Live with Integrity....Like Joseph

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Yesterday we drank our JOY JUICE as we listened to Mary’s “Song of Joy”.  Today let’s take a closer look at Joseph.

            Joseph was a man of integrity and strong beliefs.  When Mary told Joseph that she was with child, he was confused and didn’t know what to do.  God knew that Joseph needed reassurance, so He sent a messenger to confirm Mary’s story and give him guidance about how to handle the situation.  Joseph was sensitive to God’s instruction and was willing to be obedient regardless of the consequences.

            God honors integrity.  We all need to aim toward a life of integrity and obedience to God.  Instead of following our feelings and trying to understand all the details of a situation before going forward with God’s plan for our lives, we need to accept the truth that God has a master plan.  In Jeremiah 29:11 God says to us: "For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

            Do you trust God to be in control of your life? A new year is about to begin. Odds are, each of us will find ourselves in a difficult situation at some point during the year.  When we do let’s follow Joseph’s example: Trust + Obedience= JOY!!!!!!

Let’s pray for each other to be sensitive to God’s plan in our lives…and get ready for a sweet serving of joy.

           

A Song of Joy

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Since Christmas is over, let’s slow down and ponder the JOYS of the season past.

            The part of the Christmas story that talks about Mary “treasuring and pondering these things in her heart” is so special.  Until Gabriel’s unexpected visit, Mary’s life was probably quite ordinary.  Can you imagine her surprise, when she was told by this angel that she would be the mother of the very Son of God?!

            What was Mary’s response to this unexpected news?   Though she found Gabriel’s news puzzling, she never doubted the message.   When the angel explained that this would be the Messiah, she immediately responded: “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me as you have said.”  (Luke 1:38)

            Mary’s complete “Song of JOY” can be found in Luke 1.   This expression of her heart shows us how intimate her relationship was with God.  .

            God’s best servants are usually ordinary people who love Him and make themselves available to Him. Are you like Mary….so in love with Him that you are willing to say: “I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be as you have said.”  Our true character is revealed by how we respond to the unexpected.  Let’s strive to be more like Mary and respond with a heart of genuine love and availability.  If so, then we will be singing our own Song of Joy!!!!

Join me as we close out the old year and look forward to many more songs of joy in the new year.

Continue to Share Christmas Joy....Every Day of the Year!

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Hope you had plenty to last through Christmas!

            How quickly Christmas Day came and went!  The rush of the holidays is coming to a close.  But will we forget why we’ve been celebrating?  Let’s take the JOY of Christmas and share it with others.

            That’s what the shepherds did in Luke 2:15-20

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’  So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about his child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”

            These shepherds were overjoyed at the revelation of the truth and they went about excitedly spreading the word!

            How about you and me?  Do our lives reflect that kind of excitement?  Though Christmas day is over, let’s strive to joyfully and excitedly take the good news with us wherever we go, every day of the year.  What better way is there to share the JOY of the Lord?

Don’t leave the joy of Jesus just for Christmas time.  Take it with you everywhere, every day!