{"id":3287,"date":"2021-12-07T12:35:36","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T20:35:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/?p=3287"},"modified":"2021-12-07T12:35:36","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T20:35:36","slug":"show-your-joy-to-the-world-advent-devotional-december-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/devotionals\/show-your-joy-to-the-world-advent-devotional-december-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Show Your Joy to the World – Advent Devotional – December 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

SHOW YOUR JOY TO THE WORLD
\nby Karen Ehman<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your\u00a0salvation<\/a>. I will sing the LORD\u2019s praise, for he has been good to me.\u201d\u00a0Psalm 13:5-6<\/a>\u00a0(NIV)<\/em><\/p>\n

When you think of the phrase, \u201cChristmas<\/a>\u00a0is coming!\u201d \u2026 what sort of emotion does it evoke?<\/p>\n

It might be any one of these:<\/p>\n

Panic:\u00a0I only have three more Saturdays of shopping before Christmas. I\u2019m never going to get it all done!<\/em><\/p>\n

Frustration:\u00a0Ugh. There are so many activities this month. We are going to be running all over the place with very little time to just be together as a family at home, enjoying each other\u2019s company.<\/em><\/p>\n

Regret:\u00a0Why did I say we\u2019d host the family get-together? Now I have to straighten and scrub this place from top to bottom AND make the dessert I signed up to provide, as if I didn\u2019t already have enough to do this month.<\/em><\/p>\n

Envy:\u00a0I noticed on Facebook the gorgeous holiday decorations my co-worker has in her home. They look like they are straight from an HGTV Christmas special. Our place looks like we bought ours from the clearance bin at the local secondhand store.<\/em><\/p>\n

So many sentiments can invade our hearts and minds. But these emotions don\u2019t stay there.<\/p>\n

Often, they weasel their way into our behavior. We appear distracted when talking with a friend. Our frustration morphs into hurry as we frantically try to get it all done. Our regret makes us a grumpy and ungracious hostess. Our envy leads to ungratefulness and can prevent us from experiencing the joy that should come from the whole reason for the celebration of Christmas in the first place.<\/p>\n

\n
Are these the attitudes we want on display during the month of December? Or should we choose the attitude reflected in the old familiar hymn, Joy to the World?<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Joy.<\/em><\/p>\n

The emotion that ought to be deeply experienced during the Christmas season \u2014 and, in turn, displayed in our behavior \u2014 should be joy. Today\u2019s key verse states,\u00a0\u201cBut I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing\u00a0the\u00a0LORD\u2019s praise,<\/em>\u00a0for he has been good to me.<\/em>\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

This verse declares that our reaction to the salvation God freely offers \u2014 which began when Jesus came into the world as a baby that very first Christmas \u2014 should be that\u00a0rejoicing.<\/em><\/p>\n

In this Old Testament verse, the word translated for\u00a0rejoice<\/em>\u00a0actually means \u201cto exult, to go about or to be excited to levity.\u201d What a stark contrast to the emotions we usually display during the yuletide season!<\/p>\n

But what if we tried to take our roller coaster of emotions to God, asking Him to replace them with joy instead? If we choose to consciously thank God for the indescribable gift of salvation through Jesus, perhaps we could learn to recapture the joy of Christmas. And not just to feel it in our hearts, but to go about during the season, excited to the point of levity, exulting God in the process.<\/p>\n

The word\u00a0exult\u00a0<\/em>means \u201cto leap for joy,\u201d and it\u2019s usually connected with a triumph of some kind. Through Jesus\u2019 birth, death and resurrection, He triumphed over death. We need not fear the future because of the miracle of Christmas. If we have responded to the gospel \u2014 the good news about Jesus offering us salvation \u2014 we too can experience a victory over the grave and dwell with God forever in heaven someday. What a reason to rejoice!<\/p>\n

\n
Today, let\u2019s chase down some Christmas cheer. But not just keep it to ourselves. Parking our minds on the truth of salvation through Jesus helps us show joy to the world during the Christmas season. A spotless house and homemade fruitcake are optional.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Father, may my mind dwell this season on the incredible gift of salvation through Jesus that is the source of all joy in this life and the life to come. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

TRUTH FOR TODAY:<\/strong>
\nPsalm 89:15-16<\/a>, \u201cBlessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD. They rejoice in your name all day long; they celebrate your righteousness.\u201d (NIV)<\/p>\n

RELATED RESOURCES:<\/strong>
\nIf you\u2019re looking for ways to use the holidays to celebrate and reach out to others, check out Karen Ehman\u2019s book\u00a0Listen, Love, Repeat: Other-Centered Living in a Self-Centered World.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

As we are too often led astray by what the world has to offer, the same was true for God\u2019s people. And, like the Israelites, we\u2019re left with the question: When will our final rescue come? Join us for the study of\u00a01 and 2 Kings:<\/em>\u00a0A Story of God\u2019s Grace for a Rebellious People<\/em>. The study starts January 1 on the First 5 app!\u00a0Order your Experience Guide<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

REFLECT AND RESPOND:<\/strong>
\nWhat is the major emotion you experience when you think of Christmas being just three weeks away? How can you focus instead on the joy of your salvation?<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2017 by Karen Ehman. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Proverbs 31 Ministries<\/a>
\nP.O. Box 3189
\nMatthews, NC 28106
\nwww.Proverbs31.org<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Source: Crosswalk Devotionals\u00a0<\/span>Published on 2021-12-07<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SHOW YOUR JOY TO THE WORLD by Karen Ehman \u201cBut I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your\u00a0salvation. I<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3289,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-devotionals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecommunitympk.org\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}