“Peace is so much more than the absence of conflict. Maybe you can lay your
head on your pillow tonight and thank God that you experienced no conflict, but
that is not the same thing as experiencing peace. If a husband and wife get
tired of shouting at each other and both slip into an icy indifference, that is
not peace.

In Hebrew, the word for “peace” is shalom,
a well wishing that says it all: may you be healthy, whole and complete. May you
know where you fit in the universe, and may you find tranquility there.
Augustine said that peace is “the tranquility of order.” When you know where you
fit into God’s world-that you are higher than the animals, but less than
God-that is the sense of order that brings tranquility. ” Mel Lawrenz

I cannot even imagine how Christmas would be different if Jesus had not been foretold as the Prince of Peace, and if the angels had not confirmed that from on high with great a loud, sure declaration of ~

PEACE ON EARTH!

I am not unaware that at Christmas the battle among individuals and families to find that Peace and live and walk in it rages, maybe even more than at any other time.   And isn’t that just like the enemy of our souls?  But I meditate on the booming loud and heart-stopping words of the the very  Angel-of-the-Lord and the warring hosts sent by the heavenly Father .  Settled in heaven and declared to man, I also am in awe and tremble at the power of the message (Luke 2):

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14“ Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Mary Jean has shared this translation interpretation for peace: nothing missing, nothing broken.

So, Father, for the one on my heart who so desperately needs to know Your peace today, to finally be healthy, whole and complete after years of the ravages of the enemy against his heart, I pray peace-shalom and all it means. And for the places in my soul that long to be complete and ordered aright, Your peace is my heart’s cry. Prince of Peace, I welcome You here.

Every time a bell rings

Everytime a bell rings,  you hear Zuzu say at the end of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” an angel gets its’ wings.  That is sweet, but o-so-much-less powerful than from the words of the old Christmas carol by Bing Crosby, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” and I tell you I love that KOSI 101 plays this and it is declared with authority over the radio waves annually (both by Bing and now the newer version  by Casting Crowns:

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

“God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;

The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,

With peace on earth, good will to men.”

Every time a bell rings during these blessed Christmas days, I shall recall His promise.  He is not unaware of the enemy’s battle against our peace.  He sees and He is at work.  What He sent the angels and army-hosts of heaven to declare the night Jesus was born is ever more true and is not dissipated by the age or times or depths of our despair.  His Word will accomplish what it was sent forth to do.  There is for us a remaining promise of peace. on. earth. and good will from Father to us all.

 

NOTE ABOUT DAVE: It is hard to blog about peace when he is  making so much noise.  Hahahaha.  Getting used to having him around in the mornings before office time.

May you be healthy, whole and complete. May you
know where you fit in the universe, and may you find tranquility there.