How are you? How has your week been? Can you believe Christmas is five days away?
Although time has been flying, we’ve had some signs of Christmas, haven’t we? We’ve seen the lights on the houses. We’ve put up our own Christmas trees. There are Christmas drinks at every cafe. We’ve heard people talk about how they are so behind on Christmas shopping. There have been so many reminders that Christmas is coming.
And yet, how many of these signs point us to the true meaning of Christmas: the coming of our Savior? Do they point us to the truth that God the Son took on flesh to accomplish His mission, which was to redeem His people through His blood?
Although many people consider the holiday season as a joyful time, we know that this is not the case for many others. It reminds them of loneliness, or it reminds them of loved ones lost. It can be a sorrowful time.
But this past Sunday, we talked about the foundation of joy. Life is hard. We go through many trials and much suffering. The Bible does not hide this truth. However, even so, the Christian faith allows us to have a deep-rooted joy in the midst of hardship, because we have a hope that is eternal. It’s the hope of the true reason behind Christmas.
This is the foundation of Paul’s joy in Philippians 3. It’s Christ. It’s knowing Christ. It’s gaining Christ. It’s being found in Christ. It’s trusting in Christ and nothing else.
He says that nothing compares to the surpassing worth of enjoying Christ. This means that all of our accolades and achievements do not compare to having Christ and His righteousness.
The more we place our hope, wants, and confidence on Christ, the more we will have a joy that transcends our circumstances.
Do you have this joy? Does your joy overflow from the hope you have in Christ?
We will continue to look at this fruit of the Spirit after a three-week break. For this Sunday, we will be taking a look at the First Coming of Jesus and what it means for us.
See you this Sunday for Lord’s Day worship. Just a reminder, there will be a Christmas Presentation this Friday evening @7:45pm (our own praise team will be performing!), and there is Christmas Worship @10am on Christmas Day.
In Christ,
Pastor Tim
Photo Credit: https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2017/11/how-to-keep-joy-in-christmas/