May The Joy Shine Through

Now as He approached the gate of the city, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her, and said to her, “Do not weep.” And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear gripped them all, and they began glorifying God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited His people!” Luke 7:12-16 NASB

Receiving Jesus’ peace comes from faith in the promises of God. Peace for who? Peace among those on whom the Lord’s favor rests. Peace among God’s people with whom He is pleased. Without faith it is impossible to please God.  And when we do trust the promises of God and have joy and peace, faith and love, then the weary world rejoices and God is glorified! HALLELUHAH!

In the book of Romans, Apostle Paul prays, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.” 

Romans 15:8-13 NASB ”For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles, And I will sing to Your name.” Again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.” Again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.” Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.“

The people who seek the peace of God that surpasses all understanding are those who in everything by prayer and supplication let their requests be made known to God.  

But too many do not seek Jesus and for those who refuse the Saviour, those who have turned their backs on Him, Christmas does not bring peace to all. 

This is the judgment says the word of God in John 3:10-21 NASB “Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know and testify of what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Jesus the Christ is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”

And in the book of Luke it is recorded that Simeon knew the infant king as God and understood why He had been born, for the word of God states in Luke 2:25-34 NASB “And there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout, looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to carry out for Him the custom of the Law, then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, “Now Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed”

Scripture teaches us that Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day for all of humanity! those who are broken, hurt and disappointed. Those who are celebrating and joyful. Those who have strayed so far from God, and those who rest under His covering. Jesus came for the messy and the forgotten. He came to heal the brokenhearted. He came for those who know His voice and walk in His way. He came to restore the wholeness that comes from a relationship with God. Jesus chose to be among His people to reconcile humanity to the Lord of all creation, and flood our hearts with joy and peace that just doesn’t make sense in todays’s world. 

The Lord is gracious and compassionate and He understands that maybe this Christmas we feel that we just don’t have it in us to celebrate. Maybe this past year has been overshadowed by a heaviness that refuses to budge, like the joy has been sucked out of you. 

We pray the joy of Jesus encourages and strengthens you for the journey ahead, we pray His peace comforts you over the coming months, with all that we, along with the brothers and sisters in Christ throughout our communities and across all nations have gone through the past several months may we find king Jesus in our darkest hours. 

Like a warrior goes to battle to protect a kingdom, Jesus came not merely to wash away our sin but to conquer sin, to conquer death.