Peace to you this Christmas!

"I will hear what God the Lord will speak,
For He will speak peace to His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Surely His salvation is near to those who fear (reverence) Him,
That glory may dwell in our land.

"Mercy and truth have met together;
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
And righteousness shall look down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord will give what is good;
And our land will yield its increase.
Righteousness will go before Him,
And shall make His footsteps our pathway."
(Psalm 85:8-13, NKJ)

I read this the other day and it reminded me so much of what happened at Christmas time. The two pairs of words, in verse 10, "mercy and truth" and "righteousness and peace", grabbed my interest. This explains exactly what God did in sending us His Son, Jesus.

MERCY & TRUTH:
The truth was, that we were separated from God, alienated with no hope. Sin had done this, and we deserved death. Without God, we would perish!

But God, in His mercy, sent His Son to save us from our desperate position, which is what the name of Jesus means. As the angel had said to Joseph, "You are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins." He is a merciful God, the God of second chances!!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:16-17, NIV)

RIGHTEOUSNESS & PEACE:
Righteousness means being in right relationship with God. This is not a matter how good we may appear, and we do lots of good things. None of it will measure up in God's eyes. None of us can make ourselves right with God by doing good works. As the Bible says, "There is no one righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10) And again it says, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) We just don't measure up!!.. we're never good enough!

But if we believe in Jesus, we are made right with God. Jesus stands in our place before God the Father... He becomes our righteousness. God looks on Jesus and not on us.

As a result of this right relationship, we then have peace with God. The relationship is that of Father and child, where we are loved children in His presence. And this is what the angels announced to the shepherds. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14, NIV)

And Jesus said before He died, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give you as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27, NIV)

I pray that you are encouraged and that you may know, more and more, the Prince of Peace!

A Ray of Hope in the Darkest Hour!

As I was putting this card together, my thoughts for this Christmas were for those who may not have such a good Christmas... for whom Christmas may be a dark times.

For some, Christmas brings back sad or bad memories! Some may be facing tragedy this Christmas... and others may be suffering loss... loss of a loved one, loss of a job, loss of a marriage, loss of children to drugs and other things! And many in the world live amongst strife and unrest, with no sign of peace.

So, if that is you, my prayers are with you this Christmas. May, even in your darkest hour, Jesus shine His light in your heart and give you a new hope!!

Remember why He came to earth! Without Him, we are separated from God with no hope. But He came to live and suffer and die, and then rise again, to restore us to the Father, and give us that hope! There is a light for our darkness!!

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great Light; those who dwelt in the land of intense darkness and the shadow of death, upon them has the Light shined." (Isaiah 9:2, Amp)

"In Him (Jesus) was Life, and the Life was the Light of men. And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it.]" (John 1:4-5, Amp)

"And again, Isaiah says:
'There shall be a root of Jesse;
And He who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles,
In Him the Gentiles shall hope.'
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:12-13, NKJ)

That is my prayer for you this Christmas!!