All I Want For Christmas is Peace

We are in a series here at Cross Connection Church called "All I Want for Christmas." Today, we're talking about peace, which is what we truly need from God: peace with God and the peace of God.

Open with us to the Scriptures, Romans chapter five. This discussion reminds me of a video that debuted as a commercial four years ago at Christmas, commemorating the hundredth anniversary of what has been called the Christmas Truce or the Christmas Peace in 1914. During the early stages of the First World War, on the front lines, many troops from the United States, France, and Germany experienced an impromptu peace for one day. They came together and celebrated, just like that video shows. Unfortunately, after that initial moment, such occurrences were not allowed by higher command, and peace was rare in the following years.

There is something remarkable about that video and what it portrays. For lack of a better expression, it is also heartwarming. I think it resonates with us because every heart deeply desires peace. Conflict is stressful; it is tiring and unhealthy. Nobody has time for that. We wish that conflict did not exist. We would love to have a conflict-free existence in life.

Year after year, we see some conflict or war happening somewhere. There are truces, ceasefires, and peace agreements, yet those things often do not last. We all deeply desire peace, and the thing is, we do not only desire the cessation of hostility or violence. What we truly want is a life that is whole.

The concept of Shalom is described as thriving or flourishing. When you begin to look into this word, which is used often in the Scriptures, especially in the Old Testament, you find that it is translated in English as "peace." The Old Testament, written in Hebrew, uses the word Shalom. This word is still used today as a greeting in Israel; people greet each other with "Shalom." In the Arabic-speaking world, a different word is used, but it is ultimately derived from the same root, and they say "Salaam."

Throughout the pages of Scripture, the word Shalom has developed a rich meaning. It is not just peace in the sense of the cessation of hostility or the end of violence. One modern theologian, Cornelius Plantinga, wrote a book a few years ago discussing Shalom. In his book, he states that in the Bible, Shalom means universal flourishing. It signifies wholeness and delight—a rich state of affairs in which natural needs are satisfied and natural gifts are fruitfully employed. It is a state of affairs that inspires joyful wonder as its Creator and Savior opens the doors and welcomes the creatures in whom He delights. In other words, Shalom is the way things ought to be.

One intriguing aspect is that even when you interact with people who have no real faith commitment—those who may not look into the pages of Scripture or identify themselves as atheists, but rather as apathetic theists—they still recognize that things could be better. They look around the world and wish it were improved; they see that things are not as they should be. If I were to make a list of all the things I could want, I am sure that the way Cornelius Plantinga describes Shalom would have to be on that list: a life filled with universal flourishing, wholeness, and wellness—not just the end of violence.

As we approach the Christmas season, this being the first Sunday in December, we have started a new series, as we often do during this time. We are calling this series "All I..."

As we began this series last week, we talked about the concept of grace, which is a very important need. Ultimately, I think we will realize that we not only need this but also desire it. I began last week by discussing one of the basic paradigms or concepts within modern psychological theory, which is based on the writings of a behavioral psychologist from the 1940s named Abraham Maslow. He wrote an article at that time about human motivation, and it has become the basis for a lot of psychological research over the last 75 years.

Maslow established something called Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, which is often portrayed as a pyramid with five layers. These layers go from the most basic needs at the bottom and build upon those. He described in his research paper that for human beings to experience or realize their fullest potential, they must come to the discovery of these needs being met in their lives.

Interestingly, as Abraham Maslow's life and research progressed from 1943, when he first published that paper, he began to discover that there are greater needs above those five hierarchies. These needs relate to transcendence and spirituality. He recognized that there is something more to humanity than just the material.

We live in a materialist culture, where there is an increasing divide between two different groups: those who believe there is more to humanity than just the material and those who identify as materialists. If you read the writings of individuals like Sam Harris, who is an atheist, or Richard Dawkins, you will find that they often focus solely on the material makeup of humanity. However, there is a general acceptance among most people that there is more to us than that, and this is what many psychologists, including Abraham Maslow, began to discover.

What is really interesting is that from the time Maslow wrote that in 1943 until now, over the last 75 years, the last two or probably three generations of people in the United States have had most of their basic needs met. We live in a culture where, for the most part, most of those layers of the pyramid are taken care of. While I accept that there are certain groups or individuals within our population who do not have all of these needs met, for the most part, we are in a different situation.

Americans are blessed and privileged to have most of their needs met. This has meant that, over the last twenty-five to thirty years, we have moved from a hierarchy of needs to a hierarchy of wants. We begin to misidentify our wants as needs, describing them as felt needs. As a result, we start to think that things we want are things we need.

A need is something essential for survival or thriving; without it, it becomes hard to survive or thrive. Wants, on the other hand, are the icing on the cake. However, we fall into the trap of thinking, "I really need that new car" or "I really need that new purse." Not necessarily for myself, but I have to have this. Or perhaps my kids, like some of yours, might say, "I need this video game because the kid down the street has it."

We find ourselves living in a culture where we confuse felt needs with actual needs. You would think that, given our circumstances, we would be a satisfied and happy people. After all, we have our needs met and many of our wants taken care of. Shouldn't we be happy? Shouldn't we be satisfied? Yet, if you thought that we should be that way, you would be wrong.

In fact, just about a week and a half ago, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released their most recent findings on the state of humanity's thriving in the United States. One of their findings, and this is the third consecutive year they have found this, is that life expectancy in the United States has decreased for the first time in a hundred years of research.

Life expectancy has decreased for the last three consecutive years: 2016, 2017, and 2018. While it hasn't decreased by years, it has decreased by weeks or months, but it is still a decrease. The CDC looks at all the death notifications and death certificates in the United States, analyzing the average age at death. They have found that life expectancy has decreased by a matter of months over the last three years.

As they start to investigate the reasons behind this decrease, two primary factors emerge. One is opioid addiction, which is leading to premature death. The other is suicide, which has been on the rise since 2011, especially among young women.

Up 70% in the last four years, we see this increase, and they go, "Well, we don't know exactly how to deal with it." ABC News, just on Thursday of this last week, November 29th, wrote in one of their articles that CDC officials did not speculate on what's behind the decline in life expectancy. However, Dr. William Dietz, a disease prevention expert at George Washington University, sees a sense of hopelessness. He stated, "I really do believe that people are increasingly hopeless, and that leads to drug use and potentially to suicide." He emphasized that it's difficult to realize your fullest potential if you're hopeless. Even though we have many of our needs and wants provided for, there are still people who are hopeless.

Next week, we will talk about hope, so I hope you will be here. Last week, we discussed the importance of grace, and today we will focus on the topic that the video spoke of: peace. There is a desire in every human being for this peace described in the Scriptures, which is more than just the cessation of hostility or violence; it also encompasses wholeness and human well-being. This desire exists in every single one of us.

One of the things you begin to discover when you open the pages of Scripture is that one of the great outcomes of receiving grace, which we talked about last week, is the peace that is associated with it. Point number one on your outline, which you can find in your bulletin, is that peace from God is given in abundance with His grace. This is seen very clearly in the pages of the New Testament. The Bible is broken up into two sections: the first two-thirds is the Old Testament, and the last third is the New Testament. In the New Testament, the concept of grace and peace going together is found constantly. The Apostles, the early followers of Jesus, and the writers of Scripture spoke of these things quite a bit, especially the Apostle Paul.

The Apostle Paul is the one who wrote about a third of the New Testament, and in the 13 letters that he writes, he begins all of them the same way. Romans chapter 1 is his first letter in the New Testament.

We were in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In his next letter, 1 Corinthians 1:3 says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." In the next letter, 2 Corinthians 1:2 states, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Galatians 1:3 also says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Do you see some repetition? The same is seen in Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Every single one of these letters begins with "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." It is not just the Apostle Paul; the Apostle John does it in 2 John and also in the book of Revelation, chapter 1. The Apostle Peter does it in his letters as well.

The most frequent blessing associated with grace from God is peace from God. When a person receives grace from God for salvation, they are also given peace from God. As I said, it's not just the cessation of hostility; it also encompasses the world and life as it is supposed to be. Jesus came to give life, as he said in John 10:10, "life and that more abundantly." I don't know anyone who does not desire life more abundantly, and I don't think that you can experience life more abundantly without grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Human flourishing, wellness, and wholeness are ultimately found in this.

Point number two on your outline: the gift of peace from God satisfies one of our greatest needs. This grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ is a gift that satisfies one of our greatest needs. I believe it satisfies many needs that we ultimately have, even if we haven't fully acknowledged or realized what those needs are. One of our greatest needs is satisfied because it deals with one of our greatest problems—actually, the greatest problem that all of humanity has. I don't think that you will find...

Anybody that does not agree we live in a world that is broken is missing a fundamental truth. This world is broken because, as we learn from Genesis chapter 3, the first book of the Bible, the entrance of sin into this world brought about death, sickness, war, and all these other issues. The narrative of Scripture reveals that the brokenness of this world is the result of what took place at the very beginning in Genesis chapter 3.

The grace from God and the peace associated with grace address this problem. Paul, in one of his letters in the New Testament, speaks about this in Ephesians chapter 2. In verse 14, he writes that Jesus Himself is our peace. He has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His body the enmity—the conflict that exists in this world. This conflict is not only between people but also between man and God. We have both a vertical relationship problem and a horizontal relationship problem.

We see the horizontal problem constantly, but it exists because of the vertical relationship problem as well. Jesus abolished in His flesh the enmity, which is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace. He might reconcile, which means to bring two warring parties together. The two individuals, the two young men in that video, were bringing reconciliation; they brought two warring parties together, even if it was for a very brief time. There was joy in the midst of that.

In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 16, Paul continues that Jesus might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the conflict and the enmity. This theme is also present in Paul's letter to the Romans. I would love for you to turn there. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring one to you. Romans is nearing the end of the Bible in the New Testament, in the last third of the Bible, right after the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and then the book of Acts. In Romans chapter 5, Paul is writing, and we will look at the first eleven verses.

In Romans chapter 5, verse 1, it states, "Therefore, having been justified by faith." We need to pause right there because that word "justified" introduces a theological concept that may not be familiar to everyone. Justified simply means justice satisfied. Take those two words, "justice" and "satisfied," and put them together; you have "justified."

What Jesus did on the cross satisfies the just requirements of God's righteousness. Paul discusses this in Ephesians chapter 2, where he explains that in His body, in the flesh, on the cross, Jesus met the high bar that God has set for us. There is no possible way that any of us could meet it, but Jesus is described in the Scriptures as perfect, and He meets it entirely. Therefore, justice is satisfied in Jesus on the cross.

Because of this, having been justified by faith, we have—look at this word—peace with God. Grace and peace from God make it possible for us to have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In verse 2, it continues, "Through whom, through Jesus, we also have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God." Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. Now, hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.

When we were without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Every time I read those words, I find myself immediately thinking about a picture that we can all imagine or see from the superhero stories that are so prevalent in our culture today. There is something about superhero stories that seem to grip the market; that's why they keep making these films, generating millions of dollars.

Why? Because there is something about that story that draws people in. It follows the hero's journey arc, which is a narrative structure that all these stories share. If you notice, whether you go see a Marvel movie or a DC movie, it’s the same story every time, just with different good-looking people in different costumes.

The verse states that when we were without strength, at just the right time, Jesus died for the ungodly. This brings to mind the superhero narrative, as every one of these stories features a hero who goes through some sort of conflict. Often, the hero doubts himself; for example, Peter Parker frequently struggles with self-doubt.

In these stories, the hero may retreat to a frozen tundra to hide out, leaving the world in chaos. Despite having extraordinary abilities, such as seeing through walls or burning things with his eyes, he still grapples with doubt. Ultimately, he shows up at just the right moment, just when it seems he is needed most. The bat-signal shines, and the question arises: where is he?

We love this scenario because it resonates with a deep longing for a redeemer. It connects culturally to the biblical narrative, which tells us that when we were still without strength, in due time, Christ died for the ungodly.

The amazing thing is that He died for the ungodly. For scarcely, or very unlikely, would one die for a righteous man; yet perhaps for a good man, some would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more than that, having now been justified by His blood—His death on the cross—we shall be saved, redeemed from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God, warring parties brought together through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. This gift of peace from God satisfies the great need that every single one of us has.

Point number three on your outline is that as our peace offering from God, Jesus makes peace with God possible. This is why I mentioned...

This just really briefly, last week in the Gospels, the one who comes to announce the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, is a guy named John the Baptist. In John's Gospel, chapter one, it's recorded how he announces Him twice. We read, "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Now, to all of those that were there, predominantly Jewish at the time, most of those people that heard John the Baptist say that came from a Jewish background. They could instantly connect that back with their founding documents, if you will, what's called the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, especially the book called Leviticus.

A number of you, in just a few weeks as we start the new year, are going to get started on what many of you do every year, and I commend you for it. You say, "I'm going to read through the Bible in a year," and that's such a wonderful, commendable thing. Then you get to Leviticus, right? It's like the speed bump of the Bible, and people have a hard time pushing through. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus—it's only third.

In that book, we get to all these offerings and sacrifices, and 70 times in that short book—it's actually not that long—it is mentioned the peace offering and the sin offering. What you discover when you read the pages of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, is that this is what is called a hyperlinked book; everything is connected. There are over thirty thousand references to other books within the 66 books of the Bible. Thirty thousand times it references across two other passages.

In Leviticus, all those sin offerings and peace offerings are all pointing to Jesus. He's the sin offering; He's the peace offering, for He Himself is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). As our peace offering from God, Jesus makes peace with God possible. Why? Because He died for our sins. We see that in Galatians 1:3: "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from the present evil age according to the will of God the Father."

1 John 2:2 states, "He Himself is our propitiation," that is, the redemptive payment for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. In 1 Corinthians 15:3, Paul is sharing what the gospel is, the good news. He says, "Before I delivered to you first of all that which I also received."

Christ Jesus died for our sins according to the Scriptures, just as the Old Testament, the law, and the prophets looked forward to the peace offering, the sin offering. He died for our sins because it pleased the righteous requirement of a holy God. Colossians chapter 1, verse 19 states, "For it pleased the Father that in Jesus all the fullness should dwell, and that by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of the Cross."

That's what we need: grace and peace from God as a gift in Jesus Christ, so that we can have peace with God. Romans 5, verse 1 says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God." Only when one discovers grace from God and peace from God through the work that Jesus did on the cross can they come into the experience of peace with God. Only then can a person experience a third description of peace in the New Testament: the peace of God.

When we talk about Shalom, life as it should be, wholeness, and wellness, we look forward to that which every human heart desires. We are seeking the peace of God. Paul, in the New Testament book of Colossians, says in verse 15 of chapter 3, "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body, and be thankful."

Paul's exhortation to Christians two thousand years ago, which I believe is the exhortation to us today as well, is to let the peace of God rule your hearts. Let it have its dominance in your heart. You might think, "Well, that sounds good; I'll take it. That's what I want. I want the peace of God to rule my heart." But how? It sounds like really flowery spiritual language: "Let the peace of God rule your heart." You say, "Yep, that sounds good."

If you're still in Romans chapter 5, turn to the right to the book of Philippians chapter 4. For some of you, this may be a familiar passage; for others, this might be the introduction to it. You'll pass First and Second Corinthians, then Galatians and Ephesians, and finally arrive at Philippians chapter 4. This is a really great and powerful passage of Scripture that is very important.

As you're turning to Philippians chapter 4, you need to understand that you're going to pass over another little book. Galatians chapter 5 says that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, and peace. If you have put your trust in Jesus, you receive grace from God and peace. You receive that from Him, and you also receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. God dwells in you by His Holy Spirit, and one of the benefits of being that person is that you have the peace of God.

But how do we live in it? How do we exercise the peace of God? Philippians chapter 4, look at verse 6: "Be anxious for nothing." We'll stop right there. That's a command that many of us break all the time, myself included. How many of you broke that in the last 48 hours? Paul says, "Don't be anxious," and it might seem like a futile thing to say.

I've described it like this before, and I think it's helpful. Imagine driving down the 15, cruising along at about 80 miles per hour. Suddenly, about 150 feet in front of you, a tire comes bouncing out of the back of a truck. In that moment, the way your whole brain works kicks in. The amygdala activates, and boom! Your anxious heart rate increases. You probably have a metallic taste in your mouth; that's adrenaline. In that moment, if you said to yourself, "I will now be at rest," good luck! It would probably take about 40 minutes for that adrenaline to completely work its way through your body. That's where the fight-or-flight response kicks in. God made you that way.

So, don't be anxious. We live in an anxiety-producing, broken, fallen world. How do we do that? I want you to recognize that as you're going through the Bible, there are a lot of commands. Some people really stumble at the commands; there are many do's and don'ts, and thou shalts and thou shalt nots. I have a hard time with that.

Here's the thing: God never commands what He does not give the prescription for how to fulfill that command. He says, "Here's the command." You might respond, "I can't do that." You're right; you can't. That's what the law was given for—to show you that you can't do that. Then He says, "Okay, here's how you do this."

Don't be anxious; be anxious for nothing (Philippians 4:6). But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. That's supplication, another form of prayer. The result of this is the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding. You can't explain it. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus.

I was talking a little while ago about materialists and people who believe that there's more to the world than just material. Christians believe that there's more to us than just material. Materialists think we're just material and that everything can be explained by chemistry. Yet, there's something about us that makes it hard to accept that view. When we start to really look at humanity, the holistic picture reveals that there's more to us than just material.

There is a reality that is very unique to human beings; it's called consciousness. Consciousness sets us apart. Even materialists are boggled by consciousness; they don't know where it comes from. They try to describe it in all kinds of different ways. This is the ongoing discussion of people like Sam Harris, who I find really intriguing. He is a total atheist, but he's really into this concept of consciousness and is trying to explain it from a neurological perspective. He's having a really hard time. Why? Because there is more to us than just the body. We are body, and at the very least, we are soul. We use the word "soul" to describe a number of different things, but it's where our consciousness resides.

Here's the big discussion happening in the bioethics community right now: When does consciousness cease?

For a really long time, the view was that when the heart stops and respiration ceases, consciousness is gone. This was the time of death. Now, we are having a really hard time with that. Over the last twenty-five years, we have moved to the understanding that it has to do with brainwave activity. We can keep the heart going and respiration happening while brainwave activity is still present, so the person is considered alive.

Now, there are articles coming out stating that consciousness continues after death. How do we deal with that? You might ask how we know consciousness keeps going after death. There are people who have clinically died—brainwaves gone, heart rate dead, no respiration—who are brought back to life and remember hearing things that happened after their time of death. How does that happen? I don't know, but it's really freaking the bioethics community out.

Consciousness sets us apart from the animal kingdom. It makes us aware of the past and the future in contrast to the present. Your dog just knows the present, which is different from you. You might think your dog has consciousness, but here's the difference: you order your world for the future. You decorate things. Your dog isn't painting his doghouse. If he does, call me; I want to see it! But the reality is that dogs don’t do that. We are different; we have a soul.

In ancient times, about 3,500 years ago, people thought the soul resided in the loins. You can read passages of Scripture that talk about the loins. In the Old Testament, David mentions his inner being and refers to his loins. Then, the understanding moved up to the heart. Eventually, it shifted to the head in the Greco-Roman world.

Fast forward two thousand years from Greece, and we find that we think everything has to do with what happens in our heads. We seem to imagine some little commander inside our heads who sees through our eyes, hears through our ears, and commands everything. We think it’s all in the head.

However, Paul says, "God, wherever that is, will guard your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus, giving you peace that surpasses understanding." This brings us to point number four on your outline: the gift of God’s.

Peace can rule your soul through prayer. If you've received peace from God through the redemptive work of Jesus, at just the right time He died for the ungodly. If you, by grace, have received peace from God, now you have peace with God. Therefore, you can access and lay hold of the peace of God through prayer.

What does prayer do? It reorients your perspective from yourself to God. That's what prayer does; it shifts our focus. We live in a culture ruled by anxiety and stress. Some 40 million Americans are affected by anxiety, making it the most common mental health issue in our nation. We live in a broken world that produces anxiety. If you frame everything that happens in this world—trials, tribulations, Donald Trump—through a self-centered lens, then you are being selfish.

We don't know any selfish people here; they are out there somewhere. If you frame everything happening in the world through selfishness, you will be anxious all the time. Paul says, "Be anxious for nothing." How do we do that? Well, in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, you are shifting your focus. Jesus said, "In the world, you will have tribulation, but in Me, you may have peace." This peace is accessible to us, as stated in John 16:33.

So, how do we access this peace? Notice what Paul says in the next verse, Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report—if there is anything virtuous or praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

Down to the core of these things that he mentions, they all predominantly are found in God. He is the source of all things that are true, noble, pure, and just. If you meditate upon these things, you are going to be meditating upon God.

What's the outcome? Verse 9 states, "The things which you have learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do." Note this: the God of peace will be with you. He is described as the God of peace; it's his nature. That's why Jesus is called, in the Book of Isaiah, the Prince of Peace. He is the God of peace who, through grace, can give you grace from God to have peace with God so that you can experience the peace of God.

It's accessible. It is accessible by reorienting your perspective, heart, and mind. Paul said in Colossians that the peace of God should rule in your hearts. This is what you have been called to: allowing his peace to rule in your heart by shifting your focus.

I have had the privilege for the last twelve to fifteen years to teach classes at Calvary Chapel Bible College, about 40 minutes from here. One of the primary classes I teach is on the Book of Isaiah, which is a great book. One of my favorite verses in Isaiah is in chapter 26. It says, "And he, God, will keep him or you in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him because he trusts in him." God will keep you in perfect peace.

Now, that phrase "perfect peace" is interesting. If you were to look at it in the Hebrew Bible, the original language, it says, "And he shall keep him in Shalom, Shalom." It's like peace compounded to the second power. The ancient Jewish way to add emphasis was to repeat, so he is going to keep you in Shalom, Shalom—like super-duper peace—as your mind is stayed on him.

Our culture has been affected by kind of Eastern thought on this concept of meditation, which has caused us to be confused about what it is. The Bible talks a lot about meditation. Is that the same as Transcendental Meditation or Eastern meditation? There are a lot of questions about whether it is the same as mindfulness. What is meditation? Biblical meditation, if you know how...

To worry is to meditate on your problems, troubles, and issues from every possible angle. If you were to lift your hand if you're not worried, you would realize that you know how to meditate. All worry is simply consuming your mind with thoughts about your problems. You can describe your issue in 900 different ways, and you know it better than anyone else. This issue has become the biggest thing in your life because you have examined it with a microscope.

Biblical meditation, however, is about moving from a selfish focus on your issues to reframing them in light of God. As you do this, He will keep you in Shalom, peace, whose mind is stayed on Him.

Point number five: perfect peace is God's gracious gift for all who are in Christ. I believe this is the message God has for us, as well as the message He wants us to live and share with others. In Christ Jesus, and by His grace, we can have peace, Shalom from God, which makes us at peace with God, eliminating any enmity. We can then lay hold of the peace of God and experience the abundant life that Jesus described.

This abundant life comes not just through fulfilling the five basic needs in the hierarchy of needs; it is something transcendent, something bigger than that. It comes through grace and peace. God wants you to know that peace, and He desires for us to live and walk in that peace. It is totally accessible to us as we reorient our focus Godward, setting our affections on Him.

Here’s the awesome thing that happens: when you interact with friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family members, God wants you to have what I call, and what the Bible actually calls, the ministry of jealousy, as described in the book of Romans, chapters 9, 10, and 11.

The own ministry of jealousy is significant. God wants your life to be a portrait of grace and peace so that other people look at you and say, "I want what that guy has." However, that peace is only found in Christ. This Christmas, God wants you to know it and to show it in your life because He wants you to live in Shalom. That is where we will be when we're with Him. In His presence is fullness of joy, and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore. That sounds good! We're not there yet, but He wants you to experience it now in Christ, and it's available because Jesus came.

That's what we celebrate when we celebrate Christmas: the Prince of Peace has come into the world. He says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." That's Shalom, and that's why we call it the gospel, because it's really, really good news.

Please stand with me for a closing prayer. Father, thank You for Your Word. It testifies of itself; it is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. You cause it to cut deep into our hearts and reveal our anxieties, fears, cares, hopes, desires, and wants. We can see what those things are and understand that we are not finding fulfillment in new cars, new purses, or new pets. There is only one source of true peace.

So, God, I pray that You would help us come to the realization of that fully and accept it as a free gift of Your grace for us. Lord, as You spoke 2,000 years ago, there were people who believed, and there were some who doubted. There are some right here who may think, "I don't know; it sounds good. I wish it were true. I hope it's true." God, You are able to work with that. I pray that You draw to Yourself those who desire this, and that they would seek and find, because when we seek, we find it only in You. You are the only source. We praise You, Jesus, as we stand here today.

And an attitude of prayer, with eyes closed and heads bowed, however you may be, if you desire this peace from God that brings the peace of God and peace with God, it's only through the grace of Jesus. He gave His life for you on the cross so that your sin could be dealt with and you could receive His salvation.

If you'd like to receive His salvation and that free gift today, I want to give you a chance to do that. Would you just lift up your hand high so I can see it? Is there anyone here this morning? God bless you; I'll see you here in the front. Anyone else over here on the side? I see you back there in the back. God bless you; praise the Lord.

If that's you today, I want to lead you in a prayer of faith, a simple prayer of putting your trust in Jesus. Prayer is just talking to God, and the miracle is that He hears and answers. So, if that's you, would you just pray with me where you're at?

Dear Jesus, I know I need You. Would You come into my life, forgive me of my sin, help me to follow You by faith, and to experience Your peace and Your grace? In Jesus' name, amen.