Devotionals for December 8, 2005
By Connie White
Member, First Baptist Church, Newport News
Editor's note: As the Christmas season approaches, we offer the following daily devotional thoughts. Subsequent devotionals will appear in the Religious Herald between now and Christmas.
Week Three: Joy
December 11
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Luke 1:41-45).
After the angel Gabriel's visit, Mary traveled to the home of Elizabeth, her cousin who would soon give birth to John the Baptist. At the sound of Mary's voice, Elizabeth's son moved, and Elizabeth immediately affirmed all that Mary had heard from the angel. The joy of that moment must have helped sustain Mary during the months that lay ahead. God's joy can be our sustenance when we face uncertainty or misunderstanding. He may send it through the words or actions of a friend, or he may allow us to offer it to someone in need. Let us determine to be sensitive to moments when we can deliver a word of joy from God as well as those in which someone offers us the same gift.
Thank you that you are a God who sustains us with your joy and that you enable us to share your joy with others.
December 12
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today, in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Many of us can repeat these verses without giving their meaning much thought. Even unbelievers are familiar with the “Christmas Story” as recorded in Luke's Gospel. When we take time to comprehend the words of verses 10 and 11, we immediately recognize a theme of joy. Jesus' coming could have been appropriately expressed with many different terms. The angel could have said, “good news of great relief or redemption or benefit or celebration”-and the list goes on. Only the word joy begins to capture the essence of all that his coming brings to the hearts of believers.
Thank you, Father, that the words of the angels echo through the ages and settle with followers who understand the meaning of true joy, the joy that only comes from you.
December 13
So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples (Matthew 28:8).
Thirty-three years after the angel announced his birth, an angel also announced his resurrection. Again, the angel assured listeners that they had no reason to be afraid. This time, however, the women were afraid, but they were also willed with joy! Once again, Scripture describes believers as being filled with joy. Notice that the women were simultaneously fearful and joyful. This must be a lesson for 21st century believers. We can be joyful even when our circumstances confuse and frighten us.
Oh, Father, how we thank you that the joy you send does not depend on our circumstances. Help us to realize and appreciate more fully the joy that Jesus brings to our lives.
December 14
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:8-9).
Has anyone ever insisted that you prove Jesus' existence, crucifixion and resurrection? Often we allow ourselves to engage in a dialogue, if not a debate, about the validity of our faith. Peter, the disciple turned apostle and church leader, summarizes our experience well in these verses. There is no proof of our salvation except the inexpressible and glorious joy that believers experience. Neither power nor circumstance can rob us of that joy! That it is inexpressible does not suggest that others do not recognize its presence in our lives. When unbelievers notice our abilities to cope with difficulties and question how we can handle difficult circumstances, we can tell them about our sustaining joy! May we never take for granted this joy, a wonderful gift from God!
Thank you, God, that there are some things too wonderful for words. Help us to radiate your joy so completely that others notice and come to faith.
December 15
The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God-he and his whole family (Acts 16:34).
What happened after the Philippian jailer and his family accepted Christ? According to Luke's account in Acts 16, the jailer (and undoubtedly his family) was filled with joy! By now, we are recognizing a well-established pattern. Following conversion, believers are filled with joy. Miraculous as it seems, the same joy that filled Elizabeth, the shepherds, the women at the tomb and the jailer and his family also fills 21st century believers. Awesome, powerful, eternal joy: God's eternal gift to his followers.
Sometimes our language fails us because we cannot appropriately express our gratitude, Lord. Accept our inexpressible thanks. May that joy be evident in our words and our actions.
December 16
Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy (John 16:22).
Jesus says these words to his disciples when preparing them for his crucifixion. What gives permanence to our joy? Jesus himself answers this question. In today's verse, he refers to his crucifixion and resurrection. Only eternal victory can give permanent joy. The most significant victory in all of history was Jesus' resurrection that conquered sin and death and secured a joyful future for all believers.
Again we thank you, Lord, for the gift of joy that accompanies our salvation. We cannot begin to imagine the depth of your love, and we do not want to forget the price you paid to seal our joy.
December 17
Joyful, joyful, we adore thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before thee,
Opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;
Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness,
Fill us with the light of day!
All thy works with joy surround thee,
God of glory, Lord of love;
Stars and angels sing around thee,
Center of unbroken praise.
Field and forest, vale and mountain,
Flowery meadow, flashing sea,
Singing bird and flowing fountain
Call us to rejoice in thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving,
Ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living,
Ocean-depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother,
All who live in love are thine;
Teach us how to love each other,
Lift us to the joy divine.
Mortals join the mighty chorus
Which the morning stars began;
Father-love is reigning over us,
Brother-love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward,
Victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music leads us sunward
In the triumph song of life.
(Henry van Dyke, 1852-1933)
The words of Van Dyke's poem and the music of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony have become one of the great hymns of the Christian faith. Van Dyke uses images from God's love and his world to express the kind of joy we have considered this week. May that same joy enable us to worship the risen Lord who came to us as a baby in the manger.
Father, help us to worship in spirit and truth. Give us grateful hearts and joyful spirits now and forever.