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Week Two of Advent, Finding Peace this Season
14 Plays1 year ago
There is so much stress during the holiday season. We get so focused on all of the things we have to do, that we lose our focus. We lose peace. How would things look different, this holiday season and every day, if we had peace? Not just the absence of conflict, but feeling complete. This deep peace is Shalom in Hebrew. It is something we all long for, and only Jesus can provide it. We can be on this path of peace, when we take in that God is our place of safety. Take a listen is I talk about Moses, his amazing life, John the Baptist's father- Zachariah, and deep peace .
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Transcript
Advent Reflections: From Hope to Peace
00:00:05
Speaker
Hi, it's Abby from Filling You Up with Hope. I'm so thankful that you're here today. So today, last week, we went through the first week of Advent. And I can't believe it's already the second week of Advent. But the first week that we did last week was Hope. And this week, the second candle represents peace.
00:00:29
Speaker
And so that's what we're going to talk about. And it's also amazing. We're finishing. This is the last week we're going to be on Deuteronomy. And we've been on Deuteronomy for a while. And I'm so excited about that. And the next, the last two weeks of Advent, we're going to be in different parts of the Bible. And then we're going to start back up. um And Joshua in the new year. So I'm, I'm so thankful for that.
Navigating December's Chaos with Peace
00:00:58
Speaker
I'm thinking about,
00:00:59
Speaker
peace and this time of year is it's just kind of crazy because a lot of us don't feel peaceful there isn't that much peace for a lot of us because there's so many things that we have to that we feel like we have to do you know we have to decorate we have to send out christmas cards we have to make cookies we have to make gingerbread houses all all of these things in our minds that are earthly and flesh, right? ah And for for my family, we my both of my my kids, Brooks and Tobin, their birthdays are both in December before Christmas. So it just it makes for, ah in the past, it's been a very, very hectic time.
00:01:55
Speaker
and One of the things I feel like God throughout my life has been trying to tell me is to be still, like just be still. because and But it it used to be super, super hectic. And I remember after I had Brooks, he was born on the 14th and I had a C-section. So I was in the hospital a few days and I got home. But before he was born, I felt like I had to send out
00:02:27
Speaker
boxes filled with presents to different, because our families all spread out across the country. And so i I shipped, I, you know, had to get all that done early in December. And, and I just remember the hecticness, like being very pregnant and doing that stuff and feeling like the stress and um, the feeling that I have to do this. And it was a distraction from what Christmas is really about. And there wasn't very much peace. And, um, but this week is about, is is about
Understanding Shalom: Wholeness and Peace
00:03:17
Speaker
peace, right? And focusing on that and how much more peace would I have had if I was like, like we talked about last week, if I was like Mary,
00:03:26
Speaker
and instead of Martha and I was at like the feet of Jesus instead of feeling all that pressure that so many of us feel and so this is just a reminder about that and about what really matters which is Jesus and so but what does peace even mean because you know, peace means the absence of conflict, right? But in Hebrew, shalom, like a very, and very popular word, right? Shalom, peace. And it it means more than the absence of conflict. It means wholeness, completeness. Like I feel like it's a very important part of Christianity, shalom, because
00:04:22
Speaker
When we really have shalom, that completeness, wholeness, the only way that we have that is from Jesus. And we try and replace it. We try and feel that shalom in so many different ways, right? And some people use sometimes we use very unhealthy things to feel that wholeness, because as humans, we have this desire to feel that way and sometimes we use food, drugs, but all sort sex, all sorts of different things to feel that that wellbeing, that that harmony that we that we want, that we long for, that we all long for. But what we learn but we learn in the Bible and through God's word is that
00:05:21
Speaker
The only way to feel it is the only way to feel it is with Jesus, with but not and not just reading his word, right but with deep, deep faith and believing.
Zechariah's Story: Faith as a Path to Peace
00:05:39
Speaker
So we're actually going to start a bit in Luke today, but we're gonna get to Deuteronomy. But somebody who struggled with this deep faith that we're talking about that brings peace is Zachariah. And this is, his story is in Luke 1. He's John the Baptist's father, and he was a holy man, married for a very long time, and they didn't have children. They couldn't have children. And so, but an angel comes to him and says, you're going to have this amazing baby. And
00:06:16
Speaker
He's like, I'm old. And he and he didn't believe. he was He was very frightened and he didn't and he didn't believe. But then it happens as God, as the as the angel of God said it would, as God said it would. And John the Baptist is born. ah um Such a miracle who's gonna prepare the way for Jesus And in Luke 1, like towards the end, is Zechariah's prophecy. He is filled with the Holy Spirit. And this is what he says, because of, and sorry, this is verses 78 through 79. Because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness.
00:07:15
Speaker
and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the path of peace. So if we want to be on the path of peace, we need to follow God. he will He will guide us. We need to turn to Him and follow Him. And then then we can be on that path of peace. And it's so important, like not just during this holiday season, but any time but it's extra important I feel like the holiday season because of because of the stress that's around us this time of year for so many of us and not just stress but for a lot of people grief like this is not an easy time for everybody and at all like it's a it's a hard time I remember hard hard holidays and
00:08:15
Speaker
My past, and I think a lot of people had have had challenging holidays, but there's a deep joy no matter what. Like we need to be connected to this faith. Like our our church is doing this great, um great, great series on more Jesus. And this week was about having hope versus cynicism. And it's so easy to get cynical this time of year. But that's not going to lead us on the path of peace. That's just going to lead us to despair. And we don't want to feel that way. We we want to to feel hope and joy. um And we have that when we take in Jesus, when we take in his birth.
00:09:13
Speaker
when we take in what it meant, when we take in his death and what that meant, and how it's about eternity.
Moses' Teachings: Finding Peace in God
00:09:26
Speaker
so But I feel like this does tie to Deuteronomy. We're at the very end of Deuteronomy, the very end, and the Israelites,
00:09:41
Speaker
have been waiting. They have been listening to Moses. Moses is guiding them and he is preparing them. Just like um John the Baptist, you know, he prepares, make your path straight. Like he was preparing the way for Jesus. Moses is preparing the way for the Israelites to enter this land. He is encouraging them and He's not just encouraging them. He's also telling them like what we're going to go through that you are going to fall short. You are going to stumble. You're going to really fall short. You're going to turn away from God. ah You're going to do these things, but there's hope but in in and what he says that we're going to get to. but So they're both they're with both Zechariah and with the Israelites.
00:10:39
Speaker
There's been this waiting, right? Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth, have been waiting to have a baby. And the Israelites have been waiting to enter this land. And and it's finally gonna happen. It's finally there. So in dirt around me, 32, 36,
00:11:06
Speaker
um This is where there's some hope because, like I said, Moses is tells them that in Deuteronomy 31 that terrible things are going to happen to you um because of the evil, the evil things that you were going to do. And that's like the human um condition, right? The horrible things that we that we do, but the hope, the hope.
00:11:37
Speaker
And we know that there's hope because it starts with, this is Deuteronomy 32, 36, but, but the Lord, there's always a but, there's always hope we can find because of Jesus. And it says, but the Lord will acquit his people. He he will have compassion on those who serve him. So even with all of the things that we have done,
00:12:06
Speaker
with the following, it follow my dogs back there, with the falling short, right? With the, with me, like I was talking about and focusing on the things that don't matter instead of what is most important. um I can turn to him. We can turn to God no matter what and no matter how busy you are um this time of year, making it a priority to first turn to Him. We can pray without ceasing, no matter where we are, when we're lying down or sitting up. I love those verses. We can always be turning to Him and we can make it a priority to set aside time in the morning
00:13:04
Speaker
And ah a lot of people say, like they have different times of the day. Well, no, it doesn't work for me to do it in the morning. And, you know, and that's, that's fine. Like whatever works for people. But I feel like it's a good thing to start our day before we do anything, ah focusing our hearts on God and doing what I feel like he's told me which is to be still which is a really hard thing this time of year because in our mind we have I have to do all the you know all these things that we have to do and I think something that helps that I'm going to do this week is writing down all of those things in your mind that you feel like you have to do and um
00:13:59
Speaker
and every day having a couple things that that you're gonna get done and writing it down and knowing that every day has its own worries, like God says, and just to worry about today and that and reminding ourselves that it does work out. It does work out because because we have God and He and he is what really matters. And thinking about like all these things in our minds that we feel like we have to do, do we really have to do them? Are they what's really important? or they Are they our God is our purpose, right? And Moses knew that and Moses wanted the people to know that.
00:14:54
Speaker
And he wanted it so deep in their hearts. Like, remember this when you get there, write it down. Remember this because you you're going to face these things once you enter this land, just like we face things. You're going to face these things and you've got to know his word deeply in your heart. So while while you're facing all these things or else you're not going to have peace.
00:15:25
Speaker
Um, so he's, he's telling us, Moses is guiding us with God working through him, that the path to peace is having, is having God deep in our hearts, deep in our hearts.
Faith and Peace: Embracing True Shalom
00:15:43
Speaker
And, um, and then it's, and then Moses, it's very interesting and Deuteronomy, um, at, at the end he goes through like,
00:15:57
Speaker
blessing blessing the different tribes of Israel before his death different blessings and it just it reminded me a lot of Jacob before he dies and his sons the 12 the tribes of Israel um he goes through and gives them all a blessing too it's kind of similar in that way and but the end of the blessing This is what I'm reading. It's Deuteronomy 33, 27. The ancient God is a place of safety. The eternal arms are a support. And then verse 28, so Israel lives in safety. Like to me, that's peace. When I was reading those, I was thinking about and peace and what is peace.
00:16:56
Speaker
God, He's our place of safety. If you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, like you don't have peace, go to His arms, like go go to God. and um And then we can have that peace and that safety that we all want. So God is our safety and Moses knows this. He knows that God is our peace and our Shalom, our deep Shalom. And he wants that for the Israelites. So he's about to die and hand over leadership to Joshua. But the before he does, he's just really, he wants it to be so deep in them that God and his word that no matter what they face, they have, they have him.
00:17:54
Speaker
And that's going to lead to Shalom. That's going to lead to peace. But it's so he's Moses has been alive for 120 years. 120 years. And it's his time. It's his time to go be with God. And I was just thinking about how but he was a baby boy left in a basket. And now he's led.
00:18:21
Speaker
the Israelites who were enslaved into captivity to freedom, hope, peace, right, to this promised land, even though they're going to fall short. But the real Shalom is not the promised land, right? The real Shalom is Jesus. That's the real Shalom. And he, also a baby born in a stable. And he, going with him, leads to real Shalom, to real peace that is unlike anything I have ever felt. I mean, I lived with a lot of anxiety, like so many of us. to you know i've I went through a lot and struggled, but when I found Jesus, and you know it's been a process, sanctification, right? It's been a process, but I'm just learning that the answer
00:19:19
Speaker
is to turn to him and not just doing the acts, right? But having it so deep in our hearts that we just know. We just we just know. and like And that's faith. And it leads to just this piece, this piece that surpasses all understanding. So as we're facing stress, chaos, storms in our life,
00:19:50
Speaker
We turn, we turn to him, you know, we start our days with him and, and we can have that piece, but we need to believe like Zachariah struggled at first with believing that the impossible with believing that it could happen. And so I just pray that we all believe this holiday season that no matter how stressful it is,
00:20:19
Speaker
With Jesus, we can have Shalom. And this is John 14, 27. Peace I leave you. My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid. Like read this verse every day. Every day. Start your day reading that. Peace I leave you. My peace I give you. That is Shalom peace.
00:20:49
Speaker
That is the peace that's going to make us feel complete. Nothing else, no gifts that we're going to give or receive, tree decorating, you know, all the different holiday season things are going to give us Shalom. But Jesus will. And he loves you so much. And I just pray that you feel that deep peace as you're lighting this second candle of Advent that you're feeling this deep peace that can't come from anything else. And I'm so excited to go through another week with you next week and I just pray for Shalom for you.