THE SPIRIT OF JOY (PART 3)

"Consider It Pure Joy, My Brothers,

Whenever You Face Trials of Many Kinds."

James 1:2

What rational person would consider the trials of life pure joy? Only those who can see the surprising benefit in them. Through the lens of Scripture, we can see that benefit. We are told that our trials develop our character that will produce eternal profit for us; and we are told that the God who allows them always has our welfare in mind. These are things that an unbelieving world cannot see, but they have been revealed to those who will believe.

The book of Acts is an amazing chronicle of the early church. In chapter 5, the apostles who were arrested for preaching Jesus left the court of the Sanhedrin "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name" (verse 41). In chapter 16, Paul and Silas sang praises to God from the depths of a filthy Philippian prison. What kind of mind reacts to trials this way? According to the world, an irrational one. But according to Scripture, only a mind grounded in the truths of the Gospel can recognize the glorious realities behind our temporary problems.
Though James points to the benefits our trials have for our own character, we know that there is an even greater blessings in them. Jesus is revealed in us. His power is made manifest in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10), and participating in sufferings lets us participate in His resurrection (Philippians 3:10). Not only is our character sharpened in painful processes, the resurrection of Jesus is displayed in the crosses we bear. Such trials are worth rejoicing about.
Are you going through difficult times? Don't be despair. Discouragement and depression are not the Biblical responses, only the natural ones. But we live above the natural because the lens of Holy Scripture lets us see beyond the natural. We know the end result of our path. Perseverance results in maturity, and problems give Jesus a stage to show His resurrection power. There is no greater blessing than that. Consider it pure joy 
(An extract from Walk With God Devotional by Chris Tiegreen)

THE SPIRIT OF JOY (PART 2)

JOY AND LIGHT

"Light is shed upon the righteous and joy on the upright"

Psalm 97:11

We want our lives to be filled with light and joy. Yet so often, they aren't. Discouragement, depression, and darkness threaten regularly. Why? Are we targets of dark enemy? Are we victims of circumstance in a fallen world? Or might we be contributing to the problem ourselves?
There are many possible sources for our dark days, but one of them is a possibility we rather not face. We don't want to think that we're responsible for our downcast hearts, but we may be. God has given a promise. Those who are righteous see light, and those who are upright in heart have joy. The blessings of a life that is right with God are certain.
Why don't we experience those blessings as often as we'd like? It can't be that the promise of God has failed. Perhaps we are not righteous or upright in heart. Perhaps what is stealing our joy is a struggle within us for dependence on Jesus' righteousness and victory over sin.
Think about it: We are most discouraged when we feel defeated. And when do we feel defeated? When we know that God has commanded an obedience or an attitude that we just can't seem to comply with. In other words, sin gets us down. The primary struggle in the human heart is a battle of the will. When we lack joy, it may be because we're losing that battle - or, more accurately, winning it when we shouldn't. The heart laments its own unbelief and disobedience, and when it does, all peace leaves.
Do we lack joy? It probably isn't a fault of our circumstances or our brain chemistry, although those can certainly have their effects. Look first at our heart. Is it questioning promises that God has emphasized? Is it reluctant to surrender all our cares to Him? Does it trust His will and comply with His purposes? Is it able to say, even when life is tough, that God's grace is greater? Those are hard questions, but our internal struggles demand answers. We can't know peace until these are settled. He promised: Joy and light come to those who are unreservedly His.
(an extract from: Worship The King by Christ Tiegreen)

"If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as, just as I have obeyed my Father's command and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:10-11

The Surest Mark of a Christian is Not Faith,

or Even Love, But Joy.

Samuel Shoemaker 

THE JOY OF THE LORD

"Be joyful always ...

give thanks in all circumstances

for this is God's will for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There is a great difference between JOY & HAPPINESS. Joy is the realm of the spirit whereas happiness is related to our emotions and circumstances. When things are going well, we have happiness. It is good to have happiness, but we cannot have it all the time.

To illustrate: If I lost my wallet, I would be very happy when the founder returned it to me. After a few days, I would no longer have the feeling of happiness although my wallet is still with me. What I have actually lost is the feeling of happiness at the time of finding it.

Joy on the other hand, is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. There is only one source of Joy and that is God - God Himself! That is why it is possible to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul actually commands the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord always "(verse 4) and they are able to do so because "the Lord is near" (verse 5). You will note that while submitting they are also encouraged to submit their petitions; their prayers include the spirit of thanksgiving. (verse 6) And the resultance is having "the peace of God" (verse 7) in midst of whatever circumstances.

Therefore, when our circumstances cause us nothing but grief, fears, doubts, anger, depression ... we can still rejoice because our joy is not based on fluctuating circumstances, but has it's source in the One Who loves us and is the object of our love. Beloved, if we but exercise our faith and choice to "rejoice in the Lord", in the midst of our adverse circumstances, these negative feelings of grief, fears, doubts anger and depressions will just melt away!

Why It Is Important For A Christian To Have JOY OF THE LORD?

1) The JOY of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
2) Without it we could have lost the JOY of our salvation. (Psalm 51:12) As a child of God, JOY is our Christian testimony to reflect to the depressed world that in any situation, God is good all the time.
3) A healthy Christian is one that is JOYFUL because he is actively connected to "The Vine and bearing fruits." (John 15:5 & Galatians 5:23)
4) A JOYFUL believer is one that has his prayers answered. (John 16:24)
5) We are commanded to "Rejoice In The Lord Always!" (Philippians 4:4)
6) It is God's will to be JOYFUL! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
7) JOY is one of the key to God's presence! (Psalm 100:4)
8) JOY is the evidence of one who is living in a Victorious Abundant Life. (John 10:10)

Apostle John in 1 John 1:4 - "We write this to make our JOY full."
This verse shows that:

a) We need to read, mediatate and be a doer of the Word so that we do not leak. Some Christians may be walking with either half tank or worst still with an empty tank without JOY! We let the emeny rob (like a thief - John 10:10) us of our JOY through the circumstances and pressures of life. The key to a JOYFUL and abundant life is to stay connected to The Vine (John 15:5). Only then we can "Count it all joy even when we fall into divers trials or testings" (James 1:2) because it is "The Joy of the Lord" which is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) that will carry us through.

REJOICE!\0/\0/\0/
TPWC