Worship Him in Joy

Read: Matthew 2: 1-11 (NIV)

¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Reflect:

Imagine for a moment, the anticipation, wonder, and joy of having a family member or a close friend expect the birth of a child. What the child might look like? Which parent’s personality they might exhibit the most? What they might ultimately grow up to be?

As we look back at these verses we can only image how the Magi might have felt. They knew they were embarking on a long journey that would ultimately lead them to the King of the Jews. They knew this was a child, a King indeed, who wasn’t the King over their own earthly kingdom. Yet the scripture tells us they pursued the star in hope and with a desire to worship Him. Upon finally seeing the star, which they had followed for so long, they stopped at the place where the child was and the Magi bowed down, or perhaps even threw themselves to the ground, with great joy and worshiped him. 

If we allow ourselves to, we can almost visualize the scene as it unfolds before us with such great wonder and joy. The Magi were finally at the place where they had traveled so far to be. The end of their journey wasn’t about a location, but instead about the subject of their worship. This is something we can really focus in on. The joy and anticipation of meeting the Son of Man must have been overwhelming at times; but despite the long journey and many obstacles that they encountered along the way the Magi stayed dedicated to their pursuit of the King. Finally, they were in his presence and presented him with extravagant gifts of worship.

Act:

  Let us take great joy in our daily pursuit of the King of Kings because, unlike the Magi, we know the outcome of Jesus’s life on this earth. If we can live this life full of the joy of knowing Him and knowing He has made a home for us in Heaven, then we can and should share that joy with those around us.

Pray:

  Father in Heaven, please remind us daily of the great joy we have in knowing the one true King. Help us to have the courage and boldness to share that knowledge and joy with those we encounter on a daily basis. Let our daily pursuit of Jesus lead us to offer You thoughtful and extravagant gifts of worship.

Steven and Leigh Wright

Joy: God’s Gift to Us

Read: 1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV)

⁸Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Reflect:

I’m the youngest of four boys, so I’ve grown up to having a lot of people around all the time. My oldest brother Fred just moved to Arizona. He has been gone for five months, and my other two brothers are at college, so I’m the only one in my house with my parents. Fred will be coming home for the first time at Christmas. Just the anticipation of seeing him again gives me great joy, and it’s just a visit from my brother. All the time spent apart makes that hello so much sweeter because it helps you realize just how much they mean to you.

As Christians, we are sure we will see God because we trust him and know that he saved us. On Christmas morning, my brothers and I all sleep in the same room, but the anticipation is enough to keep us up. When we wake up in the morning, we have to go sit at the top of the stairs until our parents are done dancing and take pictures. Then we can come downstairs. All the anticipation is leading up to that moment. But when we open our presents, we are sometimes disappointed because we didn’t get exactly what we wanted. With our salvation, there is no disappointment because no matter how great we think being with God will be, it will come nowhere close to what it will actually be like.

We don’t see God right now, and we won’t see him in the flesh unless he comes back. But we can take joy in knowing that, because of our love and our belief, when we do meet him Jesus will step in and say “Well done good and faithful servant … Enter into the joy of your Lord” (Mathew 25:21).

Act:

Take the joy you have in your life and spread it wherever you can. Rejoice in the fact that one day we will be with God. Live every day as if you’re living as an extension of Jesus or a tool of God’s will.

Pray:

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the joys You bring to our lives every day. I pray that we will be able to spread Your joy and happiness to the rest of the world. Amen.

Peter Fulton

Joy

Read: Psalm 30:1-5 (NIV)

¹I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. ²Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. ³You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you spared me from going down to the pit. ⁴Sing the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. ⁵For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Reflect:

This Psalm is an incredible expression of praise and joy sung by David. We can all relate to times when we’ve been in “the depths” and needed help, healing, and deliverance from our enemies. There is comfort in knowing we serve the God of David and God never changes. This same God comforts us in our deepest of despair. How is it that we can have such a relationship with the Almighty God? How is it that He hears our cries? Jesus made this possible. Paul says in Hebrews 12 that Jesus “for the joy set before him endured the cross.” What was that joy? It was the knowledge that his obedient sacrifice would bridge the gap, created when sin entered the world, between man and God. Just like an Olympian keeps his or her eye on the ultimate prize of the gold medal, Jesus kept His eyes on becoming our Savior and making it possible for us to live forever with him in Heaven. Jesus knew that when his sacrifice was complete He’d live forever with His Father, seated in the highest place of honor. Joy is not happiness; joy is not subject to our emotions. Joy is obedience; joy is our Savior, our prize, our gold medal.

Act:

Daily fix your eyes on Jesus, and in every circumstance remember that just as the Lord lifted David “from the depths,” He can do the same for you. He is the God who never changes.

Pray:

Lord, as we run this race of life, let us focus on You and hold onto the promise of the prayer David prayed. Help us to trust that You will lift us from the depths. Help us. Heal us. And when persevering becomes difficult, let us remember that Your favor lasts a lifetime and help us set our eyes on the joy that is our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Shanon Re

The Joy of the Holy Spirit

Read: John 15:9-12 (NIV)

⁹“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ¹⁰If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Reflect:

We don’t often think of the commands of Jesus, yet in this passage, it is clear that Jesus commands His followers to love one another as He has loved us. Since most of us are clueless about what “love” looks like, Jesus uses himself as a model to illustrate how we are to express love for one another. Love has become devoid of meaning in our current time, but Jesus speaks of agape love, which is unconditional and self-sacrificing. Jesus, by His example, is saying, this is what love looks like:

·        Love lays down its life for its friends.

·        Love seeks to heal people.

·        Love speaks the truth even when it is difficult.

·        Love stands up for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

·        Love seeks out the hurting and rejected.

Is it possible to truly love each other as Jesus loved us? In our own strength, it is impossible. For who can discipline themselves into loving, truly loving, someone else? However, with the power of the Holy Spirit living within us, Jesus’ command to love each other is transformed into the “easy and light” burden of which Jesus speaks in Matthew 11:30. When the Holy Spirit writes the words of God on our hearts, the love of Christ flows naturally from our lives to touch those around us. Without us even being aware, the Holy Spirit is giving us words and prompting us to take actions that fulfill His commandment to love one another. The Holy Spirit gives us the joy that is within Christ and makes our joy complete. It is only by the Holy Spirit that we are empowered to love one another as Jesus has loved us and to remain joyful even when faced with rejection, poverty, and the threat of death.

 Act:

Jesus commands His followers to love one another as He has loved us. We can only accomplish this through the inner working of the Holy Spirit.

For those of you who have not accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation, doing so will allow you to be reconciled to God and will also indwell you with the promised Holy Spirit.

For believers, we can pray for a fresh indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the sensitivity to hear and obey His leading to love those around us.

Pray:

Jesus, I am so thankful that You give me everything I need to be in the right relationship with You and to follow your commands. I want to love others as You love me, but I know I cannot do this without Your power. Please give me a fresh indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a sensitive heart, and a teachable mind so that I can listen and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. Please use me as Your vessel to show Your love to those I come in contact with today.

Mike Kelly

Sing, Sing, Sing

Read: Psalm 47 (NIV)

¹Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. ²For the Lord Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth. ³He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet. ⁴He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. ⁵God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. ⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises. ⁷For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise. ⁸God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. ⁹The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

Reflect:

Just as the psalmist is encouraging the people of Israel to clap and sing cries of joy for delivering them from slavery into the promised land, we too celebrate at Christmas by singing carols and clapping with joy to our Father who loved us enough to send Jesus to deliver us from Satan. A love so great that He was willing to sacrifice Himself on a cross so that we might have an inheritance beyond anything words can describe or we can imagine.

The psalmist tells the people five times in verses six and seven to sing praises. In Psalm 98 and 100 we are told to make a joyful noise to the Lord. This is a call to action, to raise our voices in joyous celebration to the One who is worthy to be called the King of kings. This is not a call to sit or stand quietly while those around us are celebrating in song, but a call to sing lovingly to the One who loves us enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.

During this busy time of year, and with all the world turbulence, let us take a moment to think about verse eight. “God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.” This is not a past-tense verse and it’s just as true today as it was during the lives of the Israelites. Let us celebrate Christmas with the full knowledge that God is in control and let us lean into him for our rest and peace.

In verse nine we are told the kings of the earth belong to God. Nothing surprises God, and He has appointed the early kings according to his perfect will. One day we will understand, and all this craziness will make sense.

Act:

Therefore, this Christmas let us sing, clap, and rejoice in the fact that Jesus is King and is still on His throne. Let us be quick to tell anyone the reason for our hope and celebrate our Savior’s birth with renewed enthusiasm, knowing that one day the trumpets will sound and He will return!

Pray:

Father God, thank You for Jesus. Thank You for loving us so much, that by His sacrifice we can one day stand before You and thank You in person and worship You for your grace and mercy. Thank You, Jesus, for taking the nails for me and bearing my sins so that one day I will be worthy of being reunited in heaven with You and my other brothers and sisters in Christ. Holy Spirit, please open my eyes to the people in my life who don’t know You, and give me the boldness to tell them the reason for my joy.

In Christ’s name, I pray, amen.

Phil Agee

Worshiping with Gladness

Read: Psalm 100 (NIV)

¹Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. ²Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. ³Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. ⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. ⁵For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Reflect:

My husband Eddie and I were born and raised in the Philippines. Growing up, we experienced the very festive Christmas season every year. Christmas trees go up right after All Soul’s Day on November 2^nd. Decorations are colorful and abundant and Christmas lights and lanterns dominate the streets, gardens, and gates of houses. People start playing yuletide music and can be heard from house to house, in the supermarket speakers and shopping centers — some as early as September. Children begin caroling on the front steps of houses in the weeks prior to Christmas. Reunions and catching up with friends in a festive atmosphere is always heartwarming. The family traditions like attending the Christmas Eve service (Misa de Gallo) followed by the midnight feast (Noche Buena) and the unwrapping of presents are the highlights of the celebration. There is no snow, no pinecones, and no chestnuts roasted on an open fire, but the feeling of Christmas is an unmistakable one.

It has been 20 years since Eddie and I spent Christmas in the Philippines. Being away from your family, especially on Christmas, is hard. There were times when Christmas carols would bring tears to our eyes. Every year, there is the longing, the homesickness, the desire to be with family and loved ones. It is not easy to praise and worship during these moments. But the author of the book of Psalms, David, said in Psalm 100 to shout for joy to the Lord and worship the Lord with gladness. These words apply to every moment of our lives, in good times and bad. Our worship of God should never be grudging or miserable. Praising God in the hard times doesn’t minimize or deny heaviness of heart. Instead, it redirects our focus on who God is. He never changes. He promised never to leave or abandon His children. “He is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirits” (Psalm 34:18).

Act:

If you are going through some difficult times today, don’t despair. Begin singing praises to the Lord right now, and discover for yourself the peace, joy, and victory that a praise-filled heart can bring!

Pray:

Father, we thank You and praise You. You alone are God. You are the creator of everything. You are good and Your love endures forever. I pray that we would truly seek to serve You with gladness, as we give ourselves totally to You — that we would indeed come before You every day with rejoicing no matter the circumstance. I pray in Jesus’ mighty name, amen.

Eddie and Riza Fernandez

Joy Found in Jesus

Read: Luke 1:39-56 (NIV)

³⁹At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

⁴⁶And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

⁴⁸for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me —

holy is his name.

⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.”

⁵⁶Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home.

Reflect:

Today’s study of the interaction between Elizabeth and Mary represents the abundant joy found in the Christmas story.

After receiving the news that she was going to give birth to the Messiah, Mary hurried to the home of her cousin, Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard the simple greeting of Mary, her baby leaped in her womb with joy (verse 41). We then see that in that moment, the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth and gave her the immediate understanding that Mary was carrying her Savior. This realization overwhelmed her with joy and led to an exclamation of praise (verses 42-44). Mary then joined with rejoicing song for the Lord’s blessings on her and generations to come (verses 46-56). The joy found in the praises of Elizabeth and Mary in these verses is something that is often overlooked in relation to our own lives. Just as Elizabeth erupted with praise after finding out that the Savior is coming, we too should be joyous in this time because our Savior has come!

It is very easy to get caught up in the holiday traditions of Christmas. So many times we find ourselves receiving joy from the lights that line the houses or the presents under the tree (which are wonderful and heartwarming things!). But what if this season, we follow the example led by Mary and Elizabeth and find our joy primarily in the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ? Christmas is a wonderful holiday, where smiles are easy and love seems to be shared a little more freely. But let us not forget to rejoice in the true reason for this season; let us find joy in the birth of our King.

Act:

Evaluate where You find Your joy this season. In light of the reactions shown by Elizabeth and Mary, remember the reason why we celebrate Christmas and seek joy in the blessing of the birth of our Redeemer.

Pray:

Father, I thank You for Your Son. I thank You that You would love me enough to send Your Son for me, for which I am undeserving. Help me find my joy in this truth, and not through things this world has to offer. I pray that during this season I will have a renewed joy for my Savior as the real reason of Christmas. Amen.

Claire Johnson