A Mission to Bring Joy!

Yesterday I took a keyboard to Good Shepherd Christian Academy, the school that is associated with our church, for the weekly chapel. The students, especially the little ones, love when I play for them. Their little eyes sparkled as they stared up at me. We sang “Go, Tell It On the Mountain.” My heart overflowed when little voices flowed back to me, high-pitched with excitement. I left that time with a greater desire to be a messenger of joy.

Christmas is the account of how God creates the possibility of joy; "for all the people!"  "I bring you good news of great joy," the angel reassured a group of frightened men, shepherds who were seeing the strangest sight ever.  An angel in the sky over a field outside of Bethlehem was talking with them! Shepherds of that day were a rough lot, earthy men. They were almost certainly not well versed in the prophetic texts. They were not very observant of the Law. And still God choose to make His announcement to them. Accidentally? Did the angels get lost on their way to the home of the mayor of Bethlehem? No, of course not. God's desire was to bring all people - shepherds from the field - and wise men from the East - to worship the Savior. And in that worship, they found joy.

Even in the middle of my own sorrow (12/29 will be the first anniversary of my wife’s death) I want to carry the Spiritual fruit of joy to others. Oh yes, there will be a little happiness this year that come from sharing gifts with those I love. When I join my children next week we will make merry!  But, my mission is to be a messenger of  the joy of the Lord.

Every day I encounter those who need much more than a hearty, “Merry Christmas” greeting.  Bent under the weight of life, problems, dysfunction, or meaningless existence – only a realization of God's love which was announced by angels and demonstrated by a Baby born in stable will change their sorrow to joy. They won't be 'fixed' by a gift or a happy song. Only in God can we all find the reason for real joy, a hope that is bigger than any set of circumstances in this world.

I invite you to join me in this mission! "Hey, Jerry, we're no angels." Right you are!
But we are ambassadors of the Heavenly Kingdom.  God said so. We have the awesome privilege of leading others to Him, sharing with them the Hope we have found. 
Give JOY this Christmas.

A word from the Word, urges us to this high calling.
" God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you. How? you say. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. " (2 Corinthians 5:18-21, The Message)

If you're reading this today and you do not have real joy (not to confused with transient happiness), let me point you to Jesus. He came to be our Savior, to close the gap between the Father and ourselves. He came to give us the gift of eternal life, which we can own now, while we wait for the Second Advent of our King. Tell Him your deepest need, yes, in your own words, your own way. Ask Him to help you. His answer may not come in the way you expect, but He will come to you. He promises!

(Want to know more about choosing the joy of Jesus? Click here – Two Ways To Live)

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Angels we have heard on high,
Sweetly singing o'er the plains;
And the mountains in reply,
Echoing their joyous strains.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
Say what may the tidings be;
Which inspire your heav'nly song?
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Come to Bethlehem and see,
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, in excelsis Deo!

Angels We Have Heard On High
Chadwick, James / Barnes, Edward Shippen
© Public Domain CCLI License No. 810055

CWTW will be sporadically sent until Tuesday, 1/3/2017. 
I will be taking a break. Thanks for reading along.

Even the Angels are talking!

Buzz! It’s what happens when something catches on, gains attention, and creates anticipation.  Nothing helps a local business like creating a conversation that spreads as in “Hey, have you been to that coffee shop down on Clematis? You have to check it out!” A positive buzz brings increased customer flow and profit. Unlike advertising which is the communication of a message designed to sell, buzz grows out of the experience of people and is usually more authentic.  

Did you know that God invests His gift of grace to people in His Church to create a ‘buzz’ among the angels?  (You’re smiling!)  Check out what Paul wrote about this. "God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 3:10, NLT)  A paraphrase of the Scripture, The Message, puts it this way: "Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!" (Ephesians 3:10, The Message)  

Imagine the powerful spirit beings of Heaven gathering ‘round to talk about Faith Discovery Church. “Gabriel, did you see what that little group of people did in their region? Have you noticed how they care for one another, the difference they are making in their corner of the earth?  It’s amazing. They are not rich, their numbers are not great. Yet, they are making Jesus’ Name known.”  Dream that, friend!  
It’s not that far-fetched.  When Christ is Lord, where the Spirit is invited to empower, where people are desiring God – He is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.”  (Eph 3:20-21)  There it is again – His reputation is enhanced and He gets the praise (buzz!) when the church is being who He created her to be.

Christian, let’s begin to pray bigger prayers, not to become famous, but to make His Name glorious on earth and in Heaven. Let’s ask God to do something in us and through us that gets the angels talking. Make no mistake about what that means. It isn’t about a grand musical Christmas show. Impressive to some, perhaps, but not the core mission of the Church.  It is surely not about building a huge organization that generates huge streams of revenue to enrich some leader.  It is about seeing lives changed, hope shared, hungry people fed (physically and spiritually),  evil defeated, and disciples made. God helping us, let’s give those angels something to talk about.

 "Hallelujah! Praise God from heaven, praise him from the mountaintops;Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his warriors,Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, you morning stars;Praise him, high heaven, praise him, heavenly rain clouds;Praise, oh let them praise the name of God— he spoke the word, and there they were! 

…Earth’s kings and all races, leaders and important people,Robust men and women in their prime, and yes, graybeards and little children.Let them praise the name of God— it’s the only Name worth praising.

His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky; 
he’s built a monument—his very own people!Praise from all who love God! 
Israel’s children, intimate friends of God. Hallelujah!"  (Psalm 148, The Message)

Good News, Bad News

Christmas is a season when we try to focus on joy, rightly so. The story of a Babe in Manger catches our imagination. The songs of angels in the sky makes us want to sing, too. Wise men who come with gifts for a new King, inspire us to worship.  But, let’s not tell the in a way that ignores the whole truth.  Jesus came into the world to save us. That is the good news.  

There is the ‘rest of the story’ that ought to be as compelling as the love. An old man who blessed the infant Jesus in the temple courts of Jerusalem a few days after He was born had insight to understand that Jesus’ entry into His Creation had many implications. "Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby’s mother, “This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul.” (Luke 2:34-35, NLT)  Yes, Christmas is good news and bad news.

For Jesus’ mother, His birth was the fulfillment of a divine promise. She was included in the Divine Plan for the salvation of the world, the defeat of evil, and the bearer of the One who held out the invitation to Eternal life. What joy! Yet, she also would stand at the foot of the Cross 3 decades after that amazing night of His birth and weep at the awful sight of her Son made the Lamb of God slain for the sins of the world.

For humanity from that time to this there are two sides to the Gospel.  John explains that "to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12, NLT)  We dance with delight in that hope, and yet, we realization that if there is reconciliation with our Father, there must also be separation. “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil." (John 3:18-19, NLT)  

One of the great issues about Jesus that we wrestle with is His claim to be the Way, the Truth, the Life.  He did not say He was a way among many.  That is implied in many tellings of the Christmas story, but it is a telling that ignores the whole of the Scripture.

He claims to be the only Savior and He is! So, what will we do with this good and bad news?

Let us not make the mistake of some who become modern Pharisees who ‘thank God that they are not like others;’  spiritually proud, so ready to condemn others who they regard as outside of God's family. Nor can we airbrush the unpleasantness of the Truth with some mistaken idea of tolerance that ignores the true identity of Jesus.  Rather, we let the amazing love that is given to us only because of grace humble us. The fact that we are who we are, beloved children of God, has nothing to do with our merit. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10, NIV)  We are recipients of a gift. Knowing that, we love with the love we have been given.

“At the heart of the Christian’s view of spiritual reality is a man who gave his life in sacrifice for people who did not believe in him, a man who died asking for forgiveness for the people who were killing him. Therefore, Christianity is an exclusive claim, but it is the most inclusive exclusive claim because it wants you to exclusively believe in this man who died for his enemies, and asks you to love and care for yours.” (Timothy Keller)  Keller is oh so right to insist that a true understanding of the Savior and His gift of salvation does not make us intolerant. He makes us people who care most deeply for the world around us with the same kind of love that we have been given in Him!

The Nativity became the dividing line of time for the world and a moment of decision for the world. We can respond to the Spirit’s invitation, believe the truth, and live; or we can reject and remain alienated from our Father, destined for judgment.  I want to ask two questions of you today – first, have you accepted the Gift?  Humbly, faithfully, without if’s, but’s, or maybe’s – will you accept the Savior’s invitation to Life?  Second, if you are beloved, alive in Christ, are you faithfully loving those around you, extending the offer of salvation, withholding judgment that belongs only to God?

Here is a word from the Word.  May it be Good News for you today. "He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn’t even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn’t want him. But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten, not blood-begotten, not flesh-begotten, not sex-begotten. The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish." (John 1:10-14, The Message)

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Joy To The World (Unspeakable Joy)

Joy to the world the Lord is come

Let earth receive her King

Let ev'ry heart prepare Him room

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and nature sing

And heaven and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world the Savior reigns

Let all their songs employ

While fields and floods rocks hills and plains

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat the sounding joy

Repeat repeat the sounding joy

Joy unspeakable joy

An overflowing well

No tongue can tell

Joy unspeakable joy

It rises in my soul

Never lets me go

He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love

And wonders of His love

And wonders wonders of His love

Chris Tomlin | Ed Cash | George Frideric Handel | Isaac Watts | Matt Gilder

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