A Joy-filled Good Friday

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  It’s a good Friday to drink in the sweet taste of Easter JOY!

            Good Friday is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday.  So, that makes today “Good Friday”.   This day is set aside to celebrate the day on which Jesus was crucified.   Celebrating a death doesn’t sound quite right, does it?  Not humanly speaking.  But, you see, this was God’s divine plan. Because of Jesus’ sacrificial death, we can celebrate because of what He did for us.

           Why is Good Friday referred to as “good”? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good. However, the results of Christ’s death are very good! Romans 5:8 : “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

           Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service in which Christ’s death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord's Supper. Regardless of how we choose to “celebrate” Good Friday, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross is the paramount event of the Christian faith.  HE is the reason that we can have genuine JOY …at Easter and every other day of the year!

           I pray that you will have a JOY-filled Good Friday. Remember that He is alive! Have a joyfully blessed Easter!

He Has Risen! WHAT JOY!

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Drink it joyfully….it’s almost Easter!

            Some of the most joyful words in the Easter story come from Matthew 28:5-7.  “The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.  Then go quickly and tell his disciples…”

            My Bible footnote explains that the angel who announced the good news of the resurrection to the women gave them four messages:

1. Do not be afraid.  The reality of the resurrection brings joy, not fear! When you are afraid, remember the empty tomb.
2. He is not here. Jesus is not dead and is not to be looked for among the dead.  He is alive!
3. Come and see.  The women could check the evidence themselves.  The tomb was empty then and it’s empty today.  The resurrection is a historical fact.
4. Go quickly and tell.  They were to spread the JOY of the resurrection.  We too are to spread the great news!

Are you experiencing fear?  Then focus on the empty tomb.  Because He lives, we can trust Him to take of us!  Sometimes we forget that He is with us today and need to be reminded to “come and see” that the tomb is empty.  He is victorious over death!

            Let us spread the JOY of the resurrection during this Easter week.  Take advantage of every opportunity to share the Good News with all that will listen.

           Drink and serve the Joy of Easter---boldly!

Exclaim the JOYful Truth: HE'S ALIVE!!!

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Easter is the perfect time to be drinking the JOY of Jesus!

            In his book If I Should Die Before I Live, Joe LoMusio asks the question:  “If I were to ask you to describe Easter without using any words, you could only use punctuation marks, which punctuation mark would you choose to describe this Easter for yourself? 

            Maybe this Easter is a comma for you.  It makes you stop, pause, think and listen, but that’s about it.  It might be that this season is a downer---a big bold period.  You thought you’d feel excited, but instead it seems to be more like an empty ritual. 

            There was a day when life felt like a period for Jesus’ disciples.  He was dead;    an end to their expectations.  But then they got the news of an empty tomb…the period was no longer a period, but a question mark.  That’s worse than a period.  They were perplexed.  The guards were gone, the stone rolled away.  Where was He?

An angel asks, “Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen!”  The periods are gone!  The question marks are removed!  There is one massive exclamation point!”

            That’s what Easter is all about….an exclamation of gratitude; of praise for the resurrection of Jesus Christ; for a heart bursting with JOY for the salvation His victory over death brings to us!

            We all should be exclaiming the JOYful truth that Jesus is not dead!  He has risen from the grave!!! 

God's Passionate Love = Easter JOY

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Be passionate about drinking your portion this week of Easter.

            When you hear the word passion or passionate what thoughts come to mind? 

Webster’s Dictionary defines passion as "extreme, compelling emotion or intense emotional drive."

This week we are focusing on the JOY of Easter.  We can’t talk about Easter without recognizing the passion of Christ.  What was the source of His passion?  It was His intense love for mankind. Because He loved you and me so much, he gave his life for the sake of restoring us to fellowship with God.

 Philippians 2:6-7 tells us that “he made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant by being made in human likeness.”  His passionate love caused Him to leave the glory of heaven to take human form and live an obedient life of self-sacrifice required by the holiness of God. 

The passion of Christ was directed by the Father’s will and resulted in a life whose purpose was the cross (John 12:27). Jesus was dedicated to accomplish the requirements foretold by prophecies and the will of the Father.  All of this…for us! That’s the JOY of Easter. 

         The final words of Jesus from the cross were a triumphant proclamation. Like a runner crossing the finish line in agony, yet with great emotion in overcoming obstacles, Jesus says “It is finished!” (John 19:30) He had accomplished His purpose on earth.

           May we never take Christ’s passionate love lightly.  Instead of focusing on egg hunts, parties, and new clothes for Easter, let’s drink in the passionate love of Christ and experience the sweet JOY of the resurrection.

Prepare Your Heart for the JOY of Easter

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today? In preparation for Easter, we should be drinking in the JOY of Jesus!

            The theme of our JOY JUICE devotionals this week will be “The JOY of Easter”!  Sunday we will celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.  That’s the part of the story that brings us such JOY!!  But for this to occur, we must remember that…first….He had to die!  

The joy for us as Christians is that His love was so great that He WILLINGLY did this for us.  John 3:16 tells us clearly that:  "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

According to that scripture, the purpose of his life was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of mankind. The Bible says that Jesus became sin for us so that we could be forgiven and found righteous in God’s sight (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus was so certain of his purpose that He predicted when and how He would die (Matthew 26:2). 

Do you know your purpose?  Simply put, it is to glorify God.  As Hebrews 12:2 says: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Jesus looked beyond the suffering, shame and death He knew was to come and focused on the joy that would be.

           Join me as we “fix our eyes on Jesus”….especially this week leading up to Easter.  It is only because of Him that we can drink the Joy Juice of Jesus every day!

For Where Your Treasure is........Do You Find JOY?

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  When you genuinely seek the treasure of JOY in Jesus, it’s like finding a treasure of unending value!

We’ve talked a lot this week about the treasures found in scripture.  In Matthew 13:44 (NIV), we find reference to a special kind of treasure.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”           This is the shortest parable of Jesus we find recorded in the Bible.  Though short, it holds a powerful, joy-filled truth! The “treasure” referred to here is the kingdom of heaven…which is more valuable than any earthly possession.  As the man in the scripture, we should recognize the value of this treasure and be willing to give up everything in order to obtain it.         The part of that verse that I like the VERY BEST is when it says: “then IN HIS JOY went and sold all he had”… The man didn’t even have to ponder; he wasn’t resentful of having to give up anything; He was overjoyed that he had found such a treasure and immediately began the process of giving up everything else so that it could be his.           Friends, each of us has a choice.  We can hold on to the things of this world and have temporary happiness in some areas; OR we can give everything to God and accept the treasure He has waiting for us in heaven.             Don’t let the trinkets of this world keep you from the wealth of joy found in relationship with Jesus!

Let's Go On A Treasure Hunt....to Find JOY!

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Some special flavors of “joy” are hidden in the truths of scripture.

             Almost everybody gets excited about going on a treasure hunt! Children and teenagers love the thrill of a scavenger hunt…especially if there is a reward at the end. Many adults enjoy panning for gold or seeking lost treasure in the ocean or in some other desolate place. 

         You may remember the news story about the multimillionaire art collector, Forrest Fenn from New Mexico who hid a treasure chest worth millions that he would give to the person who could find it first. The hunt has been ongoing since 2010 with many seekers examining the clues and searching diligently, but no one yet has found the treasure. A website was created for those who are interested in the “chase” and a book was written with more detailed clues.

Why are we so drawn to the “treasures of earth” when the treasures of heaven are so much more valuable?!  In Isaiah 45:3 (NIV) we read this truth:

”I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.”   These are the kinds of “hidden treasures” that we need to be seeking after.  When we walk in the path God has prepared for us and we are diligent in seeking His purpose, He will show us the hidden treasures He has stored for us in those “secret places”.           I'd like to invite you on a treasure hunt….one that promises JOY as He summons us by name!