I am thinking of the very common response of either a child or an adult to a seemingly impossible challenge: “Oh I just can’t do it.” Since we are considering the possibility of PEACE this week and will be lighting the Advent Candle of PEACE this coming Sunday, what does our approach to Christmas teach us about PEACE? Well, I am reminded again that our human attempts at PEACE are futile. When we see all the circumstances and forces that oppose PEACE in our everyday lives, we quickly come to the conclusion, “Oh I just can’t do it.” This is accurate. On our own we are not capable of securing PEACE. Yet, our God is able to do for us what we cannot do ourselves. God’s Word clearly affirms, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1) As much as we long for PEACE, we absolutely cannot through our own efforts manufacture PEACE. God knew that it was necessary to send Jesus into our world to bring us PEACE and God was willing to do this for us. PEACE will always be just out of our reach if we are trying to access it through our own efforts. As we prepare to celebrate Christmas and pray for PEACE in our hearts and PEACE in our world, we can look to Jesus to supply this PEACE. I invite each of us to come to our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER today December 1st at 1 pm openly admitting that we cannot have PEACE with God without Jesus and then to choose to receive in a fresh way the PEACE that our Lord Jesus is willing to give us.
Praying that the PEACE of God which transcends all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, Pastor Lola
Here we are God recognizing again how much we need You. We love the thought of our lives being flooded with Your PEACE. We know from any attempts that we have made to have PEACE without relying on You that we cannot get hold of PEACE on our own. Thank You God for seeing all along that it was essential for You to send Jesus into our world to bring us PEACE. Thank You that You were willing to send Your own Son to express love for us in a language that we could understand. This miracle creates for us the potential for PEACE with You. We do want to be immersed in Your PEACE. WE admit that we are tired of all our anxious thoughts and our striving for PEACE apart from You. Having tasted Your PEACE, it is a flavour that we want to keep on tasting. We need Your PEACE beyond this season of Christmas. As we have been listening to the news, we are concerned with reports of rising numbers of cases of Covid. We are concerned to hear that cases of the new variant have been confirmed here in Canada. We do not want to deny the truth of how serious are the circumstances around us. In this reality we are now living, we choose to welcome Your PEACE beyond all human understanding. We want Your PEACE to settle our misgivings and fears. We pray for PEACE in our relationship with You God. Please forgive our sins that create separation between us and You. Thank You that we can be justified, not through our own efforts, but because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. Our God we want You to guide us persistently on Your path of PEACE. Where and when we step off of Your path of PEACE, please firmly lead us back to You. We not only pray for PEACE in our relationships with You our PEACE giving God, we pray for PEACE in our relationships with each other. We are asking that our experience of PEACE with You will compel us to restore relationships with others that need to be mended. Thank You that Christmas can be a time of being motivated to step into the fullness of PEACE that You have designed for us. We do not want to hesitate or delay. You have designed PEACE for us as individuals that can become PEACE ON EARTH. We know that all of this was initiated when Jesus entered our weary world. You stepped into time and history God as the perfect representation of PEACE in the Person of Your Son Jesus. We are listening for You God and we are listening for the reassuring truth of Your PEACE available to anyone who will receive this gift. Praise You Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the good news of Christmas that lifts our hearts and souls to you. Please pour out Your PEACE on us as we receive PEACE in every area of our lives where Your PEACE is needed. We are asking that Your PEACE will settle on us and those all around us and bless us this CHRISTMAS time and into the New Year before us. In the Name of Jesus, our PRINCE OF PEACE. AMEN.