A Jolt of JoySample

The shepherds were hanging out in the dark and cold of a Bethlehem night huddled around a campfire that emitted minor spurts of light and an occasional blast of warm air. Shepherds were uneducated, lowly members of society with grime in their brains and sheep drool between their toes. Shepherds never had any hope of advancement ... never any hope of owning their own land ... never any hope of moving up in life. Their futile world never changed ... just night after night of sheep bleating and the embarrassment of off-color jokes around an archaic campfire. Their world centered around restless, whining, disobedient and lice-infested sheep. And you think that your life is bad?! One such night as they shivered and tried to stay awake, heaven exploded into their small, dark world. The song of the angels burst into the war zone of earth and proclaimed the joy of heaven into their dark, cold existence. Stars were falling in rare and glorious colors as the heavens opened, and an angel choir gloriously sang a mighty symphony that can still be heard today. "For behold, I bring you good news of great JOY which shall be to all people!" Jesus invaded our world with joy and it is still His gift to you today. His presence in your life makes the darkness miraculously disappear and gives birth to hope. The first word used to describe the birth of Jesus was the word "joy"! I believe that it should be the first word used to describe you as well. Joy is the birthmark of a Christian and it should ooze out of every emotional and spiritual pore of your body. You have been branded for life with the joy of heaven and now it is your turn to sing the song of the angels! Your life is about carrying the presence of Christ into our hopeless and dark, cold world. Mary was the first carrier of the Christ Child so that we, too, could be carriers of the divine DNA. Heaven's DNA is spelled "J-O-Y" and the dark, cold world in which you live is desperate for it!