BE JOYFUL
Scripture Reading - Nehemiah 8:10
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength. KJV
In the world today we must renew our strength, this can be accomplished by utilizing the Joy of the Lord. This means the Joy of Jesus which comes from thinking about His complete salvation and overflowing Love must be a top priority in our life. We know there are a lot of things we can be thankful for but how many people on the earth today appreciate God’s blessings to them. The Christian should be more Joyful than those in the world’s system because we are not in bondage to the devil. We have complete freedom and liberty in Christ Jesus through His precious holy blood. Operating in God’s joy is never accidental, one must be mindful of God’s goodness to maintain a positive attitude in the world we live in. We must purpose to keep our hearts full of God’s Joy by the renewing of our mind. The depressing news of this world’s system will constantly attempt to rob us of the spiritual song in our heart through negative communications of disasters and fear. Think about the news we normally hear and see on TV it is full of tragedy, despair and strife which drains our inner man of God’s life. However, the fruit of our reborn spirit is love, joy, and peace which uplifts our spirit into the glory of God. The believer must do their best to keep God’s Joy alive in their heart. The fruit of Joy is not only for the individual believer but rather for all those who come into contact with a Saint of God. Since we have exactly what all people need we must be proactive in looking for ways to share this divine blessing with others. All those who will receive this fruit will typically carry the symptoms (side effects) of consistently smiling, excessive friendliness, happiness without obvious reasons, increased laughter, a higher tolerance of foolishness and supernatural strength when dealing with the negative forces of the world system. We can not guarantee that all Christians will display this joy (I wish we could) but we can confidently proclaim that all believers have the potential to be Joyful in Christ Jesus. The problem is not with the fruit or the seed of God’s Word but solely this lack of Joy in the world is due to man’s unwillingness to frequently give praise and thanksgiving to our God. The power of Joy resides in the fruit of our lips giving praise and worship to our Heavenly Creator Almighty God in Jesus Name. Those who tap into this unlimited source of power are considered wise in the Body of Christ and exceptional to those in the world. We (ihlcc) know that some may think that you are bizarre (unusual, strange) when you are full of God’s Joy. However, it is perfectly normal to act like a true Christian of happiness as opposed to a person in sorrow because of the world’s system. This public demonstration of Joy is one sure way to strengthen yourself, your brethren and your fellow man in Jesus Name. Amen!