聖誕節喜悅的鑰匙

what would make you happy this Christmas?
What if I told you that you won a contest and someone was going to do all your holiday cooking, cleaning, decorating, shopping and wrapping? What if I promised you would get the present of your dreams (like that car with the bow on top in the commercial)? Or what if I predicted that family rifts would be mended, or that this year’s Christmas memories would be the best ever?
The fact is, all these things (if they actually happened) might bring us a measure of temporary happiness. But they wouldn’t sustain us through a year’s worth of hardship and trouble. We know this. Yet every year, we place a losing bet on the world to supply a truly joyful holiday season.
But what if I told you that you could have a joyful Christmas, guaranteed? And what’s more, that you could experience that joy year-round? And what if I wasn’t kidding this time?
This week we’re going to offer five keys to joy this holiday season. No, we aren’t going to do your Christmas shopping for you. But we hope these thoughts will serve you more than that.
The first key to a joyful Christmas? Contemplate the incarnation.
Consider the staggeringly glorious news that [i]“when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons”[/i] (Galatians 4:6). Ponder this truth every day for the next twenty-two days, and you won’t be disappointed the day after Christmas.
Here are two simple ways to contemplate the wonder of God become man this season:
[url=http://girltalk.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/03/083081650xm.jpg][img=125,197]http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/images/2007/12/03/083081650xm.jpg[/img][/url] Read Chapter Five, “God Incarnate” from JI Packer's classic [i][url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2F[url=http://www.amazon.com]www.amazon.com[/url]%2FKnowing-God-J-I-Packer%2Fdp%2F083081650X%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks%26qid%3D1196704601%26sr%3D8-2&tag=girltalk0e-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325][b][color=#df4d91]Knowing God[/color][/b][/url][b][color=#df4d91][img=1,1]http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=girltalk0e-20&l=ur2&o=1[/img][/color][/b][/i]. I’ve taken to reading this chapter every Christmas, and it never fails to help redirect my gaze from worldly pleasures to eternal truth. As Dr. Packer writes:  
[indent]“The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity—hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory—because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear.”  
[/indent][url=http://girltalk.blogs.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/2007/12/03/m41850021_m.jpg][img=125,125]http://girltalk.blogs.com/girltalk/images/2007/12/03/m41850021_m.jpg[/img][/url] Purchase and listen to the Sovereign Grace Christmas album, [url=http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums/category/sovereign_grace_music/savior_celebrating_the_mystery_of_god_become_man][b][color=#df4d91]S[i]avior: Celebrating the Mystery of God Become Man[/i][/color][/b][/url]. While not traditional Christmas tunes, these beautiful songs are full of the wonderful truths of the incarnation:
[indent][i]God has sent His greatest treasure[/i]
[i]Shown His love in greatest measure[/i]
[i]Sending Christ to bleed and suffer[/i]
[i]Purchasing our joy forever[/i]
[i]Let the earth rejoice![/i]
[/indent]Instead of looking to the world to give us joy this Christmas, let’s focus on the one who came to earth and bore our sins, [i]purchasing our joy forever[/i]!

什麼會使您愉快這聖誕節? 我若告訴了您, 您贏取了一場比賽並且某人去做所有您的假日烹調, 清洗, 裝飾, 購物和包裹? 我若許諾了您會得到您的夢想禮物(像那輛汽車以弓在上面在商務)? 或我若預言, 家庭裂口會被修理, 或今年聖誕節記憶曾經會是最佳? 事實是, 所有這些事(如果他們實際上發生了) 也許帶來我們臨時幸福措施。但他們不會承受我們通過一年的價值困難和麻煩。我們知道這。每年, 我們安置一丟失被打賭在世界供應真實地快樂的節日。 但我若告訴了您, 您能安排快樂的聖誕節, 被保證? 並且什麼更多, 那您能體驗那喜悅全年? 並且若我沒有哄騙這時候呢? 這個星期我們為喜悅提供五把鑰匙這節日。不, 我們不做您的聖誕節購物為您。但我們希望這些想法為您服務更比那。 快樂的聖誕節的第一鑰匙? 冥想化身。 考慮"的staggeringly 光彩的新聞當時間的豐滿度來了, 上帝寄發他的兒子, 被負擔婦女, 被負擔根據法律, 贖回那些是根據法律, 以便我們也許接受收養作為兒子" (Galatians 4:6) 。考慮這真相每天在下二十二天, 並且您不會失望天在聖誕節以後。 這二種簡單的方式冥想上帝奇蹟適合人這個季節: 讀章節五, "上帝化身" 從季包裝員的經典知道的上帝。我喜歡對讀這個章節每聖誕節, 並且它從未不幫助改我的注視方向從世間的樂趣對永恆真相。如同Packer 博士寫道: "聖誕節消息是, 有對體諒被破壞的人類希望的希望, 和平希望與上帝, 希望榮耀因為在父親的意志耶穌基督成為了貧寒並且出生在槽櫪以便三十年後他也許垂懸在十字架。這是世界曾經聽見了的最美妙的消息, 或將聽見。" 購買和傾聽宗主雍容聖誕節冊頁, 救主: 慶祝上帝的奧秘成為人。當不傳統聖誕節定調, 這些美好的歌曲是充分的化身的美妙的真相: 上帝送了他最偉大的珍寶被顯示他的愛在最了不起的措施派遣基督到出血和遭受購買我們的喜悅永遠讓地球高興! 而不是看對世界給我們喜悅這聖誕節, 我們集中於那個誰來接地和使我們的罪孽不耐煩, 永遠購買我們的喜悅!