Thought for the week..

Jan 11 2013 by Cheryl McEvoy, Ayrshire Post

Happy New Year to you! I hope that 2013 will be a year in which you know peace in your mind, peace in your home, and the deep sweet peace of Jesus in your heart. I can wish you nothing more profound than that.

Over the centuries Christmas has become wrapped in sentiment. The manger scene looks so cosy; but a stable was an awful place to give birth. The shepherds look great on cards, while shepherds then wore working clothes as they do today. In reality, Jesus was born into poverty in an occupied land. And you and I live in the real world. So I want to give you a New Year’s message that speaks to stark realities. Jesus said, ‘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.’ Yes, in all that life throws at us, there can still be peace – the deep sweet peace of Jesus in our hearts.