Thursday, December 30
Luke 1:26-56 http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=160732576
Choose Joy!
"Joy is the infallible sign of the presence of God."
— Madeleine L'Engle
— Madeleine L'Engle
"I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We're here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don't have time to carry grudges; you don't have time to cling to the need to be right.
— Anne Lamott
— Anne Lamott
Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.
— Henri Nouwen
Joy to the World, the Lord is come! I love that song, the words, the music, the joy that I feel when I sing or hear it played or sung. Joy to the World reminds me that God has a plan and is in control. I just can't help it, it makes me smile and feel…Joy!
So what is joy? Where does it come from and how does one receive it?
Joy, I believe, is a gift from God, a fruit of the Spirit. Often we mistake signs of joy: happiness, cheer, gladness, etc…, as joy. Joy is something deeper. It is a result, a consequence of God’s presence and our "yes" to that presence. Joy is a sense that things are ultimately as they should be, a oneness between God, soul and creation. I know of no better story to illustrate “joy” than the story of Mary’s encounter with the angel Gabriel in Luke 1: 26-56.
Gabriel tells Mary not to be afraid, she has found favor with God. “You will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.”
Can you imagine the thoughts and questions that must have been running through young Mary’s mind? How could this be? I’m too young. I’m not married. Could this really happen? Who am I, lowly girl that I am, to be the mother of God’s Son? What does it mean to be the mother of the Son of God? There is no way that Mary could have fully understood all that was about to happen to and through her. Yet, in her response and the pondering that followed we experience one of the most faith filled moments recorded in Scripture.
Mary said, Yes! “Here, am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Though Mary did not understand the how, what, when and where of all that was about to take place, she did know and understand that God was in control and that something miraculous and life-changing was about to take place.
Mary said yes, put her life in God’s hands and then filled with joy began to sing, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior …”
Mary looked at her options and chose joy! We have the same option each and every day of our lives. We can look out into the world and say, “no.” Or…we can, like Mary, say, “yes,” choosing “joy” centered in God’s will as our choice for daily living.
Kid’s Challenge
Read through and/or sing Joy to the World. Think about the words: What do they tell us about Jesus? How do you feel when you sing Joy to the World? Make a promise to make God’s joy part of your life each and every day!
Christmas Blessings!
Rich
Here are a couple of versions of Joy to the World. I invite you to lift up the words as a prayer of thanksgiving and joy as you sing along!
Faith Hill
Chris Tomlin…rockin’ version
Joy to the World
UM Hymnal No. 246
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.
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.
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