Author: Aaron Hufty

The Twentieth Day of Advent

“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:20-24 (NIV) 

The Greek word:”chara”, the root of our English word “joy” means “to be exceedingly glad.” In our society, all too often we equate happiness with joy, and yet, they are so different in source and meaning! Happiness is temporal, fleeting and based on circumstances and other people. True joy is a permanent possession and gift from God derived from our faith, trust and relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus shared with His disciples that events would soon occur that would make them very sad, his crucifixion, and those who hated Him would rejoice. Then he compared their anguish to that of a woman in childbirth, yet when she gives birth to new life, so would Jesus’ resurrection in three days give new life for the world.   This joy of new life did not replace their sadness, but it grew out of their sadness.

So it is in our life.  We experience trials and challenges in our life’s journey, yet as we persevere in faith, trusting God despite our circumstances, our sorrow is transformed to joy that can never be taken from us.

“Thank you, Lord, for this wondrous gift of Joy. May our daily prayer always be that Your Will Be Done as we trust You and experience that joy in all situations. Amen.”

Barbara Williams

The Nineteenth Day of Advent

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

The Christmas season is not at all welcomed by some. To many in our culture, mantras of “Joy to the World” or “Peace on Earth” ring particularly hollow because their lives are neither joy-filled nor peaceful. Apparently, not everyone in our world is anxiously awaiting Jesus’ glorious return.

While it is wonderful news to us that Jesus will one day return, he instructed us that, while we wait for that, the world will hate us (Mathew 10:22; John 15:18-19). And, despising us, it will do and say hateful things to us and about us. Even during Christmas…maybe especially during Christmas.

The question is, what will that hatred bring out in us? Are we truly living such a joyful life in Christ that, when put under pressure, that joy is what comes out? Or is it rather pain and anger just under our surface so that, when persecution comes, those are the first responses squeezed out of us?

While we await Christ’s return, we would do well to consider: how real is our joy?

Blake Coffee

The Eighteenth Day of Advent

Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Out of the nine fruits of the Spirit, the characteristic of joy is a very personal and intimate gift from God to each one of us. It is not something that we can muster up from within ourselves using our own strength and will, especially during times of frustration and sadness. We greatly desire it and tend to recklessly search for it only to find substitutes that are fleeting and lack depth. In chapters 5 of Galatians and 8 of Romans, Paul gives us clear instruction for obtaining this joy: do not gratify the desires of the flesh or sinful nature but let the Holy Spirit within you dictate how you live. Once we let the Spirit take over, then there is a manifestation of joy deep within ourselves. Not only do we receive this wonderful gift of joy, but we also have the opportunity to experience God’s supernatural intervention in our lives as we miraculously exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.

Richard Lombardini

The Seventeenth Day of Advent

The Sixteenth Day of Advent

But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy. I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more. Isaiah 65:18 – 19 NIV

“ . . glad . . . rejoice . . . delight . . . joy” Soaring, grand, beautiful words from the mouth of Jehovah, the God of the universe. The one from whom all of our joys flow. The one who sees the sorrow of his people and announces “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10) when his Son makes his entrance into the world as a baby. But wait . . . He also is the one who takes delight in his own people – you and me! He sees our feeble steps; he knows the grief we bear; he understands our struggle with sinful habits – and yet he takes delight in us. In my imagination he smiles . . he chuckles . . . he even laughs with joy. It’s a relationship of mutual joy and delight. The God of the universe is rejoicing in you today. Rejoice in him!

Jean Nystrand

The Fifteenth Day of Advent

Luke 2:16-20New International Version (NIV)

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

“…which were just as they had been told.” Someone has remarked that joy is a sense of well-being that saturates the soul–a conviction that God will hear every cry, right every wrong, heal every wound–even though the present world stings us with sorrow. The shepherds praised and glorified God, because in the face of Jesus they saw the future despite the present. They now knew that God would do all he said he would do. As Julian of Norwich wrote long ago using words she heard in a vision of Christ, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.” The name for such confidence is joy. The Bible tells us what the shepherds saw, so that we, too, might see the future. The world is not alright now, not by a long shot. But it will be. It will be.

Bryan Richardson

The Fourteenth Day of Advent

The Thirteenth Day of Advent

Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:32-33 (NASB)

If you read the headlines today, you will certainly find tribulation. Wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes, pestilence, and famine…there is turmoil everywhere you turn. World peace may be the goal of many, but it is certainly not a reality. For generations, mankind has sought peace. When Jesus was facing imminent death, He gave His disciples a beautiful promise. He said, “…in Me you may have peace.” As we celebrate the birth of Christ here at Christmas, what better blessing could we give than “peace on earth, good will toward men.” Jesus Christ is true peace. As we celebrate His birth, we can give no greater gift to others than the blessing of peace in Christ.

The World ≠ Peace

The World = Tribulation

Jesus > World

Jesus = Peace

Larry Soape

The Twelfth Day of Advent

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”   John 14:27

Have you ever been in such dire circumstances that you longed for peace and comfort and saw no possible way to attain either? Perhaps many of us have been there, in that pit of despair.   But why do we linger there? In this passage, Jesus is assuring us that He gives us peace. But is He the first one we turn to in our longing for relief? Sometimes we do nothing. Sometimes we engage in self-pity. Sometimes we try to fix it ourselves. All of these strategies, and many others of the world, leave us longing still. But the peace our Savior here speaks of, nay, promises, is real, true and present. What a joy to be expectant of Jesus giving you peace in such trying times! Believe that He wants to calm your spirit. Trust Him and do not be afraid.

Shellye McNaughton

The Eleventh Day of Advent

Ephesians 2:12-22 The Message (MSG)

11-13 But don’t take any of this for granted. It was only yesterday that you outsiders to God’s ways had no idea of any of this, didn’t know the first thing about the way God works, hadn’t the faintest idea of Christ. You knew nothing of that rich history of God’s covenants and promises in Israel, hadn’t a clue about what God was doing in the world at large. Now because of Christ—dying that death, shedding that blood—you who were once out of it altogether are in on everything.

14-15 The Messiah has made things up between us so that we’re now together on this, both non-Jewish outsiders and Jewish insiders. He tore down the wall we used to keep each other at a distance. He repealed the law code that had become so clogged with fine print and footnotes that it hindered more than it helped. Then he started over. Instead of continuing with two groups of people separated by centuries of animosity and suspicion, he created a new kind of human being, a fresh start for everybody.

16-18 Christ brought us together through his death on the cross. The Cross got us to embrace, and that was the end of the hostility. Christ came and preached peace to you outsiders and peace to us insiders. He treated us as equals, and so made us equals. Through him we both share the same Spirit and have equal access to the Father.

19-22 That’s plain enough, isn’t it? You’re no longer wandering exiles. This kingdom of faith is now your home country. You’re no longer strangers or outsiders. You belong here, with as much right to the name Christian as anyone. God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together. We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul addresses hostility, division, and self-interest among the believers.  Newly converted Gentiles and Jews were wasting precious time and energy quarreling with each other. (Sounds a little like my Facebook feed.) Paul’s reminder to them is one we desperately need today:  Christ came to bring peace to those who will embrace Kingdom living. It doesn’t matter how we came to accept this; in fact, nothing matters unless we do. Jesus is God’s gift to us, and not any one of us can take credit for God’s plan of salvation. There are no “insiders” or “outsiders” in the body of Christ. Our Peace came in the form of a babe in a manger. Our Peace came through a crucifix and then an empty tomb. Our Peace comes when we unite and allow the Master Builder to place us, brick by brick, where He wants us to help build His Kingdom. Our world today, like Paul’s, is troubled, but we can find Peace. My prayer is that we will cease the divisiveness and join together, in Peace, to “see it take shape day after day– a holy temple build by God, all of us built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.”

Laura Aten