THE GREATEST JOY OF ALL

THE GREATEST JOY OF ALL The greatest joy of all Is the PRESENCE of God In his person And living in our hearts- Minds-and souls TODAY we read about how Joseph and Mary Presented our Lord Jesus- In the Temple at birth And how he was presented To Simeon and Anna “Now Lord you Have kept your PROMISE And you May let your servant Go in peace With my own eyes I have seen your salvation Which you have prepared In the PRESENCE of all peoples: A LIGHT to reveal Your will-to the gentiles And bring GLORY To your people” Luke 2:25-32 The Lord is EVERYTHING-and- He always keeps his promises As he did with Simeon The GREATEST JOY of all Is the PRESENCE of the Lord “The precepts Of the Lord are right GIVING JOY-to the heart The commands of the Lord Are radiant Giving LIGHT to the eyes” Psalm 19:8 “Deceit is in the hearts Of those who plot evil But those who promote peace Have JOY” Proverbs 12:20 Maybe-you are like me- And were BAPTIZED as a baby-and REAFFIRMED your vows As an adult Or maybe-you weren't baptized Until you became an adult You/me-WE-are still filled with JOY There was also a prophet- Named Anna-in addition to Simeon “She was very old-she had lived With her husband seven years After her marriage And then-was a widow Until she was 84 She never left the TEMPLE But worshiped night and day Fasting and praying Coming up to them At that very moment She gave thanks to God And spoke about the child To all-who were looking forward To the Redemption of Israel” Luke 2:36-38 Jesus' light-stayed lit-ALL the way Through the end of his life And through the RESURRECTION For all of eternity Some of our lights-need relit- And we NEED to be reborn- Or born again- As we travel through this journey We call life Today- we CELEBRATE- The PRESENTATION of the Lord And of course- the PRESENCE of God- In our hearts THE GREATEST JOY OF ALL Robert P. Wallman 1-31-16