Prince Of Peace

Christmas 2006























Baby's First Chrismas 1982
Baby's First Chrismas 1987

























Our family Christmas tree has become a diary of the special events in our lives. My wife and I started a tradition of buying a dated ornament each year starting with the first year we were married. We have ornaments that celebrate “Our First Christmas together” as well as our major anniversaries. We’ve also tried to pick up ornaments on our major vacations and other highlights of our life together. Two ornaments that commemorate two of the most important events in our lives are “Baby’s First Christmas”. These two ornaments represent God’s greatest blessings to me, my children. My son and my daughter have brought me such great joy to my life, which words can’t describe. My son’s bright smile and sense of humor, along with my daughter’s sparkling eyes and bubbly laugh bring warmth, joy and light into a room with them. When either of them leaves, the room seems a little darker and emptier.

The birth of another child is foretold in Isaiah 9:6,

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

This child is Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate at this time. One can only image the love & joy Mary must have felt for this baby, much as we feel for our own children. There must have been a special sense of excitement and of purpose. Just a few month’s earlier, Mary had been visited by an angel who had told her:

You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."Luke 1:31-33,

This child brought love, light, joy, and the gift of salvation, the most important blessing God’s bestowed on me. This gift of salvation has the added blessing of peace, the peace that comes from knowing that your eternal life is secure with God. The Prince of Peace offers you a special Christmas gift:

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

That faith is a faith in Jesus Christ, that he is the risen Son of God and he has the power to give us eternal life. Christ has a Christmas gift for you, and you only need to accept it from him to have the gift of salvation and in turn the blessing of peace.

Merry Christmas to you and to those you love.