| Theme: Joy Scripture Reading from Ne 8:10, Phil 4,4, 1John 1:3-4, He.12:2 "Do not sorrow (be sad) for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Is God saying that if we have joy that we will be strong, and can lift heavy things. That is not the kind of strength God is taking about. Let us look at what the bible has to say about joy. "Rejoice in the Lord always,again I say rejoice" God tells us not once but twice to rejoice in Him. This must mean that being joyful in the Lord is really important. It is easy to be joyful when everything is going well, but when things are not going well it is hard to rejoice. The Lord says we are to rejoice in Him always. Being joyful is not just putting on a happy face and then being sad inside. This is not the kind of joy Jesus wants us to have. So how do we get this joy, the bible tells us how. We are to have fellowship with Jesus. "Our fellowship is with the father and through His Son Jesus Christ and I write to you that your joy might be full" We have to have Jesus as our best friend and learn about him and His promises to us. Listen to this, it is amazing. The bible says that Jesus endured the cross and all the shame for the joy that was before Him. Jesus knew that he would be separated from His father and all the shame and pain that he would endure. The joy that was set before Him was knowing what this death would do for us. It restored our relationship with God so we could be friends again. Everyday we can have joy knowing we are a child of God, Joy is knowing that Jesus is always with us. Joy is knowing that Jesus is there to comfort us. Joy is knowing that we can give all our problems, fears, worries, doubts to Him, and knowing that Jesus is the best friend we will ever have. |
Joy of the Lord is My Strength
Joy of the Lord
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