This week we light our 3rd candle in the advent wreath. We've lit two purple candles, and this week we get to light the pink one representing joy. Here's a devotion to help guide your conversation centered on the joy we have when we remember what God did for us at Christmas time. 

Invite everyone to share the difference between joy and happiness.

You might wrap us the conversation by saying something like this: 

Happiness Is External, Joy Is Internal

One of the very obvious differences between happiness and joy is that happiness tends to be achieved externally, while joy is something achieved internally. For example, we can feel happy when we receive something like a gift or achieve something like awards or honors. These things are external or belong to the surface of our lives. It is not something deeper but, rather, superficial.

Joy, on the other hand, is something deeper. It is something we feel internally in our lives as human beings. For example, when we feel great...

There's an encounter in the Bible of a mere mortal and an angel. It goes something like this.

The mere mortal says to the angel, "Whose side are you on? Ours? Or theirs?"

And the angel replied, "Neither! I'm on the side of the LORD!"

I can't help but think of this angelic encounter during these final days leading up to the election.

The 16th president of the United States said this (the last time we were severely divided from one another): 

"I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right; but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation may be on the Lord's side." - Abraham Lincoln

I hope that when you cast your vote you will let your biblical convictions guide your decision. 

I also hope that you will join hundreds of thousands of like-minded believers all across the US who are pleading with God to usher in peace, unity and truth. Let's continue to exercise our powerful privilege of prayer and pray with Honest Abe...

Oh, God please! Draw us back to...