Joy to the world, the Lord has 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
Christmas has come and gone…the anniversary of our Savior’s birth. Yes there is joy because the Lord has indeed come! Just as the people of Bethlehem had the decision to have room for Jesus, so do we. Preparing room in our hearts for Jesus is the most important decision in the world that we have to make. But something to consider…for those who consider themselves as Christians and have already made room in their hearts for Jesus, we still have that choice to make every day.
Once you are saved, you are saved. But once you are saved, you are on a lifelong journey of following Jesus and deepening your personal relationship with Him. Has your heart recently prepared room for Him? Is your heart open to Him all the time? Or are you distracted or too busy to allow Jesus to continually work in your heart? Preparing room happens more than just at that moment we become saved. It’s a continual process of making room for Jesus so that He remains in the center of our hearts and lives.
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
Fields, rocks, hills and plains sing 24/7 praises to God. Everything that God created purpose is to reflect His glory. “Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.” – Psalm 96: 11-12
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
Because the Savior reigns He conquers sin and death, and turns our mourning into dancing. In the Garden of Eden, thorns were not present until sin entered the world. Then God cursed the ground and the thorns came. But thorns will not always be, just as sin and death will not always be. The Savior has come, and the Savior has redeemed. The end has not happened yet, but we know the end of the story, the full redemption of earth. There is a blessing for every curse. Just as the whole earth was cursed (and rightly so because of sin) God’s blessings cover the earth.
Psalm 103 8-12 “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
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
The Savior has come and was born. The Savior lived and died for you and me. The Savior rose from the grave to rule the world. But He does not rule it ruthlessly or condescendingly. He rules the world with truth, the Truth, and grace. Grace greater than you and I can show each other. Grace extravagant grace. Grace that is freshly supplied to us each moment that we need. Grace that is extended to the evilest of people in order to bring them to Himself. Jesus righteousness is placed on us when we trust in Him and that is glorious! Jesus love far surpasses anything that we can grasp or fathom. The Son of God was born in a stable, taught us about God, and died in our place so that we could be with Him for all eternity. That is wondrous love!
May your heart and home be full of joy as we close out this year and anticipate the new one to come. May we be bold enough to share this joy of Jesus that we have with our family and friends until all the world knows that the Lord has come, that our Savior reigns, that His blessings flow, that He rules with truth and grace, and that His love is incomparable to any other. There is much Joy to the World!
