"Then
the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings
of great joy which will be to all people'…And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!'" (Luke 2:10,
13, 14)
This
time of year it's so wonderful to hear the Christ-filled verses of Joy to the
World, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night, and Hark the Herald Angels Sing
filling the malls as we go Christmas shopping.
Carols
about Jesus' birth literally transformed Christmas in seventeenth century
England. The winter holidays had become
so raucous with drunkenness and rioting that decent citizens were afraid to
leave their houses, so in 1644, the English Parliament passed a law forbidding
the celebration of Christmas.
Gradually,
carols about Jesus became popular, and many began rejoicing at Christmas time
with worship and praise. Christmas was
proclaimed legal again—another good reason to keep Christ in Christmas!
When
the angel sang the very first Christmas carol to the shepherds, he said, “I
bring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” Joy is "chara" in Greek—meaning
cheerfulness and delight—and is the root for "charis," or God's
amazing grace. In giving us Christ, God
gave unspeakable grace, His unmerited love and blessing. This is the most joyful gift we can receive.
The
angels brought the shepherds “tidings of
great joy" (Luke 2:10), literally
"mega joy," and when the wise men saw the star, "they rejoiced with exceedingly great
joy" (Matthew 2:10). In other
words, the wise men were "vehemently shaking and trembling with joy!"
Today
our world is desperately seeking joy. We
want to be lighthearted and carefree because there is so much pressure, stress,
and heaviness around us. Often we think
joy comes from having more money, but if that were true Donald Trump would be a
model of joy.
Seneca
once gave this advice, "To be happy, add not to your possessions, but
subtract from your desires." Quite
possibly our pursuit of riches is the very weed that is choking out a joyful
relationship with God.
Jesus
told us to rid our hearts of these time-robbing weeds that keep us from
Him. This Christmas, remember that true
joy doesn't come from things, it comes from a deep, dear friendship with Jesus.
"...Though
now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and
full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your
souls." )1 Peter 1:8b, 9)
"And He
said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not
consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.'" (Luke 12:15)
(Sent
by permission from Pastor Wayne Taylor; info@calvaryfellowship.org)
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