All-Season Joy
Some joy experienced at Christmas is seasonal. Is our joy only related to Christmas because of all the pleasant things associated with it? Or is it “all-weather” joy like the tires, good to run on all year through all seasons?
Some joy experienced at Christmas is seasonal. Is our joy only related to Christmas because of all the pleasant things associated with it? Or is it “all-weather” joy like the tires, good to run on all year through all seasons?
There's only one place in the Bible where Jesus Himself described what it means to be Christlike.
Do you have an unpleasant outlook on life? If so, are you aware it’s defiling the air around you? If you’re living like this, you’re hard to live with. It’s never too late to change your ways—to be sweet instead of sour.
There are Christians who pour themselves out to serve others to the point of burnout or breakdown. They believe that when it comes to their Christian service “It is better to burn out than rust out!” But they’re so burnt out you can smell the smoke!
Somehow the joy of the season remains that one gift we don’t open. Why? We usually blame our condition on the commercialism or on those overcrowded shopping malls. But the real reason our joy stays wrapped up? Our selfishness.
When all is said and done, you’ll say, “Honestly, I didn’t figure this thing out. It must have been God.” Talk about mysterious! The longer I live the Christian life, the less I know about why He leads as He does. But I am absolutely confident that He leads.
The Son proceeds from the Father like radiance from glory. Although one is distinct from the other, it is impossible for the one to exist without the other. There never was a time when glory existed without its radiance.
The Nazis stripped Victor Frankl’s life down to almost nothing. Once a renowned psychiatrist, Frankl was reduced to being a slave labourer at the notorious death camp Auschwitz. He could have seethed with hate and self-pity but, instead, Frankl realized that the Nazis could never steal, shape, or dictate his attitude.
Perhaps you never realized that it was Jesus’ attitude of unselfishness that launched Him from the splendour of heaven all the way down to a humble manger in Bethlehem…and later to the cross of Calvary.
The Bible makes it clear that Jesus came to earth to seek and to save those who are lost in their sin (Luke 19:10). But why did Jesus do this?