Needless to say, this Christmas will be different than any Christmas in recent history. We're experiencing what our parents and grandparents must have experienced as they struggled to celebrate the holidays in December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The words the angels proclaimed to the shepherd on that first Christmas night are heard this year with a new perspective: "Peace on earth; good will toward men" (Luke 2:14).

Clearly, today we do not have peace on earth. America is under attack. Afghanistan is under attack. Israel and Palestine are under attack. These are only the conflicts making current headlines; there are other battles and wars throughout the world.

And yet, Jesus came to bring to peace on earth. Many Old Testament prophecies, specifically those in the book of Isaiah, talk about the fact that the Messiah's purpose is to bring peace to this planet. Today we'll see that even though it hasn't happened yet on a political level or an international level, it can happen on a personal level. You can experience God's peace in your life—regardless of all that is happening in the world around you. Our nation is at risk of future terrorist attacks, yet you can experience peace. Our economy is in recession, yet you can experience peace. There may be turmoil at the office or conflict in your home, yet you can experience peace...God's peace...peace that Paul describes as "peace which passes understanding."

Today we'll look at some verses in the book of Isaiah. These verses are about the "last days." When people hear the term "last days" they usually think of the Left Behind stories, the rapture, the tribulation, and all the scary stuff that supposed to take place. In reality, those aren't the last days. They're the next-to-the-last-days. The last days are described in Isaiah 2, and there is nothing at all scary about them. Listen:

(v. 2) In the last days the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

(v. 3) Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

(v. 4) He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

(v. 5) Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

These verses teach that God's plan for this planet is that we learn to live in peace with one another. And it will happen. It's his promise. Until the day we see it on a global level, we can experience it on a personal level. These verses teach us how to experience God's peace. There are three things I want you to notice...three steps to experiencing God's peace. First of all...

1. Learn to walk in his presence.

Isaiah says,

(v. 5) Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

He's saying, "Even though some of the promises here haven't yet been fulfilled, learn now to walk in the light of the Lord...in anticipation of what God plans to do in the future."

When you walk in God's presence, and live in God's presence, you begin to experience peace. But what does it mean to "walk in his presence", or "walk in his light"?

First of all, it means acknowledging his presence. When you wake up in the morning, God is there with you. As you go through your morning routine—making coffee, fixing breakfast, getting ready for work, getting the kids ready for school, reading the paper, and so on—he is there with you. The sooner you acknowledge his presence each day, the sooner you begin to experience his peace.

I don't know what it's like for you, but when I wake up, the first thoughts that come to my mind are anything but peaceful. Like a tidal wave they hit me: you've got this financial crisis to deal with; you've got this project to finish; and you're late; you've got to confront this person; you've got to solve this problem; and what awful thing will we hear on CNN today? For many of us, these thoughts come rushing in the moment we open our eyes, and it is precisely at that moment that we must learn to say, "Lord Jesus, I acknowledge and welcome your presence in my life. You are here with me right now, and I give this day and all of its challenges to you."

Walking in God's light also means, obviously, practicing obedience. It is impossible to experience God's peace when your number one priority is sin. To experience peace, there is a sacrifice we must be willing to make: we must stop doing what does not please God, and start doing what does.

Sometimes, I think, we want to have it both ways. We want God's peace, and we want to cling to our favorite sins. We want God's peace, but we want to be free to gossip. We want God's peace, but we want to get even with people we don't like. We want God's peace, but we don't want stop criticizing our spouse. We want God's peace, but we want to watch TV for 8 hours a day, and on and on and on. To experience God's peace, we have to make a choice: to live either his way or our way. When you consider the power of God's peace, the choice is easy to make, and the sacrifice is well worth it.

It's like the new airline security standards. People don't like having to arrive at the airport two hours early, and having their luggage searched, and being limited to a single carry-on item, and so on. People don't like doing these things, but for the luxury of safe travel, these are small sacrifices to make. In the same way, it may not be easy to abandon your "favorite sins," but for the luxury of God's peace, these are small sacrifices to make.

If you want to experience God's peace in your life, then make an effort to walk in his light—acknowledge his presence in all that you do, all day, every day. Secondly,

2. Become a student of his ways.

Isaiah said,

(v. 3) Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.

A few years ago I met a man named Carl Douglas (and, no, it is not the same Carl Douglas who sings "Kung Fu Fighting"). This Carl is one of the most spiritual men I've met, one of the holiest men I've met. His approach to Bible study revolutionized my approach to Bible study. I had always been taught that Bible study was an academic—or intellectual—endeavor. You learn the order of the books of the Bible, who wrote each one, the historical settings, the summary of the book's content, and on and on. Now, there's nothing wrong with this kind of Bible knowledge, but there's more to it than that. My friend Carl taught me that the real purpose of Bible study is not to acquire information, but to experience transformation. The real purpose of Bible study is, as Isaiah indicates, to learn his ways so that we may walk in his paths. [v. 3]

Carl taught me how to have a daily "quiet time" of Bible study and prayer in which I read a passage of scripture, wrote a summary of what I had read, then—and he stressed that this was the most important part—I wrote a personal application for the passage I had just read. When I read a passage on showing patience, for example, Carl challenged me to examine my heart and life: in what areas of my life do I need to show more patience? What do I need to do to take this command seriously, and put it to work in my life? I remember Carl saying (in these exact words), "If you ain't living it, you ain't learned it."

In order to experience God's peace, we need to learn his word, so we can learn his ways, so we can walk in his paths.

About a year ago I decided I was tired of huffing and puffing every time I walked up the stairs to my office. I suppose I could have moved my office downstairs, and that would have put an end to the huffing and puffing. Instead I decided to make an effort to get in better shape and lose a little weight. As you probably know, there are a number of good diet and exercise books on the market. I bought a few and read them, but I didn't lose an ounce. I bought the Tae-Bo video set, watched it a few times, but I didn't lose an ounce. However, I learned a lot about nutrition and the effects of exercise on the human body. But I didn't lose weight, and I continued to huff and puff when I walked up the stairs...until I began to put into practice what I had been reading in the books. Then, in just a matter of weeks, I was feeling much better, much younger, more energetic. It wasn't long before I was taking those stairs two at a time.

It's an amazing principle: knowledge is only useful when you apply it to your life.

In order to experience God's peace, we need to become not just students of God's word, but—more specifically—students of his ways. The distinction between the two is that God doesn't want us to merely acquire information, but to experience transformation. We wants us to live what we learn.

King David said,

Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find my delight. (Psalm 119:33-35)

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)

Joy and peace come not from just knowing what is right, but from doing what is right. If you ain't living it, you ain't learned it. Do you want to experience God's peace? Become a student of his ways; learn to apply the word of God to your daily life. Thirdly, to experience God's peace this Christmas…

3. Let go of conflict.

Isaiah says that God's ultimate plan for the nations is that...

(v. 4) They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

Isaiah says that there will come a day when nations no longer train for war, because it won't be necessary to train for war—because no nation will be at risk of attack from another nation.

Clearly, that's not the way it is today. We're involved in a war we did not start. Had it not been for the events of September 11, we never would have sent our troops to do battle in Afghanistan. We're not the aggressors. Though God's ultimate plan is that nation will no longer go to war against nation, this is clearly a war that we have to fight. It's not just the future of America at stake, it's the future of world peace.

Someday, it won't be necessary. Someday, all the nations of the world will understand that conflict is a waste of time. I don't know when that will happen on a global scale, but it can begin happening in your heart today. If God's ultimate plan is that nation will not take up sword against nation, it stands to reason that his plan for us as individuals is that we will not "take up sword" against one another...that we will let go of conflict and learn to live together in peace.

As you read the writings of Paul in the New Testament, you hear this theme again and again.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 15:5-6)

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. (Ephesians 4:3)

Live in peace with each other. (1 Thessalonians 5:13)

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)

God wants his people to live together in peace. He wants us to get along. We cannot experience his peace within our hearts as long as we're intent on stirring up conflict with others.

Something I have learned is that most interpersonal conflicts are about insignificant things. If we'll just "let it go", we'll feel a whole lot better, and so will everyone else.

Earlier this week a friend of mine said, "Last night I had a huge fight with my wife and we're not speaking to other...and it's all her fault."

I said, "My gosh, what did she do? Have an affair? Clean out your bank account? Become a Florida Gator fan?"

He said, "No. We were supposed to meet for dinner together at Olive Garden, and she showed up 25 minutes late...and didn't even bother to call first." (I'll give my friend credit here; I probably would have rounded it up to 30 minutes.) My friend continued, "She has no respect for my time. She thinks my entire life should be built around waiting for her."

I said, "So, when she finally showed up, how was the meal? How was your evening together?"

He said, "It was terrible, of course. We fought and fought and then we ate in silence."

I said, "And the not speaking to one another, how is that working out?"

He said, "I can't stand it when this happens. I hate it when we fight."

I said, "Why is it necessary to fight over her being late?"

He said, "I don't like being taken advantage of."

I said, "Mike, your wife is late for everything. I don't think you should take it personally that she didn't make it to Olive Garden on time last night."

He said, "I can't just tolerate her excessive lateness!"

I said, "Not tolerating it isn't working very well, is it?"

He admitted that it wasn't, and I asked him, "Is a 25 minute delay in your schedule worth 2 or 3 days of marital misery?"

He said, "No."

I said, "Then let go of it."

This may sound like a radical idea—tolerating other people's faults—but it works. And it's God's way. Paul said,

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:12)

God called us to live together in peace. In order to experience his peace in your life, you must be willing to be an agent of his peace to the world around you.

CONCLUSION

In the last days, God says, we will experience peace—world peace. Nations will live together in harmony, and war will be a thing of the past. When this will happen, we don't know. In the meantime, God is filling the world with peace one heart at a time. Those who learn to walk in his light, who become lifelong students of his ways, who let go of conflict and seek peace with others...they experience his peace in their lives—a peace that is not dependent upon political stability, but on the presence of God in your life. He wants you to experience his peace, today.

Steve May has been a pastor to pastors for more than 20 years, helping preachers and teachers to become more effective communicators of the gospel.