daily java

Daily Java:  

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:8-12)

 Today is the third Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Joy. We have talked about hope and love. Today we talk about joy.

Joy is a strange thing. Some have it even in the middle of a lot of problems; some never have it in spite of having a good life. And it is easy to lose your joy and hard sometimes to get it back. On the other hand, sometimes joy just washes over you for no reason.

My wife always has a smile, for me or for others. She has the joy. I tend to be overly-analytical and get depressed. But on occasions (not enough times in my estimation) I will be overcome with a feeling of almost absolute happiness.

That was one of the purposes of the gospel: to bring joy. When Jesus came, he came to bring joy, as well as hope and love and peace. He didn't come to bring new rules or regulations, he didn't come just to bring a purpose and meaning in life – although he did bring that. He didn't come to make the “saints cry” as Billy Joel sang.

He came to bring to humanity a new mindset, a new heart, a new attitude, a new life. And the bringing of that new life is what brings joy.

Joy isn't happy-faces, smiling fools, people with large red smiley lips. Joy is a mindset. It goes deeper. Joy says that no matter what else happens, God loves me. No matter what else happens, there is Someone who is concerned enough for me that he died for me. And it says that there is nothing in this world or in the world beyond that can take that joy.

Now you can lose it. When you let yourself get burdened down with stuff – problems, anger, bitterness, despair – you can lose that joy. Those things are hard to coexist with joy.

But it is also not to say that just because you experience those feelings that God has moved out. Those are problems that are common to all humanity. It just means that those things will not rule you. The love of God will rule you. And joy will be the result.

Psalm 30:5 says Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. Sooner or later you come back to the joy of the Lord, that which gives you strength. Joy is built in to Christians if they will but tap it.

Joyeux Noel. Pardon my French. Joy is the whole point of Christmas.

daily java

Daily Java:

Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10)

Joy is something we are in short supply of. As a society we are unhappy. The Occupy Wall Street thing that was recently so in the news showed a strong undercurrent of unhappiness in people.

Road rage, going postal, fights at the grocery checkout counter – all look to a distinct lack of joy. After all, people that are joyful wouldn’t be doing these things.
Of course, there is a great deal of difference between joy and happiness. Although happiness  would probably come as a result of joy.

But the angels in the verse above didn’t tell the shepherds that the Savior would come to make everybody smile real big and laugh a lot. Anybody that tells you Christians do that is full of religious beans.

He came to bring us internal satisfaction. And internal satisfaction – the knowledge that everything will be fine and that your life is not worthless – is joy.

It is something that people will see, of course. It sure shines from my wife’s face. I tend to be an overly analytical guy who thinks too much and carries too much around for it to show a lot, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t there.

It just doesn’t necessarily show itself in smiley lips.

The angels came to the shepherds when Jesus was born to tell them one thing. They came to say that ordinary people, just like those shepherds, would also have joy in life. Joy was not something you buy or inherit or get as a result of doing something.

It is an internal feeling, an internal knowledge, an internal satisfaction that someone loves you, that someone cares for you.

That is joy. And today is the Sunday of Joy in our Four Sundays of Advent.

Think about it. Get in touch with your inner self and feel and know that joy. If Jesus is in  you, it is there. You may have to look for it, but it is there.

He gave it to you.

daily java

Daily Java: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. – Romans 15:13.

Bob Dylan wrote a song that said, You’ve got to serve somebody. It may be the devil, it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna serve somebody.

It always struck me as really strange that Bob Dylan would write something that was so incisive. After all, he is not the go-to guy for theology.

But it is true. You are going to serve somebody in your life. The point is to make it God.

In the same way, you are going to be filled with something. It may be despair, it may be lust, it may be greed, it may be joy. There is something that will be important to you in your life. And it will fill you because it is important.

If God is important, he will fill you. And his filling will be with joy and peace.

Are your filled with fear? It isn’t from God if you are. Because 2 Timothy 1:7 says that isn’t from God. Power, love, self-discipline – those are from God. Lust? It is hard to even walk around the mall today without running against things that 50 years ago would have been pornography. The Spirit of God gives you the ability to replace that with peace.

Being filled with the Spirit isn’t magic, it is surrender.

You give yourself over to him and he fills you with what he wants you to be filled with. Leave him, and something will fill you. After all, nature abhors a vacuum and something is going to come in.

You are going to be filled with something. Your choice is what it will be.

You can be filled with God or you can be filled with evil.

Your choice.