" (Psalm 55:18a). The words on the Christmas card and the noise coming from our school room stood in stark contrast to one another. "Peace on Earth," the card read. "My, wouldn't that be nice?" I thought. I guess every homeschooling parent longs for a peaceful home, but hearing the crescendo in my children's voices, I knew that peace wasn't happening today at our house. Still, Christmas was coming, and I could hope, right? As I thought more about peace on Earth, I wondered what Christ meant in John 14:27 when He said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Then, the truth of this verse dawned on me. True peace is not the absence of arguments, violence, or wars. True peace is experiencing God's love instead of His wrath because we receive the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. That means fighting children, threats of war, and even interruptions to homeschooling days need not change to experience the presence of Christ's peace in my life. Would you like to find peace this Christmas? Don't look for the absence of problems. Look instead to the peacemaker whose birth made the angels of heaven proclaim, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14). Let the power of the Holy Spirit fill you this Christmas and give you the peace of Christ. Shalom! "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Published by Alpha Omega Publications. Merry CHRISTmas! Amanda Matthew 6:33