"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."
(JOHN 14:27)

Isaiah 11:1-10
The Christmas carol, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was based on the poem “Christmas Bells” written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day, 1863, during America’s bloody Civil War. Longfellow’s wife had recently died in a fire, and his son had joined the Union Army earlier that year against his father’s will. As he heard the Christmas bells tolling, Longfellow’s anguished heart lamented how war seemed to mock the bells’ promise of “peace on earth, good will to men.”


Although the world’s turmoil and the promise of the peace that Christ offers seem to contradict each other, Jesus’ promise tells us that the peace He gives is different than the “peace” that the world gives. His peace transcends our own understanding and is able to flourish in the midst of the harshest circumstances or cruelest hatred.


Longfellow’s poem ascends with hope: Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The wrong shall fail, The right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men.”



Scripture Focus

Isaiah 11:1-10

Insight

ARE YOU WAITING FOR YOUR SITUATION TO CHANGE AND BRING PEACE IN YOUR LIFE? THE PRINCE OF PEACE GIVES WHAT THE WORLD CANNOT-HIS PEACE!

Bible In A Year

  • Amos 1-3
  • Proverbs 17
  • 1 John 1-2

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