Praying ROM 15:13

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. -Romans 15:13

I used to like to write Advent devotions here on PPP. The last few years have just gotten to be too crazy-busy to make that work. Each of the candles on an Advent wreath represents a different virtue. There's the Prophet's candle of Hope, the Bethlehem candle of Peace, the Angel's candle of Love and the Shepherd's candle of Joy.

This past Advent, I'd been praying Romans 15:13 a lot. Mostly for myself, due to all the stress, depression and anxiety I'd been struggling with. But also for others. I genuinely wanted to share God's hope, peace, and joy with others whom I perceived really needed them.

In past Advent posts here, I've tried to explain or expound on each of these gifts. This time, I think I'd like to mash this list up with another list- the ACTS formula of praying (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication). 

We'll see how that goes, (if it goes for that matter, tomorrow's the first day of a new semester). Tonight, though, I just want to share something about just one of these four; which one is most important.

When my wife and I taught at Los Angeles Lutheran High, we coached cheerleading. For a while she coached Varsity and I coached Junior High. Eventually, I coached both toward the end. Of course LHS had a fight song that cheerleaders danced to at pep rallies, but we also had a school song, an slower anthem. The tradition at LA was for kids to gather at the end of football games, point one arm to heaven and join in the song.

I don't remember all of the lyrics, but one line sticks with me- "may faith be ever more thy fame and love be thy rule."

For some Christians,  our religion is all about all kinds of rules. Believe this, don't believe that, do this, don't you DARE do that. It leads to a lot of fear and judgement, misunderstanding and competition. For my money the whole Bible boils down to one rule. This is what Jesus said-

John 13:34-35
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love oneanother. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So assuming I write at least four more posts in the next week or so about Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love, keep in mind what Saint Paul wrote-

1 Corinthians 13:13
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Lutheran High's School Song would make a pretty good mission statement, and for that matter, a pretty good epitaph for one's tombstone- I certainly want it to be true for this blog: May faith be ever more my fame, and love be my RULE.

God tells us to...

"Be Joyful always;"
-1 Thessalonians 5:16

Ask, seek, knock

"There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.' All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously desired and constantly desired joy will ever miss it. Those who seek it find. To those who knock it is opened."

~C.S. Lewis, in The Great Divorce (1946)

Zen of Christmas

Here's a couple of ways to understand and achieve JOY that our Buddhist friends might appreciate, although they are both totally grounded in sound Christo-centric theology:

JOY= "Journey Outside Yourself,"" and of course the classic-
JOY="Jesus, Others, and lastly Yourself"

It's all about being selfless and unselfish.

Strength to go on

Nehemiah 8:9-12 (New International Version)

9 Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

11 The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve."

12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

Christmas is Jesus' birthday. Every Sunday is Easter, which is His re-Birthday. So take strength from the fact that He finds joy in you. You are His child, His "pride and joy." When our strength is zapped and we are weak and exhausted from depression or despair, we need to seek Him. By spending time with God, in prayer, by reading the Bible, by singing to Him- He renews our strength. Here's something that I've been praying every day for a while now-

"Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

~Psalm 51:10-12

Even in my grief for my brother-in-law and my aunt, even in my anxiety about work and money, even in my disappointments about my dreams, I can remember that Jesus was born and died and rose to save me so that I could be in a relationship with Him. No matter how bad I've been or how much of a failure I think I am, He loved me and has prepared a place for me with Him in Heaven. Surely if there's no joy to find in any of my other relationships- I can find joy in the fact that the very creator and ruler of the universe wants to be my friend, my brother and my father.

I hope that no matter what you've been going through this year and no matter what worried are heavy on your heart- you cans still find joy in the miracle of Christmas.

The Joy of the Lord is my strength

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

"The French neurologist Guillaume Duchenne mapped 100 facial muscles in 1862. He pointed out that false, or even half-hearted, smiles involved only muscles of the mouth. But "the sweet emotions of the soul," he said, activate the pars lateralis muscle around the eyes.

Since then, physiologists have talked about the Duchenne marker in a smile. It's a slight crinkling of crows-feet and a droop in the eyelid toward the temples -- along with a lift of the cheeks and the corners of the mouth. You know the sign. You recognize true delight in a friend's face.

Now psychologist Paul Ekman has gone back to the smile and found out something very important about it. The Duchenne smile, it seems, is accompanied by increased activity in the left prefrontal cortex -- known to be the seat of positive emotions." ~by John H. Lienhard, The Engines of Our Ingenuity

That's right, the very act of smiling activates neurons in your brain that can help elevate your mood. Sounds absurd, but it's true. And, Duchenne would argue that you can sense when someone is just pretending to be happy or if they're pretending to be glad to see you just by looking at them. A few years back, I wrote here about how what joy really is, is being connected to others, being in relationship. Duchenne, Ekman and Lienhard would probably agree that joy is that "I'm so glad to see you" glint in one's eye.

No wonder the blessing in Numbers 6:24 says "may God's face shine upon you, smile on you, and look favorably upon you." I know when my children are excited that I've come home from work it makes my face "light-up." God is always glad to be with us, He loves us so much, just thinking about us makes Him happy.

Psychologists recommend interacting with others rather than isolation when we're depressed. No wonder. Joy is about feeling connected and unconditionally accepted.

But it's not just something you receive. Joy is one of the greatest gifts that you can give. Doctors and scientists have also discovered a thing called "mirror neurons." When you see someone with a genuine smile, it triggers the smile neurons in your own brain. When your parents warned you that if you lie down with dogs, you pick up fleas, they mean that if you hang out with negative people, you pick up negative attitudes yourself. If you're having trouble with the blues, surround yourself with positive, upbeat people and sooner or later, you'll probably start to come around too.

Likewise, if you want to affect the emotional climate around you, smiling and being positive is a great way to start.

Remember that scene in the movie 'You've Got Mail,' where Meg Ryan tries to use a credit card in the cash only lane of a supermarket and Tom Hanks comes to her rescue by treating the cashier with good manners, kindness and a smile? One thing about joy is that it is something you share. If others see you smiling and experience you as warm, they are more likely to believe you are a nice person and more likely to comply with your requests.

“There is now compelling evidence that smiling causes people to feel happy. Requiring people to smile, no matter how they really feel at first, results in increased positive feelings; frowning conversely decreases positive feelings. Robert Zajonc and his colleagues show that smiling leads to physiological changes in the brain that cool the blood, which in turn makes people feel happy." ~Gretchen Rubin, The Happiness Project

---

Anderson, C.A. “Temperature and Aggression: Ubiquitous Effects of Heat on the Occurrence of Human Violence”, Psychological Bulletin 106 (1989): 74-96.

Zajonc, R. B., S. T. Murphy, & M. Inglehart, “Feeling and Facial Efference: Implications of the Vascular Theory of Emotion” Psychological Review 96 (1989): 395-416.

Joy in our weakness

As regular readers may have noticed. Our family is having kind of a "blue Christmas." That makes it tough to write about this week's Advent topic, joy.

It's finally occurred to me 1) that true joy is not necessarily the same thing as a temporary sense of being chipper and bubbly and 2) there are no doubt plenty of people who, like me, are having a hard time figuring out how to find joy, genuine, saccharine or otherwise. So I'd like to share a powerful resource with you. Joy in our Weakness, by Marva Dawn, is an amazing book that can help us discover genuine joy in the most painful and confusing times.

"Neither a commentary on the book of Revelation nor a devotional work -- though it offers aspects of both -- Joy in Our Weakness is instead a theological and practical guide that ushers readers into the very presence of Christ and His Lordship over the powers of evil. Marva Dawn writes compassionately for those who suffer, for this book was born out of her own struggles with physical limitations and chronic illness, and it is intended to help the whole Church learn how to find Joy in every circumstance of life, especially in trials and sufferings... The Revelation's original purpose -- to comfort afflicted, suffering believers..." From the Synopsis on Barnes & Noble.com

Bad things happen to good people, but God wants to wipe away every tear. What is more, He wants to turn our ugly hurt into something beautiful and useful. No matter what we've been through, He can use it, and use us to help others face what they have to go through. That gives hope and peace through sharing His love.

Promise I'll write more about joy tomorrow, but I'm pressed for time today.

Me ka pule,
Ted

Third week in Advent; Joy

Actually, I'm having my doubts as to whether this is supposed to be the Angel's candle or the Shepherd's candle. I do know that it IS supposed to be the candle for joy. Regular readers will understand if I'm having a hard time writing something about joy in the midst of my grief this year- but I will try. There is reason to be joyful, just be patient with me, I'll write something before next Sunday. Of course my home computer is infected with malware, so that doesn't help matters.

My Advent prayer for all of you

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

~Romans 15:13

Fwd: "Let Go of Disappointment!"

Are you weighed down by soul-cluttering baggage?

Shining Light Ministries
Angela Gulartie signsandwonders12@yahoo.com
August 10, 2007

"Arise, shine, for your light has come! And the glory of the Lord
is risen upon you!" Is 60:1

"Let Go of Disappointment!"

Grace and peace to you this day!

When I first wake up in the morning and I'm laying in bed, before I start to plan my day and think about the multitude of things to be done, my soul is in a "default" mode. That's the time when I can take an accurate "spiritual temperature check" to see what my subconscious mind is holding on to.

Notice I said my soul, not my spirit.

My soul, like yours, is colored by the left-overs of unfinished business, my thoughts, my fears, my expectancies. These are all issues of the soul.

It's easy to spot the conscious thoughts, fears, expectancies and emotions. It's more important and somewhat harder to spot the unconscious ones. But first thing in the morning, before I've had time to "rev up" my mind with all my plans, the secret things and issues that my subconscious is carrying around rises to the surface for inspection.

To move out of the soul and into the spirit requires intelligent action. It doesn't just happen by accident. I have to practice re-training myself and I know that in time, the process will become more automatic. But right now, I am still learning. .

One of the disciplines Holy Spirit has been teaching me in this new season is to bring the Joy of the Lord in to flood me - spirit, soul and body- before I get out of bed in the morning. When the joy comes in, I have enough energy to get out of bed. And no wonder - the Word of the Lord promises this should be so:

Ne 8:10 "The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Today as I was practicing this discipline, I learned two things.

First, there is no room for the Joy of the Lord to come in as long as my emotional space - my soul - is cluttered by soul baggage.

Second, joy is weightless. I can't receive it while I am weighted down by the disappointments of life that I have been carrying around with me as though they were valuable cargo. The truth is, disappointments are spiritual junk, a toxic form of spiritual pollution that gets in the way of my becoming the person the Lord has purposed me to be.

Disappointment. We each have a lifetime of disappointments of various shapes and sizes and emotional colors that we carry around with us. Some big, some little. Some old, some new. Some important, others insignificant. But all of them are spiritual poison.

Allow enough disappointment to cling to you, and it will be a dead weight that will pull you into the Sea of Despair, part of the torments of hell on earth concocted by our enemy the devil.

Why, you ask, would anyone go to the Sea of Despair? Because we don't realize that we are holding on to disappointments until it's too late and we've already been sucked in by the whirlpool in the waters of despair.

Disappointment has cumulative weight. Many little disappointments, if not properly disposed of, will weigh just as much as one big disappointment.

We remember our disappointments not just in our thoughts, but with our bodies. Memories and emotions store in flesh, causing cancer, paralysis, a withering of muscles, all sorts of horrible things.

Disappointment shows up in the stress lines of our faces ,and causes us to hold extra weight on our bodies.

Disappointment causes us to stop reaching for God's best and to view ourselves in the tarnished mirror of regret. We should be looking at ourselves in the reflection of God's light which is the brightest mirror of all.

God has told us what we are to do with the things that weigh us down.
He 12:1 "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

So this morning as I lay in bed asking Holy Spirit to fill me with the Joy of the Lord - that is a joy that emanates from my relationship with Him, NOT a joy that derives from my emotions or pleasant circumstances around me! - I noticed after a while, that the joy didn't come.

I tried, and it didn't come. I tried again, and it didn't come. I continued to try, and it still didn't come. And finally, I got desperate and asked God, what was in the way? Why wasn't I filling up with His Joy?

See, accomplishing the transformation God wants for us takes commitment to seeing results, and continuing until we get them. There is no room for quitting, and when we don't see results, we must ask the Lord what is wrong.

Ps 42:5 "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted in me? Hope thou in God."

And at the moment that I asked God these questions, I realized I couldn't get sky-bound towards Heaven because I was grounded on earth. And the weight that was grounding me, weight I hadn't even realized I was carrying, was due to a lifetime of collected disappointments.

Hag 1:6 describes the life process of disappointments well: "Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put into a bag with holes."

It is as though we think we have a right to carry around the sufferings of the soul. We don't. Ps 25:1 "Unto thee O Lord, do I lift up my soul." Ps 35:9 "My soul shall be joyful in the Lord."

We are directed to "Serve him with all our heart and with all our soul." De 11:13. We cannot serve him with a disabled, disappointment-filled soul.

Our disappointments may be legitimate but that is not the issue. Whether our disappointments are valid or not, their combined weight will keep us from moving in to the mode where we are operating completely in the Spirit.

As soon as I saw that I just.....let go. An attitude adjustment shifting towards a mind-set of "release", and it was done.

And then the Joy came in. Not a flood today, but certainly more than a trickle. And behind the Joy, something else: A revelation of the Father's love for me. Je 31:3 tells us, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love!"

My anchor - God's love.

If we never "do" anything for God other than fill our tanks everymorning with the joy of the Spirit and minister that in our smiles and attitudes as we encounter people all day long, we will have achieved enough.

Joy is contagious in a world filled with despair. People are attracted to joy. They hunger and thirst for the joy of the Lord like a parched desert seeking rain in the dry season. Feed them enough of that joy, and like the desert after the rain, they will begin to bloom.

But you can't get that joy until you let go of your disappointments.

So I ask you again, what attitudes do you wake up with in the morning? And more importantly, do you keep them or do you replace them with the Joy of the Lord? You can choose the spiritual and emotional climate which lives in you. He will help restore our souls if we make right choice.

So just try it. Tomorrow, before you get out of bed, take a spiritual temperature check. See what attitudes and emotions you've woken up with. Ask Him to show you what kind of disappointment you've been carrying around. And most importantly, ask Him to help you let go of it.

And then watch the Joy of the Lord come in.

Blessings to you this day,

Angela G.

Joy

Just because its Lent, never forget that Jesus lives, and because of His Resurrection, we don't have to fear sin, death, or the devil.

"The Joy of the Lord
is your strength."
~Nehemiah 8:10b

"Joy is the motor,
the thing that keeps
everything going...
Joy makes us strong."
~Richard J. Foster
Served as a Pastor in the Friends Church (Quakers) in Newburgh, Oregon, and the author of "Celebration of Discipline; a path to spiritual growth."

Lent Day 2; Joy

I am trying to write prayers and devotions based on the Fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22 for Lent. Today's Fruit: JOY

What exactly is Joy? and how can we nurture it as one of the fruit of the Spirit that we want to have as part of our character?

It must not be merely a feeling or emotion if God considers it something that a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, Christ-like life produces, right?

I would say that hppiness and contentedness are moods, but Joy is something different. For one thing, Joy is what puts a sparkle in your eye- it's being glad to see and be with someone you love. See my Advent Devotion on Joy When the Aronic blessing in Numbers says "May the Lord's countenence fall upon you, may His face shine upon you, may He look upon you with His favor..." I think it's saying "May God be glad to see you and enjoy being with you."

But the older I get, the more I think that it's even something more as well. Joy is celebration! Maybe that opinion is influenced by the birth of my third daughter this past week. We're not just glad that she's here, we want to share our exciting news and want people to share our happiness.

One of my favorite scenes in any book was in a Frank Peretti novel. I think it was 'Piercing the Darkness,' when one of the human characters gets down on their knees in prayer and invited God into their life, the finally accept Jesus and ask for His help. The demons scurry away and the angels EXPLODE with celebration, praise, thanksgiving and energy. I wish I could do Peretti's prose justice, but my point is- that there is more celebration in Heaven for any one lost sheep than we can possibly imagine. And I can imagine a lot of excitement, I just experienced it when I wittnessed my baby being born.

No wonder "the Joy of the Lord is my strength." I for one wish that I wasn't at the mercy of the emotional roller coster of life, moods, anxiety, depression, stress, hormones & chemistry etc. I think that the only way to escape or transend those things might be to live a life of celebration.

Look, geese flying North, what a blessing! Look, a new baby, what a miracle! Look, deer leaping a fence, how majestic- thank God it's a quarter mile away and not right in front of my vehicle!

It is easier to say than to do, but here's a way to try, focus on what Paul encourages us to focus on in Philippians 4:4-8:

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Help me to stop looking down
Help me to stop focusing on the negative
Help me stop being critical and judgemental

Holy Spirit, produce the fruit of Joy in me
in my heart and in my life

Help me to live a life of celebration
Help me to "practice Your presence"
and enjoy every minute with you

Help me to focus on what is true;
on what is noble;
on what is just;
what is pure;
what is lovely;
what is of good report;
on anything of any virtue;
on what is worthy of praise,
Help me to especially focus on You.

In Jesus' name,
Amen

Third week in Advent

Third week in Advent

hope - peace - JOY - love -light


"We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.” ~1 John 1:3

“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” ~Philippians 2:1-2

It’s time to SHARE the joy. Here are some ideas from my friend Anne Bierling at the Shepherd’s House (Page 12, The Life Model; Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You:)

Building Joy:

Building joy means getting closer to God and to people. While it is a very authentic process that cannot be fabricated, here are some “joy-building” ideas to first practice with our families and then extend to the wounded community.

1. Smile whenever you greet those you love, and use sincere voice tones.

2. Ask questions that invite others to tell you truthfully how they are doing, and what they are thinking. Listen intently without interrupting.

3. Take a sincere interest in really knowing the other person. Work hard to understand the other’s fears, joys, passions, talents and pain.

4. Treat each other with dignity and respect. When ending a discussion, try to make both people feel affirmed.

5. Use touch whenever appropriate: Hold hands, link arms, give hugs and use physical connection as effectively as you can.

6. Discover what brings the person joy: a time to talk, encouraging notes, a helping hand, or evening walks. Custom fit your attempts to bring joy.

7. Give them little surprises that will cause their eyes to light up, and let your eyes light up, too! The joy builds as the glances go back and forth

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

If it only takes a spark to get a fire going,
help me pass on the Joy that You give us this Christmas.

I love You, Jesus, Amen.

Third week in Advent

Third week in Advent
hope - peace - JOY - love -light
prophets - Bethlehem -ANGELS -shepherds -Christ
discipleship -fellowship -MINISTRY -worship -evangelism

“Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the JOY of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me” Psalm 51:11-12

I want you to think of joy as a place. That’s right, you can be cynical and scoff or joke and call it your “happy place” like this is some kind of psychobabble, but try it. Think of joy as a place, but not just any place, think of it as your base-camp.

Say you want to take a day trip, hike a mountain, scale a rock face. Great, but when the day is done, you have to get back. Return to base camp. So you want to try some fly fishing or white-water rafting- awesome. You’re bound to get some cuts and bruises along the way, head back to base camp an get bandaged up. Go hunting, snowmobiling, para-sailing, you name it, but at the end of the day, if you’re gonna sleep soundly, you want to be somewhere safe, secure, dry, comfortable- return to base camp.

That’s what we all need every day no matter where we are, a home base. Well guess what, God is it. Our rock and our salvation. Spending time with Him is a delight- being with someone who loves you, that’s joy.

So Okay, the next time you have a stressfull day, remember, Jesus loves you, return to joy. Someone yells at you, lies about you, spreads rumors about you, return to joy. You try something new, it’s a little scary, but it worked out alright, in fact you’re kinda proud- return to joy.

Remember, joy is not temporary like happy. Joy may not always be exciting or euphoric like happy, but joy is more important, deeper, more stable, more meaningful then happy.

The next time life is rocky, whether it’s downs or ups, share it with God, you’ll be returning to joy.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Every day, remind me that you are my safe place.
If Home is where you are loved,
I am always at home no matter where I roam,
because You promised that You will never leave me or forsake me,
and that You are with me even unto the end of the age.
Thank you Jesus.

I love You, Jesus, Amen.

Third week in Advent

Third week in Advent

hope - peace - JOY - love -light

"I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-­nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”~ Luke 15:7

So we’ve established that Joy is being glad to see someone you enjoy being with, with whom you have some kind of love-relationship. We’ve even seen that it actually effects your brain chemistry in a positive way. Did you know that social workers and counselors look for a glossy glint in children’s eyes to tell if they’re being neglected or not?

Yeah, it’s not just drinking enough water to have healthy tear ducts, it’s a matter of whether or not your eyes “light-up.” As in “as soon as he/she enters the room your eyes light-up.” I think that’s what they mean when they say someone is the “apple of your eye.”

God delights in just being with you. One of the most memorable scenes in Frank Peretti’s series of novels about angels was in Piercing the Darkness when a human girl gets down on her knees in desperation and asks God into her life. The angels, in fact all of Heaven virtually EXPOLDE with joy and celebration.

Angels DELIGHT in being with God. Without sin as an obstacle, they get to enjoy His intimate presence all the time. Yet you are more important to Him than angels.

So imagine the explosive celebration when God’s own Son, Jesus was born to redeem you, me and all humans. I’d be blown away too if I was those shepherds.

You know the absolute ecstatic joy and delight parents have when they first get to hold their new born baby, right? And you remember the joy and excitement that you had as a little kid to get up Christmas morning and see all the things Santa brought you under the tree, right?

Christmas and Easter should bring you that same kind of ecstatic joy! The King of the universe came down at Christmas to save YOU! THE God loves YOU!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Bring joy to your servant,
for to you, O Lord,
I lift up my soul. (Psalm 86:4)

I love You Jesus,
Amen.

Third week in Advent

Third week in Advent
hope - peace - JOY - love -light

“the joy of the LORD is your strength” Nehemiah 8:10b

I’ll be the first to admit it. Joy is a hard thing, especially this time of year. Joy is a sense of well being. If you’re like me, you don’t always handle stress well, or you suffer from bouts of depression. But you see, that’s all the more reason we need true joy.

I have a friend, Anne, who’s a family counselor. She used to be a school counselor. She contends that the true definition of joy is being in meaningful and reciprocated love-relationships.
Anne says that joy is being glad to be with someone who’s glad to be with you. That’s why Nehemiah 8:10 is SO true! God delights in you. He always, always LOVES to be with you. He LOVES it when you choose to spend time with Him: Prayer, reading His Bible, meditating on Him, His Word, & His love. Singing or listening to praise music.

This Christmas season, try setting aside time to spend with Him each day. It helps you get centered. It brings peace of mind and it works away those blues. Heck, when you’re most desperately lonely, afraid, or depressed, don’t you just wish someone would hold you and let you cry in their arms? He’ll do that too- cry yourself asleep while praying and you’ll probably wake up in a much better mood.

Are you as happy to be in His company as He is to be in yours? Try spending time with Him, it becomes almost addictive. The more time you spend with Him, the more you enjoy it. It’s good for your mental health- just like prayer brings peace, which is good for your health. Joy is too. Don’t take my word for it, see what these mental health professionals say:

“Having enough joy strength is fundamental to a person’s well being. We now know that a 'joy center' exists in the right orbital pre-frontal cortex of the brain. It has executive control over the entire emotional .system. When the joy center has been sufficiently developed it regulates emotions, pain control and immunity centers; it guides us to act like ourselves; it releases neurotransmitters like dopamine and seratonin; and it is the only part of the brain that overrides the main drive centers -food and sexual impulses, terror and rage.*”

Prayer:

Thank You Lord for wanting to spend time with me. Help me make time for you, show me what it’s like to have TRUE joy. Help me get my strength from being with You, so that You’ll renew my strength and lift me up on eagle’s wings!

I love You, Jesus, Amen.

(*Page 12, The Life Model; Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You, by Dr. James Friesen, Dr. James Wilder, Anne Bierling, Rick Koepke and Maribeth Poole. © 2000 Shepherd’s House, Inc. ISBN# 0-9674357-0-6)

Third week in Advent

Third week in Advent

hope - peace - JOY - love -light
prophets - Bethlehem -ANGELS -shepherds -Christ
discipleship -fellowship -MINISTRY -worship -evangelism

“9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great JOY that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”~Luke 2:9-11

Merrium-Webster’s Dictionary puts it this way:

Main Entry: 1joy Pronunciation: 'joiFunction: nounEtymology: Middle English, from Old French joie, from Latin gaudia, plural of gaudium, from gaudEre to rejoice; probably akin to Greek gEthein to rejoice 1 a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires : DELIGHT

But Joy is really more than a mere emotion. Happiness, the emotion, is a reaction to circumstance. Joy is more than a reaction. Joy can actually determine emotions. Joy can improve circumstances.

Go back to the Latin root to rejoice. Like love and like peace, rejoicing is something you do deliberately. St. Paul even commands us to

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” -Philippians 4:4

Joy is intricately tied with things like hope, faith, peace, and love. That’s why it’s way more stable than the fickle emotion, happiness. Joy has to do with appreciation. To rejoice is not merely to thank God for something He’s given you, it’s showing Him your love for Him. This may make more since after tomorrow’s devotion.

For now try to remember that you have well-being, because unto you is born a Savior. Christ the Lord has had success in His mission to defeat death and the Devil.

You have good fortune because of the prospect of possessing what one desires, His forgiveness, His love, and His salvation, an eternal life with Him in Heaven.

You are His delight. He delights in you!


Prayer:

Thank You Lord for delighting in me.
It’s amazing to me that You would think of me as Your pride and joy.
Teach me to rejoice that the Savior has come.

I love You, Jesus, Amen.

"Joy is the motor,
the thing that keeps everything else going...
Joy makes us strong."
~Richard J. Foster

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,
Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation.
In Jesus' name,
Amen