What do you think of when you hear the word, “peace?” Do you think of countries without war? Or so you think of a time you had no worries like in the song, “I’ve got no deeds to do, no promises to keep - all is groovy.” We hear “peace on earth, goodwill to man,” but what does that look like? In our John 14 passage Jesus tells the disciples he is going away, but he is leaving them in peace, “Do not be troubled - I go to prepare a place for you.” This is a passage read at many funerals assuring loved ones of heaven and being in the presence of the Lord at death. I like to say that my mother went to sleep one night and woke up in heaven. Jesus in this passage says, “Do not be afraid. I give you the peace the world can’t give. The world advertises that you’ll be at peace if you have a built up 401K or retirement plan. But we know there are billionaires who don’t experience peace of mind. They fear losing their money and work for more and more wealth. People in countries free of war c...

  Isaiah 12:3 talks about the joy of drawing water from the wells of salvation. What are we saved from which gives us such joy? Jesus has saved us from sin, giving us a relationship with God. Philippians 4: 4-8 tells us what we have due to our salvation. What is it we can rejoice in the Lord always about? One: the Lord is near to us. Two: we can take our worries and requests to God in prayer. From this will come three: the peace of God which will guard our hearts and minds from worry and fear. By drawing into the well of salvation we can receive God’s strength. Strength is from a Greek word used for security, power, and boldness. I would add confidence - the confidence that the Lord is near you, hearing your prayers, and granting you peace.   Another gift of salvation is the power of the Holy Spirit. We can draw on the Spirit’s power to be gentle to others or as the New American Standard version puts it - having a forbearing spirit. The Greek word for gentle here speaks o...

  The theme for Advent this week is Love. I have been struck in my life by the power of love, especially the power of a mother’s love. I saw it in my grandmother who with only a grade school education, who never was able to drive a car, but was a mere bus girl in a restaurant, yet managed to support her children. One of the greatest examples of love in the Bible that we celebrate this Christmas season is that of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In her Magnificat she talks about how her soul magnifies the Lord. Magnify here means to enlarge, like that of a magnifying glass. Mary in her acceptance of God’s call magnifies what true love of God looks like. She definitely has the fruit of the spirit of humility when she talks about having God’s favor bestowed on her “lowly spirit.” She also resembles the qualities of love spoken of in I Corinthians 13. Contrasted to love in this passage are the proud and arrogant, who Mary says in her Magnificat will be scattered. The powerful will be brought...

  Psalms 33 and 130 show Jewish people putting their hope in the Lord - that God will one day redeem Israel by sending a savior. Well it’s been a long wait, but hope is beginning to be fulfilled. The realization of this is found in Luke 1 where Zechariah gives praise saying the Lord has remembered God’s holy covenant - what God promised their ancestors. He then proclaims that his son John - later to be known as John the Baptist - will prepare the way for the mighty savior to come. He tells how he will be called the prophet of the most high and will give knowledge of salvation to his people. Psalms 130 tells about waiting on the Lord more than those who watch for morning. Zechariah says here that the dawn will break upon us. The morning we’ve been waiting for - the time of the Messiah’s coming - is soon. If you read the beginning of this chapter in Luke, Zechariah is not so prophetic. It says he is blameless, yet when the angel Gabriel tells him his elderly barren wife will conceive...