Today is the third Sunday in Advent when we light the candle of love. What is Christmas if not a story of love reaching across time and space and dimensions - from the heavenly realm to the earthly? When the Bible wants to describe the divine motivation for all that Jesus has done, it goes to this:

"For God so LOVED the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

It is God's love that sparked the birth of Christ and the celebration that we have today and this week. As we read through the stories in Matthew and Luke, we find stories of love in the lives of Zechariah and Elizabeth, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men- God's love moving them all. God's love moves us at Christmas. God's love transcends time. We will reenact the manger scene and place ourselves in that moment on Christmas Eve, drawn by the love of God as if time compresses at Christmas. We look back 2,000 years and we also look forward to the promise return of Christ again and the fresh gift of resurrection life and the hopes that he brings.

God's vision of love is to lift up those who are broken and to heal the sick and the struggling and to give hope to the hopeless and peace to those who are exhausted by violence. God's love in Jesus is here to make the desert places in your heart bloom with life.

For God so LOVED the world...

Glory to God in the Highest: The Birth of Jesus
Weekly Devotional 12.23.2024

“Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:11-12

The Château de Versailles is unlike any other palace and stands in stark contrast to the birthplace of King Jesus. Instead of an elaborate palace with curated gardens, Jesus was born in a humble stall. The true King’s birthplace wasn’t filled with marble floors and gold leaf furniture, but instead a feeding trough for animals where He was wrapped with strips of cloth. The promised Messiah came in the most mundane and humble way, and yet, heaven and earth marveled and exalted His birth, giving praise and glory to God for the arrival of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. Everything about the arrival of the Savior was humble and meek.

Discover Joy - Luke 2:8-14 - Dr. Jeff Raines

We don't have to manufacture joy or hold onto joy but instead discover joy because it's not an emotion we have to figure out how to feel. Our impulse and our world says that joy is found in youth, in money, in getting things, in feeling good.

But joy comes more in the seeking and in the struggle. Joy is what happens when the Holy Spirit intersects the human heart.

In Luke 2, the announcement of good news comes to the shepherds- the outcasts, on the fringes of poverty.

Joy often comes in the unexpected. When we're serving or creating or building- sometimes when we're engrossed with something joy surprises us.

Joy often comes in the midst of a struggle. James 1:2-4 implores us to "consider it pure joy... when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your fairy produces perseverance..." Growth and maturity can sometimes only comes through being broken.

Joy often comes in obedience to God. Going to see an infant wasn't convenient for the shepherds, but the errand brought great joy. God's work intersected them in a surprising way.

How's your joy today? Sometimes it takes opening our eyes to see it. Sometimes it takes closing our eyes and asking God to reveal it to us. Sometimes it takes letting go of our idols. Sometimes it takes taking the next step in obedience. God's joy is available to all of us. It's there for us to discover.