| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “A season of celebration” Our Bible verse for today: “Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 144:15 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Celebrate the Joy of the Lord” The great devotional writer Oswald Chambers once wrote, “The majority of God’s people are satisfied on too low a level.” I think he was right. C.S. Lewis once expressed the same thought: “It would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” That is certainly true at Christmastime. We often get caught up in the superficial and secular aspects of the season and allow ourselves to be satisfied with that. It’s as if the right gift, the perfect tree, colorful lights, and a good meal are all we need to be happy. Yes, we can easily be satisfied at far too low a level. In Psalm 144:15 King David taught that true happiness is enjoyed by those who have a deep and rich relationship with God. We read something similar in Nehemiah 8:10 where we’re told, “… the joy of the Lord is your strength.” The things of the world are a cheap substitute for the joy we find in Jesus. One of the most popular of all the Christmas hymns is “Joy to the World! The Lord is Come” by Isaac Watts. It was inspired by the Christmas story as recorded in chapter two of the gospel of Luke when the angels proclaimed joy at the birth of Jesus. The point for our devotional message this morning is that experiencing and then proclaiming the joy of the Lord is really the object of the Christmas celebration – that is the goal for the Christian. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus – nothing more and nothing less. Again, quoting Oswald Chambers, “If I am full of the joy of the Lord, it will pour out of every cell of my body.” May that be true for all of us this Christmas! I encourage you to truly and fully celebrate the joy of the Lord this Christmas. Don’t settle for anything less than that. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
| Copyright © 2025 Oak Hill Baptist Church, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Oak Hill Baptist Church 3036 Genesis Road Crossville, TN 38571 |
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