Part 4: Joy is for Now!

4) He rules the world with truth and grace

And makes the nations prove.

The glories of His righteousness

And wonders of His love,

And wonders of His love,

And wonders, and wonders of His love.

From the Christmas Carol, “Joy to the World,” by Isaac Watts.

We are waiting for Christmas to open our Christmas presents. It's hard to wait. We know when we open our presents, we will celebrate and have a good time. It will be a time of joy for the giver and the receiver. Waiting is hard. Sometimes, the anticipation is so great, it seems cruel to wait.

Much of what God promises, we have to wait for. Jesus came to bring us hope. Jesus will come again to rule the world the way we were meant to be ruled - with justice and righteousness, with truth and compassion. We have to wait.

But, joy is something we don’t have to wait for. Jesus came to bring us JOY - right now! No need to wait for tomorrow. Joy is for today.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the people of Philippi and said, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice."

We are not told to rejoice when things are going well, though that’s a good start. We are to rejoice, even in the tough times. Our joy is not based on any event that we hope will happen. Our joy is not dependent on anyone else.

Our joy is not based on anything an employer can say. Our peace is not based on anything government can decide or that money can buy. Our joy is based on knowing we have a God who cares about us and is not going to allow us to be harmed. Nothing will ever separate us from God's love. We have our illnesses, bad news and setbacks. We have our worries and fears, but when we place our trust in God, we have confidence that nothing can harm us.

We're waiting to open our presents, but we're not waiting to be joyful. And you shouldn't wait either. Let's celebrate. Let's be joyful!

Parts 1-3 can be read in previous posts (below).

Finding Jesus in London (Alpha)

Article in Time  magazine, by Eben Harrell / London Sunday, Dec. 21, 2008

James Mumford is a well-dressed 27-year-old from the posh London neighborhood of Pimlico. He holds degrees in philosophy from Oxford and Yale and, like many of Britain's elite, spent a post-graduate stint working in London's finance industry. But tonight he wants to talk about how he came to accept the Lord Jesus Christ into his heart. "I don't mind talking about my faith," he says, sheepishly. "But it's a touch embarrassing. Just don't brand me as a mindless evangelical."

That peculiarly British reticence may be one reason that an unexpected spiritual awakening among London's high society has gone unnoticed in recent years…

The focal point for many of these new believers is Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB), an evangelical Anglican church in plush Kensington. The church's 4000-strong congregation has almost tripled in the past 15 years, and its average age is 27 years…

…Underpinning this success is Holy Trinity Brompton's Alpha course, a 10-week introduction to Christianity…

Read the article:

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1866094,00.html

 

 

 

The Global Peace Plan

I talked about Rick Warren’s Global Peace Plan last Sunday. Warren says, there are not enough medical people to solve these problems, there aren’t enough engineers, there aren’t enough social workers. But there is an army of a billion believers in churches around the world. Here’s the link:  www.thepeaceplan.com/

 

1 IN 5 YOUNG ADULTS HAS PERSONALITY DISORDER

This is shocking. I would say it’s another dumb study, but the methods used for obtaining the information make the study credible.

By LINDSEY TANNER – Tues., Dec. 2, 2008

CHICAGO (AP) – Almost one in five young American adults has a personality disorder that interferes with everyday life, and even more abuse alcohol or drugs, researchers reported Monday in the most extensive study of its kind.

The disorders include problems such as obsessive or compulsive tendencies and anti-social behavior that can sometimes lead to violence. The study also found that fewer than 25 percent of college-aged Americans with mental problems get treatment.

Read the article here: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIIYyBlLI4gzYDiuE9_hssZbh3NQD94QCE8O0

 

 

Part 3 - Joy is for Our Planet

2) Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns;

Let all their songs employ.

While fields and floods,

Rocks, hills and plains,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

 

When Mr. Watts says, Joy to the earth, he is talking about our planet, earth - what we call nature. He doesn't mean people; he means the fields, the hills and plains.

The Apostle John says God the Son was in on the creation. John begins his Christmas story at the beginning of the universe (John 1:1-3):

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

Jesus told his disciples that God thinks about birds and cares about birds.

Luke 12:24

Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!

The main point is that you and I are valuable to God. But, notice how Jesus illustrates his point - he says we can see that birds are valuable to God: God feeds them. How much more valuable we are, but birds are also valuable to God.

This gives me comfort when I think of animals who have died. We have buried several of our beloved pets. God loves those little birds he made.

Does nature worship?

 Isaiah 55:12

For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall burst into song, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

Make no mistake, it is men and women are created in the image of God. We are the crown jewel of God's creation. We are the objects of God's love. But there is still more to God's creation than us humans. And God cares about all of creation.

 

Parts 1 & 2  be found in earlier posts (below)

 

Looking for Work – Check our News Blog for Job Listings
The 2010 Census is now hiring. http://www.fpcpetaluma.blogspot.com/

 

 

Good News for Christian minorities in Pakistan

Christian Activist Rises to Pakistan Cabinet Post

By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter, Thu, Dec. 04 2008 02:29 PM EST

 

A prominent and long-time Christian human rights activist was recently appointed as Pakistan’s federal minister for minorities affairs and recruited as a member of the cabinet – the first time a minorities affairs minister has a cabinet-level post.

Shahbaz Bhatti, founder and president of All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA), is the minister for minorities affairs and will be defending minorities’ rights, especially religious, in a country that is overwhelmingly Muslim – 95 percent of the Pakistani population is Muslim, according to the CIA World Factbook.

Christians and rights groups are hopeful that his cabinet position will give them a more powerful voice in government affairs. In the past, the protection of minorities was relegated to a lower ranking official who worked under one of the government ministers. …

More: http://christianpost.com/article/20081204/christian-activist-rises-to-pakistan-cabinet-post.htm