Cheerfully Share His Joy

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Don’t make any apologies for being joyful!

            I had to smile as I read a quote by Franz Josef Haydn.  He wrote, “Since God has given me a cheerful heart, He will forgive me for serving Him cheerfully!”

            Somehow I can’t ever see God needing an apology from anyone who is serving Him cheerfully, can you?  I’m sure that was written tongue in cheek, but there are those who think being a Christian is all about being stiff and solemn and anything other than CHEERFUL!

            I SO DISAGREE with this imagine of a Christian!  If you are a sold-out believer, you will be filled with the joy that comes from a personal relationship with Christ! And GOD loves a cheerful giver…the Bible tells us so!  Whether you are giving of your money, your time, your resources, your service….whatever……when you do it cheerfully, you will be bring JOY to the heart of God, as well as those you are serving!

            Paul wrote to the Christians at Corinth. He said “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

 (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

            May we all serve God with cheerful, joyful hearts….no apologies!

          Let's cheerfully share His JOY with all who will listen! Let’s sow generously and joyfully!

"Jesus is the Joy of Heaven"

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Before you even look at a calendar, you can know that THIS day is the perfect day to drink in the JOY of the Lord!

            Would you be surprised to learn that I have a daily calendar that has quotes and scriptures about JOY?!  It was a gift; and I have so enjoyed flipping through the pages and finding tidbits of joy. On the front of the calendar is printed in large letters “365 Days of JOY”.  I like the title! It reminds us that we can choose JOY every day of the year!

            The quote that I turned to today is by Fredrick W. Faber.  He said, “Jesus is the joy of heaven, and it is His joy to enter into sorrowful hearts.” Does that match up with scripture? Yes, I think so!

You will remember in the Christmas story, the angel appeared to the shepherds and 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.”  Yes, the JOY of heaven had come to earth.

And then in Matthew 11:28, Jesus himself said! “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  That was Jesus’ personal invitation to you and me…and to all “sorrowful hearts”, to come to Him and He will take our burdens upon Himself.  What peace and JOY He freely offers to each of us!

No matter what day of the year, let’s remember: “Jesus is the joy of heaven, and it is His joy to enter into sorrowful hearts.”

             

"Rejoice in the Lord Your God"

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  No matter what time of the year, it’s always refreshing!

            Though I’ve read the Bible for a long, it still amazes me that I continue to find “new” things that I don’t remember seeing before!  It’s as if God continues to add bits of truth & wisdom that I need---at just the right time!  Well, you and I both know that the Word of God does not change…but WE DO!  Our needs, our desires, our spiritual maturity, our circumstances….all of those change. When the eyes of our hearts become receptive, we do see new truth that we’ve not “seen” before.

            Not long ago, as I opened God’s Word to the short book of  Joel,  I found a new batch of Joy Juice I’d not tasted before.  Written by the Prophet, Joel, the purpose of the book was to warn Judah of God’s impending judgment because of their sins and to urge them to turn back to God.

            My heart was touched by how our country needs to heed this same message!  Oh, how we need to turn back to God and the principles on which our country was founded.

           Joel said: “Rejoice in the LORD your God, for he has given you the autumn rains in righteousness.  He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before.”   (Joel 2:23)

            No matter what season of the year, joy can be found because God can and will draw us back to Him, if we humble ourselves before Him and repent of our sins.

             Let us pray for forgiveness and abundant showers of His joy!