Rejoice in the LORD alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The LORD is at hand.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7

 

Rejoice!

And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.

Deuteronomy 12:7

 

Glory ye in His holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the LORD.

I Chronicles 16:10

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth.

I Chronicles 16:31

But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.

Psalm 5:11

But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: yea, let them exceedingly rejoice.

Psalm 68:3

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.

Revelation 19:7

 

God tends to repeat the things that are important. These are only a few of the verses in the Bible that speak of rejoicing. So this is a lesson we should take to heart.

We can find joy in all things because God is with us.

One of my favorite verses is found in Psalm 118 – the twenty-fourth verse:

This is the day which the LORD hath made;

we will rejoice and be glad in it. 

 

I often begin my day with this verse.

Sometimes, when circumstances challenge me, I change the wording:

This is the day which the LORD has made:

I will find JOY in it.

 

Because no matter the circumstances,

God made this day.

It is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

² Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

³ Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.

⁴ And in that day shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted.

⁵ Sing unto the Lord; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth.

⁶ Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.

Isaiah 12:2-6

 

I am thinking of Mary and Joseph making the journey to Bethlehem. How uncomfortable she must have been. Ask any woman who travels at the end on her pregnancy how she would like to ride for miles over hilly country on the back of a donkey!

But that is just what Mary was experiencing.

As a young woman about to deliver her first child I am sure she would have preferred to be in familiar surroundings with her own mother there to help her at this time in her life. But it was not to be.

Joseph was the only one available. How helpless he must have felt!  Men in that time did not attend the birth. They left that to the women.

Mary and Joseph – in unusual circumstances – trusting God to work things out.

Common sense would say that God did not do a very good job planning this big event. This couple having to travel at the end of a pregnancy and no room available, only a stable. No family or friends for support. What was God thinking!

Even when things don’t make sense to us we can trust that God knows what He is doing.

Joseph and Mary knew this was God’s plan. He brought the shepherds to celebrate the birth with them. I imagine them sitting there in the straw listening to the shepherds tell of the heavenly chorus announcing the birth, eyes wide at the wonder of it all.

The shepherds visit reminded Joseph and Mary that God had not forgotten them. He was there with them in that stable.

And God is with us, always.

Sing, O Daughter of Zion;

shout aloud, O Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

O Daughter of Jerusalem!

    The LORD has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;

never again will you fear any harm.

    On that day they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.

    The LORD your God is with you,

he is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

he will quiet you with his love,

he will rejoice over you with singing.”

    “The sorrows for the appointed feasts

I will remove from you;

they are a burden and a reproach to you.

    At that time I will deal

with all who oppressed you;

I will rescue the lame

and gather those who have been scattered.

I will give them praise and honor

in every land where they were put to shame.

    At that time I will gather you;

at that time I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes

before your very eyes,”

says the LORD.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

 

The Book of Zephaniah is a short book, written by the great-great grandson of Hezekiah.

Only 53 verses, just 3 chapters, with the first 2 ½ chapters proclaiming God’s judgment on the people for their unfaithful ways. Zephaniah speaks of punishment and destruction. In the 8^th verse of Chapter 3 the message is one of warning:

Therefore wait ye upon Me, saith the LORD, until the day that I rise up to the prey: for My determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all My fierce anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of My jealousy.

God is not pleased with His people because they have turned away from Him but there is hope. Beginning with verse 9 of Chapter 3 God speaks of restoration for His people and verse 14 begins the celebration!

Sing!

Shout!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart!

  The LORD your God is with you,

       he is mighty to save.

     He will take great delight in you,

       he will quiet you with his love,

       he will rejoice over you with singing.

 

On this third Sunday of Advent we light the candle for Christ our JOY! It may be that you are having a difficult time finding joy in this season but the joy of the Lord is not dependent upon happy feelings but being secure in His love. You can have that JOY! The LORD your God is with you, He delights in you, He loves you, and He rejoices over you with singing.

Do you feel unworthy?

You are unworthy but then so are we all.

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:23

Do you think that God cannot love you?

But God commendeth His love toward us, in that,

while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us.

 Romans 5:8

 

The LORD your God is with you,

He delights in you,

He loves you,

and He rejoices over you with singing.

You can have the JOY of the LORD!

If I may borrow from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:

May the God of hope fill you with all JOY and peace in believing,

that you may abound in hope,

through the power of the Holy Spirit.

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads:

they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35:10

 

On this third Sunday of Advent we celebrate Christ our JOY.

I invite you to find a recording of the song It Is Joy Unspeakable And Full Of Glory. 

You simply cannot sing this song and not be uplifted.

I have found His grace is all complete,

He supplieth every need;

While I sit and learn at Jesus, feet,

I am free, yes, free indeed.

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Full of glory, fullof glory;

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Oh, the half has never yet been told.

I have found the pleasure I once craved,

It is joy and peace within;

What a wondrous blessing, I am saved

From the awful gulf of sin.

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Full of glory, fullof glory;

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Oh, the half has never yet been told.

I have found the hope so bright and clear,

Living in the realm of grace;

Oh, the Savior’s presence is so near,

I can see His smiling face.

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Full of glory, fullof glory;

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Oh, the half has never yet been told.

I have found the joy no tongue can tell,

How its waves of glory roll;

It is like a great o’erflowing well,

Springing up within my soul.

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Full of glory, fullof glory;

            It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,

            Oh, the half has never yet been told.

 

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,

that ye may abound in hope,

through the power of the Holy Ghost.

Romans 15:13

 

We come to the end of this second week of Advent listening to the voice of John the Baptist calling us to repentance.

Repent – not a popular word – for in order for me to repent I must first recognize that I am a sinner. Oswald Chambers explains it much better than I could:

Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It is the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit came He would convict of sin, and when the Holy Spirit rouses a man’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God – “against Thee, Thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight.” The marvels of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven man who is the holy man, he proves he is forgiven by being the opposite to what he was, by God’s grace. Repentance always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself.

The entrance into the Kingdom is through the panging pains of repentance crashing into a man’s respectable goodness; then the Holy Ghost, Who produces these agonies, begins the new formation of the Son of God in the life. The new life will manifest itself in conscience repentance and unconscious holiness, never the other way about. The bedrock of Christianity is repentance. Strictly speaking, a man cannot repent when he chooses; repentance is a gift of God. The old Puritans used to pray for “the gift of tears.” If ever you cease to know the virtue of repentance, you are in darkness. Examine yourself and see if you have forgotten how to be sorry. 

Advent is a time of self-examination.

How is it with your soul?

But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of,

knowing of whom thou hast learned them.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures,

which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.

II Timothy 3:14-15

 

John the Baptist was taught from his birth that he had a purpose in life. His parents were given the responsibility to teach him the holy scriptures and to tell him of the blessings of God.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest:

for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways;

to give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins,

through the tender mercy of our God; 

whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,

and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Luke 1:76-80

When the time was right,

John did baptize in the wilderness,

and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.

Mark 1:4

He spoke out against sin and was imprisoned and eventually beheaded.

He paid the ultimate price for his faithfulness to God.

Growing up in the postmodern world that surrounds us, our children deeply yearn for stability, morality, security, fidelity, faith, hope, and love. These deep needs can only be met through the One who meets our deepest need for Truth. 

Marva J. Dawn “Is It A Lost Cause?”

Our young people are exposed to a twenty-four hour news cycle and most of them get their information from the internet which is not reliable. They need to know the truth of God. They need to know that sin exists. They need to know that there is a better way. They need to know:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Our young people need to hear the stories of faith. Stories of how God redeems a life.

What has God done in your life? 

Share that good news!

And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.

Genesis 12 8

Photo by Bastian Riccardi on Pexels.com

 

Bethel is the symbol of communion with God; Hai is the symbol of the world. Abraham pitched his tent between the two. The measure of the worth of our public activity for God is the private profound communion we have with Him. Rush is wrong every time, there is always plenty of time to worship God. Quiet days with God may be a snare. We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God, however noisy our times with the world may be.

Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest

 

Christians have allowed the world to determine how we celebrate the Savior’s birth. So much so that it isn’t about God’s gift to humanity any longer, now it is about a man in a red suit bringing presents. But only if you have been good. Praise God that He doesn’t follow Santa’s guidelines.

But God commendeth His love toward us, in that,

while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

 

They have altered the timetable also. We now begin Christmas before Thanksgiving and ignore the season of Advent completely. Christmas is over on December twenty-sixth and we focus on the new year’s celebration.

Advent is a season. Christmas is a season. Don’t rush through them. Take the time to ponder the meaning of both. Take the time to worship God who created you; the God who redeemed you; the God who loves you.

John the Baptist cried out to his people:

Prepare ye the way of the LORD!

 

We have to pitch our tents where we shall always have quiet times with God,

however noisy our times with the world may be.

Where have you pitched your tent?

Psalm 37

The Triumph of the Man of Faith

Fret not thyself because of evildoers,

neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him:

fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way,

because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be:

yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

But the meek shall inherit the earth;

and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth.

The Lord shall laugh at him: for he seeth that his day is coming.

The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, t

o cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of upright conversation.

Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.

The Lord knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time: and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs:

they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.

The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.

For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth;

and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lordupholdeth him with his hand.

I have been young, and now am old;

yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

For the Lord loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints;

they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.

The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment.

The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land:

when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree.

Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.

But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble.

And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them:

he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.

Marva J. Dawn says that we as Christians “live in the in-between times.”

The time between when we surrendered self to God and the time when Jesus returns or we die and go to be with the LORD forever.

These are not easy times. Because of sin evil abounds, yet we are at peace, trusting in God. As Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthians:

We are troubled on every side, yet dot distressed;

we are perplexed, but not in despair;

persecuted, but not forsaken;

cast down, but not destroyed.

 

CHRIST IS THE WAY.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou?

And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.

Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself?

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

And they which were sent were of the Pharisees.

And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet?

John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not;

He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.

These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

John 1: 1-28

 

 

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:68-79

When Zacharias heard the his wife would bear him a son he doubted the angel’s promise and was struck dumb because of his unbelief, unable to speak until the child was born. When it came time to name the baby everyone thought that he would be named for his father but Elizabeth said no, that he was to be called John. When they turned to Zacharias he wrote, “His name is John.” Immediately he was able to speak and was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied speaking the words contained in this passage.

John came

to give knowledge of salvation

to call the people to repentance

to give light

to point the way to Jesus Christ

Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life