Joy---The REAL Thing!

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  It’s the “real thing”!  Can we say that about ourselves?

When people look at you and me, do they see someone who is genuine, transparent and real?

The truth is that many times we put on our masks and we show others only what we want them to see.  We may be able to fool people sometimes, but God sees the REAL us.   I’m sure that many times I disappoint Him by saying one thing, yet doing another; by teaching a lesson on Sunday and not living it out during the week; by telling you to be patient and then losing my cool! None of us is perfect, that’s for sure!  But are we striving to be our best for Christ…or are we just playing the “game”?  

                None of us want to be called a hypocrite! But if we “preach” one thing and live another, isn’t that what we’re being? I guess we all fall into that category at one time or another.   Beth Moore says: “Sometimes it’s easier to act than clean up our act!”

What’s the remedy for this “spiritual condition” called hypocrisy?   A steady diet of JOY in the Lord…which is filled with spiritual nutrients reminding us that God loves us.  When we accept our real value in Him, we can be “the real thing”.  He loves us and wants us to love each other sincerely.  "Let love be genuine;” as Paul teaches in Romans 12:9.

                God’s joy gives us strength to face whatever may come our way….with a genuine heart of gratitude, love and JOY!

                 

God's Best Kind of Joy

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Don’t be distracted from the things that bring you true joy in the Lord!

            “Throughout the entire Old Testament, God was calling His people back to Himself after they had chosen their own way over His way.  The children of Israel encountered His holiness and supernatural power on many occasions, yet they continued to go their own way.  Scripture gives very specific reasons why the Israelites repeatedly disobeyed God’s call.  Satan uses the same tools today to keep you and me from passionately pursuing God’s will.  If we can recognize these things and ask God to remove the power that they have over us, then we can get busy doing the King’s work.”   

 These words were written by Priscilla Shirer in her book entitled And We Are CHANGED! I hope they grab your attention and speak to your heart as they did mine.

            We know that God loves us.  We know that we should obey Him and His call on our life.  But just as the Israelites, we, too, repeatedly disobey Him. Maybe it’s because we are so busy and distracted with other things! It may be that we have not made the decision to trust God totally. Or it could be a problem of being too self-confident and we think we can ‘do it ourselves’!

            “True spiritual transformation begins when we are willing to relinquish control of what WE want. Then God is able to give us what HE wants” and ….you better believe, that is always best!

  

            May God change our hearts from our selfish desires to wanting only what God knows will bring the best kind of joy.

Pruned and Fruitful!

         Have you had your Joy Juice today?  The sweetest flavors of joy juice have been made from fruit which has been pruned by God.

            Priscilla Shirer writes that “the painful process of allowing God to pull away those things that are keeping you from His best is called ‘pruning’.   Jesus describes this process in John 15:1-2:

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.’

His goal for your life is not that you have the most incredible clothes (or expensive possessions) or live in a fabulous house.  Those things may be your desires, but His desire is for you to be fruitful.”

            Pruning often includes change.  And change can sound scary.  It could be changing jobs, moving to a new town, or launching out on a new project that you don’t feel equipped or prepared to pursue.  But having faith is all about trusting in God, the Master Gardner; and we know that He prunes areas of our lives so that we can grow and become what He created us to be. Pruning hurts! But it promotes new life….one filled with a special kind of joy.

            Be willing to go through the pruning process… knowing that God’s will is good and will lead to joy in your relationship with Him.