The Source of Peace Is a Person!
Today’s devotion is based on Come Home for Christmas Week 4 – PEACE (WATCH HERE)
On Christmas Eve, we stand on the edge of another Christmas celebration. The lights are soft, the songs familiar, and for a moment the noise of the world seems to hush. Yet many of us carry unrest into this night. We have questions we cannot answer, burdens we cannot fix, fears we cannot silence. Into that very human tension, Scripture speaks these words: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given… And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Peace does not arrive as a strategy or a slogan. It arrives as a person.
Isaiah’s prophecy reminds us that peace flows not merely from what Jesus does, but from who He is. Each name given to the child in the manger addresses a deep place of human fear.
He is Wonderful Counselor. We live in a world of confusion. Information is everywhere, yet wisdom is scarce. Your heart tonight may be weighed down by decisions, regrets, and uncertainty about what comes next. Jesus brings peace because He is not a distant advisor but a present guide. His counsel is “wonderful” not just because it is wise, but because it restores clarity to disoriented souls. At Christmas, God steps into human confusion to walk with us, not merely point from afar.
He is Mighty God. Powerlessness is one of our greatest sources of anxiety. We cannot control the economy, our health, other people, or the future. But the child born in Bethlehem is no ordinary child. He is God Himself, clothed in weakness yet carries all power. This paradox brings peace: the One who rules the universe entered it humbly, proving that nothing is beyond His authority or care. When we feel small, He reminds us that ultimate strength rests not in us, but in Him.
He is Everlasting Father. Many know the ache of broken relationships, absent protection, or love that failed to last. Jesus brings peace because He reveals the heart of a Father whose care never expires. “Everlasting” means His presence is not seasonal, like holiday joy that fades when the decorations come down. On Christmas Eve, we remember that we are not abandoned children trying to survive the world alone. We are held by a Father whose love does not run out.
And He is Prince of Peace. This does not mean He removes every conflict or silences every storm. Jesus Himself later said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives” (John 14:27). The world offers peace when circumstances cooperate. Jesus offers peace through His presence. Like a child asleep during a stormy car ride, we rest not because the road is calm, but because someone trustworthy is driving. Christ’s peace steadies us even when life remains uncertain.
Tonight, as we remember the manger, we are invited to something deeply personal. Which name of Jesus do you need most right now? Is it His counsel for your confusion, His power for your weakness, His fatherly care for your wounds, or His peace for your anxious heart?
Christmas Eve reminds us of this simple, stunning truth: peace is not just a feeling, but a person. Do you have an anxious or broken life tonight? Invite him into that place with you. The child born for us is still present with us. And where He is, peace is never far away.
Prayer Jesus, Prince of Peace, we welcome You. Rule our hearts, calm our fears, and draw near to us this holy night. Amen.
What God gives with peace.
Today’s devotion is based on Come Home for Christmas Week 4 – PEACE (WATCH HERE)
Peace often speaks to a lack of conflict.
Peace treaties are sought between warring countries to bring an end to the atrocities of war. Peace is sought when a married couple is at odds and find themselves fighting over finances (or something else.) Peace is sought in life to find an end to those things that create fear, anxiety or uncertainty.
Much of the definition and experience of peace is determined by the circumstances around us. We believe that when our external circumstances change we can have peace.
Certainly peace defines external circumstances where there is lack of conflict. However, the heart of the peace that God gives is the peace that God gives us in our hearts. Jesus said, John 14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The interesting thing about peace is that it is a gift from God. Jesus says that and the Lord says in Numbers 6:24–26 “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you… and give you peace.”
When God gives a gift, he gives something that blesses us. He puts our hearts at rest.
How so?
He reminds us that when we feel weak and out of control, he is strong and controls all for our good.
Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
He promises that when external circumstances seem negative, he will work all for our good.
Genesis 50:19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
He promises that when we are anxious about the future, he holds the future in his hands.
Matthew 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
The Lord invites us to expand our definition of peace from just a measurement of external circumstances to living in the goodness and grace of God which he gives to bring peace to our internal reality.
Reflection: Where are you experiencing a lack of peace today? Ask the Lord to bring peace through his power and promises to that area of your life and heart.
Prayer God of peace, teach us to desire the fullness of Your peace. Restore what is broken and draw us into the life You intend. Amen.
Peace – Exactly what we need!
Today’s devotion is based on Come Home for Christmas Week 4 – PEACE (WATCH HERE)
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2
“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
We often talk about peace most when it’s missing.
You can sense it in the weariness of conversations, the anxiety beneath everyday routines, and the quiet fear that surfaces when life slows down. Something isn’t right. It’s not just out there in the world, but in here, in us. The Bible doesn’t dismiss that feeling. It names it.
The lack of peace creates a spirit of anxiety and darkness. Isaiah speaks to our hearts. He speaks to ones lacking in peace but searching for it. Isaiah speaks to people walking in darkness. Not temporary shadows, but “deep darkness.” This isn’t poetic exaggeration. It’s the honest description of a world fractured by sin, injustice, fear, and broken relationships. It’s a picture of the lack of peace. Yet, Isaiah does not begin with condemnation. He begins with hope: “A light has dawned.”
The Light born in Bethlehem would bring peace.
Biblical peace—shalom—is far more than calm feelings or quiet moments. Shalom means wholeness. It includes safety, provision, a right relationship with God, harmony with others, freedom from fear, and rest for the soul. When any of those are missing, we feel it. We may try to manage life, distract ourselves, or push forward, but deep down we know something is off.
It’s like living in a house with a cracked foundation. Everything may look fine on the surface, but over time the cracks spread. Doors don’t close properly. Walls begin to separate. The problem isn’t cosmetic, it’s structural. In the same way, the restlessness we feel points to something deeper than stress. It points to our need for God’s peace.
Psalm 4:8 reminds us that true peace is not self-generated. David doesn’t say, “I finally figured things out,” or “my circumstances improved.” He says, “For you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Peace is not something we achieve; it is something we receive from the presence of God.
Peace is a gift that God gives. Peace settles in our heart to have confidence in the power, promises and presence of God. It’s knowing that no matter the external circumstance, the Lord is shining his light into the darkness I am experiencing.
Christmas begins here: not with answers, but with awareness. Awareness of our deep need for peace and the overwhelming gift that God gives, God meets us to give to us exactly what our heart needs.
Reflect: Where do you most feel the absence of peace in this season of life? How might God be using your restlessness to draw you closer to Him?
Prayer: Lord, we confess that our hearts and our world are not as they should be. We feel the darkness and the longing for something more. As we begin this journey toward Christmas, teach us to wait with hope and to seek peace in You alone. Amen.
Trust God to Do What He Says!
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 3 – TRUST (WATCH HERE)
Luke 2:20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
“That’s not what I expected.”
We all have experienced at some point in life failed expectations. Someone tells you one thing and does another. Someone describes an event and it isn’t anything like it. Politicians promise one thing before election and do another afterwards.
It’s hard to trust someone who doesn’t do what they say.
I’m sure for God’s Old Testament believers the challenge was real. Generation after generation received promises of God’s coming Messiah, the Branch of Jesse, the blessing to Abraham and many more. It’s hard to continue to trust when people keep saying, “Just wait, he’s coming.”
We have trouble waiting for a fast food establishment to bring our order up after 30 seconds let alone 300…3000 years.
At what point would we…would you give up trusting God was going to do what he said?
We don’t know why God chose his timeline or his timing. But he did.
We don’t know why God chose to announce the pinnacle of his plan, the birth of his Son, to a bunch of shepherds outside of Jerusalem. Maybe the shepherds knew the promise of one who would be a perfect Shepherd. Maybe they just sang “The Lord is my shepherd” as they put the sheep in pen for the night. We don’t know…but God did.
God had a captive audience.
God had a willing audience.
God had a trusting audience.
The angels spoke and the shepherds acted. They went to see what the Lord had done. They found the baby in the manger.
But it wasn’t just seeing the baby in the manger that returned them to the field “glorifying and praising God,” it was also the fact that what they experienced was “just as they had been told.”
Immediately it was the words of the angels…just as they said, they saw.
For the big picture it was all the words and promises of the Lord that they had been told, they saw fulfilled in the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
Christmas is the pinnacle of proving God’s trustworthiness.
Christmas is the foundation of ensuring God’s promises are true.
Christmas is the reminder that God can be trusted.
Christmas is the proof that God does what he says…always.
Reflection: What promise of God do you struggle to believe or trust? How can this verse from Luke 2:20 give you confidence to trust even if you don’t know the outcome?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for promising and following through…always. Thank you for speaking and then doing what you say you would. Forgive us for the times we fail to trust. Strengthen our trust that we can truly rely on the fact that when you speak, you will act. AMEN
Trust God’s Promises!
Devotions this week based on Come Home Week 3 – TRUST (WATCH HERE)
Isaiah 11:5 — “Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”
When Isaiah describes the coming Messiah, he doesn’t begin with what Jesus will do, but with who He is. Righteousness and faithfulness are not accessories He occasionally puts on. They are woven into His very nature. Like a belt that holds everything together, God’s faithfulness secures every promise He has ever made.
Faithfulness is not something Jesus performs when conditions are right. It is who He is. Scripture is clear: “God is not human, that he should lie… Does he speak and then not act?” (Numbers 23:19). And because Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8), His trustworthiness does not fade with time, circumstances, or human failure.
Christmas itself is the ultimate proof of God’s faithfulness.
Centuries before the manger, God promised a Savior. He promised Abraham that through his offspring all nations would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). He promised David a King whose throne would endure forever (2 Samuel 7:16). He promised through Isaiah that a virgin would conceive (Isaiah 7:14), that a child would be born who would rule with justice and righteousness (Isaiah 9:6–7), and that a shoot would come from the stump of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1). When Jesus was laid in a feeding trough in Bethlehem, those ancient promises were not forgotten, rather, they were fulfilled.
God also promised where the Messiah would be born (Micah 5:2), how He would suffer (Isaiah 53), and that death would not hold Him (Psalm 16:10). From the manger to the cross, and from the empty tomb to eternity, God kept His word with stunning precision. Christmas reminds us that God may take His time, but He never misses His moment.
This matters deeply for us today.
We often struggle to trust God not because He has failed, but because waiting feels like silence. We confuse delay with absence. Yet the same God who fulfilled His promises in Christ is still faithful now. The sash of faithfulness has not loosened.
So what promises of God can we trust today?
We can trust His promise of forgiveness: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us” (1 John 1:9).
We can trust His promise of presence: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).
We can trust His promise of provision: “My God will meet all your needs” (Philippians 4:19).
We can trust His promise of peace: “Do not be anxious… and the peace of God will guard your hearts” (Philippians 4:6–7).
We can trust His promise of completion: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).
Faith grows not by pretending life is stable, but by remembering God is. When circumstances shift and emotions falter, God’s faithfulness remains constant. Trust deepens when we anchor our hearts not in what we feel, but in the faithfulness of God, who has proven faithful again and again, across centuries, and personally in our own lives.
Christmas invites us to look back and say, God kept His promise. Faith invites us to look forward and say, He will do it again. Trust his promises!
Reflection: What promise of God do you need to cling to again today? How has God shown His faithfulness in your life before?
Prayer: Faithful God, you never fail and never change. Help me remember your past faithfulness when my present feels uncertain. Strengthen my trust in your promises today. Amen.