A CHILD IS BORN

“The Prince of Peace”— R Nelson

BIBLE MEDITATION:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” Luke 2:14

ENCOURAGING WORD:

All the way back to when I was a young child, I always felt a sense of peace during the Christmas season all the way through to Christmas Eve and Christmas day! Even now with the world seemingly falling apart, I still get that feeling of peace this time of year. I believe it is a peace that can only come to those that truly know Jesus Christ on a personal level. I pray this is something I never lose. We read in Isaiah 9:6; which is one of the most well-known verses in the Bible during this time of year, “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.” This verse also speaks of the deity of Jesus Christ when it says, “a Son is given.” We read this verse and very few people see that connection. A “child is born” is reference to the baby Jesus born of woman (Mary). A “Son is given” is reference to the Son of God who was from everlasting. Jesus never had a beginning, and He will have no end, He always was and will always be. Psalm 93:1-2; tells us, The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The Lord is clothed, He has girded Himself with strength. Surely the world is established, so that it cannot be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting.” There is an absolute truth that we will never be able to understand this side of heaven, how can the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit be one? This will not be totally understood by us until we get to heaven, but when we do get to heaven, we will say “I Get It” Until then, it is called faith. That is where we get the Biblical saying, Ephesians 2:8-9; “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” We read this is Hebrews 11; 1; “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” You need to be able to look past the flesh and let the Holy Spirit indwell you! If seeing is believing and all that you trust in is what is visible to naked eye, you will miss out on the truth and glory of Gods only begotten Son, because until you truly believe by faith, you will never see truth as it is written. (Believing is seeing) You will never know Jesus Christ personally until you submit to the Holy Spirit!

One of the many wonderful names of our Lord and Savior is “The Prince of Peace.”

Jesus holds the key to peace, whether it is a personal peace in your heart, a domestic peace in your home, or an eternal peace in heaven. Isaiah prophesied that He would be called “The Prince of Peace.” The angels told the shepherds that His coming was “good tidings of great joy,” for His incarnation meant “peace, toward men of good will.” I know that we read in the Bible where it says, “and on earth peace, goodwill toward men,” But the original scriptures say “peace, toward men of good will.” It is a play on words, but it makes more sense when you read it in its original text. The peace that Jesus Christ brought to our world was a peace that indwells all true believers, not the whole world as it would apply the way it is written in modern day translations. Preachers often say that the message of Christmas is: “Peace on earth and good will toward men.” But this is a mistranslation of what the angel actually said. Properly translated, the angel’s announcement at Christ’s birth was: “Glory to God, and on earth peace, toward men of good will” So, with this little bit of clarification, and regardless of what people want to say, Jesus Christ is “The Prince of Peace.”

In this world that surrounds us there is certainly a need for peace. A peace that was promised to us by God. But look around. What has happened to the promised peace? It was purposefully postponed when God sent the “Prince of Peace” (Jesus Christ) to the earth two thousand years ago, and His own rejected Him and then crucified Him! There will be no peace on earth until one day in the near future when Jesus Christ will return. The only true hope for peace for the church, the nation and the individuals is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 23:37-39; when He knew He was going to be crucified on a cross of wood, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see me no more till you (Israel) say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” He said this to the Jewish people, which means Jesus Christ will not return until the Jewish people acknowledge Him as their Messiah, repent and petition Him to come back. This will happen at the end of the seven-year tribulation that will come upon the whole earth in judgement. Just when it looks like the Jews will be exterminated, their eyes will be opened and they will call out to Jesus just as it says in the verse above, “you shall see me no more till you (Israel) say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’” I could teach a whole session on this topic, but I will let it go for you to do your own study and produce your own understanding. It is obvious when you read it in the context in which it was written.

The Bible clearly says that there will be no “peace on earth” until the “Prince of Peace” comes back to earth and destroys all the enemies of God, which he will do. It also tells us that until then, things will get worse and worse as the majority of mankind turns their hearts away from God and His truth 2 Timothy 3:13; “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” We are seeing this on a grand scale in today’s world which is clear evidence that the return of Jesus Christ could be much sooner than we think. In John 16:33; Jesus tells us, “These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Jesus is telling us that there will be turbulent times in a Christian’s life, but we should not fear, because He has overcome the world and will one day take back what He purchased two thousand years ago on the cross. What a glorious day that will be to all who have trusted in the Word of God and have submitted their lives to Jesus Christ.

ACTION POINT:
This Christmas, do you feel peace with God or is there still a war going on with your soul? The only way that you can feel the peace that Jesus Christ offered us is to surrender to Him in absolute, total, unconditional surrender. He has fought the battle and the battle is won. He has made straight the way to salvation. Have you laid down your sword of rebellion at His feet? He has made peace with the blood of His cross, but that peace does you no good until you bow down to Him in total surrender. There is peace with God. Once you have that peace with God, then you can have the peace of God. “Written To the glory of God, Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!

I HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOU ALL HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

From our Chaplin-R Fritz

The Prince of Peace

Jesus is the Prince of Peace who was sent to be the Savior to take care of our sins. Knowing that and choosing him should be giving you peace. We must first understand what God’s peace means. Peace is knowing that it is going to be ok, even when the situation seems hopeless. It does not matter what is going on around you, because inward you are calm. This peace is never by circumstances but affects and even overrules them. That comes from the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. John 14:26-27 says, and this is Jesus speaking “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” This is not the world’s peace; this is only possible through the Holy Ghost! This is focusing on Jesus when in trouble and tribulation. The world has nothing like this! They lean only on their experiences. The Holy Ghost, the gift that keeps giving. Galatians 5:18,22-23 says “But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, “peace,” longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”   Jesus is our hope. You have to personally know him to get that peace and hope. Peace is a gift from God. Romans 15:13 says “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”  The Holy Ghost is why we have joy, peace, and hope. We should be thankful every day we wake up that we have another day on earth. We dwell on our short comings or our past and if we have the Holy Ghost we can work through these failures and still have peace. This Christmas timeframe is a time when a lot of people are expecting gifts and spreading good cheer. For the world, it is another time to drown their sorrows with friends and family, a time to forget about life for a time until the credit card bills show up. There looking for something, but they do not know what it is. It is that peace or love they have been looking for all their life, it is Jesus Christ. This is the gift that keeps giving. We just need to show them what their missing. We have more depression and issues at this time of year, more than any other time of the year. There is an expectation from people at this time of year. The secret that a lot of people do not understand is why go through the hassle and strife. Receiving a gift does not necessarily mean love. We are looking for love in the wrong ways and places. We are trying to run our life on our feelings and emotions, they are manipulated by what is going on in our life, which is manipulated by Satin and his spirits. What most people do not understand is that even though the Holy Spirit lives in us, we still have control over our body, mind, heart. We have to surrender our whole self to the Holy Spirit to be like Jesus. I cannot speak about anybody else but myself in that I finally surrendered my feelings and emotions. I let the Holy Spirit use them how he wants to use them. I found a few times I chose to operate in my feelings when things get personal. This is our flesh interceding, and us forgetting who we are and who is in control. As a Chaplain I have learned that taking somebodies issues personally gets me nowhere. We as Born-Again Christians lose the battle. Sometimes God lets us do that, so we learn a lesson. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and everything that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” These verses changed my life, I stopped “fear” immediately. I know when things get personal, we automatically go to fight mode and Satin helps us to get there without focusing on Jesus. I have been there. We have the ability, walking in the Spirit to bring every thought to obey Jesus Christ.

I want to encourage everybody to show the love of Jesus Christ everyday of your life and not necessarily better this time of year. I know people hurt more now but there is always somebody that needs a word or needs us to show Jesus’s love. We must first overcome our issues, before we can help somebody else. I have showed you with the Holy Spirit in us we can overcome anything. I pray that everybody’s needs are met, and we have peace beyond their understanding! Philippians 4:7 says “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. God Bless!