Dwell Christmas by David BinionÖrnek

"Joy to the world, the Lord is come Let earth receive her King Let every heart prepare Him room" \- Joy to the World Despite all my talk about the different kinds of celebration and making sure to do more than just host a holiday party, Christmas is still a time in which we make merry and enjoy time with friends and family. That’s absolutely fine! There is nothing wrong with enjoying a good old-fashioned Christmas season the way we’re all used to doing. The Lord wants us to be joyful, after all! “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!’ (Philippians 4:4, NIV).  Or, as the Message translation says it: “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him!” God wants us to party in celebration of all that He has done for us! Happiness, joy, whatever word you’d like to use for it, take it to heart and go for it. Christmas is a time for reflection on all that God has done for us, and the sacrifice that Jesus made. A vast portion of that is reveling in the ultimate victory that He gave us that day on the cross! We should celebrate so that all the world sees and knows the goodness of the Lord. When we take the time to understand why we do what we do at this time of the year, it should only make us want to party harder! So, rejoice and be glad. After all Jesus went through to show His love for us, it’s the least we can do!