Ukraine\u2019s still a mess right now. The world\u2019s heard about the comedian-turned-president, the pro-longed conflict with Russia and the country\u2019s desire for growth and prosperity. The people have high hopes that have yet to become a reality: high hopes of a president who will fight to end the years of war, corruption and unending lies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as we join in on the prayers for peace upon this land;\nwe\u2019re reminded of a time more than 2,000 years ago. A time when His chosen\npeople prayed and desired change, wept for salvation to come and His promises\nto be fulfilled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When unexpectedly the choirs of angels appeared to simple\nfolk out on the fields and the rich, wise men out in the East, and brought the\nnews that they\u2019d all been waiting for. News of peace; an end to the suffering.\nAn end to the long period of pain and waiting and confusion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He came so unexpectedly, so quiet and humble in His approach. A working-class family, a manger, an offering of two small birds. He grew in obedience and truth, and then His ministry started. Soon villages, cities and countries heard of the One who did all things. The One who was different than all others. The One who was the Son of God<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And yes, He truly brought peace.<\/em> Perhaps not the peace the world was waiting for\u2026 Perhaps not the overthrowing of government and the breaking down of city walls that they so desperately wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But His peace ran much deeper; peace that filled the deepest longings of the soul; peace that melted glaciers of pain, unforgiveness and sin in hearts, peace that the eye didn\u2019t see but heaven proclaimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peace much wider and more profound than anything the earth ever<\/em> had to offer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Peace that came upon that midnight clear to last forevermore.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And soldiers still struggle in the East of Ukraine, mothers\nface their first holidays without their beloved sons; and suffering, loneliness\nand pain continue growing all across the globe. The world is still in need, in\nneed of peace to come and heal the holes and emptiness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So as Christmas music plays in stores, and brightly-lit stars and snowflakes line the streets, we can still hear the voices of the angels, singing \u201cPeace on Earth, good will toward men\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n And they remind us to listen, listen to obey; listen to be the carriers of a peace everlasting and all-fulfilling to a world that needs it as much now as Bethlehem did then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ukraine\u2019s still a mess right now. The world\u2019s heard about the comedian-turned-president, the pro-longed conflict with Russia and the country\u2019s desire for growth and prosperity. The people have high hopes that have yet to become a reality: high hopes of a president who will fight to end the years of war, corruption and unending lies. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=602"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":612,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602\/revisions\/612"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shcherbans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}