May 24

Happy Friday to you and it’s a very happy birthday for my granddaughter Gracie who turns 13 today. She is finally a teenager (she’s pretty sure she’s been cool for quite sometime, though!) Days, celebrations, rituals, ceremonies are all very important to us as humans. We like tradition and knowing what comes with all of it, like we will have a tree at Christmas and a cake and candles for a birthday. As I read recently, it makes us realize that joy is a discipline and celebration is an art. 


God understood that rituals make us feel secure and help us to remember. That's why there are so many commands to celebrate in the Bible. Think of the Old Testament Law—God's people are told they must have a Passover feast, they must have a "Year of Jubilee," that they must have a day of Sabbath rest. The Psalms are full of exhortations to sing at the top our lungs and jam out on those strange instruments (like the psaltery whatever that is!). 


“And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!””

‭‭Nehemiah‬ ‭8:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬


Even our communion, when we remember Christ's sacrifice, is not a time of mourning or gloom. It takes on the form of a meal with friends—our brothers and sisters in Christ. He wants us to choose celebration. He commands us to choose celebration. (“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!” Philippians‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭NLT)‬‬

I know we all experience heartbreak and sorrow, but even in the midst of all of that, there is joy to be found in the Lord—His joy is our strength. 


Even in the shadows and the sorrows, we always have a reason to sing. Even if it is a "cold and broken hallelujah”, Jesus and the gospel are still worth celebrating. This would be the discipline of joy and the art of celebration.


Lord Jesus help us to always find joy in you Lord. For you are the reason we celebrate, you are the reason we sing. It is to you we pour out our praise and offer you all we are. We want our emotions to express how very much we love you and how much we love others. We want our adoration for you to show on our faces regardless of where we are and let your Spirit be reflected in our speech and our actions. When we are sad and in turmoil, help us to continue to honor you with joy. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

January 17, 2020

Happy Friday. It’s the end of another week and we have had more opportunities to share the love of Christ with those around us and sometimes that takes quite a bit of effort. I don’t know about you, but I’m not always anxious to embrace others and really listen to them or share with them (especially those who I don’t know well). Sometimes, I just look at them and think “Are you for real?” I don’t always agree with people over politics, sports or of course, religion. And let’s face it, we’d rather spend time with people we like and mostly agree.  And then I read my Bible. God hasn’t called us to sit in our little groups with only those we naturally gravitate towards, but to love people—all people, even those who aren’t necessarily loveable. In this passage, Paul writing to the people of Colosse remarks on how wonderful it is that they truly love others. That love must have really been something over and above the normal and he tells them that it is evident that it comes from the Holy Sp
Read more

January 15, 2020

Happy Wednesday to you. I hope your week is going well. Yesterday, I went to Sams. I was out of things like trash bags, toilet paper, and chicken, so off I went. I like going to Sams because there is always lots to look at and the isles are nice and wide. Everytime I’m there, I am amazed at how much stuff and everything from diapers to TVs to mangos to beds. It just seems incredible that so many things in such quantities are all under one roof.  King David never saw a store with as much stuff aa Sams of course, but he did see countless miracles and understand that God has plans. He knew from creation and history that he was serving a God of miracles and he know that God loved him and his people and would take care of them. He was amazed and awe-struck by the fact that a God who had done such great and mighty things not only cared about his people but that He loved them with such a great love.  “Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can co
Read more

January 9, 2020

It’s Thursday and I woke up to the blowing wind! Lots of it—I’m dreading Boomer waking up and having to go outside with him. That harsh, bitter wind seems cruel and almost evil. But I’ll wrap myself up with a fe layers and boots and brave it all.  Sometimes I think we try to do that with things we know aren’t right—things that are evil. We try to wrap ourselves up and just wade into it, but Paul tells us we should reject it—stay away from it. “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” ‭‭1 Thessalonians‬ ‭5:20-24‬ NIV When he wrote this he’d been in Berea and the Christians there diligently searched the scriptures to make sure everything Paul said was in line. Paul here is encouraging the Thessalonians to
Read more