… and His name shall be called… The Prince of Peace [Isaiah 9:6]

Christmas reminds us of the unending gift we have received in Jesus. The more we unwrap, there is still more to discover and enjoy!

🎁 Jesus gave us a great gift: “I leave the gift of peace with you—My peace. Not the kind of fragile peace given by the world, but My perfect peace. Don’t yield to fear or be troubled in your hearts—instead, be courageous! [Joh 14:27 TPT]

In His broken body, Christ has opened a door (which no one can shut) into the Father’s Throne Room of Grace (not judgment) to know and experience God in Truth & Love. [Rf Is 22:22-25]

… And as we spend time with Him being refreshed & renewed by His waterfalls of Grace, we get to know His love, we learn to trust, depend upon and rely on His love for us. [Rf 1 Jn 4:16]

🎁 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed (sâmak) on You; because he trusts in You. [Isa 26:3]

(sâmak): means to lean on with all one’s weight. It is the word used to describe the action of the priest leaning on the Atoning Sacrifice to confess the sins, and symbolically transfer them to the animal, who would die bearing the guilt & punishment.

Because Jesus carried our sins and guilt to the Cross, we can now (sâmak) with confidence on God’s love, and join Him at His banqueting table of Grace to feast on His Word, & enjoy the “aged wine” of the Holy Spirit of the Ancient of Days. [Rf Is 25:6]

Through the Holy Spirit, we have the constant, abiding Presence of God – IN US – and God’s Presence brings us Rest & Joy & Life.
[Rf Ex 33:14, Ps 16:11, Jn 17:3]

Satan keeps spraying us the whole day with a “water cannon” of resentments, fears, accusations, condemnation… a spray that is meant to subdue and control us… to keep us enslaved to him.

But IN CHRIST, God is with us, and Emmanuel is IN us. We have been brought under God’s waterfall of Grace, so that HE might be the “raincoat” which shields us from being soaked & sickened by satan’s water-cannon of painful thoughts

🤝🏽 Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the presence of Jesus.
🤝🏽 Peace is not based on what is going on around you, but on Who is living in you.
🤝🏽 Christ HIMSELF is our “raincoat”… our Peace…

⛲ And may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. [2Th 3:16]

Lord Jesus, eternity is not enough to discover the heights of Your Glory or plumb the depths of Your love. Thank You for bearing my sin, shame, guilt & punishment so that I may enjoy unending grace and experience Your peace and love. I take refuge in You, and trust You to filter away satan’s “water cannon” of thoughts. Amen.

AD