Tidings of Great Joy

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"Thenthe angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidingsof great joy which will be to all people'…And suddenly there was with the angela multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in thehighest, and on earth peace, good will toward men!'" (Luke 2:10,13, 14)
Thistime of year it's so wonderful to hear the Christ-filled verses of Joy to theWorld, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night, and Hark the Herald Angels Singfilling the malls as we go Christmas shopping. 
Carolsabout Jesus' birth literally transformed Christmas in seventeenth centuryEngland.  The winter holidays had becomeso raucous with drunkenness and rioting that decent citizens were afraid toleave their houses, so in 1644, the English Parliament passed a law forbiddingthe celebration of Christmas. 
Gradually,carols about Jesus became popular, and many began rejoicing at Christmas timewith worship and praise.  Christmas wasproclaimed legal again—another good reason to keep Christ in Christmas!
Whenthe angel sang the very first Christmas carol to the shepherds, he said, “Ibring you tidings of great joy which will be to all people.”  Joy is "chara" in Greek—meaningcheerfulness and delight—and is the root for "charis," or God'samazing grace.  In giving us Christ, Godgave unspeakable grace, His unmerited love and blessing.  This is the most joyful gift we can receive.
Theangels brought the shepherds “tidings ofgreat joy" (Luke 2:10), literally "mega joy," and when the wise men saw the star, "they rejoiced with exceedingly greatjoy" (Matthew 2:10).  In otherwords, the wise men were "vehemently shaking and trembling with joy!"
Todayour world is desperately seeking joy.  Wewant to be lighthearted and carefree because there is so much pressure, stress,and heaviness around us.  Often we thinkjoy comes from having more money, but if that were true Donald Trump would be amodel of joy.  Senecaonce gave this advice, "To be happy, add not to your possessions, butsubtract from your desires."  Quitepossibly our pursuit of riches is the very weed that is choking out a joyfulrelationship with God.
Jesustold us to rid our hearts of these time-robbing weeds that keep us fromHim.  This Christmas, remember that truejoy doesn't come from things, it comes from a deep, dear friendship with Jesus. 
"...Thoughnow you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible andfull of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of yoursouls."   )1 Peter 1:8b, 9)
"And Hesaid to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does notconsist in the abundance of the things he possesses.'"  (Luke 12:15)
(Sentby permission from Pastor Wayne Taylor; info@calvaryfellowship.org)