(Jesus said) "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:27

In the 1800s, Charles Berry was an open-minded preacher whose Jesus was confined to being a great Teacher. Long before, Berry had dismissed the fact that Jesus was our God-sent Savior.

One night, shortly after he began work at his first parish in England, a visitor came calling.

Opening the door, he found a young girl with a shawl on her head and poor shoes on her feet. She asked, "Mister, are you a minister?"

He told her he was.

With a tone of immediacy, she said, "Sir, you must come with me quickly. I want you to get my mother in."

Thinking the girl was describing a lady with an alcohol problem, Berry said, "I can do nothing. Please, go and tell a policeman."

"No," said the girl. "My mother is dying, and you must come and get her into heaven."

Berry put on his coat and followed her through the lonely streets.

Coming to the woman's humble home, he knelt by her bedside.

He explained how Jesus had come to show us how we were to live our lives with compassion.

The dying woman stopped him. "Sir!" she cried, "those words are no good tonight! I'm afraid. I've been a sinner all my life. Isn't there someone who can tell my soul how to be saved?"

Years later, the Reverend Berry confessed, "I had nothing to tell her. She was covered with sin, and death had come to her door. Still, I had no message. In order to give something to that dying woman, I remembered the things I learned from my mother. I remembered my cradle faith. I told her the story of the cross and of a Christ who is able to forgive and save sinners completely."

The tears ran down the woman's cheeks as she whispered, "That, sir, is the peace I need."

Years later, Pastor Berry reminisced: "That night God got her into heaven and blessed be, He got me in there too."

Today, to your world of worry and woe, of fear, fright and frustration, God's Son -- our sinless Savior -- has come.

* Now I could tell you that the Prince of Hope has come. It would be accurate, for wherever Jesus goes, believing hearts are given hope.

* It would be equally right to call Jesus the Prince of Love. Truly, this little earth has never seen the kind of sacrificial love that Jesus showed as He walked among us.

* No one could contradict me if I called Him the Prince of Faith. Not only was He faithful when He walked among us, His heaven-sent Spirit, even today, still creates faith in failing hearts.

But today we proclaim the Prince of Peace who calms our chaos by saying, "Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you." Those words, which would seem ludicrous if they were uttered by any other mouth, will give those who hear a newfound hope for this life as well as the next.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, all around us there is fear and uncertainty. May I give thanks that You have not only saved my soul, You have also brought peace of mind and heart to my days. In Your Name I give thanks. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 3-4    2 Corinthians 12

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