Do You Hear What I Hear? ~7 Days Away

            "Joy to the World"

7 Days Away

"Joy to the World" Why?--because "The Lord is come!" What do we do now? "Let every heart prepare Him room." Let us enjoy the lyrics to the beautiful Christmas classic and prepare room in our hearts for the realization that we have a Savior. 

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

Music: "Joy to the World" 

Meditation: "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'" ~Hebrews 12:28-29

"Praise the Lord. 
Praise God in his sanctuary; 
praise him in his mighty heavens. 
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dancing,
praise him with the strings and pipe, 
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD." ~Psalm 150

"Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.""  ~Hebrews 13:15-16

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." Romans 10:9-10

Joy to the world! 

A beautiful sentiment, but there are experiences in our lives that absolutely do not bring us joy. How can we be joyful in these moments? Our joy is not found in the pain, in the sorrow, or in the tears. Our joy is found in our Savior, our Creator, our Lord. 

Please, let us not let burdens overwhelm us. Let us bring our burdens to the feet of our Maker, and then rejoice. Rejoice that our Creator knows us, cares for us, and is working all things to good. 

Almighty God, we sing to You; we praise Your good and perfect will. Prepare our hearts and minds with knowledge of Your work in our lives so that we can truly bring You the praise You deserve. You are faithful and you have been with us each step of the way. Help us to acknowledge Your work in our lives and let us testify of Your Goodness. Let us put our faith into speech and into action each day of our lives.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.


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