Revelation 6-10: Do you remember the old song Let There Be Peace on Earth? As a student we sang this in choir. The words say:
Let there be peace on earth,
and let it begin with me;
let there be peace on earth,
the peace that was meant to be.
With God our Father,
brothers all are we.
Let us walk with each other
in perfect harmony.
Peace is associated with God, His presence, and how we are to live as a result of it.
As I read today’s scripture this jumped out at me.
Revelation 6: 4And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.
In the last days the seals will be broken and the second one will withdraw peace from the earth. If peace comes with the presence of God then the lack of His presence will result in violence beyond measure. People will kill one another without even caring.
As I look around at our world these days the violence happening has got to be that we have told God He is not welcome. The absence of our Creator and Sustainer is the anarchy and violence that takes over.
Christmas is a reminder that Peace truly came to earth the day that Immanuel, God with us took up residence in our world. I am so grateful!!! We can know peace because Christ came. For the child of God we can sing the lyric of Let there Be Peace on Earth with great gusto and know that peace begins with me as I walk with my creator in perfect harmony. That then results in peace with others around me. So sing my friend, sing and live out the peace that comes from the Christ of Christmas.

Ephesians 1-4: I love gifts! I especially love a gift that is picked especially for me by someone who knows me and knows my needs. When I open that gift and see it I am thrilled because it means they took the time to think about what I would need then go and get something that would meet that need. As I read Ephesians this morning God reminded me of a gift that was picked out to meet every need I had.
Ephesians 1:13In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14who is the down payment of our inheritance until God redeems his possession to the praise of his glory.
Our gift is the Holy Spirit that we were sealed with until the day God sends Jesus to come and get us! That gift is the one who abides in us.
Ephesians 3:14For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
The Holy Spirit resides in us to strengthen us, guide us, comfort us, speak God’s word to us and so much more. The Holy Spirit knows you and me intimately and is the gift that speaks every word we say straight to the Father, no waiting in line! Listen to the rest of Ephesians 3 that tells us the other thing the Spirit does.
Ephesians 3:17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Oh that we would know this great love and understand that by the power of the Spirit we are filled with all of the fullness of God. Glory in the highest!!!! What a wonderful gift! And it is waiting right here for us right now! Don’t allow the things of this world to prevent you from seeing the truth of this gift picked and given just for you. If you have any questions please feel free to message me. I love you my friend and can’t wait to see the fulfillment of our inheritance in Christ Jesus.

Acts 24-26: What’s your story? When I was a very young child I did not understand words like sanctification, redemption, or ordinances. I did know that I did wrong and it was my choice. I did understand that God loved me and sent His Son to pay for the wrong things I did. I knew I needed forgiveness and the way to get it was to ask Him to forgive me. I knew that if I asked Him to help me do right He promised He would give me a helper that would live within me to help me choose to do the right things. So as a 5 year old I prayed and asked Jesus to forgive me and come into my heart. Though I did not understand all of the church terminology I believe God saved me that day. As I have grown in my knowledge of Jesus I understand more about those big church words and that I am set apart, bought with the price of Jesus’ blood and I participate in the Lord’s supper and was baptized. It was as a child though that my faith journey began.
In our scripture today Paul was telling His story. Paul knew that was his calling from God to share his story with those he would stand before. Paul’s goal was to make Jesus known and to help others know how to confess their sin and receive forgiveness. He shared with Kings and governors. He shared with those he was chained to. He shared with anyone who would listen. Did all come to know Jesus because of his story? No, but they knew that God had offered them the invitation.
My friend, that invitation still stands. You can be young or not so young. You can be of great notoriety or be in the lowliest of states. It matters not how much or how little you possess. The important part is what you do with the invitation to confess your sin and follow Christ alone. He stands waiting.
If you are a follower of Christ, He is waiting for you to do as Paul did, share your story. How did you come to understand your need of Christ? What did you do to receive that forgiveness? What difference has it made in your life? That’s your story! You my friend are the only one who can share Your Story. Tell someone today! You never know who might hear it and respond by beginning their own salvation story!

Romans 5-8: As I was praying through today’s scripture I just kept thinking “What Great Love!” Think about it, so much of what we read today was about the Law and how everyone of us breaks it. We are reminded that the payment for our not being able to keep the law was the punishment of death. We deserve death by any just judge because we are the breakers of the law God gave. The law was a written document that helped men see what God expected and though we have known these laws even from childhood it has been impossible for us to keep all of them.
BUT! Because of God’s great love for us He sent His Son to pay our debt. When Jesus died on the cross our debt for sin was forever marked Paid In Full! Jesus paid the debt we owed and now we can choose to accept that gift and be set free! Free from the fear of eternal death. Free from being enslaved to sin. Free from condemnation and free to know this great love that according to Romans 8 nothing can separate us from.
Romans 8:38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. We can also know that because of this great love and our choice to accept His forgiveness we can know that all things will work together for our good.
Romans 8:28And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Oh my friend receive this gift of love! It is the best gift you will ever accept. The gift has been given, it is up to you to receive it