JOY - Jesus, Others, Yourself

Its Christmas time and Christmas carols are heard throughout our days and often our nights. And when you listen carefully to the words of old the themes are often times quite similar. The birth of Jesus, the lights, the manger, the stable, the angels, the bells, the 3 kings, the shepherds the star...etc. But one of the oldest songs of the ages is about JOY. And it is "JOY to The World".

The lyrics are classic and remain a song that tells the story of the true joy the world... the birth of Christ:

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!

Let earth receive her King;

Let every heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing

Joy to the world, the Savior reigns!

Let men their songs employ;

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy

No more let sins and sorrows grow

Nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found

Far as the curse is found

Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

And wonders, wonders, of His love

As you read the words, I am pretty sure you will find yourself humming the tune. Jan and I are having a small reunion for our precious widows group from a ministry that we shared a few years back. We did this last year and our theme was The Bells of Christmas, and when praying for a theme this year, God put the theme of JOY on my heart. And the more I thought about it the more I was convinced that while Jesus is the reason for the season, joy is the true expression of the season.And all week the words of joy signs of joy, songs of joy kept appearing.

It is funny when you spotlight a word or a topic you begin to be aware of how often is it referred to. When Jan and I visited about this she said Joy too had been constantly on her mind and she had just read: "Let joy be your default". Seriously, I thought if I truly adopted that mindset, I would be filled with joy because I would constantly be reminded of Jesus, my constant companion who instills in me, His hope, wisdom, grace and peace. Those are some pretty wonderful strengths that cover what ever the circumstance is that is upon me.

We tend often to get caught up in the pressures of life without tempering our thoughts with joy no matter what. Being joyful seems contradictory at times when things around us seem chaotic, and trials are abounding and we get sucked into self problematic attitudes of defense, frustration, fear, or circumstance that appear to be overwhelming.

Oh but God has called us to be joyful in spite of all those heavy lifts that we feel inclined to carry.

Joy, is a choice. When we choose joy, we can have a joyful heart in even the most challenging of circumstances. And when we find our joy in Christ, He will provide us with the strength we need to live joyfully. And Joy is contagious... for when you have it, others tend to gravitate to it.

“But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’” (Luke 2:10-11)

Philippians 4:4-7 -. 4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone.

Christmas is a season that we celebrate for a few weeks but the joy of Christmas and the reason for Christmas never ends. Joy is untouched by circumstances... May you find that joy and accept it as a glorious gift of God that endures forever.

Joy is defined as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something good.

“Find ecstasy in life: the mere sense of living is joy enough.”

Emily Dickinson

“Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.

Henri Nouwen”

 “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be filled with joy.”

Anonymous

 “If you carry joy in your heart, you can heal any moment.”

Carlos Santana

 “To have joy in your heart, one must know how to appreciate the small things in life.”

Anonymous

 “Find joy in the journey.”

Anonymous

 “The healthiest response to life is joy.”

Mark Twain

“It is not joy that makes us grateful. It is gratitude that makes us joyful.”

Anonymous

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

Theodore Roosevelt



Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!

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