Good morning,
Praise the Lord for the way He is the Lord of Joy. One of the foundational truths of the Christian faith is Joy. It is an invitation to come to Jesus and experience the Joy that He alone offers. The children of our church presented a Christmas pageant yesterday. It was celebrative and festive. Praise the Lord for the children, who have the capacity for wonder and awe. No wonder our Lord said that until we become like children we can not enter the Kingdom of God.
One of the readings for yesterday was taken from Zephaniah, one of the twelve minor prophets. It was from Zephaniah 3:14 ff. As we read the minor prophets we read about God's judgement on rebellion, on idolatry, on unbelief, on greed and exploitation, and on injustice. It is very beautiful to ponder and to know that the judgment of our Holy and righteous God is always tempered with mercy and grace. The same theme is reverberated in Isaiah 40:1-5, where we read, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
The underlying tone of Zephaniah 3:14 is thunderous and triumphant. It reveals a holy imperative, as it calls upon the Lord's people to sing, to shout, and to rejoice, for the Lord has taken away their judgment. The people and the culture who have rejected Christ live under condemnation and judgment. We see universally, in the Christless culture, a deep sense of chaos, confusion, condemnation, dread, and fear. The self-help books that are abundant on our bookshelves cannot remove condemnation or bring about peace or reconciliation. We need divine intervention. We need holy power beyond ourselves. This is the miracle of Christmas - God descending to our level in Jesus Christ, to remove judgment, destroy the works of darkness, and shed abroad in our hearts His light, His grace, and His peace.
In Zephaniah 3:17 we read, "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty." We can know the Lord God, the maker of Heaven and earth, personally, in and through Jesus Christ. It is written, "The Lord God, who is in our midst, is mighty to save." Zephaniah continues, "He will rejoice over us with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing."
Without the Lord, there is so much grief, sadness, pain, hopelessness, and despair in the world. Much of the world's music (without Christ) deals with loneliness, violence, brokenness, betrayal, and alienation. Christ came, and the angels declared on Christmas day the good news of great joy. May the Christ of Christmas infuse us with His joy - the joy that the world doesn't know and that the world cannot take away. As we live our lives today, might we become His dispensers of joy to the people with whom we come in contact, that those who walk in darkness and dwell in the shadows of doubt and death, mike make the journey to Jesus and experience His joy and His grace.
THE JOURNEY OF JOY IS MARKED BY God WITH US (VV. 15 & 16). The presence of God brings Joy, which does not come from our circumstances. It is, rather, vested in the grace and benevolence of God. The same God who is Israel’s judge is also Israel’s lover and partner in covenant. His presence removes fear and dread. His perfect love casts out all fear. (I John. 4:18)
In His Joy,
Brown
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chsky1nrkqI
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