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Luke 2:1-20 (NLT)
1 At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire.
2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.)
3 All returned to their own towns to register for this census.
4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee.
5 He took with him Mary, his fiancé, who was obviously pregnant by this time.
6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born.
7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn.
8 That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep.
9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened,
10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news of great joy for everyone!
11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David!
12 And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!”
13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God:
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to all whom God favors.”
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Come on, let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
17 Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
18 All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,
19 but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often.
20 The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said.
Zachariah’s prophecy concerning the coming birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ:
Luke 1:78-79 (NLT)
78 Because of God’s tender mercy, the light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”
The angel’s promise to the Shepherds and the world:
Luke 2:14 (KJV)
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
HOWEVER!
There is no real Peace on Earth outside of Jesus Christ!
There has been wars and strife on every front in our world for ever. The angles came to proclaim “Peace on Earth and Goodwill to all Man”. Have you received that Peace?
Frustration, extreme stress and chaos are much like the darkness in a room. When the light is turned on the darkness dissipates. When the Peace of Christ comes into our life the chaos dissipates and New Life reigns.
Why?
Romans 3:23 (NLT)
23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 5:12-17 (NLT)
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. And though there was no law to break, since it had not yet been given,
14 they all died anyway—even though they did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. What a contrast between Adam and Christ, who was yet to come!
15 And what a difference between our sin and God’s generous gift of forgiveness. For this one man, Adam, brought death to many through his sin. But this other man, Jesus Christ, brought forgiveness to many through God’s bountiful gift.
16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but we have the free gift of being accepted by God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
17 The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Jesus offers to us all the “Peace of Christmas” that can be found nowhere else!
John 14:27 (NLT)
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn’t like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
God wants to bring Peace on Earth to ALL MAN!
Ephesians 2:14-18 (NLT)
14 For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us.
15 By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups.
16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who were near.
18 Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
It is by faith in the Christ of Christmas!
Romans 5:1-2 (NLT)
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of highest privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.
Have you received the Christ of Christmas in your heart?
Romans 10:9-10 (NLT)
9 For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.
