GodofPeace | Kristi's Morning Devotional

This morning was heart is filled with song!

I like it when my morning starts like that. The last few days have been kind of rough – we came home from vacation with a winter cold. You know the kind with sore throats, achy muscles, congestion and cough. Not quite the backdrop for starting the morning with a song but these are the words and melody that filled my heart:

“There Is Strength In The Name Of The Lord
There Is Power In The Name Of The Lord
There Is Hope In The Name Of The Lord
Blessed Is He Who Comes In The Name Of The Lord”

Oh yes, what a glorious and wonderful way to start the day. When I feel weak the joy of the Lord is my strength!

“Our hope comes from God. May He fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLV

God, our Father, the great gift giver, has so many promises that we leave untapped either through our ignorance or our thoughts of unworthiness.

I once heard a pastor give this example: We have been given a great inheritance, but many have been duped by the world’s greatest thief. They have believed a lie, the lie that God’s promises and blessings are for others – those more holy or kind. So they give up their hope.

As the verse above says, God gives us hope and fills us with joy and peace because we trust Him. The Holy Spirit helps our hope grow stronger and stronger.

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. ⁴And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” II Peter 1:3-4 NLT

God has given us everything we need for godly living. He has given us great and precious promises. These promises give us victory in this life! My, oh, my!

One thing about our Father is that He is a promise keeper; He has never lied yet.

There is not only hope in the name of the Lord, there is power, strength, joy, peace, provision, protection, forgiveness, healing, restoration, and eternal life.

“The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.” John 10:10 NLV

So many blessings, so many promises – open the gift of hope and let your lives be filled with joy and peace.

Yesterday Dave and I put up the last of the Christmas decorations. We added more lights, another nativity scene and turned our storage shed door into a gingerbread house.

First thing in the morning I refilled the bird feeder with seeds and the hummingbird feeders with juice. Kaci, Stephen and the kids were coming, and I know how the grandkids love watching the birds come to eat.

We had a wonderful afternoon! We spent time going for a long walk, meeting the neighbors’ dog and collecting rocks. All afternoon the birds came and went from the feeders. At times the kids were too busy with other activities to notice them but then there were the occasions when a bird would land and eat for a while, and they would oo and aah. The biggest response came from the Nothern Cardinals, both a male and female.

I don’t remember when I first started noticing that more and more cardinals were being used in Christmas decor’ so this morning I “goggled” it. Cardinals have been nicknamed the Christmas Bird for their bright color.

“Today, the cardinal represents constancy no matter the season like the constancy of God’s love, and the atoning sacrifice of his Son which gives us peace and hope in this life and in the next.”

They represent the peace and hope that we have in Christ…I like that. In fact, as I was praying about what to share this morning I was drawn to the word peace.

We’ve just come through Black Friday and tomorrow is Cyber Monday, then comes Small Business Tuesday and oh, it goes on from there. The hustle and bustle of Christmas activities has a way of robbing our peace. That isn’t God’s intention.

“Then a huge army of angels from heaven joined the first angel, and they were all praising God, saying, ¹⁴“Praise God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace to the people who please him.” Luke 2:13-14 ERV

God’s purpose in sending Christ was to bring peace. The prophet Isaiah gave us a list of names for Jesus and one of those is Prince of Peace.

“This will happen when the special child is born. God will give us a son who will be responsible for leading the people. His name will be “Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God, Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 ERV

Some of you know that several years ago I wrote a daily devotional for the Christmas Advent, “The Best Gifts of Christmas, Receiving and Giving God’s Best”. One of those gifts is peace.

“We pray that the Lord of peace will give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.” II Thessalonians 3:16 ERV

For the next several days we will focus our attention on Scriptures that speak of peace.

When you’re out and about, take note of the Cardinals that you see in the stores, on television and on the Christmas cards you receive. Let the “Christmas Bird” be a reminder of God’s constancy and of the peace He gives to us all.

Tag: GodofPeace

The Gift of Hope

The Christmas Bird