ODB: Peace
December 4, 2011
Jesus took our place to give us His peace.
READ: Colossians 1:19-29
You, who once were alienated . . . now He has reconciled. —Colossians 1:21
In the days of Adam and Eve, peace was lost. As soon as they ate the forbidden fruit and realized their nakedness, they started blaming each other (Gen. 3:12-13) and introduced conflict to God’s peaceful planet. Sadly, all of their descendants, including us, have followed their bad example. We blame others for our own bad choices and become angry when no one will accept the guilt. Blaming others for our unhappiness breaks apart families, churches, communities, and nations. We can’t make peace because we’re preoccupied with placing the blame.
Christmas is the season of peace. The Old Testament tells the story of how God set the stage to introduce the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Jesus came to break the cycle of sin and blame by making peace for us with God “through the blood of His cross” (Col. 1:20). Instead of blaming us for all the trouble we cause, He bore the blame for all of us. He is now recruiting followers who, having received His forgiveness, want others to receive it as well.
When we accept forgiveness from God, we lose our desire to withhold it from others. And when we live in peace with God, we are eager to make peace with others. We can both give and receive the gift of peace this Christmas.
— Julie Ackerman Link
Source: Our Daily Bread
Tweet This
Share on Facebook
Digg This
Save to delicious
Stumble it-
RSS Feed
Related
ODB: Surprise!
October 31, 2011 READ: John 1:6-13 Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! —John 1:29 A writer for The Washington Post conducted an experiment to test people’s perception. He asked a famous violinist to perform incognito at a train station in the nation’s capital one January morning. Thousands of [...]
ODJ: so close, yet so far
September 18, 2011 Work for the peace and prosperity of the city (v.7). READ: Jeremiah 29:1-7 Tom Shadyac, the director of the films Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, and the Ace Ventura series, recently purchased an old downtown church building in my hometown. He converted it into a shelter for the homeless. When I asked [...]
ODB: Dealing with Delay
April 15, 2011 READ: Isaiah 26:1-9 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You. —Isaiah 26:3 In April 2010, clouds of ash spewed by a volcano in Iceland closed airports across the UK and Europe for 5 days. Nearly 100,000 flights were canceled and millions of passengers around the world [...]
ODJ: hungry
August 2, 2009 How can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them? (v.14). READ: Romans 10:8-15 Ready for a startling number? 193,000,000. It’s hard to fathom, [...]
Christian Courses
Day Of Discovery
Discover The Word
Discovery Series
Help For My Life
My Utmost For His Highest
Our Daily Bread
Our Daily Journey
RBC Ministries
WarungSateKaMu
Manasociety
雅米