Jesus' JOY

“The angel said, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great JOY, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

As the New Year unfolds I Pray we are in the “Practice Mode! Let’s Practice good habits!  What can we change?  What way can we grow in Christ? We must ask ourselves these questions, you know take stock of our life in Christ! The following Scripture will be our guide through this ‘Practice Experience.’ “The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Longsuffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” Gal. 5:22-25 ─  If we are truly a Born Again Christian then we live in the Spirit because the Spirit of God has drawn us unto Salvation. The part that we must work on is: “Let us also walk in the Spirit!” The Message today is about “walking in Joy!” We often think of Joy as happiness, but “The Spirit of JOY is something much more important. It is an inner strength that is attached to Thanksgiving!  If we are Thankful, it will release God’s Joy within us. His Joy is not a fleeting moment or a happy high. Consider Jesus’ Joy ─“For the JOY that was set before Him, He endured the Cross and despised the shame!” Often in Scripture we find JOY attached to hard situations. Consider 1 Peter 4:13 “Rejoice, inasmuch as ye are Partakers of Christ's Sufferings; that, when His Glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with Exceeding Joy!” And Note James 1:2 “My brethren, count it all JOY when ye fall into divers temptations;” Paul talks about his hardships in Acts 20: He served the Lord with many tears, temptations, and dangers that befell him. He continued toward Jerusalem bound in the Spirit, not knowing the things that would befall him.  He knew that bonds and afflictions awaited him and this was his statement:  Vs 24 “None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with JOY, and the Ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the Grace of God.”    Loving you in His Joy, Pastor