This week, our next Sunday in Advent will be when we light the PEACE candle. PEACE in our hearts is a good and reassuring feeling isn’t it? We can recall that Jesus came to bring us lasting PEACE. Remember the words of Jesus, “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) Have you noticed as I have how many things in our life experience do not last? It is not surprising that we have come to expect the good and settled moments of our lives to be temporary, not to last. When I was getting ready to write this reflection and prayer, I was feeling at PEACE and pleased with some other tasks that had been accomplished. Then the phone rang and I was being told that there were some suspicious charges on my Visa account. The call itself seemed suspicious and when I checked further, I realized that it was a scam. However, the PEACE I had been appreciating was threatened by that phone call. Sometimes when we are feeling at PEACE, it is as if we brace ourselves for the next piece of troubling news or the next crisis that will arise. God does not intend us to live like this propelling back and forth between PEACE and distress. God is prepared, as Jesus expresses, to provide us with a PEACE that does not depend on circumstances. This is what Jesus offers to His followers. It is not a transitory PEACE that can be quickly swept away. It is a strong and dependable PEACE that Jesus can guarantee because it depends on Who He is for us. He is our Saviour and no threat to us carries more power than Jesus’ power to secure our PEACE. This gives us reason to thank God that Jesus came to be our Prince of PEACE! We can know His abiding PEACE when we join for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow November 30th at 1 pm.
Praying for the PEACE of Christ to remain with us always, Pastor Lola
Our God, we thank You for the PEACE that You are willing to provide through Jesus Your Son. Thank You that the PEACE that Jesus gives is so much more than what the world could ever give. Thank You that Christmas is a time for us to be reminded of what we can experience of the PEACE that You offer. We have come to realize that Jesus Himself is the guarantee of our PEACE. You know God all of the ways that our sense of PEACE is threatened . You know what does cause our hearts to be troubled and for fear to take over. Today we invite this lasting PEACE from You to inhabit every part of us. We recognize that it is relatively easy for us to be at PEACE when our lives are predictable and pleasant. It is when we face the unexpected and when we feel like our circumstances are not within our control that we need to access Your miraculous PEACE. We expect to feel at PEACE when life’s road is smooth. It has surprised and even shocked us that You provide PEACE when our serenity is shaken and when nothing seems stable. God surely this is Your PEACE that transcends all understanding. The fact that You can fill our hearts with PEACE when we are affected by the most difficult of times, proves to us that the PEACE that comes from Jesus is entirely different than anything the world attempts to manufacture. God our desire is for authentic PEACE. We do not want any cheap imitation. The only way that our PEACE can be lasting is for us to trust You to give us the PEACE that You have promised. There is a PEACE that settles over us and our world around this Christmas season when we recall the significance of You sending Jesus to be what we and our whole world need. We are grateful Jesus that You have left us with this PEACE that does endure. We wonder how we will live our lives differently if we choose to seek Your promised PEACE at every turn. We anticipate that there are multiple lessons about PEACE for us to continue to learn from You. We are praying our God that the PEACE from You that blesses our lives will be PEACE that we do share. Knowing how Your PEACE has changed our outlook, we ask for this same consolation for anyone whose heart is troubled and afraid. We take hold of this gift of PEACE as we once again want to prepare our hearts for celebrating how Your entry into our world through Jesus Your Son has made PEACE possible. We pray in the Name of Jesus our Prince of Peace, AMEN.