Intr- <\/strong>Complete the sentence\u201d: \u201cI will live in peace when______________<\/p>\n What would come to mind at this point? A time in the future, things we need or wish to accomplish? A time when everything will be falling in place as opposed to the present, where we feel like we are not in peace?<\/p>\n This is a trap we frequently fall into. We think that peace will come at last, peace will settle in in the day month or year when\u2026<\/p>\n And then we will the blanks with all sorts of man-made hopes of how a life in peace looks like.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Christians, we know how to fill the blank space. But first, we need to remove one word and change another.<\/p>\n \u201cI (will) live in peace (when) because ______________<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Advent reminds us how that blank is filled out and filled up. We have the peace that is not absence of war, that is not in something outside of us, nor in calm and tranquility in nature. This peace has a name: Jesus<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Our peace comes from these three places We don\u2019t wish for it anymore because we have already received it through faith<\/strong>.<\/p>\n And how did that happen in our life? Three key Bible verses help us to understand:<\/p>\n -\u201cJustified (Saved) by faith we have peace with God\u201d – Romans 5:1 \u2013 We have peace with no one less than God himself. Our sins are counted no more. We have the Peace that comes from the forgiveness of our sins.<\/p>\n -\u201cPeace be with you\u201d (John 20) \u2013 Jesus bestows peace on us. He doesn\u2019t say \u201cI hope you can feel the peace I am bringing to you\u201d. Sometimes we don\u2019t \u201cfeel\u201d at peace, but we are still at peace, because it is granted by Him to our hearts.<\/p>\n -\u201cThe peace of God which exceeds human understanding will guard your hearts and minds\u201d<\/em>\u2013 Phil 4 \u00a0\u00a0– Daily life peace.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019ve mentioned one mistake we make when thinking about peace, the idea that we will live in peace when something we desire happens. We already have it, Jesus. Now the second mistake is the way we might think that peaceful life is led. We cultivate a wrong idea of what living in peace means<\/em>. Sometimes we place our hope for peace in:<\/p>\n -having financial security However, it is impossible to live like that. Do you remember any time in your life that looked like this? Me neither. If we think we do, it\u2019s probably because we have edited and revised our memories. \u201cBack in the day everything was good, peaceful. Etc.\u2026\u201d We edited the worst parts to retain the good ones. We project that into the future and since it will never happen, we think that we just can\u2019t live in peace anymore.<\/p>\n Here is what it really means to live a life where Christs\u2019 peace settles in our hearts and minds:<\/p>\n A life where we: <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n all given by His hand.<\/em><\/p>\n Don\u2019t fall for other promises, they won\u2019t work. \u00a0The peace that exceeds your understanding, this is the one that can guard your mind and your heart. This is what life with Christ in peace is about. If we get distracted, we will think that life in peace is possible only when everything is falling in place, we have that TV commercial daily life and we have a happily ever after perspective, etc.<\/p>\n You have that peace through faith, you are in Christ. Then comes the challenging part: how do you keep this peace?<\/p>\n
\nThe manger,
\nThe cross
\nand The empty tomb.<\/p>\n
\n-Perfect health
\n-Relationships that last happily ever after for years
\n-Not worrying about anything and never getting anxious
\n-Not engaging in difficult situations because they rob us of our peace.<\/p>\n\n