The Joy of Christmas

Joy...what joy have you found in these past few weeks, months, or even years?  Have you experienced the joy of Christmas?  How do you define the joy, we as believers find at Christmas?  Haydn, the great musician, was once asked why his church music was so cheerful, and he replied: "When I think upon God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes dance and leap, as it were, from my pen, and since God has given me a cheerful heart it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful spirit."  Joy is often confused with happiness based on circumstances, but a deeper study of the word joy (chara), a Greek noun that describes a feeling of inner gladness, delight, or rejoicing, will reveal that joy is not an experience that comes from favorable circumstances but is God’s gift to believers; the deep-down sense of well-being that abides in the heart of the person who knows all is well between himself and the Lord.  Is everything well between you and the Lord this Christmas season?  Can your heart experience true joy as the celebration of his birth approaches?  Listen to these wonderful orchestra friends as they express "The Joy of Christmas" through music as Hadyn once did.  Take yourself to the foot of the manger and dwell in the presence of our Savior.  Where will your joy come from this season?