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Water baptism symbolizes the believer’s total trust in and total reliance on the Lord Jesus Christ, as well as a commitment to live obediently to Him. It also expresses unity with all the saints (Ephesians 2:19), that is, with every person in every nation on earth who is a member of the Body of Christ (Galatians 3:27–28). Water baptism conveys this and more, but it is not what saves us. Instead, we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works (Ephesians 2:8–9). We are baptized because our Lord commanded it: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).
We have this sense that God wants you to experience joy at a profoundly personal level. He wants to bring joy to your world, your life, to the people you love and care about.
This can’t just be about the general “joy” of the season. It has to be felt and experienced on a personal level for it to impact our lives in a lasting way. Otherwise, we’ll pack up all of our goodwill, peace, love, hope, and joy when we put the Christmas stuff back in storage.
The message of God becoming a man…the story of the incarnation…Christmas joy…is so real and so powerful…it has the potential to impact us far beyond December. It has the power to change us.
In week one, we talked about Waiting in Joy. In week two, we talked about Receiving Joy. This week, we want to talk about Choosing Joy.
To “take” something means you forcefully grab it. You make a choice. It’s intentional. You exert the effort. And to “take” something assumes it’s available for the taking. But to take joy? Really? Joy seems so intangible. So subjective. So fleeting. How do you lay your hands on joy? So, how do you Take Joy??
