The Heartbeat of Christmas~ JOY

Hey Girls!! Christmas Eve is officially here!!! So we are going to talk about JOY. So you are probably like me when I was little, I could not wait for Christmas Morning!! To see what I got for Christmas!!!! it was extremely hard to fall asleep on Christmas eve, that excitement  and the joy of unwrapping presents, being with family, and lots of Eating!! But there is a deeper meaning to the Joy I want to share with you. First, lets look at The announcement of a Savior.

~Luke 2:8-12 (NLT)

⁸ That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. ⁹ Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, ¹⁰ but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. ¹¹ The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! ¹² And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Wow what a scene!!! Jesus' birth was announced by angels, but did you notice that they proclaimed his birth to shepherds. during this time,shepherds where consider the lowest of lowest people. God didn't send his son Jesus into the world  as a conqueror, but as a baby, why? Because of his love for us. He wants us to Choose to be in a relationship with Him. Then we will be filled with true Joy!

~John 15:9-11(NLT)

⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

So how can we as believers experience true Joy this Christmas?  I believe as Christian we should be the most excited, during this Christmas season. We shouldn't get caught up in the secular way the world celebrates Christmas. This will be expected of them because Jesus is sadly getting smaller in our world we can't change that,Shouldn't we be focusing on the big things like strengthening our own faith and preparing our hearts? Shouldn't we be like Daniel in the Bible where we can only be found guilty of loving and serving our Heavenly Father? Instead ...of making a fool of ourselves by attacking those in the world on meaningless topics? We need to LOVE them. Yes, their are going to be bigger things we need to stand against, but we need to have the evidence from God's Word backing us, not just our opinions for we will only push away the lost! But if we are silent in the little thing that don't attack our God, and are just opinions or choices of companies, groups, or individuals they have a right to that. So I Pray that as believers we think twice before we jump on the band wagon and pray to our Heavenly Father to guide us on when to hold our tongue and remain silent on issues or situations that come into our lives and when to be bold and speak up trusting God to guide what we say in love, joy, and gentleness, but piercing truth to make them hear what God wants them to hear. Remember we live in a loss and dark world and Jesus will become smaller, and we will be tested this is how we show true joy by being rooted in God's Word so we are equipped to respond to the world correctly, joyfully and truthfully. We need to be examples of who Jesus is and be ready to answer peoples question about why we are so Joyful, and not bothered by how the world celebrates, by lighting up our social media accounts with our disagreements, annoyances, or by being anger of needing to be politically correct this will not get us anywhere. I think if we keep getting upset by little things that the world does we will not be showing the lost God's amazing saving grace. but we will continue to push them farther away. We need to focus on the bigger things the world throws at us,We should be sharing with the world the true joy of Christmas. Which is the birth of a Savior, who is Jesus Christ who was born to change hearts through his Journey on earth, by spreading the news that He was the Messiah and then was willing to dying on the cross to carry the ultimate burden of our sin to free us from there chains.

I would like to close in the words of InTouch.org Christians shouldn’t react and become gospel Grinches. Christmas is not a time for austerity, but a time for generosity.

Amid a broken and fractured world, we can tell the story of a God who broke in with redemption and grace. Fallen humanity and a flawed cosmos are in the process of restoration. And our feasts, our gift giving, our joy are mere glimpses of life in the coming heavenly city. Christmas, done right, is a portal into the Kingdom to come.

This is why we shouldn’t fret too much about a culture that has lost the ability to see Jesus in Christmas. Rather we should use this opportunity to tell the world why Jesus is the only source of joy and hope. Instead of rolling our eyes at the tired retail worker who says “Happy Holidays,” let’s imagine the joy of the season by embodying Jesus as the reason for the season... We do it because there is no better story than the story of the babe in the manger, the God-man who entered our world, lived a sinless life, died an unjust death, bore our sin, defeated the enemy powers, rose again in victory and is now seated at the right hand of God. There is no more compelling narrative than the Bible’s story of a sovereign Creator God, a fallen humanity, a redemptive Savior, and a coming Kingdom.

Christians can embody this “Joy to the World” because our Lord has come. The “War on Christmas” has already been won, not in the boardrooms of Madison Avenue, but 2,000 years ago in a cattle trough in Bethlehem. Want more Info?? Click the link below:

InTouch Ministries

I think that was a perfect closing!!! and yes I have one more post of my Heartbeat of Christmas series, and I will post it on December 26!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Love This Version of Joy to The World! Enjoy!