We adore Thee...God you have created us and the world we live in. Though we forget You and deny You, Your love will remain. We each deserve nothing more than hell, yet our King died as a sacrifice for our imperfection to make it possible for us to eternally experience Him. Jesus Christ overcame death and fulfilled his promise. In this we REJOICE!!!
If not even a single thing in our lives goes the way we want it to, we should still have joy (it’s not like we deserve anything anyway). God's words shows us that our lives should be consumed in the joy of the Lord. 1Thessalonians 5:16 tells us that we should always be joyful, regardless of circumstances. In the third chapter of his book i've never heard of before, Habakkuk writes that when there is no food or cattle he will rejoice in the Lord. Read 1Peter 1:3-9. Verse 9 states, “…we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…” Joy should be present through the worst circumstances and through the best circumstances. Yes that even includes times when you have to wake up early, have a lot of work, are betrayed, feel alone, lack energy, don’t feel like talking to anyone, lose in a video game, forget to put on makeup(girls….or guys), cut your face shaving (guys....or girls), step in mud, pee your pants, lose money, or get stabbed by a pirate. It is our responsibility to not let circumstances get in the way of our joy. Neither in sadness nor happiness do we find our joy, but in God our savior.
So, we are all filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Wow! That sounds….kind of amazing. But do you feel like that? I sure don’t. Because this joy is not based on circumstances, it should give our lives a certain consistency in which non-believers will notice. When faced with undesired circumstances we need to celebrate that we have an opportunity to be a witness to others. What an amazing way to show the world God’s love….when there is no logical reason to rejoice, we shall rejoice. Let us show the people around us an inexpressible joy and make them ask, “Where does that come from?”
Nehemiah 8:10 “The joy of the Lord is our strength.” What does that mean to you? How do we find such inexpressible joy through God, and how can we express it to others? Other than our salvation, in what ways can we find joy through God? What do you agree with, or disagree with???? How many questions will I ask?......to reply click on the comments at the bottom.
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19 comments:
Fact: Ninjas hate Pirates.
Fact: Ninjas are more dangerous than Pirates.
Question: Pirate stabs are little more than a tickle anyways.
Fact: That wasn't a question.
Question: Wouldn't you be joyful through a pirate stab mainly because you were lucky it wasn't a ninja stab?
Also, I will think about this more and respond later. I just wanted to be the first to respond.
I probably couldn't agree more with Jake. Mark I think this is a great topic to start out with.
I like the whole idea of happiness and joy being two different things, where happiness is based on circumstance and joy is a constant not based on circumstance. Joy should be a constant in our life, should be...but why is it that most of us don't experience the joy the Bible talks about?
One reason I think we don't experience this type of joy is because we get to easily distracted. It is so easy to forget what God has done for us, His love for us, His passion towards us, and His plans for us. That is why I think it is so important to preach the Gospel to ourselves daily, so that we have the constant reminder and so that we don't get distracted by the circumstances we are surrounded by.
I think we can also find true Joy in the fact that we are completely loved and accepted by God. We don't have to worry about trying to impress or trying to fit into a certain mold. God loves us completely and wholly. This is huge for people like me who like to impress people, who are built to interact with people. I like when people like me, which sometimes creates a certain pressure. God takes away this pressure by telling me that I am completely loved and accepted. And that makes me joyful...
Thoughts?
Yah, true that, sometimes we get so wrapped up in preaching to others when we really need to preach to ourselves sometimes too.
Mark, I could not agree any more with all of that. Just reading that made my day so much better because it reminded me of how much joy we have been given because we have the fruit of the Spirit living in us. It is hard to remember that, but totally worth remembering.
I think love and forgivness are the best ways to show that we have the Spirit living in us. Love and forgiveness are two of the main topics that Jesus preached on, and it is how we are called to live. Just showing others those 2 things puts us apart from the world.
And I praise God for everything he throws at me because circumstances are what bring us closer to Him.
thanks for replying and thinkin about it guys!
soo we can have joy in our salvation... but what else can we have joy in???
...drake brookfield gave an example of having joy that we are completely loved and accepted by God...anything else?
I wonder if we could have joy in God's glory. I mean, God is glorified because of the fact of salvation, which means people are in Hell too. So could people in Hell have joy because God is glorified?
Mark, I completely agree with Drake. There is a huge difference between Joy and Happiness. The first thing that jumps to my mind was Paul. He was NOT happy all the time. He WAS joyous all the time. Through all trials. That is why I think it is important to come to a point to where we REALLY find joy in trials and temptations. We often say "thank you God for the pain I am feeling right now". But, how often do we mean it? I know for me personally it's not very often. That is one thing that God has been convicting me on, lately. And since that time, I have found joy like never before.
A few weeks ago, one of the hardest, most painful things I've ever experienced brought me to a point of rejoicing to God, like never before. I literally felt the door to my heart being nailed shut by the situation, and felt God being closed off. I had to rip it open, and I've never felt joy like that before. It brought me to tears and I ENJOYED the pain, as wierd as that sounds. If things didn't hurt, we wouldn't appreciate God's love. If things weren't hard, we wouldn't know the value of what we learn from them.
The scripture that God really used to teach me this was 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says
"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."
So, I think that we can truely find joy in trials, temptations, and pain. The reason, it seems, that God allows them, is because he also allows a way out so that we can become better followers of his will and glorify his name more. Thus, furthering his kingdom.
However, I also agree that the very first thing we should find Joy in , every day, is our salvation. I think all other joys will fall from that. I'm not to a point to where I grasp Gods glory and my salvation all the time. I won't be, as long as my flesh is alive. However, it's the approach to that that makes us Christians and praise God for that!
oh yeah and jake was way right about the whole pirate things
i def think we should all find joy in pirate stabs
that's awesome Isac!!! It's amazing to get to a point where you can experience joy through a real tuff situation.
Jake that last post was crazy haha...never though about that before. Isnt Hell seperation from God? I don't think you can have joy apart from God...i guess that's my answer
I pretty much agree with what all of you are saying. I meant that with my last post too, but the first sentence dosen't show that now that I look at it. haha. oh well.
And I'm going to have to agree with Mark with the whole hell thing.
yeah I agree with Mark about the whole hell thing too. Issac, I think it is pretty sweet that you can find joy in suffering. That has always been tough for me, but I think the joy is so much more 'real' when you find it in those valleys. Although, I do feel like a pansy (sp) when I am down and out about my so called sufferings when they are not even close to what the disciples went through...and they still had JOY!
Another thought.....we experience real joy when we love and serve others.....which is utimately God's will for our lives
examples?
Discuss.....
another good point tom, we will find joy in doing God's will for us. Little things throughout the day like listening to the spirit's voice telling you to talk to someone for example. and when you step up to the plate and act on what the spirit is telling you to do....thats true joy
loving and serving others...thats pretty tuff for a lot of people. it's definately true, but do you think everyone is called to do that?
Jake, you've really got my head spinning over your post about people in hell having joy. I don't think the answer is as simple as it seems on the surface. I think on some levels those condemned to hell will have some sort of "joy" in the justice of God-or at the very least, they will acknowledge the righteousness of His judgment on their lives.
There is no doubt that the existence of hell points as much to the glory of God as does heaven. God's only obligation to man is to judge him and send him to hell. It is only by HIS choosing that we escape the judgment that we have earned. Should be have joy in the existence of hell? Sorrow perhaps, but not joy. The joy comes from the knowledge that hell once owned us but it now has no claim on our life as a direct result of the sovereign activity of God.
The more I think about it, the more joy confuses me, because I'm not sure that joy is the thing I've always thought it to be. I've always thought joy was like feeling good regardless of the circumstance, whereas happiness is a temporary feeling based on our surroundings.
I always hear about having "joy in suffering", but suffering doesn't feel very good. I don't even know if you could call it suffering if it felt good. I mean, Jesus got angry about stuff, and wept, and sweated blood, but did he also ALWAYS have joy? If he did, that would mean that joy was just sharing his life with God, whether it felt good or not. I mean, if we are supposed to have joy in suffering, when would we not supposed to have joy?
So would that mean that non-christians cannot have joy? And are there really good feelings associated with joy?
i like that mr. o'callaghan. the point that joy comes from KNOWING AND UNDERSTANDING that we are now free from hell.
i agree with you jake. Joy is confusing. It is easy to tell someone the difference between hapiness and joy, but when you truly take a look at the two it is extremely difficult to seperate them.
We can't find joy through sadness, but we can find joy through God's will during sadness. If i had to answer I would say...non-christians can find joy, but to a certain extent. As chistians we can experience the fullness of a complete and everlasting joy. For example, if a woman who does not know God gets a divorce...she can find joy in the love of her close friends. But that joy will not be completely SATISFYING with God out of the picture.
anyone else have thoughts on Jake's question?
I'm not sure what I did to warrent the title of "MR", but I'll take it
I think you probably have to make a distinction between secular joy and the joy that can only be experienced by those in Christ. I think the joy that we’re talking about can only be experienced by Christians. I do feel, however, that the non Christian can be grateful for trials or have the proper perspective in suffering.
The word joy pops up quite often in the 4 gospels, but it seems to be most associated with happiness and good situations. It seems that the idea of joy being associated with suffering enters into the Bible in the letters and books after the gospels and probably most pointedly in James. James 1:2 says “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials”. Paul also spoke about having joy through tribulations.
The NT makes numerous references to joy being “in Christ” or “in the Holy Spirit”. Joy is also quite often found with the word peace. To me, when you put these ideas together it seems to carry the idea of abiding or dwelling in the Lord regardless of worldly circumstances. Paul says about peace in Philippians 4:7 “and the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (See also 1 Peter 1:8). This also raises the point that true joy/peace is a mystery and cannot be understood by the depraved mind. Man in his philosophizing will not find [true] joy in suffering.
Jake, at the end of the day I believe that joy encompasses the full spectrum of emotions of the Christ filled life. This will include happiness and sadness. Here is where the rubber hits the road in my mind: it is through our suffering that we are marked as believers. If you profess Christ, you will have trials. The question becomes how will you handle these trials? Will you allow Christ to refine your faith and take joy in your suffering, or will you become bitter and (as Job said) accept only blessings from the Lord?
Sorry for the long post…
Joy is something that I think most people are searching for. It is defined as: Intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness, a source or an object of pleasure or satisfaction and the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation .
Reflecting on the concept joy, I do not readily like associating it with a feeling. I acknowledge feelings to be temporary, they come and go. But Joy is supposedly something that is 'everlasting'. I also recognize joy to be something that is within- something that fills us. I doubt that we as humans could ever maintain the joy expressed throughout the scriptures without continually asking the Holy Spirit to fill us with it; renewed each day.
I also have thought in the past that you needed to express joy outwardly. However, I’ve established that joy in my life is a continuing inner peace, a calm and even keel presence that no matter how much my life may be whirling around or how many problems I have there is and will be stillness in the eye of the storm.
I am not sure that this type of joy could be found in people who do not know God. It’s hard to believe that they could maintain a calm coolness if their life would be in danger. This again goes back to the idea of having joy in our salvation.
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