Our Advent theme this week will be JOY. What brings you JOY? When we experience JOY, we are so completely focused on the moments that we are in and that becomes our exquisite gift. This was my experience this past Sunday at the Farewell and Retirement Open House hosted for me in Springford. When I walked into the hall and saw the tables beautifully decorated and the bountiful supply of homemade cupcakes and knew all that had gone into planning such a wonderful event, I felt JOY. With family and friends who came throughout the afternoon to express their love and to wish me well, I felt JOY. When lovely gifts were presented and people recounted what God has given us to share together in each other’s lives, I felt JOY. When I could thank everyone for their thoughtfulness, I felt JOY. When I prayed for all of us and our families thanking God for what He has done and asking for His continued blessing, I felt JOY. I am still marvelling at what God has done among us over the years and how we have known His constant care and guidance. I thank God and I thank all of you for the ways that we keep on discovering the JOY He gives. And then I think of the experience of the shepherds when they received the message of the angel, “… I bring you good news of great JOY that will be for all the people.” (Luke 2:11) This was the announcement of Jesus being born and this was reason for extreme JOY! When we come to Christmas, we can be touched again by the miracle of a JOY that is so focused on the moments we are in that it becomes our exquisite gift. We can focus our wholehearted attention on the immensity of God’s love for our world that He would send Jesus to be our Saviour. This week’s prayer time will centre of thanking God again for the good news of great JOY with the arrival of Jesus. This news of Jesus entering our world impacts our lives and faith and it is news of JOY that can change the outlook of anyone who receives the gift of Jesus. We will pray with JOY when we pause for our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER tomorrow December 12th at 1 pm.
Thanking God for the JOY we can experience when we focus our attention on Jesus, Lola
Our Grace filled God, when we are able to taste JOY, we are deeply grateful. It is not that we are pretending that there are not troubling circumstances in our lives and world. It is a recognition that in the midst of so much bad news, there is still the remarkable good news of Jesus who has come to be our Saviour. Thank You for the JOY of relief that Jesus has come to save us. Thank You that our faith is in Jesus and not in ourselves. You give us many reasons for JOY, but none can compare to the great news of the gift of Jesus. We turn our attention to Jesus and we discover JOY. Today we thank You that we do not have to wait for heaven and our face to face encounter with Jesus to experience JOY. We are asking for hearts that will seek You and the JOY with which You can fill us. Thank You God that the JOY of knowing Jesus is not something that can be taken away from us. Our anxious worries and fears cannot steal away our JOY found in Jesus. The challenges of our health and the uncertainty of what the future might hold cannot rob us of JOY found in Jesus. The heartaches of misunderstandings and family tensions cannot take away our JOY found in Jesus. We do not overlook the pain of this world our God, yet it cannot and will not dissolve our JOY found in Jesus. You lift our attention to the message of the angel bringing good news of great joy for all the people. The arrival of Jesus did not transform the circumstances of an imperfect world into a perfect world. Then and now, there remain, countless situations of great heaviness and despair, but they do not quench the JOY found in Your Son Jesus. Thank You for eyes to see beyond present suffering to view the great JOY found in Jesus. Thank You God for the ways that we can anticipate JOY coming to us again after a time of sorrow. We want to pray for the ways that we can be messengers of JOY like the angel who appeared to the shepherds. Our prayer is for sensitivity to those who are hurting. We want to be messengers of the JOY that Jesus gives, but not with disregard for how someone else is feeling. Where people are afraid and disillusioned and tired of looking for something positive when there is so much negative pressing in, we pray for fresh revelation of the JOY that Jesus gives. Just as Jesus came to give evidence of good news of great joy, we pray that we will be the means of others finding Jesus and the JOY He offers. Please fill our hearts with JOY as we anticipate celebrating again the good news of great JOY that comes to us with the birth of Jesus.
In the Name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. AMEN.