The Joy of the Lord
This morning we had 15 men to discuss joy and being a friend of Christ. We had a lively discussion, and a lot of great definitions of joy. The men really thought about it, did you?
Joy is the result of Jesus being on the throne of our lives. It is contentment and assurance. It is knowing that we are saved from our sins and everything is going to be alright for eternity. Joy is an emotion, too. It is gladness and delight in knowing the Lord and being assured that He is on the throne. Joy is something that grows or wanes depending on our abiding relationship with Christ and our fruit bearing. Therefore, we need to heed what Jesus says here, so we can be full of joy continually. After all, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy is wonderful, and it is so important. I pray that each of you have your fill of Jesus' joy.
One thing that will help you have joy is when you know that Jesus wants to be your friend. John 15 tells us that Jesus counts us as friends if we are His disciples. He communicates the Word of the Father to us, so we are in the loop of what the Lord is doing. He desires to have rich fellowship with us all the time. What a relationship with the Lord of all the universe! What a great love that He would lay down His life for us, His friends. With a friend like Jesus why shouldn't we have joy?
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 17-18 and John 3:19-38.
Joy is the result of Jesus being on the throne of our lives. It is contentment and assurance. It is knowing that we are saved from our sins and everything is going to be alright for eternity. Joy is an emotion, too. It is gladness and delight in knowing the Lord and being assured that He is on the throne. Joy is something that grows or wanes depending on our abiding relationship with Christ and our fruit bearing. Therefore, we need to heed what Jesus says here, so we can be full of joy continually. After all, the joy of the Lord is our strength. Joy is wonderful, and it is so important. I pray that each of you have your fill of Jesus' joy.
One thing that will help you have joy is when you know that Jesus wants to be your friend. John 15 tells us that Jesus counts us as friends if we are His disciples. He communicates the Word of the Father to us, so we are in the loop of what the Lord is doing. He desires to have rich fellowship with us all the time. What a relationship with the Lord of all the universe! What a great love that He would lay down His life for us, His friends. With a friend like Jesus why shouldn't we have joy?
Tomorrow, I intend to read II Kings 17-18 and John 3:19-38.