God's Greatest Gift to You

Church Family: Are you enjoying the peace of God today? There is no more thorough test of our profession of Christianity than enjoying peace with God? God, the Creator of the universe, wants you to rejoice, enjoy, exalt in the certainty that through His incarnate Son you can be at peace with Him. God wants you to receive this message with absolute clarity, so much so that on the night of the incarnation of the Son of God, He sent an angel which was soon joined by a great number of His personal angels. The armies of heaven came praising God, breaking the silence of that still dark night over the plains of Bethlehem. Their glorious hymn consisted of only one verse, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!” (Luke 2:12-14) The angels’ mission was a mission of peace, their assignment was to proclaim a divine pardon– peace from heaven, peace with God, peace between God and man. The angels’ hymn is declaring the attribute and character of God – “God is a God of Peace!” Let’s sing their song daily as our reminder that God has made peace with us through His Son, Jesus christ.
 
God’s announcement to us is that by resting upon the work of Jesus Christ and His atoning life and death, we can be at complete rest in our relationship with God. We can know that God has made peace with us as even as we were “dead in our trespasses and sins following the course of this world” (Eph. 2:1). Being at peace with God knows that as we still struggle in our fight against sin on this earth we stand in the presence of God totally blameless, made righteous by faith in Christ. Jesus Christ came to put our mind at rest that God has provided in Christ everything that He requires of us – perfect righteousness and holiness. Our righteousness is complete in Christ.
 
Have you received God’s great heavenly gift? Even as you live in this difficult world, God’s peace is for you. As the world throws at you sufferings, affliction and persecution, you can remain at peace, harmony. The peace of God is constant and free from the pressures of this world that press upon you from every side. Jesus tells us, “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
 
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth PEACE among those with whom He is pleased!”
 
See you Sunday, enjoying the Christmas gift of Peace with God, Steve