Arrival of Joy
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Christmas at Grace 2025
Christmas at Grace 2025
Kid’s Takeaway of the day:
Verse of the day: Phil 4:4
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
Main idea of the day: at Grace 2025
Acedia ( aSEAdea)
Past Expectations of Joy
Past Expectations of Joy
8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
Joy experienced in the past was found in the presence of God, the confidence in His law, and the hope of his promises fulfilled.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
Cassian in the year of our Lord 360-430 was a Deacon of church in Constantinople and founded two monisteries, so he was a monk.
Cassian describes acedia as a wearied or anxious heart which is akin to sadness and the peculiar lot of solitaries. It comes on like a fever at the sixth hour and makes a person feel horrified at where he is, disgusted with his cell and also disdainful and contemptuous of the brothers. Rendering him slothful and immobile with regard to work, it does not allow him to stay still in his cell or devote any efforts to reading. The monk feels he will possess no spiritual fruit attached to this group of people and makes a great deal of far off and distant monasteries. When the spirit is worn out by acedia, agitated as by the most powerful battering ram, there are two courses of action. One is to succumb to sleep and the other is to find consolation by visiting a brother. Overcome with acedia the monk stays in his cell without any spiritual progress, or else is driven from his cell in a way that is unstable or feckless and becomes trapped in the affairs, harmful concerns and business of others. He can undertake apparently virtuous activities, such as charitable work and caring for the sick, but to the wrong measure and with the wrong motivation. The monk in this condition is in danger of using other people in order to feel good about himself, rather than remain in his cell making no spiritual progress. Acedia expresses itself as both self-denigration and a superiority which is critical of the failings of others. The monk believes that the community has become unspiritual and does not provide the necessary support that he needs because others are no longer compassionate and there is no one to console him. Thus the effects of acedia can be seen in those who are slothful as well as those who are busy. The most consistent advice given to the monk affected is not to leave his cell. -Cassian 360-430AD
46 They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. 47 Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, 48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.
1 But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. 2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
Present Gift of Joy
Present Gift of Joy
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
If hope looks forward to God’s promises, joy delights in God’s presence—and acedia is the refusal to delight in God at all.
It’s a fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”
Discipleship Journal, Issue 124 (July/August 2001) Cultivating Joy
Joy is not merely a feeling; it must be cultivated and practiced. Happiness is fleeting and random, but joy is nurtured and grown. Joyful people practice these biblical habits regularly.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
Do you know what the difference is between a camel and a grape vine?
We have a present present of presence we get to practice
We have a present present of presence we get to practice
Practicing the present present of presence by choosing praise and thanksgiving to God
Practicing the present present of presence by choosing praise and thanksgiving to God
Have you ever spent time with someone who whines too much? Watch out, if you haven’t, that person might be you ;).
“Christians cultivate joy through deliberately choosing praise and thanksgiving even when circumstances are difficult” -Elizabeth George
Practicing the present present of presence through generosity
Practicing the present present of presence through generosity
1 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
Future Hope of Joy
Future Hope of Joy
11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.
In a sense, in order to be able to count earthly sorrows and afflictions as matters of joy, we have to cultivate the ability to think in terms of the future. Sometimes the Christian’s hope of heaven is ridiculed as “pie in the sky.” However, it is a reality that provides real comfort - RC Sproul
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
In what ways do you experience acedia?
Would you describe yourself as Joyful? Would those who know you? Does your joy reveal Jesus to others?
