ReDiscover Christmas: Peace Reigns and Transcends
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “ReDiscover Christmas”
Week 2 of 4: “Peace in Our Struggles!”
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: ReDiscover PEACE!
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6
A young priest named Joseph Mohr took the long way home one winter night in 1816, less than a year after the ravages of the Napoleonic Wars. As Mohr looked out across the scene, he was struck with a profound sense of peace. Snow blanketed the small village in the Alps. Candlelight glowed from cottage windows. Smoke trailed skyward from cozy hearths within. Overhead, countless stars twinkled with radiance.
When he got home, Mohr wrote the lyrics we now know as “Silent Night.” Two years later, Mohr asked his friend and choir director Franz Gruber to write a melody for guitar. And on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria, the two performed “Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht” at the evening mass. The carol’s startling simplicity captivated listeners. Traveling folk singers began to spread the song, and eventually it crossed continents and languages. In 1914, soldiers during World War I, came out of their trenches and crossed the battle lines to sing “Silent Night” together in French, German, and English in a profound evening of peace.
We know that not all was peaceful on that first Christmas night. There was a frantic search for lodging after a grueling journey forced by a foreign government. There was the pain and exhaustion of labor and childbirth. There was terror at the angels first appearance. But there must also have been moments of profound silence as a new mother cradled her sleeping son and breathed in the newborn scent of his head. The shepherds must have felt it as they settled their flocks again in the fields, filled with wonder and gazing into the sparkling night sky. Sometimes it’s in the darkness and silence that we are most aware that the Prince of Peace rules.
Apply: When is the last time you listened to “Silent Night?” How can you set aside a few moments to step into the peace of this Son who has been given, the Prince of Peace?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:6–7
“How can this be?” Mary asked the angel, according to Luke. It must roughly translate to, “Wait! What?! Conceive…give birth…Son of the Most High? How can I have a baby?! Everybody knows there’s only one way to have a baby!”
We don’t know exactly how or when Mary told Joseph. Apparently it didn’t go well. Joseph was crushed. The betrayal stung beyond words. How could Mary do this? He loved her. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he couldn’t take this pain of his own. He wouldn’t make a public scene, but he would break off the engagement, the equivalent of a divorce in the marriage process and customs of the day.
You know what happened. There were angels and messages directly from God, and both Mary and Joseph chose to believe them and trust. But you also know how people are. If Joseph had a hard time believing Mary’s story, just think about their neighbors and customers and townsfolk. Both Mary and Joseph must have been targeted with their scorn and judgment. It wouldn’t have been an easy nine months. It wouldn’t have been an easy journey to Bethlehem by foot or by donkey. It wouldn’t have been an easy parenting journey.
But Mary and Joseph continued to trust. They continued to stay faithful. The questions and uncertainty must have continued to come too. And they must have continued to remember God’s work they had witnessed. They must have thanked Him for all they had seen. They must have prayed and petitioned God, turning their focus on Him. We know the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guarded their hearts and minds even in their most difficult moments—just as He has promised it will do in ours.
Apply: What are you feeling anxious about? What is your prayer and request from God today?
(Reprinted with permission from Outreach.com “Advent Reading Plan”)
ReDiscover Christmas: The Peace of Wholeness
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “ReDiscover Christmas”
Week 2 of 4: “Peace in Our Struggles!”
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: ReDiscover PEACE!
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
Don’t you love those moments when everything seems right with the world? Maybe it’s when your baby is sleeping in your arms. Maybe it’s holding your spouse close after a long absence. Maybe it’s when your children are home from college, together again. Maybe it’s the whole family laughing together at Christmas. Or maybe it’s after all the in-laws go home again.
In the Jewish culture, peace is much more than the absence of conflict. It’s more like those brief moments of everything being right in your world. The Old Testament word is shalom, used still today as a greeting and a blessing. The concept of shalom is a concept of wholeness. It is an understanding that life is complex with many moving pieces, responsibilities, relationships, and more, but in shalom there is completeness, unity, safety—peace. Through the giving of the Law to Moses and God’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants, there was God’s shalom, restoration, relationship, and spiritual wholeness. And in the coming of the Messiah, the Prince of Shalom would realize this sense of ultimate peace.
So you can be sure the disciples remembered and clung to Jesus’s words in the days after His death and resurrection. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.” This was His shalom that would calm their hearts and overcome their fears, even when the world reeled around them. Jesus knew the hard times and even horrific days that lay ahead for His disciples, but He wanted them to know His Spirit would sustain them with peace. He knew the work of complete restoration He was accomplishing. It’s the same work He is working in us. Jesus is making us whole. His peace can calm our hearts and overcome our fears.
Apply: What is making you afraid? How can you speak words of peace, shalom, today?
(Reprinted with permission from Outreach.com “Advent Reading Plan”)
ReDiscovering Christmas: Unstoppable Peace
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “ReDiscover Christmas”
Week 2 of 4: “Peace in Our Struggles!”
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: ReDiscover PEACE!
The second Sunday of Advent signifies peace and reminds us that Jesus came to bring peace and God’s favor to humanity. We will spend the next seven days during this week of Advent concentrating on and rediscovering God’s peace. In addition to the daily devotions, take time this week to light the second candle in your Advent wreath.
In a world that seems to be filled with anxiety, conflict, and uncertainty more than peace, allow God to be your peace. Whatever circumstances you are facing, let the peace of Christ be your comfort, rest, and refuge.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. —Isaiah 9:6
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” —Luke 2:8-15
UNSTOPPABLE PEACE
Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” —Luke 2:14
It’s kind of a miracle that A Charlie Brown Christmas ever got made, much less aired on national television. We know it as a beloved Christmas tradition, but in 1965, the TV executives were sure it was going to flop. They thought it was too slow. The now iconic jazz music didn’t belong in a cartoon. The voices were too amateurish. Charlie Brown and his pals used too big a vocabulary. And Linus can’t quote the Bible on TV.
Even Charles Schultz’s own creative team tried to talk the illustrator out of that scene, but Schultz would not be dissuaded. Because Coca-Cola had bankrolled the show and TV guides had already listed it, CBS execs had no choice but to reluctantly air it. As you know, the show was a hit. Its triumph was Linus announcing to Charlie Brown “That’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown,” and proclaiming to the world the words of the angels from that first Christmas night:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:10-14).
That message is the same for us today. It’s OK. You don’t have to be afraid. Christ has come. Peace is here. Let’s rest in that enduring promise throughout this Advent season.
Apply: What restores your sense of peace? How can you take a daily pause to refocus and let God’s peace wash over you?
(Reprinted with permission from Outreach.com “Advent Reading Plan”)
ReDiscover Christmas: Hope Overflows
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “ReDiscover Christmas”
Week 1 of 4: “Hope in our Uncertainties!”
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: ReDiscover HOPE!
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. —Romans 15:13
There was someone else there that day when Mary and Joseph brought their infant son to the temple. Another who had been faithfully watching and waiting and believing it was only a matter of time before she saw the fulfillment of God’s longstanding promise. Anna was a prophet, eighty-four years old. She had been married once, long ago, for seven years before her husband died. This would have given her a difficult life in ancient culture, making her dependent on others for a well-being that was probably then meager. None of that seemed to slow Anna down. She spent all her time in the temple, worshiping, fasting, and praying. Her service might have even been part of some official group or capacity.
Like Simeon, Anna was ready when Jesus arrived. Maybe she approached the young family at the same time as Simeon. Maybe later. Whatever the timing, her worshipful response was similar. But Luke tells us even more. Like Simeon, Anna was overjoyed to see this long-expected gift from God. She certainly must have felt fulfilled as well.
But Anna wasn’t done. Her hope overflowed, and she told everyone she could about what she had seen.
Anna’s hope is the kind described by Paul, when he prayed, “… that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Isn’t that just like hope? It’s the kind of hope we see in children on Christmas morning: expectant, unbridled, uncontainable, overflowing. And it’s the same kind from the God of hope that sustains through the ages.
Apply: How is your hope-ometer these days? What hope have you given up on that God is calling to renew in you?
(Reprinted with permission from Outreach.com “Advent Reading Plan”)
ReDiscover Christmas: Hope Sustains Us!
Daily Devotions based on the Sermon Series: “ReDiscover Christmas”
Week 1 of 4: “Hope in our Uncertainties!”
Full Sunday message: CONTEMPORARY or TRADITIONAL
THIS WEEK: ReDiscover HOPE!
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [which] was given to us. —Romans 5:5
He had been waiting. The old man was ready. Luke calls him righteous and devout. Simeon had been faithfully serving God for decades and watching for the fulfillment of His promise to send a Messiah. Each morning, he might have asked, “Is this the day?”
Then came the day when he felt that nudge by God’s Spirit: Go to the temple. Something exciting is about to happen. I have a surprise for you.
When Simeon saw the young family across the temple courts, he knew. This was the moment he had been waiting for his whole life. He probably ran to them, taking the baby from the surprised parents, lifting him skyward, then cradling him in his arms. And Simeon worshiped. He told God he was fulfilled, content; he could now die a happy man. “For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32).
Simeon is the perfect example of the man described in Jeremiah 17:7: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD.” Simeon reminds us that hope does not disappoint. Why? Because, as Paul says, “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit [which] was given to us.” God’s never-ending love for us will always come through in God’s perfect timing. The hope of Christ will never fail us.
Apply: How would your hope compare to Simeon’s? How might you spread a sense of hope by some small expression fueled by God’s love?
(Reprinted with permission from Outreach.com “Advent Reading Plan”)