Strong in faith and strong standing together.

Int’l (MNN) — Christ loves the church and gave Himself for it. As hardships come, remember the strength of standing together as a strong body of believers, united in Christ.

Bob Creson with Wycliffe Bible Translators reminds us, “We are in season now, the Christmas season, where the Prince of Peace would love to reign in people’s lives. Also, in communities we can pray for peace in…the world. We can pray for the troops, that they’ll be able to restore calm without a lot of additional violence.”

Focusing mainly on praying for the church, Creson says, “Let’s pray that the church will be the church. Often in these situations, whether it be a natural disaster or political [conflict], sometimes it’s hard to know how to pray. Certainly pray for peace and pray for calm. But maybe we can pray that the church would know how to be the church in the midst of very difficult and challenging circumstances. How do you reach out to people that hate you? How do you minister to people that are in need?”

This Christmas, let’s focus on Christ and our unity in Him. Strive to make His name known among the nations. Pray that through the challenges that arise, the church and body of believers will stand strong.