Latest / Eurasia Region Podcast / S1-E35 | Everyday Eurasia | Debora Myrtle Anish

Transcript

S1-E35 | Everyday Eurasia | Debora Myrtle Anish · Eurasia Region Podcast

• 0:06
  Welcome to the special advance series of the Everyday Eurasia
• 0:09
  podcast, Inspiring fate for every day.
• 0:13
  In the coming weeks, they'll be journeying together toward
• 0:16
  Christmas, a season of anticipation, reflection, and
• 0:20
  light in the darker days. During this special season of
• 0:24
  Advent, we will journey through the Advent themes of hope,
• 0:28
  peace, joy, and love. This third week, we will join
• 0:31
  Deborah Myrtle Anish. She is a Sunday school teacher
• 0:35
  and NDI president at the Coal Free Church of the Nazarene in
• 0:38
  Chennai, India. In her daily life, she is an
• 0:41
  assistant professor and clinic opsiologist in a government
• 0:44
  hospital and is also pursuing geological studies.
• 0:49
  She will share with us about the team Advent Joy.
• 0:52
  Joy as our strength. Today's Bible reading is taken
• 0:56
  from the book of Nehemiah chapter 8, verses 9 and 10.
• 1:02
  Then Nehemiah, the governor, Ezra, the priest and teacher of
• 1:05
  the law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said
• 1:09
  to the mall, this day is holy to the Lord your God.
• 1:14
  Do not mourn or weep, for all the people had been weeping as
• 1:18
  they listened to the words of the law.
• 1:21
  Nehemiah said. Go and enjoy choice food and
• 1:24
  sweet drinks and send some to those who have nothing prepared.
• 1:28
  This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of
• 1:33
  the Lord is your strength. As we come to the final days of
• 1:38
  Advent, we turn to a truth we need for every season of life.
• 1:43
  The joy of the Lord is our strength.
• 1:47
  Before Nehemiah spoke these words, the people of Israel had
• 1:50
  gathered to hear God's word read aloud, something they had
• 1:55
  neglected for a very long time. Ezra and the scribes read and
• 1:59
  explained the Scriptures, and as the people listened, their
• 2:03
  hearts were pierced. They realized how far they had
• 2:07
  wandered, how long they had been living according to their own
• 2:11
  ways. So they wept, but Nehemiah
• 2:15
  gently stopped their grieving and said, this day is holy, do
• 2:19
  not moan, do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your
• 2:23
  strength. What does this mean?
• 2:26
  What is this joy of the Lord that becomes strength?
• 2:31
  Nehemiah wasn't telling them to simply cheer up or force a happy
• 2:35
  feeling. This was not an emotional
• 2:38
  makeover. It was an invitation to rely on
• 2:41
  God's joy, His love, His promises, and His presence
• 2:45
  Becoming their inner strength, God's joy becomes their courage
• 2:50
  to continue. God's joy becomes the spiritual
• 2:54
  fuel that moves them from brokenness to rebuilding, from
• 2:58
  fear to faithfulness. God's joy signals not only
• 3:03
  forgiveness but restoration, a new beginning under God's
• 3:07
  blessing. The joy of the Lord reminded
• 3:11
  Israel that they were chosen, loved, and not forgotten.
• 3:16
  For the people in Nehemiah's day, the joy of the Lord was the
• 3:19
  strength that healed their past, steadied their present, and
• 3:23
  empowered their future as God rebuilt not just their walls,
• 3:28
  but their hearts and identity also.
• 3:32
  How do we find this joy today? Matthew tells us in chapter 2
• 3:39
  verse 10, When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
• 3:43
  exceedingly great joy. The wise men, outsiders,
• 3:48
  travellers from afar, experienced overflowing joy when
• 3:52
  they came near to the Saviour. Joy rises in the hearts of those
• 3:58
  who seek Him. We find joy when we look in the
• 4:02
  right place, not in ourselves or in our circumstances, but in the
• 4:08
  person of Jesus. He alone is US.
• 4:11
  Joy and our strength. Advent joy is the strength that
• 4:16
  helps us seek Christ, find Christ, and faithfully follow
• 4:20
  Him. It is the joy of the Lord, a joy
• 4:24
  that steadied Israel in Nehemiah's day, a joy that led
• 4:27
  the wise men on their long journey to Jesus, and a joy that
• 4:32
  still draws us closer and transforms us from the inside
• 4:36
  out. This Advent joy gently turns our
• 4:39
  hearts towards Christ, giving us resilience and purpose, and
• 4:44
  preparing us to live differently because the one we seek has
• 4:49
  already come and will come again.
• 4:53
  As we approach Christmas, we don't merely celebrate a baby in
• 4:57
  a main chair. We celebrate the God whose joy
• 5:01
  strengthens us for the journey ahead.
• 5:06
  Let us pray, Father, we thank you for the joy that is not just
• 5:12
  a feeling, but our strength. Thank you for the joy that
• 5:16
  restores, heals, and steadies us.
• 5:21
  This Advent season, fill our hearts with the joy of the Lord,
• 5:25
  a joy that helps us seek Christ, find Christ, and walk faithfully
• 5:29
  with Him. Let your joy be our sustaining
• 5:33
  force as we enter the New Year too.
• 5:36
  Strengthen US, guide us and make our lives a witness to your joy.
• 5:42
  In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
• 5:45
  Thank you for listening to the Everyday Eurasia podcast
• 5:48
  Inspiring Faith for Everyday. For more Everyday stories,
• 5:52
  subscribe on this podcast channel, follow our socials,
• 5:55
  Facebook and Instagram, or our newsletter snapshots.
• 5:59
  For our newsletter and further information about the Eurasia
• 6:02
  region, visit our website, eurasiaregion.org.