Circuit Thoughts - Advent 3

It’s about Choice.

The 3rd Week of Advent is about Joy. In fact, it is so special, we even light a different color candle. Most of the candles on the Advent wreath are purple, but the Joy one is pink. This is a time of rejoicing; it is a time to look to God as the fulfiller of promises and giver of the one true gift, His only Son.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 starts off with, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing.” Have you ever thought about doing nothing but prayers of rejoicing? Have you ever thought about praying without ceasing?

So now your question is, how do I pray without ceasing, and how do I rejoice when things are going so badly? Might I suggest that it may take a bit of a change in perspective? In other words, it means we need to stop seeing things as humans and start seeing things as children of God. I’m not saying it is easy, even the Saints had trouble always rejoicing, I’m just saying it is doable in Christ.

I remember a farmer asking, “Do I praise God that the gate was left open, and my prize bull got out?” The answer is YES. Look, just read Job and see how he responded to his troubles. You may not rejoice in the act, but you can rejoice in the solution. The ability to chase the bull back in is worthy of praise. The fact that you even have a bull is worthy of praise.

As created beings in the image of God, we choose how we will respond or react to any situation. No one, and I mean NO ONE forces us to be angry or turn to violence. We choose whether we react or respond to any given situation. How you respond to this article is on you, I cannot force you to like it. Only you can decide to read it or not. God has given us a spirit of discernment; we decide how we use it.

While I am at it, I want you to hear this. You have never forced anyone to do you harm. That is on the harm giver. Don’t believe it when they say, “See what you made me do”. If they say that, they are proclaiming their own lack of control. There is always a choice.

So, we can always choose to serve, love, and rejoice in God. We can use our breathing as a prayer. In fact, the initials for God are YHWH. YH is actually the sound you make when you inhale, and WH is the sound you make when you exhale. In essence every breath is a prayer, (Pretty cool, huh?)

The point I am trying to make is during this season, we can choose to be the pre-ghost Scrooge, or the after-ghost Scrooge. We can choose to rejoice always and pray without ceasing. This is the way of Christ, and it should be the way for you and me.

Christmas is almost here. Only you can choose if it will be a joyful time, or not. Only you can choose to be Hopeful, Happy and Loving. What may seem impossible, is possible in Christ. For in Him we can Rejoice always and pray without ceasing.

Just a thought.

Shalom my friends. See you in church.