Joy and Love - Advent Week 3 & 4

I'm behind on my posts but just in case you have been following, here are weeks 3 and 4 for Advent.

Week 3 we look at Joy. I always like being reminded of the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is an emotion that can be altered by our circumstances, while joy is a choice and one that we can make at any moment. It can be hard to be happy when you are going through a difficult season but you can still be joyful. How is that, you might be wondering? You can find and choose joy when you place God at the center of everything you do. Knowing that He is for you, loves you, and is always with you allows us to be confident in who we are. This isn't always easy.

For me it is taking practice. But the more I do it the easier if becomes.

Joy is trusting when you want to doubt, receiving when you want to reject,

and celebrating when you want to fear.

"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all people."

~ Luke 2:10-11

The Christmas story is about the birth of joy. As we get closer to Christmas Day let's choose to step away from the stress and anything else holding us down. Let's choose joy for the King is born and he has come to give us eternal life!

Week 4 is Love. God is love. He loved us so much that He sent His Son to be born and to die for our sins. He was born to die, to give us life. Is there a greater love than that? Because of this great love He had for us, we are able to love. God loves us just as we are and yearns for us to love others with the same magnitude. This sounds like a great plan right? Until someone gets on our nerves or does something to hurt us. How do we keep loving then? The easiest way to love others is to share God, which in turn is sharing love, even when it's hard.

You can do this by sharing your God moments with others. When He is working in your life give Him the glory. Share your experiences of when God has provided or when He has given you peace beyond understanding. Doing this may encourage someone to desire to learn more about Jesus.

Invite friends to church or speaking events or concerts. A lot of people are just waiting for the invitation. You could be the bridge they need to open up their eyes to this beautiful life of hope.

Evaluate how you currently love people. Pray for the Lord to open your eyes and your heart to love others in the way that they need to be loved.

Pray for God to help you remember the reason for the season of Christmas. In my last blog I shared some recent struggles I've had with this.  With God's help, I've been making a better effort to choose Joy and Love as I prepare for the grandest day of celebration!

Merry Christmas Eve!