Christmas is meant to bring us joy, a joy every one of us long for, but a joy I challenge many Christians     because of what we think about God.           (Lk. 2:8-11)

It has been taught God is   – utterly stoic, unfeeling. And that means if I want to become more like God through Jesus, I should become less emotional and less affected by what goes on around me.

The Bible is abundantly clear.    

And that’s why we feel – why we have emotions. We are made in    

When Israel of old returned to God, when each of us returns to God by saying yes in faith to follow Jesus, when we walk with God daily, to say that God is   is an understatement. (Zeph. 3:17)

If we dare have faith to believe God’s heart of   in His children, it unleashes in us joy that exists even in the midst of all the struggles of life.

The movie Elf contains a call to joy, but it fails dramatically in giving the     for the joy of Christmas. (Lk. 2:8-11)

The manger shouts the King of all   me, the King of all is   me.

My Christmas prayer is for a joy in Jesus that is  

I am confident our Heavenly Father wants to give us a     to have joy in all circumstances – a joy like His - that not only we enjoy but also draws others to Him. (Lk. 10:21; Gal. 5:22)