Joy

       What makes you happy?  Or, should I ask, "What is it in this life that brings you great joy?"  Webster, in his dictionary of 1825, defines "joy" as, "The passion or emotion excited by the acquisition or expectation of good; that excitement of pleasurable feelings which is caused by success, good fortune,the gratification of desire or some good possessed, or by a rational prospect of possessing what we love or desire; gladness; exultation; exhilaration of spirits."  Wow!  That pretty well sums it up.  In his definition, Webster pointed out that joy was caused by success, good fortune, the gratification of desire or some good possessed.  That type of joy doesn't last very long.  Oh, it might be there for a short time but it can pass as fast as the wind drives a wisp of smoke from our vision.  In other words, "Poof.  It's gone."  I recall a musical Xylophone that I received one Christmas that was made of glass tubes.  High "C" lasted only one day.  No more music from that one.  There is, however, another source of joy that doesn't diminish with time nor is it affected by any outside influences.  First John 1:3-4 says, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. [4] And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full."   
     As one of the Christmas carols says, "Joy to the world, the Lord has come.  Now, that sums it up a little bit better than what Webster did.  This is a joy that supercedes any joy that can be brought about by success, good fortune, the gratification of a desire or of some good that we possess.  All of those things can quickly pass away and in most cases, they do.  The joy that God gives us through His Son stays with us and never gets tarnished by the things of the this world or of the spiritual world.  This type of joy is always present.  Do we always share this joy in our own lives?  Not always.  You see, there are times when sin comes into our lives and our fellowship with God is temporarily broken until our sin is confessed (1 John 1:9).  This joy can be restored in our own being once we confess that sin that separated us in the first place.  The joy that God gives will always be present and it will always be full.  So, when you sing "Joy to the World" this Christmas season, remember the that this joy is because of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Praise God today for sending His Son to come into this world and to die for our sins.

Hope

        Every now and then you come across a person who just can't sing.  No matter how hard you try, they can't match even one note of music.  In essence, they seem to be tone deaf.  That is, they have no hope of ever being able to sing music.  Now, to their ears, they are singing just fine but in truth it is off pitch, off key and just plain hopeless as far as producing any listenable music.  No amount of training or assistance will ever produce good music.  That is, until they get to heaven.  Once they get to heaven, they will have a perfect sense of hearing and they will be able to sing just fine.  But, on this earth, we still look at him, shake our heads and say, "He's just hopeless."  But, that doesn't really describe them.  The word "hopeless" is best used to describe those who are without Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Ephesians 2:11-13 says, "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;  That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."  
     The people described in these verses were absolutely hopeless because they were without Christ.  They had no hope.  Their pagan gods couldn't do a thing and could not appease any of their sins.  Hope, however, then came to them through the preaching of the Gospel and they discovered new faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Now, they have hope.  The same is true today.  The person who is without Christ is "hopeless."  When they hear the gospel message, then they move from having no hope to having hope through Christ.   We should always be reminded as to where our hope lies.  It doesn't lie in the things of the world which offer only material things in the forms of cheap therapy.  True hope only comes in the Lord Jesus Christ.  He can satisfy every longing that a person has.  So, if you are getting caught up in the affairs of the world and are beginning to feel "hopeless," just remember from where your hope really comes.  Praise God today for giving you hope in the midst of a hopeless world system.

Availabliity

       I remember I once had a neighbor who was a member of the local fire department.  He was a volunteer and had radio equipment that notified him when there was a fire.  He would turn on the red light in his truck and set off down the road heading for the fire.  You never knew when the alarm was going to sound.  One of the most important characteristics for a volunteer fireman is availability.  If you sign up to go to a fire when it starts then you best be ready when the alarm sounds.  God also looks at our availability.  Take the case of a young man who was asleep when God came to call upon him.   First Samuel 3:8-10 says, "And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth."   
     At first, young Samuel thought that it was Eli calling him.  Therefore, he would go out and ask Eli what he wanted.  After this occurring for a couple of times, Eli recognized that it was God calling and told the young Samuel what to say.  The innocent words of Samuel say it all.  "Here I am."  God had a job for young Samuel and all Samuel needed to say was, "Here I am."  When God calls, you need to be available.  You may never know when it is going to happen so you need to always be available.  It is like the volunteer fireman.  You might go on with your life as it is for a time and then God calls.  When He does, you need to respond with the same words the were uttered by young Samuel.  "Here I am."  Isaiah said the same words to God in Isaiah 6:8 when he also replied to God, "Here I am."  Then, in the New Testament, we read in Acts 16 of an evangelistic team that was inquiring of God where they should go.  The got a message from a man in Macedonia which said, "Come over and help us."  Paul and Silas headed to Macedonia.  They were available and God sent them on their way.  Are you available?  Be ready because you may have to say to God, "Here I am."  Praise God today that He still calls us.

Remember!

      There are various things in the world today that trigger a response from a person.  It might be an aroma or a sound or something that you see.  When you come across these things, they remind you of something or someone else.  I remember plowing a field on a cool fall day and the smell of the plowed ground, the exhaust from the tractor and aroma of the falling leaves mixed together to form  an aroma that reminded me of someone, if but for a moment.  As I sat down today to write the devotion for tomorrow, I typed the date and immediately there was a picture in my mind of Pearl Harbor.  At that time, I was only 3 years old but over the years I have come to meet some people who were there.  I have seen the pictures and the sounds of recordings and the words of the President of the United States as we declared war.  Some things, you just remember.   Psalm 143:5 says, " I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands."  
     The Psalmist remembers.  He remembers the works of God.  Pearl Harbor is something terrible that happened in 1941 but do we remember the things of God?  Do we remember the wonderful act of creation?  Do we remember the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ?  Do we remember the death, burial and the glorious resurrection of Christ?  You may say, "We were not there." We were not at Pearl Harbor either, but we still remember.  The Psalmist remembers the works of God.  We should do no less than to remember the works of God.  Just look around you and be amazed at the sunset, the stars the plants and animals of earth and be amazed at what God has done.  Certainly, we should also remember at Calvary.  It was there that my sin was paid in full.  It was an act that I could never even come close to fulfilling, but He Who loved me, died in my place on the cross.  I was not there, but my sin was there and Jesus paid it all.  So, as you perhaps remember Pearl Harbor, may you also remember what God has done for you.  Praise God today for His mighty acts.

The Savior

        During the month of December, we naturally begin to think about Christmas and everything that is connected with it.  I have mentioned before that our local newspaper in La Porte, Indiana would begin haveing the Christmas countdown.  The corner of the comics page would contain a little Christmas tree, some stocking hanging on a fireplace and the number of shopping days left before Christmas Day.  I don't know if they still do that, but it was always interesting to watch the days click down.  Oh, by the way, there wasn't any mention of Christ being born or a nativity as such.  It just reminded us about the days left in which to shop.  As you fast forward to the present day, you may ask yourself if things have changed that much since then?  Well, they seem to have gotten a little worse.  There might be those who would ask the question, "Do we really need a Savior anyway?   Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"  
     The natural answer to that question is "yes" we do need a Savior.  The problem centers around the area of sin.  Since sin cannot be allowed into heaven it has to be paid for.  The processes of redemption, justification, reconciliation, sanctification and such are indeed in motion and they all depend upon one thing and that One Thing is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He was the Perfect Sacrifice and because of Him there is a way of salvation made available to all who would believe on Him.  This little verse from the Book of Romans tells us that all are sinners and no one is exempt from the defilement of sin.  It doesn't matter if you are a pauper, the head of a large company, the president of a great country, royalty, and educator, a scientist or a lawyer.  The list can go on and on.  Simply put, it makes no difference who you are because the verse says plainly that all are sinners.  The word "all" includes you and me and everyone around us and everyone you read about in the newspaper and everyone that is in the world and everyone before us and those yet to come.  So, basically, "yes" we need a Savior and the Only One Who fit the bill was the Lord Jesus Christ.  His First Advent made it possible as did His death and burial 33 years later and it is guaranteed by the resurrection from the dead.  He paid the price.  He made the redemption.  So, you are saying a lot this year when you say, Merry Christmas.  We needed a Savior.  Praise God today that He sent His Son.

Small Town

      We are reminded at every Christmas season of the place where Jesus was born.  It was, of course, in Bethlehem.  It was foretold by the prophet Micah.  Micah 5:2 says, "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."  
     What is significant about this fact is that Bethlehem was not a very big place.  As the verse says, it was "little among the thousands of Judah."  In fact, Judah didn't even consider it worthwhile to count.  It was located some six miles from Jerusalem.  People thought that the Messiah would have been born in the capitol but that was not to be.  Instead, God chose an insignificant, little town called Bethlehem.  Even King Herod didn't realize that The King of the Jews was being born in the very shadow of one of his huge fortresses called the Herodian located just East of Bethlehem.  What is significant today for us is the reminded that God often chooses the insignificant to accomplish His purpose in this world.  He chose Bethlehem instead of Jerusalem.  God today looks for vessels that are willing to be used in His service.  Sometimes, people are fearful that God will put them into some service where they won't be able to do it or they won't be too happy doing it.  That, however, isn't the case.  When God puts you into His service you suddenly realize that it is the happiest place to be.  It's always best to be in the center of God's will for your life.  Secondly, you also find out that not only does He put you into His service, He also gives you the skills to accomplish what He has for you to do.  God, throughout history, has used people like fishermen, a tax collector, shepherds and farmers to accomplish His purposes.  They never intended to be great but God made them that way through His power and not of anything of their own making.  Has God challenged you to do something for Him?  All you really need to do is to be willing and to submit to His leadership.  So, just as the announcement was made to shepherds, the place of His birth is likewise, not what you would have expected.  That should give us hope as we see God working in the lives of people even today.  Praise Him today for what He is doing in your life and what He will do in the days to come.

Amazing Events

       We have been speaking about "advent' at church.  The pastor will be leading us in the weeks before Christmas as we explore, hope, peace, love and joy and finally the Christ candle on Christmas Eve.  The purpose is to remind us of the first advent, or the first coming, as the word implies, of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes, even some Baptist churches have an advent wreath with all of the appropriate candles.  I like amazing things and this is one of the most amazing ever where the shepherds hear a special announcement.  How would you hve reacted to the announcement?     Luke 2:15 says, "And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." 
      The shepherds were going to put down what they were doing, which involved  the keeping of the sheep.  It was a special night with a special announcement.  Now, it is amazing because it all came down to Joseph and Mary, a decree from a Roman leader and an inn that was full to the brim with special travelers.  Each factor makes it more and more amazing.  You could mention all of the references from Genesis 3:15 the the singing of the angels as the shepherds stood in amazement.  God was working out a plan for our salvation and it certainly involved the sending of His beloved Son to accomplish salvation for us on the cross of Calvary.  Now, what good are amazing things?  The good in them is that because God accomplished the impossible at the Nativity, He accomplishes the impossible with us.  We may not see the plan but it is certainly developing day by day and the culmination will be just as glorious the the shepherd's experience that night in Bethlehem.  Yes, the first Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ does give us hope.  We have already begun the Christmas season with shopping, music, celebration, food and fellowship.  It is always a busy time of the year but may we be just as amazed as were the shepherds on that night so many years ago.  And may that amazement spring into hope, not only for the month of December but for all of our lives.  Praise God for the sending of His Son.  What an amazing event and an amazing gift.