Where Is Your Treasure of JOY?

             Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Store up the best kind of treasure by drinking in the JOY of the Lord.

             In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus teaches: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

            Where is your treasure?  Are you focused on material things, climbing the career ladder, admiration and praise of others?  Or do you desire God’s presence and being in the center of His will?    

            The passage of scripture we just read warns against storing up treasures on earth.  They will not last.  But when we store up treasures in heaven, they will be there for eternity.  What are these kinds of treasures… that will last forever and ever? I like the explanation given in my Life Application Study Bible: “Storing up treasures in heaven is not limited to tithing but is accomplished by all acts of obedience to God.  There is a sense in which giving our money to God’s work is like investing in heaven. But our intention should be to seek the fulfillment of God’s purposes in all we do, not merely what we do with our money.”

            Again, let’s ask the question, “Where is my treasure?”  If it is anywhere other than seeking God’s purpose in all things, then we need to examine our motives. May each of us find the JOY that is ours when we find our treasure in Him.

             “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Hidden Treasures of JOY

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  You’ve found a treasure if you drink in the JOY of the LORD faithfully!

            In my morning study a few days back, I read this passage in Proverbs 2:1-5

 

My son, if you accept my words
    and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
    and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
    and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the Lord
    and find the knowledge of God.

            Did you see the words “hidden treasure”?  In the Bible we do find “hidden treasure” as we search the scriptures. But our hearts must be open, our ears must be turned toward wisdom and we must desire insight and understanding.  Do we look for Godly wisdom and understanding as if we were digging for silver, gold or some hidden treasure? 

            This passage teaches that when we passionately search, we WILL come to understand the “fear” of the LORD….that’s the reverence and awe of God; and we will “find the knowledge of God”.   That is a treasure beyond any other…to KNOW GOD—not just know about Him. 

            Dig into the scriptures to find the hidden treasures which will add much JOY to your heart.

BE A Friend of JOY

            Have you had your Joy Juice today? There is more than enough to share with your friends!

            Friendship is one of the most rewarding gifts that we can ever experience.   A good friend is truly a treasure.  If you’ve been blessed with a genuine friend who sticks with you through the tough times, as well as the good, then consider yourself extremely blessed.  But may I warn you, along with laughter and fun times…there will also be times of difficulty and tears.

            Most of us find it easy to be with folks when we are having a good time. But what about when that friend becomes sick or is going through a time of difficulty?  Often we don’t know what to do, so we pull away and do nothing.  Is that what true friendship is?  No….a genuine relationship is one that goes beyond “doing”.  It involves being:

• Being there when your friend needs a shoulder to cry on.
• Being a listening ear, though you don’t have all the answers.
• Being a prayer partner that will intercede when they don’t feel like praying.
• Being a presence in their lives to represent the love of God.

God didn’t call us to be human doings…but human “beings”. Let’s BE all that Christ created us to BE by allowing Him to love through us.

      As Proverbs 18:24 says: (NKJV) “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  Joyfully thank the Lord for those kinds of friends in your life…and BE one!

RADIATE the JOY of JESUS!

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today? You’ve got to drink yours first, so that you’ll be ready to share it with others!

            It is true that you can’t give someone what you don’t have!  That includes the JOY of the Lord, as much as anything else.  When people look at you, do they see a joy-filled, loving, kind Christian?  Is there any question about your faith in God?  Do you blend in with the crowd or do you stand out?  Paul teaches in Philippians 2: 15  that we should “become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.”

            Do we “shine” for Christ?  Do we have the joy of Jesus in our hearts? So much joy that it overflows onto and into the lives of others?

            Oswald Chambers wrote in his powerful devotional book My Utmost for His Highest: “We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters.  He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us.”  “Before God’s message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real to you.”

            Have you caught the “joy germ”?  Are you living for Christ each day and radiating His joy?  Are you contagious….spreading the JOY of the Lord everywhere you go?  Wouldn’t it be great if our community made the news by being the cause of an EPIDEMIC of JOY?

            Let’s allow our message of joy to start in our own hearts and then spread rapidly to all those around us!

Release Your Past and Drink in the JOY of Jesus!

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  What’s holding you back from drinking in your personal serving?

            Do you have something in your past that is keeping you from walking in the JOY of the Lord?  Maybe you are embarrassed by a poor decision or some mistake that you cannot forget. You question how God could love you because of your past.  When we doubt God’s love and forgiveness, we fall into Satan’s trap! He wants us to live in misery and doubt, stealing our joy.

            When we come to the Lord with a repentant, contrite, broken heart and ask His forgiveness, WE ARE FORGIVEN.  Often the hard part is forgiving ourselves and moving forward.   God’s love is freely ours!  We do not have to earn it! And let’s be reminded that there is nothing we can do to make God love us any more or any less!  His love is endless.  Jeremiah 31:3 tells us: “ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: ‘I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.’”

            Don’t let our enemy, Satan, steal the JOY that is yours as a child of God.  We are to be on guard against his schemes.  In John 10:10 Jesus says: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”  That includes abundant love, forgiveness and JOY!

            Don’t hold on to the past! Put it behind you by giving it to Jesus and drink in the immeasurable JOY that has YOUR name on it!  

           

An Epidemic of JOY

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  I sure hope that you’ve caught the JOY bug!

            We talked yesterday about causing a JOY epidemic!  Let’s be so contagious that we spread “joy germs” everywhere we go…in our homes, schools, churches, throughout the community. 

The joy disease is no respecter of persons.

·        Age doesn’t matter; you are susceptible if you are young, old or somewhere in between.

·        Gender is not important; male and female can catch it!

·        Education level is not a factor;

·        neither is wealth or lack thereof. 

            However, there IS one thing that is a common indicator.  Every person who “catches” the JOY germ has to have been exposed… to Jesus! In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  You can’t get much plainer than that!  There is only ONE way to the spend eternity with “The Father”….and that way is Jesus.  If we want the JOY of the Lord, we must accept Him as our Savior and our LORD.  That means more than just going to church on Sunday mornings.  We’ve must be completely “sold out” to Him, giving Him every area of our lives.

            The world tells us that there are lots of ways to happiness, but those ways are just temporary. To catch genuine JOY, we must have a personal relationship with Christ. 

            Catch the JOY bug; live a life totally sold out to Jesus and spread His JOY everywhere you go.  Now….watch out! You are about to be the cause of an EPIDEMIC of JOY!

No Fooling! Spread Contagious JOY!

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  No fooling….it’s the best!

            Are you contagious? In the GOOD sense of the word! To be a contagious Christian, we must live our lives in such a way that others will want what we have.  When others are around you, do they want to “catch” your JOY GERMS?  What a difference this world would see if we would all be contagious with the JOY of JESUS…so contagious that we caused an epidemic!

             Usually when we use the word “epidemic” we think of something like the flu or some dreaded disease. But let’s consider a different kind of epidemic….one that spreads the JOY of the Lord in a contagious manner.  Let me warn you, though!  If this JOY disease becomes an epidemic, there will be a lot of BARFing going on.  B-A- R-F = Be A Real Follower.  In order to be contagious, you must be REAL, authentic, genuine!  Even in times of difficulty, “The JOY of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).

            One dictionary describes an epidemic as: “affecting many persons at the same time, and spreading from person to person in a locality where the disease is not permanently prevalent.”  When we have been bitten by the “joy bug”, we will want to be so contagious that JOY will spread from person to person “in a locality where the JOY DISEASE is not permanently prevalent”.  Where is that?  Just about EVERYWHERE!  In our homes, our places of work, at school…in our churches and throughout our community!

            May the “joy bug” bite you and fill your heart with a passion to spread the joy of the Lord in epidemic proportions!