Devotions

December 15, 2023

Psalm 122:7-9

⁷Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.

⁸For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.

⁹Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.

Friends, I greet you in the Advent season as we await the coming of our Lord, the Christ

Child, the Prince of Peace.

Even as we wait, we prepare our homes and surroundings for the special event, remembering

the birth of Christ. But it is the sad case that the Christmas season does not promote a sense

of peace. Quite the contrary.

There is the hustle and bustle and long traffic lines. People sometimes need to pull

themselves away from the confusion the season tends to generate. The noisy mood of

Christmas, especially in cities, bears no resemblance to the originally remembered Christmas

scene.

Sadly too, in a world long accustomed to wars and rumours of wars, the debilitating and

bloody wars taking place in 2023 are part of the tragic reality of life. The Israeli/Hamas war

is taking place even against the backdrop of the Christmas season.

For many, war is a consistent part of their daily lives.

Yet the word of God reminds us that to have peace within our walls is a desirable thing.

Can you truly imagine a life which is full of peace? A life through which peace flows like

living streams of water? Can you imagine communities, regions, countries, the world

experiencing peace as a major life force.

I often dream of a world like that. God’s desire for us is that we would live in peace and

enjoy the fruit of our labour. These and other joyful, peaceful benefits could be ours if we

would serve him and trust him to take us into the ways of peace.

This scripture has great resonance with my spirit because I am convinced that as Christians,

we have a duty of love and care to pray and work for peace.

We should pray for everyone to experience peace, particularly for the ruler of the world. If

the rulers were to more clearly understand peace and develop a desire to spread peace in the

world then the likelihood of national and world peace would be enhanced.

As we work together across our different member churches we have a part to play in the

creation and maintenance of peace. Let us encourage our people to renew their own

commitment to peace and to take necessary steps to keep peace alive. Let us not be derailed

and discouraged by the local and global news stories.

I urge you to claim the words of II Thessalonians 3:16 as your own and to share them widely.

Now the Lord of peace himself gives you peace always by all means. The Lord be with

you all.

AMEN

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