An Exhortation (Luke 2:10 Joy and Peace)

Luke 2:10 “And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”

Today there isn’t much of a study, but rather I wanted to ask, to exhort, all of you to stop and remember the reason we celebrate Christmas. That is, as we know, to remember the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Saviour!

Yesterday I was really saddened when I would read on the news, things like, “Only Three Shopping Days left of the Holiday Season!” and “Retail Stores hope for a last minute Holiday rush.” It is a very sad thing when people first of all blatantly replace Christmas with Holiday (some say “they say holidays to cover all the religious holidays celebrated around that time” but when they refer to a specific day by saying “three days left,” it shows a blatant attack on Christmas because Christmas is the day they are referring to, not all the other holidays that are celebrated in winter), but also the fact that People only see it as a time to shop and give and receive gifts! They may even say that the true meaning of Christmas is to give gifts instead of receive them, but even that is twisted into gifts instead of the REAL reason and meaning behind Christmas: Jesus!

It is saddening to think and see all that happening, even among Christians! Even though our Lord may not have been born on December 25th (that’s a study all on it’s own though, so we won’t get into that today), we should take time to remember our Lord’s birth. When we think and remember what we talked about Friday, and how “uncomfortable” it must’ve been for God to leave His Throne and come to this world in the form of man . . . even the birth of Jesus was a sacrifice God made for us! So let’s not forget the sacrifice Jesus made, just by being born here on Earth!

Today though, I want to remind all of you, to take time and spend the day doing what we should be doing: Remembering Jesus this time of year. We tend to become SO BUSY this time of year, and so stressed out, and fed up with all that is going on around us and everything we supposedly HAVE to do . . . that we lose sight of what we are really supposed to do: remember Jesus!

Christmas brings forth a wide range of feelings and emotions for people. Those who have lost loved ones, often feel sorrow this time of year as they find that person missing, when he or she used to be there. Other people become stressed as they rush to get things done. Other people feel nothing at all, while a few others, may grasp the real way we should feel around Christmas.

What should be felt, and how should we be when we remember the birth of our Lord Jesus? Actually we should be this way year-round, but the things that are associated with the Birth of our Lord are these two main things: JOY and PEACE!

What is Joy? It’s the opposite of sorrow! It is realizing what God did for us when He came here, and being so happy we want to dance around and sing! We want to go and Tell It On The Mountain! We are so happen and joyful that a smile is on our face, we sing where we can’t dance, we hum where we can’t sing, or we just do it all at once whether we can or not!

What’s Peace? It’s the exact opposite of stressing out over all the things that are “supposed” to be done! It’s the opposite of stressing out whether we have all the gifts we “need” for everyone, or whether the traffic is terrible, or whether the stores are crowded, or whether the food is prepared and ready to be cooked, whether family will be in, or will make it in, or whether there will be enough food to go around . . . and it’s definitely not “GET AWAY FROM ME! SHUT UP! I DON’T HAVE TIME, I’M RUSHING AS IT IS!” when people offer their help or seem to get in the way when we are rushing to cook or get gifts or wrap those gifts or whatever! It is being able to sit and relax, or being able to relax while doing what you “need” to do, and thinking about how wonderful a love our God has for us that He did what He did and came to be born unto us!

Joy and peace . . . these are what we should be having most especially this time of year as we celebrate and remember the Lord Jesus’ Birth! I’m not talking about something that is fantasy and not possible in the “real world.” I’m talking about something that you must choose to have because it may not come easy. The devil would love to make the experiences of the Lord’s Birth and celebration of it, into something you dread because of the rush and stress and sorrow that he’d like to put with it. Don’t let him. Be REAL by showing God that you are His and not the devil’s, not other people’s, and not the world’s. You choose to remember the Lord’s birth, and have the things He associates with it, and if the world doesn’t want to, then they can give themselves stress and sorrow . . . just you don’t take part in it, let them keep it for themselves!

So please remember to take time to have Joy and Peace, the Real Joy and Peace that the Lord Himself chose to give us and put with His Birth!

I love you dearly and pray that you have a wonderful, blessed, peaceful and joyous Christmas Eve! I continue to keep you, daily, in my prayers! God Bless you mightily and abundantly! I will still try to see you tomorrow and send something tomorrow, so no worries! Have a blessed day in the Lord today!

Love always in Christ,
Your friend forever,
And brother,
Michael

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Psalm 4:7 “Thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased.”

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