Third Sunday of Advent - JOY

Prayer – Lord, Joy to the World. For all who are reading this blog around the world…I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 

Praise the LORD! Let all that I am praise the LORD. I will praise the LORD as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don't put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the LORD their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners. The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are weighed down. The LORD loves the godly. The LORD protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The LORD will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the LORD! Psalm 146:1-10 (Underlined for emphasis.)

 

Meditate. This begins the third Sunday of Advent. Light a candle for Joy.

 

Do you have Joy at this Advent time?

Rejoice – be glad or have joy overflowing.

This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

This is a day—Sunday—in which Christians normally attend church and worship the Lord. It is not only a day that the Lord has made…it is the Lord’s day. Rejoice. Let your joy show. Even from behind your mask—you can be filled with joy…and let it flow from your heart and soul. 

Joy. There is a lot of “joy” in the Bible—in 260 verses in the New Living Translation. One of the most remembered verses for this time of the year is related to the birth of Jesus Christ. The wise men were filled with joy.

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! Matthew 2:10   

Did the camels rejoice? They are God's creation.
Camel crossing the Judean desert.
Israel

The King James Version says that the wise men rejoiced with “exceeding great joy.” That is the feeling of real rejoicing—true joy. Exceeding great joy! Not a happiness kind of joy that we get with getting just what we want…but the joy of receiving the best gifts—salvation and eternal life. Those wise men had been following the star for probably months, maybe even two years…and then they got to see the baby—Emmanual—God with us. They were very blessed…and they knew it. They were honored to be in the presence of the very God Almighty—in human form. Then Jesus grew into a young boy…and into a man. A man who was willing to lay down His life sacrificially for His friends…for all mankind. He was and is the Messiah—King of kings and Lord of lords. The amazing part of Jesus' story is that He didn’t stay in the grave—dead—after His crucifixion. He rose from the dead and is still living. He is the very living Word of God. Yes. He is God. Can you rejoice with me because of Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection?

        Personally, I am rejoicing with exceeding great joy because of the hope I have in Jesus. I joyfully serve a risen Savior. This is His day… every day is His day. Rejoice and be glad. Choose to rejoice!

 

Verse of Salvation ~ But may all who search for you be filled with joy and gladness in you. May those who love your salvation repeatedly shout, "God is great!" Psalm 70:4

 

© 2024 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights reserved. 

Revised and recycled from December 12, 2021, Banquet With The King blog.

All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless otherwise noted. 

New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. 

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm. 

 

Books by Mickey M. Hunacek

Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com

 

Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character

Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories