December 22, 2016

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

In the heavy-duty hustle and Holiday hype it is easy to lose track of our hope during the Christmas Season! Ironically, when the angels appeared on the evening of Jesus' birth they announced good news of great joy to a world that had largely lost hope.

Throughout this Advent Season I have been commenting on the "big ideas" associated with Christmas: Love, Peace, Hope and now, Joy! It is impossible to separate these ideas from Christmas.

So, what is joy?

Could joy be the presence of love, peace, and hope in a human heart?

Certainly, it is hard to have a heart filled with love, peace and hope but not feel joy!

I hope that in your often manic quest for a memorable Christmas you won't find yourself losing your love, peace, hope or joy!

But the joy the angels proclaimed was not just joy. They proclaimed "Good news of GREAT joy!" Great joy sounds even better than joy!

The good news the angels announced is that joy has a name and the name is Jesus. And Jesus will bring more than joy He will bring GREAT joy because He will be the Savior, the Christ and the Lord!

Jesus brings joy as a Savior because only He could bear the awful penalty demanded by our sins. Only He, the Second Adam, born sinless by the miracle of the virgin birth, could be the Savior for you and for me!

Do you know Jesus as YOUR Savior?

Joy has a name and it is Jesus, the Savior!

He wasn't born as the Savior, He had to die a brutal death on a rugged to get that title.

But joy has another great  Name, Jesus the Messiah! He is the "Anointed One", the "Promised One", the "Perfect One" to reconcile God and Man! The perfect combination of God and man come as prophet, priest and king rolled up in One! As Messiah He could conquer sin for us on the Cross!

Joy has a name and it is Jesus, Messiah!

Do you know the joy of knowing Jesus your Messiah?

Joy has a third Name and it is Lord! Jesus as Lord is our Sovereign Ruler! He became Lord when He arose from the dead! Jesus wasn't Lord when they put on swaddling cloths but He became Lord when He took off His grave cloths!

Joy has a name and it is Jesus, Lord!

Do you know the joy of having Jesus as your Lord?

The good news is God has given Jesus to be your Savior, your Messiah and your Lord! Great joy comes when you receive the gift of Jesus!