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NEED
PRAYER?
Do you need prayer or want our
prayer group to pray for someone? Email Brother Barry and let
him know your requests
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| Email: Brother
Barry |
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| Devotionals |
"Make
the Choice to Rejoice!"
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These things have I spoken unto
you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
be full.” John 15:11.
God wants us to have a joy that is full! Psalm 16:11 says,
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is
fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
"My joy!"
John 15:11 says that Jesus wants to give us His joy. He said
"My joy I give to you!" We think of Jesus as
a Man of Sorrows, but there was a genuine joy in Jesus; and
if you do not have that joy, you are not like Him. Jesus is
the source of joy. This is what Bruce Marchiano, the actor who
played Jesus in the Visual Bible movie Matthew, said about the
joy of Jesus…
"Yes, Jesus smiled; yes, Jesus laughed.
Jesus smiled wider and laughed heartier than any human being
who has ever walked the planet. He was young. He radiated good
cheer. The real Jesus was a man of merriment, such gladness
of heart, such freedom and openness, that He proved irresistible.
He became known through Galilee for His genuine strength, the
sparkle in His eyes, the spring in His gait, the heartiness
in His laugh, the genuineness of His touch; His passion, playfulness,
excitement, and vitality: His JOY! He made a dazzling display
of love. He set hearts afire. He was an elated, triumphant young
man with an incredible quality of life...so different from the
solemn religious types He constantly encountered...the Joy of
Jesus, I discovered, was wrapped up in His living in all the
fullness of life's ultimate adventure-a bigger-than-life, robustness,
victoriousness that comes with living 100 percent in the Father's
will 100 percent of the time. Can you imagine the level of joy
in your heart if you could live just ten seconds that way? Jesus
lived every breathing moment that way. It's beyond comprehension....
"Make the choice to rejoice!
Jesus' joy is not a joy that comes and goes. Philippians
4:4 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say,
Rejoice.” First Thessalonians 5:16 is even more clear:
“Rejoice evermore.”
Joy vs. Happiness
It is important to note, however, that there is a difference
between joy and happiness. Look at this quote: "Happiness
is a consequence of good things happening around us; it is superficial.
But Joy comes from inside, from knowing that God has not forsaken
us and that He does indeed love us. That Joy can come from no
one but the Holy Spirit." (Ruth Senter).
Also, C.S. Lewis said, "Joy, must be sharply distinguished
both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy has indeed one characteristic,
and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who
has experienced it will want it again...I doubt whether anyone
who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange
it for all the pleasures in the world. But Joy is never in our
power and pleasure often is."
In John 15:5, Jesus said: “I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth
much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” If you get
your joy from amusement; when you can no longer be amused, your
joy is gone. But Jesus never changes. He is always there!
Joy in the midst of sorrow
Even when the tears are coursing down your cheeks, there can
still be joy in your heart. John 16:20 states, “Verily,
verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the
world shall rejoice …” In John 16:33 we read, “…
In the world, ye shall have tribulation …” But Paul
sang praises to God at midnight in the Philippian jail. The
same joy is available to you.
Joy restored
Even though this joy is available to us, not every Christian
has joy. You can be a Christian and still be miserable. As a
matter of fact, the most miserable man on Earth is not an unsaved
man but is a saved man out of fellowship with God. David, after
he had committed sin, prayed in Psalm 51:12a, “Restore
unto me the joy of Thy salvation.” He hadn't lost his salvation,
but he had lost the joy of it. We also read where Peter wept
bitterly even though he was saved (Matthew 26:75).
This should be our creed: “I have no greater ambition,
desire, or responsibility than just to abide in the Lord Jesus
Christ?” That is the recipe for joy in our lives.
Let's make the choice to rejoice every day!
"A Life of intimacy with God is Characterized by Joy."
~Oswald Chambers~ |
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School 9 a.m. • Worship 10:15 a.m. • Nursery available |
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