"And an Angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. 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 2:9-11
Christmas is tomorrow, and I am so excited about celebrating the birth of our Lord! There are so many things and points of view within the scripture that I could write about today, but God really put a verse on my heart last week and I know that I need to share it. I'll dive into the context of why first: Last week my men's Bible study group was focusing on Acts 16:25. To set this up, Paul and Silas have been jailed without really any merit, and when I say jailed, they are shackled and fastened in literally the part of the jail that all the waste runs to. Acts 16:25 reads: "About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." This blog is called Joyous Thirst...talk about Joy! Paul and Silas are singing and praying to God although they are in the worst circumstances! I can't say that I've ever been put in a situation like that, but I can say that because of my belief and love of Jesus Christ, I find significant joy in all things and circumstances. Why can we find joy, and who can we receive joy from: Jesus! Just like in the song you have probably sang many times this year "Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room!" We can find joy because of Jesus and we find joy in Jesus alone. One of the most important lines though of that song is that we must "Prepare Him room."
When you have yourself, things, and even people close to you, over Jesus, you will not find the true joy of Jesus Christ. However, when you put Jesus OVER You (J.O.Y), you will be singing His praise and have a heart filled with the Holy Spirit.
How can we prepare Him room? It's easy on paper, but it's not easy in real life. We get a good glimpse though in the paradox of the birth of Jesus! Think about this: Our God, creator of Heaven and Earth, All-Knowing, All-Being, All-Everything.....came down to us not as a decorated soldier or leader, but as a baby. Our God didn't come down and experience birth from a princess or in a palace, He came through the virgin Mary and was wrapped in cloth and tucked in a feeding troth! Talk about really bringing yourself down a few notches on the "Corporate ladder." We prepare Him room by doing what He did and that is by recognizing and understanding that we are nothing without Christ Jesus, but in our nothingness and in our weakness, through Christ, we are joyously something! We are so important to our Creator, that He gave us the most perfect sacrifice that is absolutely indescribable.
Back to the verse about the joyous prisoners. The reason why I shared this with you is because last week in church I heard this preached by Joby Martin. Then my men's group reviewed it as we typically do, but then I got an email from one of the groups back in Atlanta that I was associated with that was this exact verse. I've learned that when you feel God knocking on your door, it is best to open it quickly. These prisoners were in the worst circumstances, yet their resolve for their God never ceased. They were joyous through pain and suffering and because of that, the prison guard found the same joy when moments prior he was about to commit suicide.
Please listen to this: Whatever you are going through, whatever you see ahead, whatever you wish to happen, know that without Jesus, and without the dedication of your life to Jesus, you will not find the indescribable joy that these soldiers had. For a very long time, I used to put my happiness into circumstantial things: Golf score, grades, job success, relationships, etc. The moment that I really came to the end of myself and found Jesus completely was when I traded circumstantial happiness for indescribably joy! Yesterday on hole #8 I was in the exact position in the left rough that I was in 2011. To any person watching it wasn't very significant, but to me it was. For this was the place that I tried to hit my last shot as a professional. My rib injury was too severe, and I had to walk in and quit the pursuit of my dream. It was an absolute crushing blow to me. Yesterday though as I played with my two brother in laws, my dad, and my two nephews, I hit the shot from the same exact place and just had so much joy in a place that brought me a lot of pain. I plead to anyone reading this to know that the joy of Jesus Christ is real. It's not going to come from making the perfect Christmas card, or having a perfect family, or having all the riches in the world. It's going to come from giving in to the greatest love pursuit in all of creation. The pursuit of our Heavenly Father who gave His son Jesus to die for your past, your present, and your future sins and who made you the perfect creation through Jesus!
Joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness is circumstantial, but joy remains and runs through every vein of your body in any circumstance. We have the best reason to be joyful, and that is the birth of Jesus. Have a Merry Christmas!
Cameron
Song of the Week: Joy to the World!
Christmas is tomorrow, and I am so excited about celebrating the birth of our Lord! There are so many things and points of view within the scripture that I could write about today, but God really put a verse on my heart last week and I know that I need to share it. I'll dive into the context of why first: Last week my men's Bible study group was focusing on Acts 16:25. To set this up, Paul and Silas have been jailed without really any merit, and when I say jailed, they are shackled and fastened in literally the part of the jail that all the waste runs to. Acts 16:25 reads: "About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them." This blog is called Joyous Thirst...talk about Joy! Paul and Silas are singing and praying to God although they are in the worst circumstances! I can't say that I've ever been put in a situation like that, but I can say that because of my belief and love of Jesus Christ, I find significant joy in all things and circumstances. Why can we find joy, and who can we receive joy from: Jesus! Just like in the song you have probably sang many times this year "Joy to the world, the Lord has come, let earth receive her King! Let every heart prepare Him room!" We can find joy because of Jesus and we find joy in Jesus alone. One of the most important lines though of that song is that we must "Prepare Him room."
When you have yourself, things, and even people close to you, over Jesus, you will not find the true joy of Jesus Christ. However, when you put Jesus OVER You (J.O.Y), you will be singing His praise and have a heart filled with the Holy Spirit.
How can we prepare Him room? It's easy on paper, but it's not easy in real life. We get a good glimpse though in the paradox of the birth of Jesus! Think about this: Our God, creator of Heaven and Earth, All-Knowing, All-Being, All-Everything.....came down to us not as a decorated soldier or leader, but as a baby. Our God didn't come down and experience birth from a princess or in a palace, He came through the virgin Mary and was wrapped in cloth and tucked in a feeding troth! Talk about really bringing yourself down a few notches on the "Corporate ladder." We prepare Him room by doing what He did and that is by recognizing and understanding that we are nothing without Christ Jesus, but in our nothingness and in our weakness, through Christ, we are joyously something! We are so important to our Creator, that He gave us the most perfect sacrifice that is absolutely indescribable.
Back to the verse about the joyous prisoners. The reason why I shared this with you is because last week in church I heard this preached by Joby Martin. Then my men's group reviewed it as we typically do, but then I got an email from one of the groups back in Atlanta that I was associated with that was this exact verse. I've learned that when you feel God knocking on your door, it is best to open it quickly. These prisoners were in the worst circumstances, yet their resolve for their God never ceased. They were joyous through pain and suffering and because of that, the prison guard found the same joy when moments prior he was about to commit suicide.
Please listen to this: Whatever you are going through, whatever you see ahead, whatever you wish to happen, know that without Jesus, and without the dedication of your life to Jesus, you will not find the indescribable joy that these soldiers had. For a very long time, I used to put my happiness into circumstantial things: Golf score, grades, job success, relationships, etc. The moment that I really came to the end of myself and found Jesus completely was when I traded circumstantial happiness for indescribably joy! Yesterday on hole #8 I was in the exact position in the left rough that I was in 2011. To any person watching it wasn't very significant, but to me it was. For this was the place that I tried to hit my last shot as a professional. My rib injury was too severe, and I had to walk in and quit the pursuit of my dream. It was an absolute crushing blow to me. Yesterday though as I played with my two brother in laws, my dad, and my two nephews, I hit the shot from the same exact place and just had so much joy in a place that brought me a lot of pain. I plead to anyone reading this to know that the joy of Jesus Christ is real. It's not going to come from making the perfect Christmas card, or having a perfect family, or having all the riches in the world. It's going to come from giving in to the greatest love pursuit in all of creation. The pursuit of our Heavenly Father who gave His son Jesus to die for your past, your present, and your future sins and who made you the perfect creation through Jesus!
Joy and happiness are not the same. Happiness is circumstantial, but joy remains and runs through every vein of your body in any circumstance. We have the best reason to be joyful, and that is the birth of Jesus. Have a Merry Christmas!
Cameron
Song of the Week: Joy to the World!
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