Joy and Peace

As I have mentioned at EBC many times before, I am in the habit of getting up quite early and doing some reading, reflection and prayer. I am enormously helped in this by several things –
 

1. Coffee
2. A daily devotional written by my great friend and mentor Jonathan Edwards (‘Be Still and Know’, published within Premier’s “Voice of Hope” magazine).
3. Another daily devotional written by my friend Simon Guillebaud (in his book, ‘Choose Life 365’)
4. My study Bible (technically Claire’s, actually – but what’s mine is hers and vice versa!)

You can get hold of a copy of the two devotionals (or indeed a Bible, not to mention a coffee!) at EBC and I really recommend them. Today, I was struck by a fresh insight from Simon’s devotional, titled ‘Immune or Infected?’, which is copied below, along with a link to the video version. Actually though, it was more the Bible verse itself (he always starts with one) that I was reflecting on and through which I felt a new (new to me, anyway) bit of revelation.

The reading (from the apostle Paul’s letter to the Galatian church) lists what have come to be known as the fruits of the Spirit – and we did a whole series about this at EBC not so long ago – check ‘em out on You Tube! It struck me this morning that of the fruits listed, there are two that are, I believe, simply God’s gift to us. They are joy and peace.

You see, we can in a sense do something about the other fruits. We can give or show love in a whole host of ways, and similarly we can be patient, kind, good and gentle. And we can exercise self-control. Joy and peace though? Well, if you’ve ever lacked a feeling of joy or peace in your heart or soul, you’ll likely agree that there is very little we can do to produce them in our own strength – except perhaps by doing something about all those other fruits, which might at least cultivate the soil of our soul, the better to help joy and peace flourish within. Hmm… maybe!

Just a little bit later this morning, in a Zoom prayer group with some other Christian leaders, the words joy and peace were mentioned again. And so too, was the secret ingredient to our wellbeing – and that, my friends, is prayer.

This felt to me a great deal like an affirmation of what I’d received earlier. So, here it is. If you long for peace and joy this Christmas time (or indeed anytime) I want to urge you into prayer. Yes, we should absolutely show all the love, patience, kindness, goodness and gentleness we can – and with all that food and drink around, Christmas is also a good time to exercise self-control! But let’s pray too, for joy and peace, which in the end, are simply God’s gift to us.

Do take a minute to read Simon’s devotional – and whatever might be taking away your peace and your joy, bring that situation before God and ask Him to give you those gifts this Christmas. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him. (Romans 15:13).

Much love,

Simon
 
 
Immune or Infected?

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE

Galatians 5:22,23 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

There are lots of bugs floating around and infecting countless people at this time of year, some of which are truly debilitating. May you avoid all the nasty ones, but I hope you’re not immune to the following bug. Be warned, it’s powerful. It’s the Advent Virus. Signs to look out for include contagious hope, love, joy, and peace. The hearts of many have been exposed to it. If it spread to epidemic levels, it could pose a serious threat to the fairly stable and consistent level of conflict in the world. The impact could be truly earth-shaking. Other major symptoms include the following:

Frequent attacks of smiling, contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature, an increasing tendency to let things happen rather than make them happen, an increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it, frequent and overwhelming episodes of appreciation, a tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences, an unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment, a loss of interest in judging other people, a loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others, a loss of interest in conflict, and a loss of the ability to worry.

If infected, what might be the outworking for you? It could lead to mending a quarrel, telling someone ‘I love you’, forgiving someone who’s treated you wrongly, giving something away anonymously, visiting an old or lonely person, being especially kind to a colleague, lending a listening ear to someone in obvious distress, turning away wrath with a soft answer, paying for a struggling couple to go out on a date, caring for someone infected with a nasty virus… the potential is endless.

We’re in Advent. Joy to the world! May you catch the bug and be truly infectious as a carrier of the Good News!

Lord, I choose to be chronically infected with the Advent Virus today. Amen!