Rejoice in the Lord

(Philippians 3:1)

At this time of year, there are many Christians who will rejoice in the Lord. The birth of any child is a reason for great rejoicing and more so when the Saviour of the world was born.

We saw how even heaven rejoiced when the angels of God filled the air with song at His birth.

So let us consider how we can rejoice in the Lord not just at this time, but at all times and in all circumstances.

Reasons to Rejoice in the Lord

The scripture today tells us to rejoice in the Lord, and so we should. There are many reasons to rejoice in Christ, and most of them have nothing to do with this time of year. Consider the words of this verse:

Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you. (Philippians 3:1)

Rejoicing is not and should not be restricted to this time of year, it should occur EVERY day of the year for there are countless reasons to rejoice in the Lord.

First, let me say that Christ was NOT born on December 25th. This is a date that was established in the 3rd or 4th Century after He died and it was based upon the time of His supposed conception. Lady’s Day was established before Christmas and the date of Lady’s Day, which is supposed to be the date of Mary’s immaculate conception through the Holy Spirit, was March 25th. There is no biblical evidence that Mary conceived on that date, and in fact, it was the date of a pagan celebration that was brought into the church as a compromise to try and win pagans to Christ. So the logic follows that if Mary conceived on March 25th, then nine months later Christ was born…on December 25th. And that is how the date for Christmas came about.

We are not told in the Bible exactly when He was born, but given that the shepherds were in the fields at night with their flocks, it could not have been towards the end of December, which is winter in Israel.

It seems more likely that Jesus was born at the latest in September or October.

Should knowing this prevent us from rejoicing at His coming?

No, it should not. We can rejoice that He DID come and He Did provide mankind with the means to be set free from sin.

There is a great reason to rejoice at this time of the year because it gives us an opportunity to speak to those people who are not Christians and perhaps help them seek the way to Christ. At this time of year, it is not odd or unusual to speak about Christ and so that gives us a great opportunity to spread the gospel.

And that is a great reason to rejoice in the Lord.

Other Reasons to Rejoice in the Lord

Stepping away from the current season, we should rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. It is only because Christ came to live and die for us that we have the opportunity of salvation.

He has blessed us mightily with His teachings and the Holy Spirit to give us the understanding of God’s will so that we can learn and grow and be like Him.

The blessings of God are without bound or limit and it is His will for us to come into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. God wants us to be His sons and daughters to live into eternity with Him. This is a fantastic reason to rejoice in the Lord.

The Lord has arranged it so that we have all of the knowledge and teachings we need to be remade into His image so that we can come into the presence of God. He has given us the Bible, which has everything we need to understand the will of God and to learn and apply the teachings of the Lord so that we can be transformed. This too is a great reason to rejoice.

God and Jesus Christ have established the church so that we can be encouraged by one another as we meet together. And it is important that we meet together to learn, to grow, to help our brethren when they have needs and to be helped ourselves when we have needs. The Lord set it up that way so that we could all grow together in relationship with the people of God and with God Himself. This is a great reason to rejoice in the Lord.

The Lord gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to teach, counsel, guide, protect, fight for us, convict and transform us into the image of Christ Jesus. It is the indwelling Holy Spirit who knows what we need when we need it and who makes the changes necessary in our nature so that we can be “knocked into shape” into the image of Jesus Christ. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to perfection and that is an amazing reason to rejoice in the Lord for we cannot be perfect in our own strength.

The reasons to rejoice in the Lord are countless. His love for us is limitless as is His mercy, compassion, and aid as we walk with Christ.

So in this season at this time of year, DO rejoice in the Lord and take every opportunity to let your joy and conviction in Jesus Christ shine, so that others can see it and wonder and ask why. Then tell them about the Lord and why you rejoice in His name. Perhaps they too will come to Christ and know the joy we share in Jesus Christ.

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