Judy Mills

  • home
  • about
  • blog
  • Contact
  • The Bible Study
  • 52 Ways to Glorify God

December 2, 2015

Making Room for What’s Most Important

Let Us Adore Him Vector (800)I’ve been thinking about the massive amount of preparation that goes into the celebration of Christmas, much of it geared toward one day. It’s a preparation that starts weeks, even months in advance. No matter how much I try to simplify, the celebration of Christmas isn’t simple.

I don’t say this to discount the planning, decorating, gift buying and celebrating. They are gifts — that we even have the time and resources for them is a gift. I’m so thankful for this season. In a world that seems less and less interested in Jesus, I’m so happy that there’s a season, even though highly secularized, set apart for the celebration of His birth.

Let’s be intentional this Christmas season. Let’s say yes to more of Jesus, even if it means saying no to some of the opportunities around us. It’s the certain pathway to greater joy.Yet if all our attention is on the one day, or the events we celebrate in conjunction with it, we’ve missed the point. We have, in a very real sense, exchanged a time to worship the Giver for a time to celebrate and worship His gifts. I don’t want that to happen this Christmas season. To borrow the words of the song Day by Day, I want to see Jesus more clearly, follow Him more nearly and — above all — love Him more dearly. And we can have this. Even amidst the busy schedule and the extra want to’s and have to’s, we can focus more on Jesus.

In mulling over these thoughts, the song Joy to the World came to mind. In reading over the lyrics, I discovered a wealth of inspiration and direction for this pursuit. I invite you to ponder some of the words of the song with me.

Joy to the world, the LORD is come.

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

May the message to us and to our world be: Because the LORD has come, you can have joy! Jesus’ earthly coming changed everything. We can choose to live as if nothing changed, but the truth is, for those who make Jesus LORD, the potential exists for everything in our lives to beautifully and miraculously change. The last verse of the song says:

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.

That’s one of the primary things that changed. Our sins and our sorrows don’t have to grow. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He sought us. He still seeks us. If we will let Him, He will pour out the blessings of His grace upon us. He will save us from all the sin and sorrow this world and our worldly desires hurl at us.

The key to receiving His grace is found in the first stanza: “Let earth receive her King.” We have a choice. Even those of us who follow Jesus, must daily choose to receive Him. John 1:10-11 presents a sad truth:

“He was in the world and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him. He came to that which was His own, but His own did not receive Him.”

In a time of year that gets so busy, it’s a tragedy to let a celebration of Jesus’ coming hinder us from coming to and receiving Him — from spending time with, from knowing, adoring and worshiping Him. Let’s not let that happen!!!

We receive Him by preparing room in our heart for Him. It’s so easy this time of year to prepare for everything and everyone but the One who is the very reason we claim to celebrate. We can make a clean place for Him through repentance. We can make space for Him by establishing priorities. Let’s be intentional this Christmas season. Let’s say yes to more of Jesus, even if it means saying no to some of the opportunities around us. It’s the certain pathway to greater joy.

Judy Mills

Here’s another post about coming to Jesus during this busy season:  https://judybmills.coma-very-holy-night/

SaveSave

SaveSave

Filed Under: grace of God, intimacy with God Tagged With: adoring Jesus, Christmas, Knowing Jesus

Older
Newer

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept the Privacy Policy

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Search the Blog:

Join the community & receive a printable list of 52 Ways to Glorify God!

The Ultimate Joy Study:

 

Find out more!

Recent Posts:

  • A Probing Question for This Time
  • A powerful new vision for the New Year
  • When the unthinkable, seemingly unbearable happens
  • God’s beautiful perspective of your life
  • What should be the most important thing in your life?
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Judy Mills · Tiemeyer Design

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT