“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27 NIV)
Christmas is just days away. It’s supposed to be a time of celebration and joy — a time of peace. In the world we live in, however, the joy of Christmas can be hard to imagine. We live in the midst of church shootings, mass murders, suicide bombers, social unrest, and threats of nuclear war.
How do we deal with a world like this? How do we reconcile our faith in God with such unbelievable displays of evil and unrest going on around us? How can the amazing promise of Christmas exist in the midst of such overwhelming depravity?
These are tough questions. And the answer is not more gun control or police officers manning metal detectors in our schools. Why? Because the real problem lies deep within the human heart. Like it says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Also in Romans 3:10-12, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Clearly, we have a sin problem, not a social problem. And this is exactly why we need Christmas!
Jesus was born and came to this earth. He is not surprised by the depths of wickedness we see today. It was precisely because of the wickedness found in the hearts of men that He came. You see, we need Christmas! We need to be rescued, to be transformed. Only God can do that for us. And He did, by sending His one and only Son — to pay for our sins and transform our human hearts.
I like what Jesus says in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Amen!
Where do we find peace and joy in the midst of the depravity all around us? We still find it in the babe born in Bethlehem so many years ago. The One who has overcome the world! We find it in the God-Man, Jesus. The One who came to a sinful world to bring peace though His sacrifice. Jesus is the only hope of the world; only HE can transform the human heart. Jesus was born 2017 years ago and THAT should bring us peace!
Why not take a minute (right now) and thank God for sending Jesus Christ to be the much needed Savior of our world! We need to remember that this Christmas.
At peace,
Bill
Posted in A Word from the Pastor