Is Your Glass Half FULL of JOY?

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Is that glass half empty or half full?  It’ll make the difference in how you face your day!

            Is your example contagious?  People are looking…Whether it’s a friend or colleague, a child or an adult, a family member or simply an acquaintance. YOU make a difference in someone’s life! To be a positive, joyfully contagious example, we all need a good role model.  The Bible provides us with a wealth of guidance in the form of Godly principles.

            By following these principles, we can be outrageous and contagious Christians.  Paul tells us in 1 Thess. 5:16-18 to: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  Joy! Gratitude! Prayer! Those three are always linked! Joy springs from a heart of gratitude and prayer.

            The opposite is also true; pessimism and grumbling are linked to depression.  We can choose to see our glass half-empty and complain about our lives…and the price we pay is our joy and peace. On the other hand, we can choose to rejoice and give thanks no matter what. When we do this we are saying, “Not my will, God, but yours be done.”  We’ll find our glass not just half full, but overflowing with JOY in the Lord!

            Let’s fill our JOY JUICE glass as full as possible today by following the contagious example of Jesus!

OUTRAGEOUS JOY

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  That’s exactly what you need to make certain that your day is an outrageously joyful one!

            Do you even find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed even before your day gets started?  I have a suggestion for you.  Let’s make up our minds from the 'get-go' that no matter what happens today, we’re going to “count it all joy”.

            That’s what James tells us to do in chapter 1, verse 2 of his letter.  He said:

“Count it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trails of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

            When we get to a point in our lives that we are spiritually mature enough to accept whatever God brings or allows to happen, then we will be able to face each new day with an OUTRAGEOUS JOY because of our faith and confidence in Him.    Do you realize that God cares more about our joy than we often do?  It’s for that reason that he does not leave us alone in our misery. According to author Lydia Brownback, “God orchestrates for us and in us the humility we need in order to see that God is a kind Father and compassionate friend who brings hard situations into our lives so that he can show us our need for grace and deepen our relationship with him.  Such humility is necessary in order to count it all joy.”

            Remember: you can choose to have an OUTRAGEOUS day of JOY in the LORD by putting your complete trust in Him!

Take Captive Your Thoughts and Be JOYful!

Have you had your JOY JUICE today???  Make a conscious decision to drink it in and keep joyful thoughts in the forefront of your mind!

                  Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:5 that we should “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”  He didn’t say, “Quit thinking;” nor did he say, “Take captive some of your thoughts.”  He said to take captive EVERY thought.

         In other words, when a thought pops into our mind, we must analyze it in a split second.  Is the thought beneficial to God’s purpose or is it a selfish thought?  Is it destructive or does it encourage and build up?   

            A good analogy might be to compare our thoughts to a caged animal. If we were to put any animal in a cage, it would be in captivity. It would be there until we set it free.  If we were to leave the animal in the cage without ever feeding it, it would soon die.  It is the same with our thoughts.  If we feed a thought, it will keep growing…sometimes out of control.   That thought can become destructive, not only to you, but also to your family, friends, acquaintances; your job may suffer.  The thought could become so uncontrolled that it creates anger, bitterness, resentment, and selfishness. 

          

           God's Word tells us to take those thoughts captive and to set our minds of things above, not on earthly things. (Col. 3:2) Let's fix our thoughts on JESUS!  He is willing to cleanse our lives and fill us with cheerful thought of JOY!

          

Choose JOYful Thoughts!

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  As you sip your juice this morning, make sure your thoughts are JOYful ones!

            You know, we do have a choice about what kind of thoughts we “entertain”.  Even in the midst of trials and troubles, we can still make a conscious choice to think good thoughts.

            I often go back to the verse in Philippians 4: 8 to be reminded of my choices:  Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable----if anything is excellent or praiseworthy---think about such things.

            This verse is an excellent weapon to hide in the arsenal of our heart so that we can pull it out and use it when negative circumstances arise and those bad thoughts begin to creep in.

            We are to think on things that are true, noble and right….NOT false, despicable and wrong. We are to focus on things that are pure, lovely, and admirable….NOT vulgar, ugly, and disrespectful. The verse tells us to keep excellent and praiseworthy thoughts in our minds, so that our daily lives will reflect His goodness and grace.

            Frequently we are overwhelmed with situations that seem totally out of control.  Instead of dwelling on the negatives and becoming discouraged, let’s call to memory the verse in Philippians and allow God to fill our minds with thoughts of JOY!!!!

Let's determine to make wise choices by thinking on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy….AND JOYFUL!

Transparent, JOYful Thoughts

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Notice how clear and transparent the juice is as you pour yourself a glass.  Are your thoughts that transparent?

            What if people could tell what you were thinking every minute?   Would you be pleased with what they would learn about you?  Though we know that God is all-knowing and that He is intimately familiar with our thoughts, we don’t always live like we truly believe it. Outwardly, we can pretend to be one kind of person, but on the inside, we may be something completely different.  We may be able to mislead people….but there’s no fooling God!

 In 1 Chronicles 28:9/b (NIV) we read:  “…the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.”  What does He find when He searches your heart? Genuine love, authenticity, transparency?  Or does He see a counterfeit?  A phony?  We can fool others, but God sees the REAL US when He looks at our heart.

Joyce Meyer challenges us: "If you have not been working with the Holy Spirit to break old thought patterns and form new ones, it is time to get started.  Think some good thoughts about people, and as your attitude starts to change toward them, watch your relationships start to change for the better."

Not only will your thoughts be more JOYful, but you will bring JOY to others by allowing them to gaze into your transparent heart and find the love of Christ!

Let's drink our JOY JUICE faithfully as we allow God to search our transparent heart and find an overflow of genuine JOY!

Renew with JOY!

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  It tastes a lot better if you are drinking it with a good attitude!!

            We all have days when our attitudes are not very joyful…sometimes even down-right rotten!  Is it because of our thoughts?   When you notice your attitude going south….toward the negative….stop and examine the situation.  I believe you’ll find that the problem began with your thought-life.  In order to avoid thinking negatively, we must keep our thoughts renewed.  Ephesians 4:23 says, “And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind.”  

            How can we be sure that we are “constantly renewing” our thoughts and our attitudes?  Think for a moment about the person that really gets on your last nerve!  Do you find yourself thinking about all the reasons he irritates you?  Do you replay in your mind over and over again the things she has said or done to hurt you?

             1 Corinthians 2:16 reminds us that we have been given the mind of Christ. But He will not FORCE us to use it! We have to be intentional about thinking with the mind of Christ. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are a new creature; old things pass away and all things become new….even our thoughts.

            My prayer for each of us today is that God will renew our thoughts. Let’s allow him take those negative thoughts and transform them into JOYful ones.

Drink your JOY JUICE faithfully so that your thoughts will be constantly renewed and filled with JOY in the Lord!

Think JOYful Thoughts!

Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Are you thinking sweet thoughts? It will certainly help you to have a more joyful day!

            Many times we think that since our thoughts are private, they don’t affect those around us.  But this is far from the truth.  Our thoughts not only touch others’ lives, they also have a dramatic effect on our own.

            Proverbs 23:7 says: For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

What kind of thoughts do you most often have?  Are they kind or unkind?  Are they peaceful or are they anxious?  You see, whatever we think most often, we become.  If we think loving thoughts, we become more loving.  If we think hateful thoughts….You get the picture!

            Next time we are tempted to focus on angry, bitter, resentful thoughts, let’s ask God to replace them with edifying thoughts.  We don’t want to become an angry, bitter person.  The enemy delights in filling our minds with the wrong kind of thinking.   With God’s help, we can grasp hold of His strength and willingly give Him control. We’ll be much more joyful when these negative thought patterns are replaced with those which are good, kind, and loving.

            So, as you go about your busy day, make sure to continually ask the Lord to help you have a peaceful, kind, loving thought-life.  This is a major step toward bringing JOY to others, as well as having a JOYful outlook on life. 

            Drink your JOY JUICE faithfully so that you will be thinking JOYful thoughts and spreading a double portion of JOY into the lives of others!