The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Wednesday
December 10, 2008
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice! Let everyone see
that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't
worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need,
and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's
peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace
will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear
brothers and sisters, let me say one more thing as I close this letter. Fix your
thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are
pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy
of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me
and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians
4:4-9
If we are going to experience the joy of Jesus this Christmas we need to be considerate in all our planning and shopping! After all it's His party we are throwing!
Yes, Jesus is coming to your party! He is the guest of honor and He wants every moment of preparation to be joyful. If there is no joy in it – whose the party for?
The Lord taught me a great lesson several years ago when our power went out one Saturday night before Christmas. Cody was a toddler and quite an entertainer. As Roger and I settled down in the den and allowed Cody to entertain us, I experienced the most overwhelming sense of peace; it is just hard to describe.
When Cody looked at the television and Christmas tree, he asked what was wrong. The only thing I could tell him was that they were broke. Well, the next morning my Father corrected me.
Get this – the television, the VCR, the Christmas tree, the refrigerator, the heat pump, and everything else were working just fine – nothing was broke – they just didn't have any power. Without the love and joy given by the Holy Spirit we have no power. Oh, we may be physically well, but without His power flowing through us we are just about as useless in Kingdom work as the TV, VCR, and Christmas tree lights were to us that Saturday night.
I want you to imagine me being, as Paul said, "as close to you as this letter." If I were with you right now, I would hug you and hold your face in my hand, look straight in your eyes and say, "You have all the love you will ever need right now living inside you. All you've got to do is release it." Yes, that's right. If you have accepted Jesus Christ and you gave the Holy Spirit permission to pervade your life you have all the love and power you need to be joyful this Christmas Season.
So, keep your eyes on Jesus, shop 'till you drop, and celebrate the joy!
Father, thank You for the reminder that You are the power we need and You have already placed all the love possible within us. Help us draw from the well of Your love this day as we go about our regular jobs and try to get some more Christmas events completed. We love You Lord!
