The Gospel of Luke - Week 3

All right, go ahead and open your Bibles your scripture Journal. Whatever you got going to be in Luke chapter 1 we're going to start in verse 39 and actually looking at at 40 vs today. I know it's a little out of context allow character of what we normally do but we're going to be doing the whole back half of Luke chapter one. So while you're doing that just I want to reiterate this idea that we're only a week away from Christmas, right? It doesn't feel like it but I guess it's a little more like nine days are 9 days away from Christmas and for some of us, that's a awesome. Alright, what are we doing? How do you so so here's the thing has everybody feeling with the pressure? Right, there's pressure about Christmas, right? There's this there's this thing that comes down on us this time of year and and we all know it and we all expect it and yet it always seems to catch us by surprise, right? I subscribe to this email that comes to me. They send it to me daily, which is kind of nice restaurants in one on Sunday, which I don't like so much but I can't really do anything about it. So I just delete it but they sent me this email every weekday morning and in its they include news stories about tech items about business things kind of little aggregate chunks of information. It's kind of fun to put on Friday at the end of the email they include a shower thoughts section does everybody know what shower thoughts are. These are these little kind of quippy one line things that you go But that's yeah, that's somewhat like for example, one of them they sent was was this there's that an RV is a tool that you use to make the outside feel like home and VR is a tool that you use to make home feel like the outside. You think about everything like yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah recreational vehicle makes the outside feel like home and virtual reality makes home feel like the outside right stuff like that. So this week in my shower thoughts section on my Friday email. They had this one is that December 25th feels more like a deadline than a holiday.

December 25th feels more like a deadline than a holiday. There's anybody feel that have you felt that in the past may be like, I like I feel at everything from even before Thanksgiving now from about the end of October tureens toward Christmas just barrels without Mercy speeding up faster and faster and faster and and there's a lot of pressure. There's a lot of pressure and it's okay to admit. It's either this is something that we're not very good at sometimes the saying, you know, I'm going crazy because of the pressure is it okay to say that right? There's there's pressure about the gifts that you're getting right yet that you have to figure out who am I going to give presents to who should I give presents to who's going to be angry if I don't give them a present and that's just the start after that. You have to figure out what you're going to give them and there's an immense pressure to give the perfect gift. This thing that is just expensive enough to make them go whole yeah, and not too expensive. So you don't break the bank this this thing that expresses to them that you have a deep understanding of who they are as a person but isn't creepy right? You have to find the perfect gift.

There's pressure about decorating. Pinterest is terrible for us. I'm going to say it's on record. You can listen to it later Pinterest is terrible for us as people because it's this massively curated space that doesn't reflect reality. I ate just doesn't we don't our houses don't look like that are our dinner tables don't look like that they might for like 10 seconds, right? You got that space where you you put it together in the centerpieces. Perfect and the candles are lit, and you got that window that one window for about 10 seconds. We can get that Instagram shot and then it's gone. It's disappeared. If you got kids in your house, it doesn't even last 10 seconds. You got to snap that thing fast.

How about family? Anybody feel pressure about family during the holiday season? Nobody? Okay. Let's move on who's going to come visit us where they going to sleep where we going to sleep. It's going to be weird Uncle Bob's going to be there. Family exerts massive pressure on us the last thing that just rushes people paying for it all. How we going to pay for all of this? We've got to put together the pinterest-worthy dinner. We've got to get the perfect gift. We got to rent hotel rooms for the billions of people are descending on our house for the Christmas how we going to pay for all of this?

And then we crash into the new year.

Still reeling from the pressure. In our culture doesn't help us with this, right? It would be nice if if they like the sentiment of a lot of Christmas movies was reality. Like we don't need all this stuff. We just need the love of our family that makes for a great movie and it's terrible because it's not real nobody acts like that.

Because we want stuff we like stuff right and we don't like stuff Walmart wouldn't exist. Amazon would just be a thing. Jeff Bezos would not be a ridiculously rich person, but we like stuff. and so as much as we want that sentiment we can't get it and then don't we feel kind of guilty? Over that right you watch your Christmas Carol you watch a Muppet Christmas Carol if you're holy. And you get to the end of the movie Hugo man Scrooge really got it. Didn't he screwed? You got it and then you like I don't want it.

And I don't feel that way. And there's guilt for the way that you feel about this again at your Pinterest and Instagram and Facebook are are terrible because they only give us this curated very well-placed nicely lit picture of people's lives will get to see the reality. We don't get to see the crazy. Christmas comes with a lot of pressure So, how is it? That we can find joy in this season. Much less hang on to it. Are you awake? We believe all the Christmas movies if we believe all the Christmas songs, we believe all the Christmas cards. Then this season really should be about joy. We should be happy people. We should be excited and energized when it comes to this kind of stuff. And we're not. Let me struggle with it. You might have moments of it and you can't hang on to it. It just it's gone. So, how do we do it scripture today is going to give us some insight into this. It's going to give us help. Right? This is one of the things that that we one of the reasons we have the Bible is because God knows that we need help and so he gives us the Bible. He says this is who I am. This is what I'm like this is who you are and this is who you are like and this is how I'm interacting with you. This is what I want you to do. This is how I want you to act and this is what I'm going to do to help you. And so when we read the Bible, we are getting the help that we need from a God, who knows that we need it. Has the passage today and it's a long one, but we're going to see is some some really kind of Bedrock stuff about joy and about how we attain Joy about how we hold on to Joy even in the midst of all of this crazy pressure that comes down on us. So let's read this together Again Luke. chapter 1 starting a verse 39 you can follow along in your Bible on the screen. Whichever you prefer. This is what Luke Reitz. He says in those days Mary arose and went with haste Into the Hill Country to a town in Judah have gender the house of Zakaria and greeted Elizabeth and when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary the baby leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she explained with a loud cry blessed. Are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb and why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me for behold when the sound of your greeting came to my ears the baby in my womb leaped for joy And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord and Mary said my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior. He has looked at on the humble estate of his servant for behold from now on all generations will call me blessed for he who is mighty has done great things for me and his and holy is his name and his Mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He is brought down the mighty from their Thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He is filled the Hungry with good things and the rich he is sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his Mercy as he spoke to our fathers to Abraham and to his offspring forever and Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth and she bore a son and her neighbors and relatives her that the Lord has shown great Mercy to her and they rejoiced with her and on the 8th day. They came to circumcise a child and they would call him Zachariah after his father. But his mother answered know he shall be called John and they said to her none of your relatives is called by this name and they made signs to his father inquiring that he wanted what he wanted him to be called and he asked for a writing tablet and wrote. His name is John and they all wondered and immediately his mouth was open and his tongue loosed and he spoke blessing God and fear came on all their neighbors and all these things were talked about through all the Hill Country of Judea and all who heard them laid the them up in their hearts saying what then will this child be for the hand of the Lord is with him. And his father Zakaria was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied saying blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from the bold that we should be safe from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to show them Mercy promise to our fathers. And to remember His Holy Covenant the oath that he swore to Our Father Abraham to grant us that we being delivered from the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in Holiness and righteousness before him all our days and you child will be called the prophet of the most high for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways to give knowledge of Salvation to his people in the Forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sun shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace and the child grew and became strong in spirit and he was in the wilderness until the day of public appearance to Israel ice we got a lot there.

There's a lot here. That's what I want to do is I want us to start with Mary. So it's the last week Crist walked us through Gabriel's announcement to Mary that Not only was she going to become pregnant but her baby was going to be the Son of God right now. Just get this hold this in your mind as you think about this right Mary is this this young girl. She's not married yet. She's betrothed to Joseph and an angel shows up and says you can be pregnant and the baby's going to be God. Krista did a really good job of helping us work through this that that there's this Amaze kind of wonder in Mary's response to Gabriel and Gabriel gives back to her some confidence some some confirmation about this and so in the midst of all of this you think there be pressure on Mary right? I just want you to imagine what it would be like to find out that your pregnant. And you have to tell people well and angel said I was going to be pregnant and my baby's got. Right, that's not going to go over very well. That is not a lot of people are going to believe that story. And so you've got this massive social pressure bearing down on her.

To the point that Joseph gets it in his head to divorce or like I'm just going to be done. We're just I'm going to be real quiet about it. I'm going to be a gentleman. I'm going to make a big deal, but we're just going to be done and move on. And Joseph gets a visit from an angel. And the angel tells him that it's going to be okay. You can read about that in Matthew. But there's this pressure on Mary. And in the midst of all of this she she finds out that her relative Elizabeth is pregnant also right? She she knows that Elizabeth is Baron and the angel says not only are you going to be pregnant but Elizabeth is pregnant and she goes to visit Elizabeth like we look at this and we say, well, you know, this is something super spiritual this is this is the thing that's going to happen here and a God does use it but let's be realistic about this. Let's be honest in our thinking with all of this pressure on Mary in this small town doesn't make sense that she would go somewhere else for a while. Right. If you live in a town of about 200 people and you had this thing going on that nobody believes you about you'd want to get out right? That's what that's what she does. She travels from Nazareth to this town in Judea and goes to visit Elizabeth her her relative and when she gets there, she greets Elizabeth and and something amazing happens right that she walks up to the door and knocks Elizabeth opens. Mary says hi and something amazing happens. Look at vs. 41 through 45. I'm in your Bibles and when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary she just heard the greeting when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary the baby left in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and she explained with a loud cry blessed. Are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb and why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me for behold on the sound of your greeting came to my ears the baby in my womb leaped for joy and blessed. Is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. Elizabeth's baby leaps right. Now. If you've ever been pregnant, I've not been pregnant. I'll just I just want to put that out there right now. I have not been pregnant. But if you've ever been pregnant, there's this moment. We're all of a sudden you skin start to feel the baby. And and as someone who's not been pregnant again, never been pregnant, but if someone has not been pregnant being next to pregnant women and was like, but there's you can feel a baby moving right? That's that's a normal thing. That's a that's a regular thing. That happens is something that we look for is a sign that this baby is healthy that it's developing the way it should that it's it's growing so it's not uncommon for a baby to move. But that's not what happens here. This baby hears the voice of the mother of Jesus. and leaps for joy

Like like if Micah leap sweet, we got through that makes sense, right Michael leaps, but if a baby leaps as a different kind of thing. And this baby leaps for Joy Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit and she cries out like that though. The words are pretty clear. Right? She exclaimed with a loud cry. This isn't her coming in for a hug.

It's not what she does she yells she explains this she cries out.

Blessed are you?

I tried to imagine what must be going through Mary's mind at this point. imagine the stress she's been told that she'll be pregnant with the Messiah. This isn't a little thing. This isn't that you just having a baby. That's not that's not just what's happening here. You're going to be pregnant with the Son of God with the one who will redeem his people with the person that all of the history of your people has been looking toward everything is pointing to this. All of those stories she's heard growing up. All of those things that have been told to her about Moses and the Exodus about Abraham Isaac and Jacob about the prophets in the Kings about David all of this. Is bearing down on her?

She's traveled, but perhaps weeks.

To go see if what the angel said was true.

and in that moment when she greets Elizabeth All of the things she dared. Hope for were confirmed.

And how does she respond like I want you to think about this if you had this kind of insane pressure bearing down on you and you had this tiny spark of hope that it was all true and you got that confirmation. How would you respond? Like would you would you respond and rejoice in your good fortune? Yes. Yes. I am blessed.

It's good for me.

Would you rejoice that you weren't crazy? Like that, if I wasn't I wasn't crazy. There was a really was an angel in my room was real. These are the kinds of things that we would probably do. But what does Mary do? Look at what she does but she doesn't rejoice in her good fortune. She doesn't Rejoice that she's in crazy. She rejoices in who God is and what he does. True choices and who God is and what he does listen to versus 46 through 55 and Mary said my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior for his looked on the humble estate of his servant for behold from now on all generations will call me blessed for he who is mighty has done great things for me and His holy and holy is his name and his Mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty from their Thrones and exalted those of humble estate is filled the Hungry with good things and the rich he is sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel and remembrance of his Mercy as he spoke to our fathers to Abraham into his offspring forever. Look at the way that she describes God she calls him savior. She calls him Mighty merciful strong. Holy one who fills the Hungry with good things. He looks on the Humboldt. He scatters the proud he brings down the mighty. He exalts The Humble he helps his people he speaks to his people forever. Mary is filled with joy.

And she rejoices in God himself.

Her soul magnifies the Lord. She finds joy in who God is.

She's under immense stress. The stress hasn't gone away. Right? The pressure is still there. She's still. a young woman pregnant out of wedlock

in a small town where nobody believes her that hasn't gone that's not difference or situation has not changed. And it look at her response. My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior.

She finds joy in who God is.

And then we see Elizabeth and Zechariah. Right? We we we we we see Mary and her response to what God does and then we get this picture of Elizabeth and Zechariah. Remember that Elizabeth was Baron and for all of the time of their marriage they had prayed for a child. I give me any child too much to hope for a son. Give me any child and then one day all of these things come together and Zechariah is serving in the temple of his turn. He's supposed to go in and like the incense and he goes in an angel is there and tells him hey you're going to have a boy and here's what he's going to do and Zachariah makes a dumb choice and says, how am I supposed to know? This is true. And the angel said okay, we can take care of this. You can't talk no more talking for you until all of this happens in that that's how you'll know and that guy doesn't say anything because of that when he can't soap for 9 months. He's been mute unable to speak only can communicate through riding and signs Elizabeth when she finds out she's pregnant. She hides herself away, right? This isn't this isn't a hey I'm having a baby kind of a thing. This is that sort of scared. Hey, I'm having a baby kind of a thing and she hides herself away. Because again it it's too much to hope for right after all this time. It's too much to hope for and so now after the visit of Mary it's time for the baby to be born. That's okay as in most 1st Century Jewish communities, like the birth of a baby is a big thing. It's something to be celebrated and so the community gathers around and they find out it's a boy and that's the that's what we worth celebrating and so they Rejoice together.

Give me

They Rejoice with Elizabeth and Zechariah that a baby boy has been born. But there's some confusion about the name right? Remember that in Indus culture names are really important right names speak to who the person is going to be and a lot of the time that the name of a child would be a family name to be something that have been circulated through the generations. It would be something particular to that family. And so everybody naturally assumes that the baby's going to be called Zachariah. And Elizabeth says no, his name is John. But you don't have any John's in your family. She's just crazy. Let's go talk to Zachariah Wright and they go talk to Zach Riot what it what's his name with? He writes his name is John. In that moment.

Zachariah confirms with the angel told him and his mouth is opened he can speak. For 9 months the man's been mute. And now he can speak and end. This is this is great. Because in this moment when he confirms this verse 65 says fear came on all their neighbors. A man has been able to talk for 9 months. And now whom he can talk what's going on?

In the midst of all of this Joy. Of the birth of his son Zachariah is filled with the Holy Spirit. Right? We we we saw this with Mary and Elizabeth Mary shows up grease Elizabeth. Boom. Elizabeth is filled with the holy spirit's Zakaria can speak it confirms that the boy's name is John and boom. He's filled with the Holy Spirit. And what does he say? He prophesize over John look what he says vs. 67 through 79 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of a servant David as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from a bolt that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us to show the mercy that he promised to our fathers and to remember His Holy Covenant the oath that he swore to Our Father Abraham to grant us that we being delivered from the hands of our enemies might serve him without fear in Holiness and righteousness before him all our days and you child will be called the prophet of the most high for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways to give knowledge of Salvation to his people in the Forgiveness of their sins because of the tender mercy of our God. We're by the sunrise. I shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. That's a pretty weighty prophecy. Right? There's a there's a lot of stuff there. But do you notice what he does? Are you sure she's not saying? I'm so happy that I have a boy. I'm so happy that I have a child like Mary Zechariah is not focused on his Blessing but he's focused on God who gave it.

But he's sure he's happy. There's joy over the birth of John but that's not where his focus is not focused on what he got. He's focused on who gave it. He blesses God for raising up a horn of salvation for being faithful to his promise for showing Mercy to his people and keeping his Covenant and an all of this all of this culminates in versus 78 and 79, right so I want you to look at these two versus very specifically Vs. 7870. Why is God doing this because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. This is this section right here. This is how it works. This is how joy in the midst of immense pressure in the midst of stress and and crisis and everything else. This is how it work. So it's not what you look at its first thing. We want to look at number one is the tender mercy of our God the tender mercy of our god. This is something that both Mary and Zachariah bless God for my people call out this a tribute of God that the mercy of God is shown in bringing salvation and forgiveness to his people as a career as a priest. He's read the scriptures. He he knows the scriptures. He knows that all of history of the people of Israel is pointing toward this coming Messiah. This one who is going to save the people from their sins who's going to bring them out from under the oppressive rule that they live with. Everything is pointing to Messiah and the birth of John Heralds the coming of the Messiah that again, this is something that is is Echo throughout the Old Testament that they'll be a prophet who comes before Messiah make straight the pass who points out the way. And this was all pointing to John and John points to Jesus who's coming.

But it doesn't stop there for for us. Right like it's a mistake for us to think all of history has been working its way toward this event. All of history has been working its way toward this every piece of government that has ever existed was pointing toward this every war that ever happened was making things happen so that this could come every good thing was pointing toward the arrival of Jesus.

The rift caused between God and man by Adam's sin in the garden. Is so deep and wide that it couldn't be overcome by anything we could do.

And so all of the laws of Moses all of the levitical sacrifices, all of the the cultural rules were meant to show God's people how hopelessly impossible. It would be to try and bring Salvation to themselves.

God in his Mercy Is coming that's what all of this is saying all of this is thank you read you read the the Mosaic law and it says God in his Mercy is coming. The levitical law God and His Mercy is coming. You see the history of the Israel Israeli people you look at the history of the Hebrews in in Kings and Chronicles God in his Mercy is coming you read about David God in his Mercy is coming. You read the prophets, Isaiah and Jeremiah God in his Mercy is coming. You read Hosea. Go read Hosea sometime God in his Mercy is coming.

all of this points to the mercy of God in coming to do what Humanity cannot

To close the Divide to heal the rift. to do what we can't

so we start with the mercy of God. This is why he does it because he's merciful. Now. What does he do? Because of the tender mercy of our God number to wear by the sunrise. She'll visit us from on high the sunrise shell visit us on hi. This is a really cool thing for us. This is this is God showing that he loves us because he he does these things in his words for Zachariah in here is alluding to the prophet Malachi Malachi uses this phrase in his in his writings. What's interesting about this is there's a space there's a gap right between the Old Testament and New Testament. There's a space of about 450 years when the voice of the prophets are silenced. God doesn't speak through prophets anymore for about 450 years. And and Malachi is one of the last ones so Zachariah is calling back to some of the last things that God said to his people. And he's doing it from a space of God speaking again. Gabriel Gabriel brings this message of Hope and Zechariah sees the connection. latest from from Malachi chapter 4 verse 2 But for you who fear my name the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You should go out leaping like Calves from the stall.

You should go out leaping like Calves from the stop. The joy of the coming of Jesus is like when the sun breaks over the horizon. I don't know. I don't know how early you guys get up but but sunrises lately have been pretty amazing. It's winter so you don't have to get up that early to see the sunrise comes pretty late in the day. But but here's the thing. The sunrise is the handiwork of God on display and there have been some really ridiculously cool ones lately. I've just the last few mornings this week There's Been the sort of like stratified Cloud thing above the the mountains over here on the east side. And so they'll be blue like it's dark blue on top and then you can see the sun start to set up and so they're the right pink underneath. It is really dark blue and then this bright pink and just streaks back and forth across the sky beautiful amazing my favorite one so far a couple of weeks ago, we had that really kind of super cold snap that happened right and that when we first got the big snow and it was all this ice in the air. And I'm driving to work and the sun comes up over the the crests over the mountains here and all of a sudden there's a rainbow in a Halo because there's so much ice in the air. It creates a rainbow.

That's an impressive thing.

That's what Zachariah is saying. The coming of Jesus is like the sun breaking Over the Horizon showering us with the beauty of God's creation. The joy of Jesus is like that. But it doesn't stop there. He says the joy of the coming of Jesus is like when calves are released from their stalls and get to jump and run free now I didn't pull it up because I don't really like using video when I'm preaching but later this afternoon go to YouTube and type in what is it happy calves calves Happy Cab and watch some of those videos. It's amazing little cows cows and I'll be installed over winter. And so they're all bundled up and it's tight and it's small and then they open the door. I watch one where they they like lifted this this metal cage off of five or six of them and they let him out. They go crazy. There's space they run. They jump. It's awesome. Go watch it.

The joy of being released from their captivity is so great that they can't not express it. physically by jumping and playing and running around

this is what zacarias talking about. This is the joy that comes through Jesus. Like the sun breaking Over the Horizon like Cavs have been released from their captivity.

and the number 3

we see first of all that God does this because he's merciful and we see that what he does is is joyful. And then we see why to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Listen to these words from Psalm Psalm 107. To put my note mermaid marker, and apparently I didn't.

again, Zechariah is is alluding to scripture the Old Testament. Listen to these words from Psalm 107. Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death prisoners in Affliction and an irons for they had rebelled against the words of God and spurn the Council of the most high so he bowed their hearts down with hard Labour they fell down with none to help right here, then they cried to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and burst their bonds apart what them thank the Lord for his steadfast love for his wondrous Works to the children of man for he shatters the doors of bronze and cuts into the bars of iron.

They cried out in their trouble and he delivered them. But this is a recurring theme in scripture when the Hebrews are in slavery in Egypt. They cry out to God and he hears them and sends Moses.

They cried out in their trouble. The birth of Jesus is the answer to the collective cries of all Humanity.

All people have been groaning under the weight of sin and death. And the coming of Jesus is the answer to those cries. He shatters the doors of bronze and he cuts the bars of iron. There's nothing that has happened to you. No distress. No crisis. No pain you face today. There's nothing that sits on the dark Horizon that he cannot redeem and heal and work for your good and His glory. When the sun breaks over the mountains everything is revealed. You can't hide that anymore when the doors of iron are broken and shattered whatever is behind them is revealed.

I like cabs that have been released from captivity and set free to run.

Is his tender Mercy that draws you to him? It's God's mercy that brings us to him his kindness. Paul tells us that leads to repentance

and when we look at Mary and we look at Zacharia and we see how they rejoice in who God is and what God does we see for ourselves a pattern of what our lives should look like in the midst of the stress and The Mists of the pressure. rejoice in who God is you can be delivered from sin. You can be delivered from Jeff. You can serve him without fear in Holiness and righteousness because he is your salvation and Redeemer.

Are we going to sing with Mary my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in my God. Will we do that? Will you say with Zakaria blessed be the Lord God of Israel for he has visited and redeemed his people.

That's Joy.

December 25th is in a deadline. I was going to tell you right now December 25th is not a deadline. It's a day to rejoice.

Just as today is a day to rejoice. And tomorrow is a day to rejoice. And the next day and the next day and the next day it any other day that you have in the grace of God given to you today to Rejoice because what we were Joyce and is not in the perfectly curated Instagram profile. We don't rejoice in the excellently thought out and given gift. Don't rejoice in the perfect present that we receive. We rejoice in God who he is what he does.

And because God is who he is and because he does what he does. We have every reason to rejoice. Your situation may not change that crisis that pressure that stress may not go away. But your response to it will change. How you deal with it will change.