Church Related Information Technology Blog

The Happiness Joy of Christmas

I believe one of the biggest lies of the devil is the old saying “God wants you to be happy”. I don’t disagree with the statement, but it is almost always used by someone when you are discussing doing something that you don’t feel right about in the first place. Have you ever been persuaded to do something or make a decision that you either didn’t feel right about or were pretty sure it was wrong by someone saying that phrase? Didn’t Eve get deceived by the serpent in the garden because the liar told her if she did something she knew God told her not to do that she would be HAPPY?

(Genesis 3:1-7) 1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

The truth of the matter is that as humans, apart from God, we do not know how to obtain long lasting happiness. In fact, most of the time, the things that we think will bring this happiness bring us sorrow and misery.
(Proverbs 16:25) “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

List 5 or 10 things that bring you happiness

1. ________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________________
6. ________________________________________________________________________________
7. ________________________________________________________________________________
8. ________________________________________________________________________________
9. ________________________________________________________________________________
10. ________________________________________________________________________________

If I had more time to think, I could have filled up pages of specific things that bring me happiness.  You could too.  Think about all the things in this world that makes you happy.  It could be small things or big things.  Anything from a good cheeseburger to when a baby wraps their tiny hand around your finger.  All these are temporary and bring temporary emotional happiness.

Joy is something entirely different from happiness.  Joy, in the Biblical context, is not an emotion.  Joy is attitude of the heart.  It is not necessarily based on something positive happening.  Joy is something that lasts; happiness is something that is temporary.  When happiness fades away, joy remains.  Joy is something that is bigger than you and I and our current circumstances.  Joy brings us peace in the middle of a storm.  Joy is something that God deposits into us through the Holy Spirit.  The enemy tries everything in his power to steal your joy because it is that important.  On the other hand, the enemy will tempt you with things that will temporarily give you happiness but at the same time drift you away from God.

There is a big difference between joy and happiness.  Happiness is an emotion and temporary; joy is an attitude of the heart.  Hold on tight to your joy.

* Above two paragraphs taken from http://briancromer.com/2008/04/28/difference-between-joy-and-happiness/

Isaiah saw religious celebration divorced from true worship. The people loved their feasts and festivals, but they lost their perspective. God speaks words through Isaiah that fall like a blow: “The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies — I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. Your New Moons and your appointed feasts My soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them” (Isaiah 1:13,14, NKJV). The children of Israel turned their holy days into holidays and God declined to be added to the guest list. If Isaiah were around today, he could well offer the same prophecy without changing a single word.

*The paragraph above is taken from http://www.pentecostalevangel.org/Articles2001/4571_crabtree.cfm

Ouch! I believe what Isaiah is saying is that it is a mockery to God to gather in his name but ignore Him, to forget why you gathered in the first place. Unfortunately, this can particularly true at Christmas time. It is true that God does want us to be happy, but more than happiness, he wants us to be joyful. You might ask, “What is the difference?”  I’m glad you asked.

Even the United States Declaration of Independence states:
“Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” is a well-known phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence. The phrase is meant to exemplify the “unalienable rights” with which all human beings are endowed by their Creator and for the protection of which they institute governments.

Differences in Meaning

Joy is

1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation: She felt the joy of seeing her son’s success.
2. a source or cause of keen pleasure or delight; something or someone greatly valued or appreciated: Her prose style is a pure joy.
3. the expression or display of glad feeling; festive gaiety.
4. a state of happiness or felicity.

Happiness is

1. the quality or state of being happy.
2. good fortune; pleasure; contentment; joy.

*Differences in Meanings and Comparison Chart from http://www.diffen.com/difference/Happiness_vs_Joy

Antonyms of happiness and joy

One way to understand the difference between joy and happiness is to look at the opposites of the two feelings. The opposite of joy is fear while the opposite of happiness is unhappiness and misery.

1 Peter 1:7-8 7That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Let’s read and seriously consider the words to “Joy to the World”

Joy to the World

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

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, wonders, of His love.

Christmas truly is the most wonderful time of the year, but for many it is the most miserable time of the year. It is so easy to lose perspective on the fact that Christmas is a time of celebration of the birth of the Savior. Christmas is the one day a year that represents the day that God sent his very son to reconcile us, you and me, back to him. Most of us celebrate each other’s birthdays throughout the year and none of us were born to save the world. How JOYous should it be to celebrate the birth of the King of Kings. Yet for many of us it is a time of inconvenient gatherings, the heartache of the loss of a family member that will not be with you this year, financial burdens, the stress of not having gifts to give. Many secular companies will have Christmas parties that involve alcohol and people getting intoxicated. It seems pretty absurd to think about getting drunk to celebrate Jesus birth. Yet many do just that!

Here is a key verse to cling to this Christmas. (John 3:16) “For God so loved the world that he gave …”. What did he give? He gave His only begotten Son. Why did he give us Jesus? To reconcile God and man. What a gift!

How can we experience JOY this Christmas?

*”The joy” statements below taken from http://www.pentecostalevangel.org/Articles2001/4571_crabtree.cfm

The joy of Christmas is to be found in a spirit of reconciliation.
Christmas should focus our hearts on the reconciling work of Christ. Paul couches the coming of Christ in terms of reconciliation. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Any celebration of Christ should reflect the core purpose of His appearing.

Most of the issues that drive people apart are petty and selfish. What a tragedy that the Christmas celebration is often the backdrop for renewed acrimony, or the tired rehearsal of past offense.

What joy we can know when, in the spirit of Christ, we exercise the same prerogative that God exercised in sending His only Son to the world, the prerogative of forgiveness and reconciliation. Christmas affords a stern reminder that people we have left in the cold could have a warm place with us around the Christmas tree if we were only willing to be more like the One we celebrate.

The joy of Christmas is to be found in a spirit of reconnection.
Good news must be shared. Christmas should draw us together to tell the world’s greatest story once again, and share true fellowship. Jesus told of a woman who lost a valuable coin. She searched her house until it was found, and when that precious coin was restored to her she called all her neighbors and friends so that they could rejoice together. The implication is inescapable. The good news is cause to gather those near and far to celebrate. Families that fight over the Christmas holidays show a callous disrespect for the Lord.

Family fights rarely yield anything but more rancor and bitterness. The Christmas celebration should put all grievances “off limits” if Christ will truly be honored. A proper celebration and shared appreciation of Christ’s work will often dissolve disputes and heal broken hearts.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the Christmas morning reading of the greatest story ever told. There is something powerful and sacred when generations share the core of our faith.

The connection of grandchildren and grandparents through a shared faith creates memories that touch generations to come. “Christmas” and “alone” are two words that should never connect. Joy in the season is found in reconnecting with those we love, and even with those we have lost touch with along the way.

The joy of Christmas is to be found in a spirit of rejoicing.
Luke reports that Christ’s birth was accompanied by angelic praise (Luke 2:13,14). We would do well to join the angelic chorus. A conscious effort should be made by every believer to put away all impediments to praise. Scrooge should not be numbered among us on Christmas Eve.

The Christmas season affords an opportunity to rid the heart of sadness and gloom. Hope brightens and whitens all that it touches. The Bethlehem manger is much, much more than a historical milestone; it is an unfolding promise to all who believe. Jesus is the Gift who keeps on giving. The Christian can rejoice in things eternal, even when temporal circumstances are difficult.

The joy of Christmas is to be found in a spirit of generosity.
My favorite Christmas text is found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave ….” We need to reaffirm the sacred foundation that supports the gift-giving tradition of the Christmas season. While we should not be carried away to excessive debts and pride-driven spending, we should exercise generosity in deed and spirit as a true celebration of Jesus. Remember that the gift is always a token of the heart. Most gifts are soon broken, used and forgotten, but a loving, giving heart endures the tests of time.

Unless we reinvest Christmas with its glorious message and meaning, the holidays will pass like a pagan festival. Unless we truly celebrate Christ, the greatest story ever told will be lost amid the bells, bows and baubles. Make your holiday a holy day. Add another seat or two at your table. Set free whatever grudges or ill will you would hold on to. Sing the carols at the top of your voice. Tell Christ’s story with thanksgiving and awe. Wrap every present in love. You are the reason Jesus came. No one has more cause to celebrate than you do.

Christmas is really a year round celebration for a true Christian. It’s more a way of life than a celebration at a single time of the year. This year let’s let Christmas be an opportunity instead of an obligation! Long lines at the stores are a great place to spread good cheer. After all, you do have a captive audience.

If a decision does not line up with the word of God or if you do not have a Holy Hunch it does, you may have a brief period of happiness but it will be followed by much unhappiness and misery.

Shepherds and Sheep
(Staff devotion by Scott Egbert on 2/14/2012)

Psalms 23: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want

Only recently have I come to think of the part that states “I shall not want” to mean God is providing and will provide all of my needs. I took it to mean that we do not really want Him to have to draw us back to the fold with his rod and staff. I took it to mean that the writer of the Psalms desired to have such a bond with God that he did not need Him to pull him back because he really never wanted to stray. We all do stray at times, but what a wonderful Shepherd we have!

I do not want to be presumptuous and very humbly come before you all. This morning I speak to the backbone of one of the most respected church’s in Nashville, America and even the world. Many of you here are either currently a Pastor or are striving to be a Pastor. I am not a Pastor and do not feel lead to become a pastor, so I hope you all will forgive me for speaking on a subject of which I have no intent. However, I do feel that the Lord has been pressing me to discuss this subject with you all for the past couple of months. When Mrs. Jackie Stanfield asked me if I would be willing to lead the staff devotion, I was both excited and apprehensive. And I do realize that it makes for a much better devotion when you can discuss something personal. At any rate, this is how I feel led to proceed.

The meaning of the Greek word we translate as pastor is shepherd. The title of pastor therefore refers to a spiritual shepherd. The position of Pastor is often referred to as being a shepherd of a flock.

God himself has been referred to as the Great Shepherd. One such verse is found in Hebrews 13: 20-21

20Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Such responsibility must be overwhelming. The statistics that Pastor Daniel Bell sent out about Pastors recently reflects this to be the case.

Taken from http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/pf/0910/gallery.stressful_jobs/10.html

Stressful jobs that pay badly

Median pay: $45,300
% who say their job is stressful: 71%

They may answer to a higher calling, but all that spirituality does not come stress free. It’s a lot of responsibility being an authority on morality. Leading religious worship every week and providing spiritual and moral guidance can be a heavy cross to bear for those in the ministry.

“People who are deathly sick, people with substance abuse problems, things of that nature, that can be emotionally draining,” said Father Dan Skvir of Princeton, N.J. “I’ve had calls at 2 or 3 in the morning to come and attend to someone, people in imminent danger of death.”

My hope is that my recent observation will relax you all. Sheep must be led, they cannot be driven! If you can visualize a herd of sheep with someone attempting to drive them and them scattering, this is my vision of what happens when we forcefully attempt to do what is to be done by example and thru trust. You see, not only do sheep have to be led; they have to be led by someone that has gained their trust. They need to be led by someone that is known to have their best interest at heart. Another shepherd could not come along and try to lead another shepherd’s flock. Maybe that is why pastoral transitions are so difficult on a long standing church.

The ironic thing is that ultimately, sheep are led to the slaughter.
The wonderful thing is that Jesus took on that role for us!

Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Unlike goats, sheep rely on community. Sheep need each other and their “community” is their identity. Goats don’t need a shepherd to watch out for them and are independent to the point of being “head-strong”.  In the case of sheep, without the shepherd’s attention and care they quickly find themselves in trouble.

A good shepherd will “leave the 99” to go after the single lost sheep.
Matthew 18:12 How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

Sheep are notoriously dumb. If you hold a stick in front of the lead sheep, he will jump over the obstacle. If you take the stick away after that, the sheep will continue to jump over the imaginary obstacle. As Pastors (shepherd’s) it is in your best interest to make sure the sheep that seem to be in the lead are not doing anything that will hard it and most importantly that the rest of the flock does not duplicate it.

When one of the sheep becomes obstinate and in danger of harming himself and misleading other sheep, they shepherd may have to take as drastic of a measure as to break the sheep’s leg. This is the last thing the shepherd would want to do because after that he will have to carry the sheep.

Even though I do not fall into the category of Pastor of a church or congregation, I still feel I am the spiritual leader of my household. Therefore, I am a shepherd of sorts. I suppose that we all are. If there is a hierarchy for shepherd’s, it would be (God à Jesus à) Pastor à Teacher à Husband à Wife à Children. All of which can bypass the middle sections and go straight to the source, but should never dishonor or disrespect those in the middle.

God forbid that we should ever become as Jeremiah states

Jer 10:21   For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Responsibilities of the Shepherd:

• Lead the sheep
• Provide for the sheep
• Discipline the sheep

Responsibilities of the sheep:

• Relationship with the Shepherd
• Follow the Shepherd
• Obey the Shepherd

I used the following resource for research and content of this devotion:

http://churchgrowth1.blogspot.com/2007/10/good-shepherd-and-his-sheep.html

Friday, October 26, 2007

The Good Shepherd and His Sheep

John 10

Jesus said:
10″…I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” (ESV)