It is the third week of Advent- The Shepherds (Joy) candle was lit and we read about the meaning behind traditional Christmas colors and caroling. Sometimes it is tough to find (or show) joy in the busyness of Christmas. We are all so busy, but Advent beckons us to slow down and consider prayerfully the true meaning, and one hallmark of Christmas is joy. One way to honor God and live out your joy is to constantly be thankful in all times, good and bad and to realize that our joy in Christ Jesus cannot be shaken under any circumstance. For the believer, death is all the more reason for joy, and persecution should be seen as a conduit to live out joy. Where else in culture can this belief be found? I know of none, except through my Lord and Savior. He turns the world upside down. He rocks the very foundations of our innate human knowledge! For I Peter 4 says: But REJOICE insofar as you share Christs sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. I cant help but believe that Beethoven experienced such joy in this final symphony of his; even when deaf. Regardless of whether he did or not, I KNOW God had a plan to use his music to give us an aural sense of what is to come. Someday I hope to stand amid millions of believers singing His praises joyfully. This is not the best recording of the Finale, but it is the most massive.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 14:33:19 +0000