The Joyful Christmas Program

I was reading a book on marriage discussing the concept of making your own happiness. The author wrote that the human mind is like a computer that regularly receives programming: positive talk reinforces a positive outlook while negative talk promotes a negative outlook. The author continued to identify “self-talk” as the thoughts we allow ourselves to think repeatedly that have the same impact on our perspective.

Now, I believe that happiness flows from our response to circumstances, which in turn comes from our ability to find joy, and according to Scripture, joy is a fruit of the spirit. So spending time with God allows the fruit of joy to fill us… but we need to agree with the truth He reveals to us for the fruit to grow. Our thoughts need to be conformed first to His way of thinking (1 Cor 10:5, Phil 4:8). I’m not always good at putting this into practice, but I’ve resolved to program my way of thinking so I can respond with joy and happiness to the circumstances of the day.

In turn, I’d like to encourage everyone to enter this Christmas season with a sense of expectancy because God is moving. He knows about the circumstances of this present time; He cares about it because He cares for each of us; and He has the power to bring about a great and glorious good that surpasses anything we’d come up with. In a sense, it’s a new Christmas program: not a preset expectation of what our individual traditions “should be”, but a positive outlook that God is involved in this season… for us and through us… to advance His kingdom in our lives and through our lives by the renewing of our minds.

From the fruit of their mouth a person’s stomach is filled;
with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied.

The tongue has the power of life and death,
and those who love it will eat its fruit.
Proverbs 18:20-21 (New International Version, ©2010)

So may the peace and joy of Christ the King rule in our hearts and minds, to glory of His Name and the advancement of His kingdom in this world! “God bless us, everyone!”

Merry Christmas!

copyright ©2010 Mitchell Malloy (http://mitchellmalloyblogspot.com/)

Popular posts from this blog

What is Alpha?

Image
I want to tell you about the Alpha Course.  Around 30 years ago, I had the privilege of attending an Alpha course at Truro Church in Northern Virginia. I was already a believer in Christ, but I've always struggled connecting with others. Some people may be surprised by that fact because I've been blessed with so many wonderful relationships, but the Alpha Course was special in that it opened the door to lifelong, family relationships. The people in our Alpha group kept meeting until we were pulled to different parts of the country. Yet even after that, we've had reunions, attended the weddings of our daughters and even met remotely during the COVID lockdown. I can't say that every Alpha group is as special as ours. The reunions and remote gatherings were in large part due to one lovely lady in particular who has continued to pull us back again and again, and it was my privilege to see her enter into a relationship with Jesus 3 decades ago, a relationship that has poure
Read more

If I were an Atheist

Image
My Life / My Will If I were an atheist, reality would be centered around me. I would judge things as good if they were in my best interest, and I would judge things as bad if they were not to my advantage. If I were an atheist, all relationships would exist for my pleasure and for the pursuit of my best interest. I would be at the center of the universe, and all others with circle around me. It would therefore be important that people agree with me in all things. Depending upon my level of sophistication, I would get people to agree with me without even realizing how I was manipulating them. In fact, I would take great joy in converting people to my way of thinking, and if I changed my thinking in any way, then I would want others to join me in this new enlightenment. If I were an atheist, I would want people to think of me as somehow “good“, so I would probably have some story to tell people about my “goodness”. It could be around my generosity, which would be just enough to have peop
Read more

Challenges of a Father

Image
I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been trying to form my thoughts for a topic that I’ll post later this month, and like our society in general have considered Father’s Day only as an afterthought. Our society celebrates Mothers pretty easily, and that’s a good thing. But it seems harder to celebrate fathers. Why is that? The message at our church today was a really good one but reflecting upon the content I realized that it was mostly describing fatherhood wounds, the impact of a bad father figure and how God brings restoration. So I could choose to write about the qualities of a good father, and that would also be a good thing to share, but instead I thought it might be better to share my challenges as a father. Assuming that others may be challenged in similar ways, maybe someone would benefit from knowing that we’re not alone. As the father of five children, I know I’ve made mistakes and that I’ve also done the right thing. No one is perfect as a parent, and that shouldn’t
Read more