joy Archives - Laurie Hopkins

December 2 2019

The Praises of Christmas – Advent Week I – Praise of Faith in Uncertainty

“Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.”

Luke 1:38

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my saviour.”

Luke 1: 46, 47

The Praises of Christmas: Praise of Faith in Uncertainty

It is that time of year again! It is a time of mystery and majesty and sparkles and rejoicing. A time that I always picture in my mind as a clear, crisp night, dark but lit up with the beauty of a million sparkling stars, and a song of praise in the air! Christmas is many things to many people and in the time we are living, as Christians, we need to search our hearts and minds to be certain that we know why we are celebrating. It is not just a time for parties and gifts, for material things and pleasures that only last for a season. For Christians, Christmas is a time of reflection and wonder, rejoicing and celebration and time set aside with loved ones. But the pleasure that we derive is not just for a season but for eternity through the precious gift of that Baby, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, God in the form of a baby, sent to earth from the Heavenly Father.

Praises Of The Season

This advent season I would like for you to take a journey with me through the Praises of the Season. As we read through the Christmas narrative in the Word of God we see examples of many of the main characters praising the Lord. Each praise is unique and individual, just as the character and their situations are unique and individual. I believe that as we take this journey together and set aside the time to reflect and see the Lord, we will learn a valuable lesson in praising the Father, not only in the advent season but also throughout the year.

The Message

Let’s start with the beautiful praise that comes forth from Mary. Let’s review. Mary is a young girl, a virgin, betrothed to Joseph, but yet unmarried. She is visited by the angel Gabriel who announces: “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among woman!”… “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”…”The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” …”For with God nothing will be impossible.” Luke 1: 28, 31-33, 35, 37

WOW! Can you even begin to imagine the thoughts and emotions that Mary went through as she heard this angel tell her that she was “with child” and that this was not any child, but the Son of God? Can you imagine the excitement, then the questions, then the fear? What will Joseph think? What will my parents think? Will they believe me when I tell them about the angel and the baby? Will life ever be normal again? How can I be a mother to the Son of God?!

The Response

However, what comes out of Mary’s mouth in response to the angels’ visit is not fear or worry or a list of questions. When she opens up her mouth it is filled with praise and submission to the Will of the Father for her life. “Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1: 38

We may think, “Well, she hasn’t had time to think about the situation, she is caught or up in emotions”…..but her praise doesn’t stop there, it is just beginning! Mary quickly travels to visit Elizabeth, whom the angel has indicated is also to bear a son. Elizabeth who is advanced in years and barren! Oh the mighty hand of God!

As Mary greets Elizabeth, the babe in Elizabeth’s womb “leaps” and Elizabeth herself is filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking forth praise onto God. At this point in time, the reality of Mary’s situation has truly begun to hit home. Surly she has talked with Joseph and her family about the impending birth and surely she has felt the weight of their questions. Surely by now, others are aware of her pregnancy and she has likely endured stares ranging from pity to outrage. And in seeing for herself the effect of the hand of God on Elizabeth – causing one who was barren to conceive…..Mary must be beginning to understand the power of God to follow through with that which He had told her through the angel Gabriel. If there had not been time to “think it through” before or emotions had gotten the best of her, we can rest assured, that by now the reality of her situation has settled in. So if Mary’s earlier praise was a result of naiveté or emotionalism, then we would expect Mary’s praise to turn to bitterness and questioning?

Mary's Song

But what we hear coming from the lips of this young girl, who find herself in the middle of a complicated situation made more challenging with the responsibility she has to bear, is a song of praise:

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;

For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed

For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And Holy is His name.

And his mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with His arm;

He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the sick He has 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 seed forever.”

Luke 1:47-55

How Beautiful Are the Praises of The Lord

How beautiful are the praises of the Lord on the lips of His people!

This Advent season will you join with me to take a moment each day and reflect on how we praise the Lord in complicated times, times of adversity or times of uncertainty? Are we able to open our mouth and praise the Lord because He has regarded us? Are we able to praise Him who is mighty for the great things He has done for us? Are we able to praise Him because he is Holy? Are we able to praise Him for His faithfulness? Are we able to praise Him because we walk in faith, believing that He knows the path that He has prepared for us?

This advent season, may we learn from the praises of Mary, that we too can open our lips and praise our Lord even in the midst (and probably most importantly, in the midst) of times of uncertainty because we believe that our Heavenly Father is faithful and true!

Let Us Pray Together

Mighty God, Holy One, we come before You at the beginning of this Advent season and ask that You guide and direct us through this journey of reflection on the praises of Christmas. There is so much to glean from Your Word and we know that if we ask, You will guide and direct our learning and grant revelation to our hearts and minds. So today, we ask! Teach us, Father, to open our lips and praise you at all times….especially in the midst of uncertainty as Your word tells us that You inhabit the praises of Your people. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus. Amen and Amen and Amen

Until next time,

From my heart to yours!

Laurie

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November 11 2019

The Lie Of Accumulation – Living To Give Rather Than To Receive

Hello, my friend! How are you? We are a little behind schedule on new blogs simply because the last blog on Why We Need To Love One Another More Than Ever has been heavy on my heart. Because of that, I felt it needed to stay front and center a little longer. In the last few weeks, what have you learned about loving your neighbour? I would love to hear about your experiences. Drop a note in the comment section below – we are always open to sharing and conversation here. This week I want to chat about “The Lie of Accumulation – Living to Give Rather Than to Receive”.

Grab your hot drink and your favourite mug and I’ll wait for you at the kitchen table!

Jesus Said

In Acts 20:34-35 Paul says, “Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Paul was departing to Jerusalem. He was unsure of what would take place there and whether he would see this church family of his again. He was in the midst of giving them “final” instructions. It is significant, that at this time when there were so many things he could have been sharing with the believers, that he felt it important to talk about giving and receiving.

what will i ever do with all this stuff?

We live in a society of stuff, lots of stuff. Just look around. Stores have thousands of items, many of them just varieties of one item. No matter where you go shopping you can find gadgets that will make your life easier and better or will allow you to move more quickly or make you happier.

Our closets are full, we have extra areas for storage. Things languish in boxes for years without us even laying eyes on them. And yet, we hold tight to our possessions.

Decluttering

In the last number of years, we have made a conscious decision to declutter our home. We began to take a hard look at the belongings we had, whether we needed them and who else might benefit from them. Over time, we have let go of many items that were little more than nostalgic as well as items that hadn’t seen the light of day for years. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to find that thing you are looking for when you actually need it. It is easier to clean. And the benefits of giving away to others those things that you are not in need of is more than just a bonus.

The lie of accumulation and choices

We, in today’s society, have bought into a lie. The lie of accumulation. We have been led to believe that accumulation is a sign of success and will lead to contentment. That the more we have, the better we must be doing. The bigger our homes and the more filled with stuff they are is portrayed as some sort of status symbol. And it isn’t just about convincing those around us of how well we are doing, it is part of an effort to fill a void within ourselves; a proof that we are OK, even when we don’t really feel OK.

Not only have we believed the lie of accumulation, but we have also believed in the lie of choices. More choice is better. Just walk down the cereal aisle in your local grocery store – how many kinds of cereal do we really need to be able to choose from? How many “make your life better” gadgets do we really need to be bombarded with day in and day out?

The truth is that accumulation is an empty promise and choice just complicates the matter.

Happiness Is....

Mainstream marketing and advertising would have you believe that your happiness is completely tied up in how much you have, how many choices are set before you and how many gadgets you are in possession of. This, they tell us, is guaranteed to set us on the pathway to a smoother, faster, shinier life. We are told that happiness is whatever we want it to be, that we can make it ourselves and that at the end of the day, happiness is something we can buy our way into.

What they don’t tell us is that the pursuit of happiness is costly, requires us to put in more hours of work to make the money to buy it, requires more time and energy to clean and maintain, and in time, becomes our misguided focus. When the pursuit of happiness becomes the focus, we fail to recognize happiness when it alights upon us, because we are always striving to chase it down.

Happiness Vs. Joy

Apart from the lies of accumulation and choices, the question really becomes, is it happiness that we are really looking for? Happiness is subjective. It depends on the day, the time and the circumstances we find ourselves in. We can be feeling perfectly happy and then one little thing goes awry and our happiness, in that moment, is impacted. Joy, on the other hand, comes from somewhere deep within us. It is not impacted by what is happening at the moment and therefore is sustained even when the day, time and circumstances are not what we had hoped for.

Now What?

So, we have raised two issues – 1) the fact that we have been fed untruths about the benefits of accumulation and the need for so many choices, and 2) our pursuit of happiness rather than joy. Now what? Well, where there are issues, we generally look for answers.

Is Minimalism the Answer?

The minimalist movement has occurred in response to our realization that accumulation and choices haven’t made us happy. So, we have come up with all kinds of ways and systems to begin to downsize our stuff. We have begun to declutter, reducing the number of items in our home significantly. We have begun to ask, “does this make me happy, does this spark joy?” and if not, we toss it. Although this is a great start, I wonder if it has actually addressed the issue. While throwing away the belongings we worked so hard to accumulate because we thought they would make us happy, we are still basing our decisions on what we keep on what makes us happy or not. In this way, we are still engaging in the pursuit of happiness through the accumulation of things, just a lesser accumulation.

Not Having Vs Giving

The other issue that comes up for me, is the difference between getting rid of stuff to have less, versus, giving things away to others who may need it for the purpose of giving. There is a big difference. I can give away all my things and

have nothing and still not have a giving heart. Will that contribute to my happiness? And if it does, did I give it away in the correct spirit – for my happiness, rather than for the benefit of the one I gave it to?

I can give away a few of my things, in an intentional way, and have a very giving heart. And if I do it for the sake of the benefit of the other rather than in the pursuit of my own happiness, it comes from a very different place and spirit.

Joy is the Answer

When dealing with any issue, it is important to get to the root and dig it out. Otherwise, we are just continually battling the weeds. I believe that the real answer begins with our realization that happiness is an empty pursuit. Circumstantial happiness will never be attained consistently. Once we come to that understanding, we will begin to be able to stand up to the lie that accumulation of things and having many choices will lead to happiness, because at the end of the day, happiness won’t even be our goal. It is a mindset shift. If we are not after happiness, the marketing and advertising offers of happiness will no longer captivate us. That is the root.

Instead, let’s go after joy. As I mentioned earlier, joy comes from within. It is not dependent on the day, time or circumstances. Joy lives within you and flows out of you even in the midst. Do you know people that are full of joy? They are the ones you go to comfort in the midst of their circumstances and come away feeling that they comforted and encouraged you.

There Is Joy In Jesus

So where does this joy come from? Relationship with Jesus brings joy. When you are in relationship with Jesus, you know who you are, whose you are, that there is a plan and a purpose for your life and that the battle is already won on your behalf. You understand that the Lord knows your name and even the number of hairs on your head, that you are on His mind and on His heart. There is a freedom and liberty that bubbles up from within you. There is a light on the inside of you that wants nothing more than to shine in any darkness it encounters. Joy is not dependent on the accumulation of things, having many choices or on the circumstances that surround you. Joy lives inside of you and is like a fountain that overflows onto those around you. Relationship with Jesus = Joy!

It is More Blessed To Give Than Receive (Or Accumulate)

So, let’s go back to the beginning. In Acts 20:34-35 Paul says, “Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

I am a firm believer in the decluttering movement. I believe with all my heart that an over-accumulation of stuff leads to all kinds of concerns. The work required to purchase, the time required to clean and maintain, the stress that comes with not being able to find anything. But I think, as Christians, we need to be careful how we frame the decluttering. If we are just getting rid of stuff to get rid of stuff and hoping it will make us happier, we have missed the mark. We need to reframe it right from the beginning: I am not over accumulating because my happiness doesn’t come from stuff, my joy comes from Jesus. The second reframe we need to make is this: I share what I have with those around me because my joy comes from Jesus and in the overflow of that joy is the understanding that it is more blessed to give than to receive (or accumulate). When I give to those around me, it is from a heart of love and compassion for those who are in need, rather than from a selfish place of giving away my stuff to others to increase my own happiness.

What I Know

Mindset shifts take time. But the best way to begin to shift your mindset is to start! Are you happy or joyful? Where are you seeking that happiness? Do you know the joy that comes from relationship with Jesus? How much stuff have you accumulated? Can you begin to be intentional about sharing what you have with those around you who have a need? Yes, it may seem overwhelming right now, but again, one step at a time. Start setting things aside that you don’t need. Now, look at what you have set aside. Who may benefit from those items? A neighbour, a friend, a co-worker, a woman’s shelter, the local church who has a free clothing store, the local job search center that collects gently used dress clothes to help out those looking for work. There are so many in need all around us. And here we are, holding tightly to all that we have, whether we need it or use it or not. Today is a day for a mindset shift! Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.” If only we could become a people that would live to give rather than to receive (accumulate).

Until Next Time

Well, it is that time again. I’m so glad you were able to take a few minutes to join me at the kitchen table. The table is always available for a chat. Drop a line in the comment box below and let me know how you are doing with your mindset shift. We can build a community of encouragement for one another right here!

If you are interested in more Devotional reading, head over to my Facebook Page where you will find a Weekly Devotion early every Monday morning. Click here to go directly to Weekly Devotions with Laurie.

Until next time,

From my heart to yours!

Laurie

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