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Daily Devotion: Luke 2:10-11 and John 17:13

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Luke 2:10-11    "And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  (11)  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

John 17:13    "And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves."

We have spent some time on the subject of joy. I have been reminded that if I concentrate on those things which are positive in my life, then I can find joy all around me. Today, we conclude the week with two passages of Scripture. One is the announcement of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The second passage is found in the intercessory prayer that Jesus prayed on the night of his betrayal. It would be good to keep these verses constantly rehearsed in our hearts and minds. 

 Jesus came into this world bringing joy and He went back to the Father's house leaving His joy in us. He is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End and everything in between. Looking back at the past three weeks, we have looked at hope, peace, and joy. All of these things are found in Jesus. He is our hope. He is our peace. We have His joy within us. And next week, we will look at the subject of love to be reminded that the absolute greatest gift of all was wrapped in swaddling clothes, but more than that, the gift of Jesus Christ was wrapped in love. I just want to remind us this morning of one simple truth: Jesus brings joy into our hearts. I will conclude using an acronym that is commonly thought of concerning joy. It will serve us well if we hold to this last thought concerning joy.

 

We should always place:

J - Jesus First
O - Others second
Y - Yourself last

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