I hope you are off to a great start of this New Year of 2026! Ashley and I are getting back into our normal rhythm now that our family has headed back to their homes. We had a blessed time and enjoyed spending time with our children and grandchildren. Our youngest grandchild was born on Christmas Day! Praise God for little Jude Leon Forshee. I only know two people born on Christmas Day: Jesus and Jude. Perhaps that is your birthday as well, and if so, how cool is that?!
This week, we are going to discuss a topic that is meaningful to everyone, and that is peace. Just the word brings a smile to my face and contentment to my soul. Many in our world are not enjoying this wonderful spiritual fruit of peace. I think of the nation of Ukraine and how they are still at war with Russia. Just today, I heard about more persecution of Christians in Asia. Perhaps you are not enjoying the peace that only Christ can give. You are in turmoil in your heart, marriage, family, job, or perhaps even in your church. I pray that God uses these devotions this week to speak to your heart and bring you closer to Christ. If that happens, then you will enjoy more peace.
The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded each year on December 10 in honor of Alfred Nobel, who established the Nobel Prizes. Nobel, who died in 1896, was an industrialist and inventor with 355 patents attributed to him. But he is best known as the inventor of dynamite. He did not wish to be known only as the man who invented such a destructive device as dynamite, so he took his fortune and created the Nobel Prizes. There are five of these cherished prizes, and one of them is the Nobel Peace Prize, awarded each year to the person who has, according to Nobel's will, "done the most or best work for the fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace conferences." (
Source.)
Peace is a grand concept that everyone understands and yearns for. All desire to be at peace with their Creator, to have peace within, and to have peace in families, nations, jobs, and churches. But peace has proven to be a most elusive commodity for individuals and groups. I read that out of 4,000 years of recorded history, there has only been 300 years of peace, so you could think that times of peace were only brief respites giving people time to reload for war! (Source: David Legge
here)
This week, we will study the 7th of the 8 Beatitudes or blessed statements of Jesus Christ at the beginning of His famous Sermon on the Mount. This 7th beatitude builds upon the previous 6 and relates or correlates most closely with the 3rd one:
"blessed are the meek." The meek are the ones who long for and help bring about this wonderful state of peace. Jesus said,
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."
I may not know you or what is happening in your life today that is causing you grief, fear, or worry, but God knows, and He loves you and desires for you to be at peace with Him and others, including yourself.
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