Jimmy Davis's Blog
November 26, 2014
Inviting Job to Thanksgiving Dinner
What would it be like to have Job (you know, the guy from the Bible) over to your house for Thanksgiving Dinner?
That's a question that intrigued me this past week as I prepared to preach our . Here are are few thoughts, and then a link to the sermon if you're interested in hearing how Psalm 136 fits in the discussion . . .
First, think about what Job would do if he came to your house for Thanksgiving Dinner BEFORE he lost everything. I would expect him to be the life of the party, jumping at the chance to carve the turkey and say the thanksgiving prayer. You’d get tired of him counting all his blessings, naming them one by one! And none of us, not even Satan, would blame Job for being so thankful . . . after all, look how much God has blessed him!
And biblically speaking, that response is right and good because gratitude is the response to grace. The Greek word that in our Bibles is translated GRACE is charis means “gift�. Grace is God giving you the gift of His favor and love when you don’t deserve it. As one author put it, "Grace is the face that love wears when it meets the undeserving." But the Greek word that is translated THANKSGIVING or GIVE THANKS also comes from that word charis . . . the word eucharisto means “give thanks.”� Gratitude ou response to receiving a gift! God’s grace and our gratitude are inseparably linked. �
So, yes, gratitude is the right response to God’s gracious gifts . . . But what do you do when all of God’s blessings have been taken away? . . . when it seems God has withheld His grace?
What would Job do if you invited him to Thanksgiving Dinner AFTER he lost everything but his miserable life and his miserable wife? Job just might change that old gospel song to: “Count my many blessings? I can’t think of one.� What would Thanksgiving mean to a guy like Job? What’s Job got to be thankful for? Would you blame Job for not fully engaging in the festivities? Would Job wear his “Too blessed to be stressed� t-shirt to the party?
But this is how Job responded after he lost all of his wealth and all of his children: “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.� In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.� (Job 1:20�22, ESV)
And this is how Job responded after he lost his health and his wife told him to curse God and die: “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?� In all this Job did not sin with his lips.� (Job 2:10, ESV)
Now, I know what you’re thinking . . . yeah, he started off well, but he spent the whole rest of the book griping and grumbling to God, not grateful to Him. Yes, I’ll admit, the man struggled to hang on to his confession of gratitude, but be patient, I’ll come back to that. Besides, we need to get to Psalm 136 . . .
Psalm 136 will tell us there’s a DEEPER GRACE still . . . a deeper grace for which we can still be grateful even when we’ve lost all else.
And since there exists a GRACE that is deeper than the graces of good food, friends, family, finances, and physical health, God wants to equip you by His Spirit with Psalm 136 for a GRATITUDE that is deeper than the gratitude you have for all the many blessings God has given you. There just may come a day when you are the Job who’s been invited to Thanksgiving Dinner . . . and you need to be ready for it. For some of you, this Thanksgiving already feels that way . . .
Hear the sermon for more:
�
�
That's a question that intrigued me this past week as I prepared to preach our . Here are are few thoughts, and then a link to the sermon if you're interested in hearing how Psalm 136 fits in the discussion . . .
First, think about what Job would do if he came to your house for Thanksgiving Dinner BEFORE he lost everything. I would expect him to be the life of the party, jumping at the chance to carve the turkey and say the thanksgiving prayer. You’d get tired of him counting all his blessings, naming them one by one! And none of us, not even Satan, would blame Job for being so thankful . . . after all, look how much God has blessed him!
And biblically speaking, that response is right and good because gratitude is the response to grace. The Greek word that in our Bibles is translated GRACE is charis means “gift�. Grace is God giving you the gift of His favor and love when you don’t deserve it. As one author put it, "Grace is the face that love wears when it meets the undeserving." But the Greek word that is translated THANKSGIVING or GIVE THANKS also comes from that word charis . . . the word eucharisto means “give thanks.”� Gratitude ou response to receiving a gift! God’s grace and our gratitude are inseparably linked. �
So, yes, gratitude is the right response to God’s gracious gifts . . . But what do you do when all of God’s blessings have been taken away? . . . when it seems God has withheld His grace?
What would Job do if you invited him to Thanksgiving Dinner AFTER he lost everything but his miserable life and his miserable wife? Job just might change that old gospel song to: “Count my many blessings? I can’t think of one.� What would Thanksgiving mean to a guy like Job? What’s Job got to be thankful for? Would you blame Job for not fully engaging in the festivities? Would Job wear his “Too blessed to be stressed� t-shirt to the party?
But this is how Job responded after he lost all of his wealth and all of his children: “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.� In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.� (Job 1:20�22, ESV)
And this is how Job responded after he lost his health and his wife told him to curse God and die: “But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?� In all this Job did not sin with his lips.� (Job 2:10, ESV)
Now, I know what you’re thinking . . . yeah, he started off well, but he spent the whole rest of the book griping and grumbling to God, not grateful to Him. Yes, I’ll admit, the man struggled to hang on to his confession of gratitude, but be patient, I’ll come back to that. Besides, we need to get to Psalm 136 . . .
Psalm 136 will tell us there’s a DEEPER GRACE still . . . a deeper grace for which we can still be grateful even when we’ve lost all else.
And since there exists a GRACE that is deeper than the graces of good food, friends, family, finances, and physical health, God wants to equip you by His Spirit with Psalm 136 for a GRATITUDE that is deeper than the gratitude you have for all the many blessings God has given you. There just may come a day when you are the Job who’s been invited to Thanksgiving Dinner . . . and you need to be ready for it. For some of you, this Thanksgiving already feels that way . . .
Hear the sermon for more:
�
�
July 17, 2014
Cruciform Press 5 day 5 e-book SALE
Cruciform: Living the Cross-Shaped Life is one of 5 books currently on sale for 99 cents in all e-book formats. Check out the sale
. And please spread the word!!
April 22, 2014
Bunker-Bound Believers are Boring
"To talk about service might seem boring to some. We’ve fallen into this notion that serving is boring, like broccoli.
This is because the concept of Christian morality has often been hijacked in our day by boring people � people who have reduced Christian morality to the avoidance ethic and its most degenerate form, the boycott ethic. The avoidance ethic is the opposite of what I have outlined here. Instead of seeing the Christian life as about being proactive and abundant in doing good, it sees the essence of the Christian life as avoiding bad. It turns discipleship into the art of, as David Platt has said, 'disinfecting Christians' rather than sending them out for real engagement in the world.
Who would get excited about a life that is mainly about avoiding things and holing yourself up in a Christian bunker, allegedly 'safe' from the world? . . .
. . . A life of serving is a life of joy and adventure and excitement � far more exciting, in fact, than a life lived for yourself, no matter how many times you get to travel the world.�
Matt Perman(pp. 80-81). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
April 2, 2014
Spiritual Formation Happens - Part 2
"Does practicing spiritual disciplines really matter?"
Here's at Focus on the Family's.
Here's at Focus on the Family's.
March 29, 2014
Do I Believe He Lives In Me?
I was thinking today . . . what if I truly believed that Jesus lives in me?
Shouldn't I have joy in my life
if the resurrected Christ
lives in me?
Do I believeHe lives in me?
Wouldn't I have power over sin
if the Father's perfect Son
lives in me?
Do I believe He lives in me?
Couldn't I be free to sacrifice
if the One who gave His life
lives in me?
Do I believe He lives in me?
Shouldn't I have joy in my life
if the resurrected Christ
lives in me?
Do I believeHe lives in me?
Wouldn't I have power over sin
if the Father's perfect Son
lives in me?
Do I believe He lives in me?
Couldn't I be free to sacrifice
if the One who gave His life
lives in me?
Do I believe He lives in me?
March 24, 2014
Spiritual Formation Happens - Part 1
I am grateful to the folks at for publishing the first of a two-part series I've adapted from Chapter 7 of
.
Please view the article at the link below, and if you would, please share it with others via your social media networks. Thanks!
Please view the article at the link below, and if you would, please share it with others via your social media networks. Thanks!
December 31, 2013
The Promise of Christmas Joy
[This post is a follow up to
.]
I had never thought about it until this year, but it’s curious that we sing more about happiness and cheer in December than in any other month of the year. But as I observed inof this two-part series, despite the all the encouragement to have a holly jolly Christmas, there’s a problem with holiday happiness. Here we are, almost a week after the Christmas buzz has worn off, and we echo the ache of one of those famous holiday songs:Why can’t everyday be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly?
The Bible tells us why everyday can’t be like Christmas. It explains why the “hap-happiest season of all� may temporarily manage our moods by medicating or minimizing misery but will ultimately fail to supply us with an inexhaustible source of joy.
Now, before you call me Scrooge, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that all holiday happiness is false, but I am saying that there is a joy that is full and forever. Not every holiday happiness is a sham, but many of them, even the legitimate kinds, are shallow and short-lived.
What Joy Is This?
Like that tree in , which is planted by streams of water, we can tap into a different and deeper happiness that will sustain us even when our white Christmas turns blue. Better yet, God promises that we can rejoiceeven whilewe are grieved by various trials (). Like Paul, we can say, “In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy”�(). Something about this blessed joy will enable God’s people to“count it all joy when [we] meet trials of various kinds . . .”�().What kind of happiness is this? What kind of joy enables us not only to survive, but thrive in the midst of sorrow and suffering? The Bible’s answer to the problem of holiday happiness is the promise of Christmas joy.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.� And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”�(, ESV)
The angels announced the full and forever joy of being in loving relationship with God through Christ. They called it a “great joy� (Luke 2:10). That wordgreatis the Greek wordmega. The angels proclaimed the gospel (“good news�) ofMega-Joy, a joy so full and forever that it would make every othermini-joypale in comparison.
After 400 years, God broke the silence and confirmed the promise that He would save His people from their sins.“He wrapped His love in flesh and blood and.”Jesus was born to bear the cross that we should have borne ourselves. Finally, people who were once under the curse because of their rebellion against God could enjoy the true and lasting happiness of peace with God because in Christ God could be pleased with them. Asputs it,“Jesus, the only commendable one, became condemned, so that we the condemned might become commendable in Him.� He came to make His blessings (true and lasting happiness) flow far as the curse is found. This is Mega-Joy indeed!
Tidings of Comfort and Joy?
Let’s consider for a moment, the immediate and eventual recipients of this good news of great joy.
Shepherds. They were the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth, the social outcasts. The unappreciated, unwanted, unseen. Did their discovery of a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths change their status in Bethlehem? Were they able to quit their dirty jobs and live large like men who just won the lottery? Of course not. The day after His birth it was business as usual. Back to the flock. Back to being unappreciated, unwanted, unseen.Good news? Great Joy?
Mary and Joseph. This bundle of joy had already cost them their reputation for righteousness back at home. (“Hey, are those the crazy kids who think God got her pregnant? I can’t decide whether to be sad or sick. Shame on them.�) They would soon be enemies of the state, running for their lives to Egypt. Not many days from now Simeon will tell them that their baby boy would be the cause of the “fall and rising of many� in their beloved Israel, that He himself would be opposed, and that Mary would come to feel as if her own soul had been pierced with a sword because of Him ().Good news? Great Joy?
The Disciples. His friends. Those twelve who were happy to leave everything, every mini-joy, to follow Him. On Palm Sunday they would “rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen� Him do, but a few days later they would fear for their lives (). Some years later almost all of them would die a martyr’s death because this baby had been born and they had believed in Him.Good news? Great Joy?
You see, those who heard the good news of great joy, held this joy in their hands, and hailed Him as the promised Messiah, even they experienced great loss and loneliness. Indeed, all who followed Him would later be described as those who would “rejoice and be glad� to be persecuted for Him, as those who “joyfully accepted the plundering of [their] property� because of Him, “as sorrowful, but always rejoicing� (; ; ).
Christmas Trees
Again, I have to ask,What joy is this that can be attained in and through pain, and sustained in suffering?
The Apostle Peter describes it well:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him andrejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.� (1 Peter 1:3�9, ESV, bold emphases mine)
“In this you greatly rejoice,�Peter says.In what?In what do we rejoice when our mini-joys are no longer attainable or sustainable?
Rejoice in His great mercy. Rejoice in being born again. Rejoice in the hope that is living in you because Jesus is living again. Rejoice in the imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance that you have waiting in heaven for you. Rejoice in God’s power to guard you until then. Rejoice that He guards you through the faith that He gives you. Rejoice in the completion of your salvation that waits to be unwrapped like a present on Christmas morning. Rejoice that the roots of your faith are being driven down deeper into Jesus during the drought of your trials.
All of this is just Peter’s way of saying with the psalmist,“In Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore�(Psalm 16:11).The promise of Christmas joy is the promise of Christ’s presence in every season of life.
Most of my so-called happiness hangs on happenstance. If my circumstances are OK, then I’m OK. But what happens when my circumstances are unhappy? For the Christian, there is a circumstance that is deeper than any happy or unhappy circumstance, a reality that is more real. That reality is this:we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ(). No matter what storm, or drought, or fruitless season may come, we are the blessed, the truly happy ones, who do not wither no matter the weather, who are planted by the streams that make God’s people glad (Psalm 1; ).
Why is the man in Psalm 1 blessed? Why is he like a living tree planted by Living Water? The psalm-writer explains why: "His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on it he meditates day and night"(Psalm 1:3). that the "Law of the Lord" in this passage refers not merely to God's rules, but to the entire story of the Bible. When we root ourselves in the story of Jesus and what that story tells us about the reality of who God is in Christ, who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us . . . oh what joy floods our souls and overflows into our lives! The gospel, the story of Jesus as it's unfolded in all of the Bible, is truly good news of great joy, the message of a Mega-Joy thattranscends every mini-joy.
The promise of Christmas joy is the gospel, the good news that our greatest joy is living in peace with God because in Christ God is pleased with us. His name is Immanuel, "God with us." Even when our holiday happiness falls short, is shallow, or is short-lived,the promise of Christmas joy is the different and deeper reality of Christ’s full and forever presence. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! No matter how unhappy our holidays, He is with us. Heis with us. He iswithus. He is withus.
NOTE: This 2-part blog series was originally meant to be the second sermon of our Advent series "Contending With Our Longings". I was providentially hindered from preaching the sermon "Longing for Joy's Completion" on December 8th, 2013. Be sure to read part one:
I had never thought about it until this year, but it’s curious that we sing more about happiness and cheer in December than in any other month of the year. But as I observed inof this two-part series, despite the all the encouragement to have a holly jolly Christmas, there’s a problem with holiday happiness. Here we are, almost a week after the Christmas buzz has worn off, and we echo the ache of one of those famous holiday songs:Why can’t everyday be like Christmas? Why can’t that feeling go on endlessly?
The Bible tells us why everyday can’t be like Christmas. It explains why the “hap-happiest season of all� may temporarily manage our moods by medicating or minimizing misery but will ultimately fail to supply us with an inexhaustible source of joy.
Now, before you call me Scrooge, don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that all holiday happiness is false, but I am saying that there is a joy that is full and forever. Not every holiday happiness is a sham, but many of them, even the legitimate kinds, are shallow and short-lived.
What Joy Is This?
Like that tree in , which is planted by streams of water, we can tap into a different and deeper happiness that will sustain us even when our white Christmas turns blue. Better yet, God promises that we can rejoiceeven whilewe are grieved by various trials (). Like Paul, we can say, “In all our affliction, I am overflowing with joy”�(). Something about this blessed joy will enable God’s people to“count it all joy when [we] meet trials of various kinds . . .”�().What kind of happiness is this? What kind of joy enables us not only to survive, but thrive in the midst of sorrow and suffering? The Bible’s answer to the problem of holiday happiness is the promise of Christmas joy.
And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.� And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”�(, ESV)
The angels announced the full and forever joy of being in loving relationship with God through Christ. They called it a “great joy� (Luke 2:10). That wordgreatis the Greek wordmega. The angels proclaimed the gospel (“good news�) ofMega-Joy, a joy so full and forever that it would make every othermini-joypale in comparison.
After 400 years, God broke the silence and confirmed the promise that He would save His people from their sins.“He wrapped His love in flesh and blood and.”Jesus was born to bear the cross that we should have borne ourselves. Finally, people who were once under the curse because of their rebellion against God could enjoy the true and lasting happiness of peace with God because in Christ God could be pleased with them. Asputs it,“Jesus, the only commendable one, became condemned, so that we the condemned might become commendable in Him.� He came to make His blessings (true and lasting happiness) flow far as the curse is found. This is Mega-Joy indeed!
Tidings of Comfort and Joy?
Let’s consider for a moment, the immediate and eventual recipients of this good news of great joy.
Shepherds. They were the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth, the social outcasts. The unappreciated, unwanted, unseen. Did their discovery of a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths change their status in Bethlehem? Were they able to quit their dirty jobs and live large like men who just won the lottery? Of course not. The day after His birth it was business as usual. Back to the flock. Back to being unappreciated, unwanted, unseen.Good news? Great Joy?
Mary and Joseph. This bundle of joy had already cost them their reputation for righteousness back at home. (“Hey, are those the crazy kids who think God got her pregnant? I can’t decide whether to be sad or sick. Shame on them.�) They would soon be enemies of the state, running for their lives to Egypt. Not many days from now Simeon will tell them that their baby boy would be the cause of the “fall and rising of many� in their beloved Israel, that He himself would be opposed, and that Mary would come to feel as if her own soul had been pierced with a sword because of Him ().Good news? Great Joy?
The Disciples. His friends. Those twelve who were happy to leave everything, every mini-joy, to follow Him. On Palm Sunday they would “rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen� Him do, but a few days later they would fear for their lives (). Some years later almost all of them would die a martyr’s death because this baby had been born and they had believed in Him.Good news? Great Joy?
You see, those who heard the good news of great joy, held this joy in their hands, and hailed Him as the promised Messiah, even they experienced great loss and loneliness. Indeed, all who followed Him would later be described as those who would “rejoice and be glad� to be persecuted for Him, as those who “joyfully accepted the plundering of [their] property� because of Him, “as sorrowful, but always rejoicing� (; ; ).
Christmas Trees
Again, I have to ask,What joy is this that can be attained in and through pain, and sustained in suffering?
The Apostle Peter describes it well:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him andrejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.� (1 Peter 1:3�9, ESV, bold emphases mine)
“In this you greatly rejoice,�Peter says.In what?In what do we rejoice when our mini-joys are no longer attainable or sustainable?
Rejoice in His great mercy. Rejoice in being born again. Rejoice in the hope that is living in you because Jesus is living again. Rejoice in the imperishable, undefiled, unfading inheritance that you have waiting in heaven for you. Rejoice in God’s power to guard you until then. Rejoice that He guards you through the faith that He gives you. Rejoice in the completion of your salvation that waits to be unwrapped like a present on Christmas morning. Rejoice that the roots of your faith are being driven down deeper into Jesus during the drought of your trials.
All of this is just Peter’s way of saying with the psalmist,“In Your presence is fullness of joy, at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore�(Psalm 16:11).The promise of Christmas joy is the promise of Christ’s presence in every season of life.
Most of my so-called happiness hangs on happenstance. If my circumstances are OK, then I’m OK. But what happens when my circumstances are unhappy? For the Christian, there is a circumstance that is deeper than any happy or unhappy circumstance, a reality that is more real. That reality is this:we are rooted and grounded in the love of Christ(). No matter what storm, or drought, or fruitless season may come, we are the blessed, the truly happy ones, who do not wither no matter the weather, who are planted by the streams that make God’s people glad (Psalm 1; ).
Why is the man in Psalm 1 blessed? Why is he like a living tree planted by Living Water? The psalm-writer explains why: "His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on it he meditates day and night"(Psalm 1:3). that the "Law of the Lord" in this passage refers not merely to God's rules, but to the entire story of the Bible. When we root ourselves in the story of Jesus and what that story tells us about the reality of who God is in Christ, who we are in Christ, and who Christ is in us . . . oh what joy floods our souls and overflows into our lives! The gospel, the story of Jesus as it's unfolded in all of the Bible, is truly good news of great joy, the message of a Mega-Joy thattranscends every mini-joy.
The promise of Christmas joy is the gospel, the good news that our greatest joy is living in peace with God because in Christ God is pleased with us. His name is Immanuel, "God with us." Even when our holiday happiness falls short, is shallow, or is short-lived,the promise of Christmas joy is the different and deeper reality of Christ’s full and forever presence. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! No matter how unhappy our holidays, He is with us. Heis with us. He iswithus. He is withus.
NOTE: This 2-part blog series was originally meant to be the second sermon of our Advent series "Contending With Our Longings". I was providentially hindered from preaching the sermon "Longing for Joy's Completion" on December 8th, 2013. Be sure to read part one:
The Problem with Holiday Happiness
Happinessis talked about, expected, and hoped for more in December than in any other month in our culture’s calendar. Find that hard to believe? Consider the songs that are piped through our car radios, elevators, grocery stores, and shopping malls. We sing more about happiness and cheer during this season than any other time of the year:
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,Let your heart be light,From now on our troubles will be out of sight . . .�
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with the kids jingle belling, and everyone telling you, ‘Be of good cheer!� It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s the hap-happiest season of all . . . �
“Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer,Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year.�
“A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight,Walking in a winter wonderland . . .�
“Have a holly jolly Christmas, it’s the best time of the year.,I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer . . . �
“We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!�
Why Can’t Everyday Be Like Christmas?
Here’s a holiday hit you’ll never hear:“Have yourself a melancholy Christmas, hang your head and cry, from now on your troubles will just multiply . . . . �No, no one wants to deck the halls with downers. But despite the all the encouragement to have a holly jolly Christmas, there’s a problem with holiday happiness. I hear Elvis sing about this problem every year when I listen to my collection of Elvis Christmas tunes:
“Oh why can't every day be like Christmas? Why can't that feeling go on endlessly? For if everyday could be just like Christmas�,What a wonderful world this would be.�
The problem with holiday happiness, as this song admits and everybody knows, isthat feelingcan’tgo on endlessly.
“From now on our troubles will be out of sight� won’t cheer the three men I know who areout of workthis Christmas. Two of them were let go this month, just as the “hap-happiest season of all� was getting underway.
“Let your heart be light� won’t land well on the ears of a widow whose every future joy will now be colored bythe loss of sharing those joyswith her husband.
Go ahead and offer a “cup of cheer� to the young couple who were on their way to Grandma’s house to celebrate Christmas when another car hydroplaned and landed them inthe hospital, not home, for the holidays.
Although it is a myth that more suicides happen during the Christmas holidays, still there will be many who have a blue Christmas. Every mother’s child, unless they lie, has to admit thatholiday happiness is likethe batteryin our new gadgets, eventually it runs down and needs to been recharged.
Keeping Those Batteries Charged
So, how can we attain and sustain holiday happiness?
Just before Christmas last year, theNew York Timeshosted a mini-debate in their Opinion Section about this problem. They asked a handful of “experts� to respond to this question: In the process, these “gladness gurus� doled out some tips on how to have a happy holiday. Here’s my summary of their solutions:
DOWNSIZE your expectations:Don’t hang that shiny star upon the highest bough. If you want to be happy, lower the star.DO good things for others:Be good for goodness� sake.DON’T sweat being a Scrooge:“Bah, Humbug!� is merely a reaction against what has become a hollow holiday.DISTRACT yourself from seasonal gloom:Enjoy the momentary distraction from the winter blahs. (OK, so how do I distract myself from the VISA bill that shows up in my mailbox next month?)DISCOVER and recreate the source of holiday happiness on other days of the year:Everyday can be like Christmas if you spend more time with family and friends and do more giving on the other days of the year.
I’m not suggesting thatallof this is bad advice, but the fact remains: for many of us holiday happiness is either unattainable or unsustainable. These words of wisdom all boil down to“mood management,”managing your circumstances in order tojumpstart joyor at least find a way tomedicate or minimize misery.
The question,“Why aren’t people happier during the holidays?”is a valid question. And for Christians, who claim that “Jesus is the reason for the season� and yet also struggle to be joyful at Christmas, the question is even more significant.
The Bible tells us why everyday can’t be like Christmas. It explains why mood management and medicating or minimizing misery may help recharge our batteries, but will ultimately fail to supply us with an inexhaustible source of joy.
Songs of Joy
God's people have always sung songs of joy. The first Psalm in the Bible begins,“Blessed is the man who . . . �. That word blessed is significant. It is the Hebrew expression for true, lasting, satisfying happiness.
Many scholars believe that Psalm 1 is the “gateway� to the rest of the book of Psalms and that in one sense the theme of the entire psalter is the “blessedness� that comes from living in right relationship with God. There is something about this kind of happiness that makes it attainable and sustainable. Unlike holiday happiness, theblessednessbattery is an inexhaustible source of joy.
illustrates the blessed person as one who is“like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither . . .�. that this is a powerful word picture for Christian joy. The tree goes through seasons of drought, cold, storm, fruitlessness, all of which are difficult external circumstances, yet the tree is still alive, not withering. The tree cansurvivein difficult seasons and circumstances because it has its roots in a different and deeper source. Better yet, the tree canthriveduring external hardships, because seasons of drought only cause the tree to root itself deeper into the stream.
There is a source of happiness, or better, a source ofjoy, that is attainable and sustainable even when our white Christmases turn blue. This is why Peter could tell suffering Christians they had reason to rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory even though now for a little while they had been grieved by various trials (). There is a joy that can be attained and sustained even when we are grieved by various trials. Whatever that joy is, I want it, don’t you?
Full and Forever Joy
In , King David describes that deeper joy: “You make known to me the path of life. In Your presence there isfullness of joy, at Your right hand arepleasures forevermore.� The joy that God’s presence offers is of the greatest quality (fullnessof joy) and quantity (pleasuresforevermore). There is no joy that looms larger or lasts longer than the joy of the loving presence of God. Being in right relationship with the King of the Universe taps us into a stream of the deepest joy attainable and the longest joy sustainable. Texas translation: It don’t get better than full and forever.
The problem with holiday happiness is that it isshallow and short-lived, not full and forever.The Bible’s answer to the problem of holiday happiness is the promise of Christmas joy.
"Fear not, for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
NOTE: This 2-part blog series was originally meant to be the second sermon of our Advent series "Contending With Our Longings". I was providentially hindered from preaching the sermon "Longing for Joy's Completion" on December 8th, 2013. Stay tuned for part two:The Promise of Christmas Joy.
“Have yourself a merry little Christmas,Let your heart be light,From now on our troubles will be out of sight . . .�
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year, with the kids jingle belling, and everyone telling you, ‘Be of good cheer!� It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s the hap-happiest season of all . . . �
“Christmas time is here, happiness and cheer,Fun for all that children call their favorite time of year.�
“A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight,Walking in a winter wonderland . . .�
“Have a holly jolly Christmas, it’s the best time of the year.,I don’t know if there’ll be snow, but have a cup of cheer . . . �
“We wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, we wish you a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!�
Why Can’t Everyday Be Like Christmas?
Here’s a holiday hit you’ll never hear:“Have yourself a melancholy Christmas, hang your head and cry, from now on your troubles will just multiply . . . . �No, no one wants to deck the halls with downers. But despite the all the encouragement to have a holly jolly Christmas, there’s a problem with holiday happiness. I hear Elvis sing about this problem every year when I listen to my collection of Elvis Christmas tunes:
“Oh why can't every day be like Christmas? Why can't that feeling go on endlessly? For if everyday could be just like Christmas�,What a wonderful world this would be.�
The problem with holiday happiness, as this song admits and everybody knows, isthat feelingcan’tgo on endlessly.
“From now on our troubles will be out of sight� won’t cheer the three men I know who areout of workthis Christmas. Two of them were let go this month, just as the “hap-happiest season of all� was getting underway.
“Let your heart be light� won’t land well on the ears of a widow whose every future joy will now be colored bythe loss of sharing those joyswith her husband.
Go ahead and offer a “cup of cheer� to the young couple who were on their way to Grandma’s house to celebrate Christmas when another car hydroplaned and landed them inthe hospital, not home, for the holidays.
Although it is a myth that more suicides happen during the Christmas holidays, still there will be many who have a blue Christmas. Every mother’s child, unless they lie, has to admit thatholiday happiness is likethe batteryin our new gadgets, eventually it runs down and needs to been recharged.
Keeping Those Batteries Charged
So, how can we attain and sustain holiday happiness?
Just before Christmas last year, theNew York Timeshosted a mini-debate in their Opinion Section about this problem. They asked a handful of “experts� to respond to this question: In the process, these “gladness gurus� doled out some tips on how to have a happy holiday. Here’s my summary of their solutions:
DOWNSIZE your expectations:Don’t hang that shiny star upon the highest bough. If you want to be happy, lower the star.DO good things for others:Be good for goodness� sake.DON’T sweat being a Scrooge:“Bah, Humbug!� is merely a reaction against what has become a hollow holiday.DISTRACT yourself from seasonal gloom:Enjoy the momentary distraction from the winter blahs. (OK, so how do I distract myself from the VISA bill that shows up in my mailbox next month?)DISCOVER and recreate the source of holiday happiness on other days of the year:Everyday can be like Christmas if you spend more time with family and friends and do more giving on the other days of the year.
I’m not suggesting thatallof this is bad advice, but the fact remains: for many of us holiday happiness is either unattainable or unsustainable. These words of wisdom all boil down to“mood management,”managing your circumstances in order tojumpstart joyor at least find a way tomedicate or minimize misery.
The question,“Why aren’t people happier during the holidays?”is a valid question. And for Christians, who claim that “Jesus is the reason for the season� and yet also struggle to be joyful at Christmas, the question is even more significant.
The Bible tells us why everyday can’t be like Christmas. It explains why mood management and medicating or minimizing misery may help recharge our batteries, but will ultimately fail to supply us with an inexhaustible source of joy.
Songs of Joy
God's people have always sung songs of joy. The first Psalm in the Bible begins,“Blessed is the man who . . . �. That word blessed is significant. It is the Hebrew expression for true, lasting, satisfying happiness.
Many scholars believe that Psalm 1 is the “gateway� to the rest of the book of Psalms and that in one sense the theme of the entire psalter is the “blessedness� that comes from living in right relationship with God. There is something about this kind of happiness that makes it attainable and sustainable. Unlike holiday happiness, theblessednessbattery is an inexhaustible source of joy.
illustrates the blessed person as one who is“like a tree planted by streams of water that yields fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither . . .�. that this is a powerful word picture for Christian joy. The tree goes through seasons of drought, cold, storm, fruitlessness, all of which are difficult external circumstances, yet the tree is still alive, not withering. The tree cansurvivein difficult seasons and circumstances because it has its roots in a different and deeper source. Better yet, the tree canthriveduring external hardships, because seasons of drought only cause the tree to root itself deeper into the stream.
There is a source of happiness, or better, a source ofjoy, that is attainable and sustainable even when our white Christmases turn blue. This is why Peter could tell suffering Christians they had reason to rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory even though now for a little while they had been grieved by various trials (). There is a joy that can be attained and sustained even when we are grieved by various trials. Whatever that joy is, I want it, don’t you?
Full and Forever Joy
In , King David describes that deeper joy: “You make known to me the path of life. In Your presence there isfullness of joy, at Your right hand arepleasures forevermore.� The joy that God’s presence offers is of the greatest quality (fullnessof joy) and quantity (pleasuresforevermore). There is no joy that looms larger or lasts longer than the joy of the loving presence of God. Being in right relationship with the King of the Universe taps us into a stream of the deepest joy attainable and the longest joy sustainable. Texas translation: It don’t get better than full and forever.
The problem with holiday happiness is that it isshallow and short-lived, not full and forever.The Bible’s answer to the problem of holiday happiness is the promise of Christmas joy.
"Fear not, for I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
NOTE: This 2-part blog series was originally meant to be the second sermon of our Advent series "Contending With Our Longings". I was providentially hindered from preaching the sermon "Longing for Joy's Completion" on December 8th, 2013. Stay tuned for part two:The Promise of Christmas Joy.
October 15, 2013
July 1, 2013
Sermon: I'm A Mess, You're A Mess
Latest sermon is now online:
is part of a sermon series on the book of Titus. This one focuses on Titus 3:3, which reads: "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another."
