Our Personal, Perpetual Pursuit of Joy

“Joy to the world, the Lord has come!” These are the hope-filled words of the hymn, an old favorite we often hear this time of year in church, Christmas programs on TV, on radio stations and streaming services. It literally has spanned the centuries, written by Isaac Watts in 1719. In music jargon, it’s ‘an oldie but a goodie.’ 

In case you’ve decided to boycott holiday programming to avoid other seasonal classics like “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and “All I Want for Christmas Is a Hippopotamus,” here’s a refresher: 

Joy to the world; the Lord is come;

Let Earth receive her King; 

Let ev’ry heart prepare Him room,

And heav’n and nature sing…

 

Joy to the Earth, the Savior reigns;

Our mortal songs employ, 

While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains,

Repeat the sounding joy….

 

Don’t you just love joy? The mere sound of the word, “joy,” brings a smile to many faces. The experience of joy in one’s life also is an oldie but a goodie. Sadly, it’s not something everyone is familiar with. While some folks wear a perpetual smile, apparently unfazed by life’s inevitable ups and downs, for others a frown is a more realistic expression, reflecting inward troubles and turmoil.

 

Where can we find this joy? It’s not a commodity we can take off the shelves at some big-box store or purchase from Amazon. As precious as it is, it can also be as elusive.

 

For starters, we need to understand the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is basically determined by happenings, meaning it can depart just as quickly as it arrives. For instance, a lot of people are looking forward to a Christmas bonus from their employers. Their happiness will be predicated upon how large the bonus is – or whether they receive one at all.

 

Joy, on the other hand, has an internal source, an inward sense of peace and contentment regardless of whether things turn out as we had hoped or not. You might not be happy about not receiving a promotion, or pay raise, or year-end bonus that you had hoped for, but you can still experience joy in knowing your personal well-being isn’t dependent on such things.

 

This is where faith in God comes in. In Isaiah 49:13 the Lord said, speaking through the prophet, “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into some, O mountains! For the Lord comforts His people and will have compassion on His afflicted ones.” If you’re in need of comfort or feeling afflicted, it’s obvious that things haven’t been going well. There’s not a lot to feel happy about. But having faith in God, trusting He’s fully aware of the circumstances and able to work through them for His – and our –  best, we can experience joy.

 

Later in the same prophetic book we read God’s declaration, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways…. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”Knowing this, and because our confidence is not in our own capacities but in the Lord, He then adds, “You will go out with joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands” (Isaiah 55:8-12).

 

The Scriptures tell us Jesus Christ is our ultimate source of joy. After speaking to His closest disciples about their deeply personal, eternal relationship with Him, Jesus said, “I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). He wasn’t promising them unending happiness – far from it. 

 

They soon would be having to endure great sorrow, intense opposition and persecution. Of the original 12, only one – John – would not have to face a violent death. But through Christ they could experience joy independent of external factors, along with a sense of purpose: “You did not chooser Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bar fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name” (John 15:16).

 

This wasn’t a promise limited to His closest followers. The apostle Paul, converted from persecutor to an ardent preacher of the Gospel, also experienced this unshakable joy. As a result, he could write things like, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4). Also, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). Paul also had to endure great suffering and many trials, but they could not destroy the joy he had in Christ. 

We all hope to enjoy happy times this Christmas, exchanging gifts and spending time with beloved family members and friends. But beyond the happiness – and even in the midst of sad moments we might also experience – may you also find much joy. As the apostle Peter wrote, “Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy” (1 Peter 1:8). 

Showing Signs of Hope for ‘Hollywood’?

Based on what we typically see in the movies and on TV during the holiday season, we know what Christmas is about: giving, love, and magic. And if you believe Hallmark-type films, it’s about all three. Rarely, however, do we see presentations about what Christmas is truly about: the birth of Jesus Christ.

 

It used to be that the Hollywood realm produced films with a significant faith message, ones like “The Greatest Story Ever Told,” “King of Kings,” “The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur,” and Christmas favorites like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Carol.” But in recent decades there’s not been much of that. “Elf,” “The Santa Clause” (and its sequels), and “Home Alone” might have become holiday favorites, but Jesus for the most part has been conspicuously omitted.

 

There seems to be a shift underway, if only to a small degree. Whether out of sincere conviction by actors, writers and directors, or recognition of the reality there’s a market out there for entertainment that affirms belief in God and Jesus, we’re starting to see more faith-affirming productions.

 

Mel Gibson’s 2004 film, “The Passion of the Christ,” might have helped to pave the way. Then the Kendrick brothers – not members of the Hollywood aristocracy – set out to produce Christian films that deserved better exposure than church basements. 

 

Perhaps “The Chosen,” the expansive theatrical and TV exploration of Jesus Christ and His followers, has proved once and for all that faith-based films and shows appeal to a sizable portion of American society. Having released its first five seasons, culminating in Jesus’ betrayal by Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane, and season 6 now in the editing stages, Dallas Jenkins’ brainchild has struck a spiritual nerve not only across the United States but also in other parts of the world.

 

Most recently, Kevin Costner produced and narrated “The First Christmas,” a biblically faithful, made-for-TV look at the times and events surrounding Christ’s birth in ways some people have never considered. For instance, Nativity scenes commonly depict shepherds and wise men alike gathering to worship the Christ Child in a serene stable. According to Costner, the ‘stable’ was probably a cave, the setting was far from sanitized, and the Magi – the Bible doesn’t specifically state there were just three – probably arrived a year or two later, by which time Jesus would have been a toddler.

 

The point is, in the midst of our increasingly polarized society, Hollywood-style faith portrayals are no longer taboo. In fact, a number of others are currently “in the can,” as they say in filmmakers’ jargon and scheduled for release in the near future.

 

For too long the entertainment industry has pretty much fit the stereotype of being anti-Christian and anti-traditional values, so it’s heartening to find there are those in the Hollywood realm who are gathering the courage to stand up for Christ and proclaim Him, not only via TV and cinema, but also through music and literature.

 

Just as I don’t believe our Founding Fathers ever prescribed a severe separation of church and state as it’s been interpreted over the past six decades, I know there’s never been anything requiring a separation of church (or faith) and entertainment. 

 

A follower of Christ’s foremost responsibility is to worship and serve the Lord, regardless of whatever arena he or she happens to be in. As Colossians 3:23 admonishes, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” That includes those – evidently a small minority – who ply their trades and utilize their talents in the entertainment industry. 

 

When the throng welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem in the days leading up to the Passover, shouting, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:37-38), the religious leaders insisted that Jesus rebuke them, claiming His followers were committing blasphemy. Jesus’ response was simple: “I tell you, if these keep quiet, the stones will cry out” (Luke 19:40). 

 

Another time, in a passage describing an encounter Jesus had with His closest disciples following His resurrection, He instructed them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16:15). The truth of Christ shouldn’t be a best-kept secret. He needs to be proclaimed from hilltops, city streets and everywhere we go. This can be done in many ways, including one-to-one, in small groups, in religious settings, and mass crusades. But with media so pervasive in our society, one of the most powerful ways for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ is through the use of broadcast media and various forms of entertainment.

 

I don’t know that we’re in a time of revival, but there does seem to be an emergence of energy and enthusiasm for standing up for Christ in many public settings these days. I’m excited about that and hope you are too. There’s much darkness in our world today and it seems to be on the increase. The good news is, as darkness deepens even the smallest light can make a great difference, even an eternal one.

 

Yes, Christmas is about giving and love and a sense of magic. That’s true even from a Christian perspective. But as another Christmas celebration approaches, hopefully “the Reason for the season” won’t be forgotten. Biblically sound, faith-based TV and film productions can help in making sure of that.

God Isn’t Distant or Indifferent – He’s Immanuel

Over the years many people have labored to express their perceptions about God. One common view is that even if He did set the entire universe in motion, He’s now like an absentee landlord. That God is far-removed in the distant cosmos, either totally disinterested in what’s happening on earth or passively observing without any desire for getting directly involved.

 

That perception – or misconception, because that’s what it is – finds no support in the Bible, the Word of God. In one of the numerous Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah, we’re told, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14). The meaning of this is clarified in one of the accounts of Jesus’ birth: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘…they will call Him Immanuel,’ which means, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23).

In the person of Jesus Christ, God took on human flesh to experience what we all experience, to teach and serve as an example of how to live, to die on the cross for our sins, and to rise from the dead to demonstrate victory over death so we can be assured of eternal life. But even after Jesus’ ascension, the Lord didn’t remove Himself from involvement in our everyday lives.

 

His last recorded words before ascending to heaven, He declared, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). How could this be possible? As Jesus explained to His disciples, He was giving them – and us – the Holy Spirit, whom theologians term the third Person of the Trinity.

 

He said, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth…He lives in you and will be with you” (John 14:16-17). Then Jesus added, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).

 

Among the many distinctions between Christianity and every other religion, one that stands out in particular is that God is not a far-off, uninvolved, detached deity. From the first book of the Bible to the last, we find the Lord very much engaged in the goings-on of His creation. 

 

He walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden before their sin of disobedience. God instructed and guided Noah in the building of the ark. He assured childless Abram and Sarai that even in their old age they would have a son, fulfilling that promise after they had obeyed Him in leaving their former home. 

 

The Lord interacted directly with Jacob, renaming him Israel and making him the progenitor of the children of Israel. He gave the 10 commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai after delivering the enslaved Israelites from Egypt, and appointed Joshua to lead them into the Promised Land.

 

Scanning the Scriptures, there has never been a time when God has not been with us. As King David wrote so exquisitely, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there…. When I awake, I am still with You” (Psalm 139:7-18).

 

God spoke through prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea and Micah, and then came the glorious moment when the prophecy was fulfilled: “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

 

The human mind struggles to comprehend how an eternal, infinite God can also be omnipresent – everywhere. And yet by faith we can believe and know this is true. Someone once asked the eminent American astronomer Henry Norris Russell, “How is it possible for such a great and infinite God to have time for me?” Russell replied, “An infinite God can dispatch the affairs of this universe in the twinkling of an eye, thus giving Him plenty of time for you.”

 

The magnitude of God taking on human flesh, as a baby and then as a man, is greater than any of us can fully grasp. But knowing that it includes the assurance that God is with us – always has been and always will be – should fill us with joy during another season of celebrating Christ’s birth. 

Living the Eternal Word in a Temporal World

You’ve probably noticed, but we live in a temporal world. Everything around us is temporary. We buy a new car, but before long it has scratches or a few dents. Soon the ‘new’ on the car has worn off and it’s looking old compared to vehicles just out of the showroom. It’s the same with houses. We find one that’s “move-in ready,” nothing needing to be fixed. But after a while it requires repairs – roof, plumbing, paint, flooring, lighting.  

The temporal state applies to living things too. We delight in beautiful flowers bursting with color, only to watch them fade and droop. We enjoy our pets, but sadly they have a limited lifespan. We’ve all mourned the loss of beloved friends and family members. And the clock is ticking on our own lives. Wrinkles and gray hair, aches and pains remind us of that. Nothing lasts.

 

That is, on earth. In the heavenly realm it’s a different deal entirely. There everything is eternal, something we struggle to grasp in our clock and calendar-centered world. Recently I was reading Psalm 136, which offers many descriptions about God – His goodness, wondrous works, wisdom – each followed by the phrase, “His love endures forever.” That’s a long time!

 

Deuteronomy 33:27 gives us the assurance, “The eternal God is your refuge, and His everlasting arms are under you.” And in 1 Timothy 1:17 the apostle Paul writes of giving honor and glory to “…the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God….” When we find ourselves struggling with things in our time-limited world, we need to shift our focus to the eternal.

 

We find the contrast between the temporal and the eternal in 1 Peter 1:24-25, in which the apostle observes, “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.”

 

The late Ted DeMoss, who devoted much of his adult life to the mission of introducing folks to Jesus Christ, used to say, “The only things in this world that will last are the Word of God and people.” He would explain that if we truly believe this, it should figure prominently in our lives and help in determining where to place our priorities.

 

The question is, living in a tangible, temporal world when all we know for sure is what our five senses tell us, how are we to live in the light of eternity? It may not be as difficult as it may seem. Because as Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us, “[God] has set eternity in the human heart.” Deep down the Lord has given us the awareness that this life isn’t all there is.

 

I think of a fellow I used to interact with – an atheist – who boldly stated something to the effect that when we die, we go into the ground and that’s it, nothing more. But most of us – if we’re not shaking our fists at God in anger for some reason – hope and believe that this world is not a dead end, that there’s more to come, which serves to give meaning and purpose in this life.

 

What we struggle with is that we can’t know for sure what that is, although the Scriptures give us lots of clues. Even the rest of Ecclesiastes 3:11 says as much. Here’s the passage in its entirety: “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” 

 

There’s the rub: We can’t comprehend what He’s done from start to finish. We read passages like these:

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

“Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens…. Their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea” (Job 11:7-9).

“O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!..” (Romans 1:33).

“…No one has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

 

We could cite many similar passages, but even though we can enjoy the wonderful things in this life, God didn’t create us for it alone. We can say with great assurance, based on what He has revealed in His Word, that the best is yet to come.

 

Within this context, then, we might ask the question wise individuals have asked: How then shall we live? Many books have been written seeking to provide a satisfactory answer, but I think we need not look any further than King Solomon’s closing words in Ecclesiastes: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

 

Yes, we have our lives here on earth – work, relationships, learning, hobbies, entertainment, and so on. But knowing this life isn’t the end, that it’s just the introduction to what God has for us in eternity, we should strive to worship our Creator; seek to glorify Him through our thoughts, words and actions; and serve Him and others in ways that reflect our Savior Jesus Christ who declared, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

 

Considering all He has done for us, providing the way for life eternal, how can we do any less?

The Short-Term Benefits of Instant Gratification

One of the advantages of being older – among many – is being able to appreciate how our society has changed over time. Case in point: Instant gratification. Things we once waited long periods of time for are now at our fingertips within minutes, even moments. A lot of them have to do with food.

 

For instance (or instants), coffee. Growing up, my mom would put coffee grounds in the percolator and wait patiently for the morning brew to get ready. Then came instant coffee – if you were in a hurry, you could get it much faster. You still needed to heat up the water, but it didn’t have to ‘perk.’ Of course, now we have Keurig cups (or whatever brand you prefer) and the machines heat up the water…instantly.

 

The same was true of pudding, one of my favorite childhood desserts. It had to be cooked over the stove, then put into the refrigerator to cool and set. When instant pudding was introduced, it was heralded as a time-saver.

 

Ovens and stoves still play a huge role at mealtime, but I remember when I and a friend debated whether to invest in microwave ovens. Hours slaving over the stove were condensed to mere minutes – almost instantly. The ‘watched pot’ that never boiled became the watched microwave that didn’t beep. And for those who didn’t want to go the microwave route, have you heard of “fast food”?

 

Our instant gratification impulses weren’t limited to our hunger cravings. Television sets with tubes used to take minutes to warm up; TVs now turn on with the click of a remote. Drive-thru windows spare us having to get out of our cars, whether to buy food, pay bills, or pick up merchandise. And let’s not even start on how communicating has been revolutionized by the Internet, email, texting, and our smartphones (speed-dialing?) to expedite whatever we want to do right now.

 

Instant gratification’s something we’ve all experienced and enjoyed. But even as it has accelerated the physical world in so many ways, instant gratification doesn’t work in our walk with the Lord.

 

One of the Bible’s foundational truths is the doctrine of sanctification. As Romans 5:1 tells us, “…we have been justified through faith.” Salvation can happen in a moment. However, sanctification – the process of becoming like Jesus Christ – isn’t instantaneous. Not even close. This is why the apostle Paul wrote with great confidence, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6). 

 

Presumably many of the people he was addressing in Philippi had been walking with Christ for quite a while. But Paul knew the so-called “Christian life” is day-to-day, at times arduous and never predictable. It takes time for an artist to create a beautiful sculpture or awe-inspiring painting; it takes a lifetime for God to shape us into the people He desires for us to be.

 

Often, we’d like the Lord to work swiftly, whether to free us from the bondage of destructive sins and habits, intervene in the lives of loved ones, or meet a specific need. But while we’re expecting Him to answer our prayers with a resounding “yes,” many times His answer is very different. The Psalms make this clear. We’re told to, “Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” But a few verses later we’re told to, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him…” (Psalm 37:3-4,7).

 

Lest we disregard this and think, ‘Well, He didn’t really mean to wait,’ the same psalm later instructs us to, “Wait for the Lord and keep His way” (Psalm 37:34). Being still and waiting aren’t things most of us do very well. Instant gratification demands, “I want it…and I want it now!”

 

And yet God keeps underscoring the importance of waiting. Psalm 46:10 affirms the earlier psalm, admonishing us to, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We could say this a promise still hasn’t been fulfilled completely. Because in many parts of the world, including our own nation, the one true God isn’t being honored and worshipped. Faith and trust in Him are often ridiculed and dismissed.

 

The Lord, however, isn’t worried at all, nor is He frustrated or disappointed. He declares, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).

 

So, when we’re frantically hunting for a new job, anxiously searching for a new house, fretting over a serious health concern, or praying desperately about a painful family situation and wondering why God hasn’t answered our requests, we must remember: The Lord isn’t about instant gratification. His ways are perfect, and perfection doesn’t usually come with the blink of an eye or snap of the fingers.

 

It doesn’t bother God that His timetable isn’t the same as ours. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness…” (2 Peter 3:8-9). If you want instant gratification, go to McDonald’s. But you want what’s best, go to “God’s throne of grace” (Hebrews 4:16) and if necessary, wait with confidence for His response.

Giving: It All Gets Back to the Best That God Gave

Now that we’ve gotten past Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s officially Christmas season. Santa Claus, the Grinch and the Clydesdales are figuring prominently in TV commercials. Most radio stations are playing carols (for those of us who still listen to the radio). Heartwarming, timeless Christmas movies are reappearing on networks, cable stations and streaming services. Ads on smartphone apps are teasing us with intriguing gift suggestions. And today’s “Giving Tuesday.” What says Christmas more than that? 

Giving is something we can – and should – practice year-round, but Christmastime has always been regarded as “the season of giving.” There are many reasons for this, but none better than being reminded about the greatest gift of all: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17).

 

God “so loved the world that He gave….” In the Bible we find the Lord giving and giving and giving, even though we’re so undeserving. That’s a topic for discussion in itself, but considering that our Creator has given so much, how can we not be inspired to give as well?

 

Ironically, it’s not hard to turn the ‘season of giving’ around and make it the ‘season for receiving.’ We compile lists of wants, ready to share them with anyone who might be inclined to give us something for Christmas. I know, having spent many a Christmas season eagerly anticipating what might be inside the brightly wrapped and bowed gifts awaiting me under the tree.

 

But Jesus’ statement that it’s “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35) isn’t a simple, nice-sounding platitude. It’s as profound a declaration as we can find anywhere. Because when we give to others we also receive, even if not in a tangible sense.

 

For more than 20 years I benefited directly from the generosity of others. Working with parachurch ministries, I had the responsibility for raising my financial support, as do missionaries who serve the Lord in foreign lands. If my support wasn’t there, there was no paycheck. So, I had great appreciation for the many people who believed in the work God had called me to do. They didn’t have to be coerced – they eagerly wanted to help in making that possible, often saying they considered it a privilege.

 

One byproduct of this was cultivating my own enthusiasm for helping to support causes the Lord has placed on my heart. It was humbling to know people cared enough to invest in the work I was doing. Often Jesus’ statement came to mind that, “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return” (Luke 12:48). It truly is a joy to participate in what God’s doing in so many areas, and giving financially is one means for doing that.

 

At this time of year, I’m also reminded of a statement made many years ago by Bob Lupton, who had established an inner-city ministry in Atlanta. Experience had taught him a simple reality for the poor. He said, “The greatest poverty is the inability to give.” What I understood this to mean is that always being a recipient and never a giver can be discouraging, even demeaning.

 

We find this illustrated in the Scriptures. Writing to Christ followers in Corinth, the apostle Paul observed, “…the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability…they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in the service of the saints” (2 Corinthians 8:1-4).

 

Can you imagine being so impoverished and yet pleading to be allowed to give materially to support others? That’s genuine giving, determining to give even when it hurts.

 

Which brings us back to God’s greatest gift, taking on human flesh not only to teach, to minister to people in need, and to give us an example to follow, but also to give His own life to satisfy the penalty for our sins. As Paul wrote to one of the men he was mentoring, “…we wait for the blessed hope – the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness, and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good” (Titus 2:13-14).

 

This Christmas season, let’s try to avoid having the distractions of the sparkling lights, lilting holiday songs and festively colored packages take our focus off this “blessed hope.”