You are currently browsing the monthly archive for December 2023.
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
When you think of peace, what picture comes to mind? A quiet lake with trees reflecting like glass? A sunrise or sunset? The gentle sound of water lapping against the shore?
One of my favorite paintings symbolizing peace is the picture of a huge waterfall. The water was plunging over a cliff and in the background bolts of lightning lit up the sky. Yet, tucked into the cliff in a quiet safe place, was a bird securely snuggled into it’s nest. Peace in the midst of the storm.
Thomas Watson once wrote, “If God be our God, He will give us peace in trouble. When there is a storm without, He will make peace within. The world can create trouble in peace, but God can create peace in trouble.”
I love the last part of that statement. The world creates trouble in the time of peace, but God, and only God, can create peace in the midst of trouble.
Jesus warns us that trouble would be a natural part of our world, yet he promised that he had already overcome the world. Those problems facing you tomorrow? Already handled. The answer is on the way!
Isaiah describes Messiah as our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and our Prince of Peace. Prince of Peace is an interesting term. The name “Prince of Peace” in Hebrew is ‘Shar Shalom’, which means “the one who removes all peace-disturbing factors and secures the peace.” The prince would often lead the charge in battle. He had all the tools and resources he’d need to defeat the enemy. He had the blessing of the King.
Jesus not only protects the peace, as a mighty warrior he defeats everything that would take away our peace. He destroys the peace destroyers that threaten our lives. He can heal the broken relationship. He comforts us when we need comforting. He allows strength when we are weak, courage when we are afraid, love when we feel abandoned, valued when we are rejected.
This week as we focus on peace, let us remember that anything that would rob us of peace has been defeated on the cross!
Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”Lamentations 3:21-24
Read through the book of Lamentations and you’ll see why the book gets its title. Lamentations, to lament, to live in despair and hopelessness.
Traditionally, the prophet Jeremiah is given credit for this book of poetry. It was written in a time of tremendous struggle for God’s people. They were under attack physically, politically and spiritually. It seemed as though God had either abandoned them completely or was unleashing his wrath on his people.
Yet, in the middle of this book there is an oasis so to speak. A refreshing reminder each of us can hold onto in perilous times. When the darkness is thick enough to cut with a knife; when it gets harder and harder to believe; when God seems angry, there is hope.
True hope, lasting hope has as its foundation, love. When the glitter and glitz of Christmas fades, when the turmoil in your heart seems too much to bear, remember these words of the prophet. No matter what struggle you find yourself in, God’s love for you is new every morning. Read that again. Every. Single. Morning.
You may have the dust from yesterday’s worries still on your shoes, but not God. Today is a new day. Today is a new day of love. Today is a day when you can remember there is hope. And if things are hard today? Tomorrow is another new day of hope because his love endures forever.
O Israel, hope in the Lord; for with the Lord there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. Psalms 130:7
It’s Christmas! For us as parents and grandparents it’s a ‘most wonderful time of the year.’ We look forward to seeing our children. We look forward to visits and hugs from the grandchildren. We anticipate the joy of the opening of brightly colored, wrapped packages.
But for many of us there is dark side to the picture, especially in our current economic situation. While we want to give our loved ones everything their hearts desire, there are limits to our ability to give.
I remember a couple of years growing up when my dad, a pastor at the time, would go to the Christmas tree stand on Christmas Eve to get our tree because they were either free or at a greatly reduced cost. He did the best he could with the limitations he had as an underpaid pastor with a family of five boys to feed and get gifts for.
Limits are hard. That’s why we dream of winning the lottery. Wouldn’t it be nice to be unlimited in what we could buy or do?
Human hope is limited. Not Godly hope. Human hope is dependent on the ability of others or ourselves to meet our dreams. Not Godly hope.
When we put our hope on the creator/sustainer of the universe the sky is the limit. It just keeps going. Need peace. He’s got more than you can imagine. Need forgiveness? You’ll never be able to use it up. Need some love? His love is higher that the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest sea.
This Christmas season, put your hope in the one who has unlimited resources available to you through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope. Psalms 119:114
Do you have trouble throwing away those ‘love letters’ from long ago? Perhaps a card, or a note scribbled on paper from someone you love. Perhaps you even take them out from time to time when you are feeling hopeless because they remind you that even though life around you seems to be falling apart, you have this one gentle reminder that life will be okay, that the things that are troubling you are a blip on the screen of life.
Some look at the Bible as a confusing book that’s hard to understand. I look at it as a love letter. A friend of mine told me of a time her husband was deployed overseas. She was home with the kids. This was before internet and instantaneous, global communication.
When a letter arrived from her husband, the world stopped. She would sit and read it carefully. It was almost as if he were there. It was a reminder of hope. It was a reminder that this struggle was temporary. It was a reminder that she was making it and soon he would rejoin them.
The Psalmist paints that kind of picture of God’s word. Oh, the Bible is full of deep theological truths to be sure, but the overriding theme is a love story of a God who earnestly wants you to enjoy his company. Immanuel, God with us.
Some day, he’ll return in physical presence. Until then we have a love letter of hope. May His Word fill you with hope this Advent season and beyond.
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18
When we enter mindset of hopelessness, it’s hard to see things clearly. It can be like a dark cloud surrounds us. We tend to see the problems, not possibilities. We see obstacles, not opportunities.
Hopelessness can be physically, emotionally and spiritually exhausting. When we get tired it’s easy t to forget who we are or more importantly, whose we are. Feelings of hopelessness are not only be exhausting, they can be debilitating. We not only forget whose we are, we forget the resources available to us.
In one of Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians (and us) he prays that we, in the midst of our darkness, will see the light of hope we have through Jesus. Hope is future looking, not tied to the past. Hope is revealing. It shows that as bad as things may be now, we have a bright future.
Hope is vertical looking, not horizontal. It looks above your situation. Hope is eternal and thus, not affected by current circumstances. The God of hope has called you to a life of hope based on His riches in glory.
Don’t allow the darkness of hopelessness keep you from seeing the light of Jesus this Christmas.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 