Joy is a Healer

           Have you had your Joy Juice today?  When we are intentional about sharing the joy of the Lord, the Joy Juice is delicious!!!!!

             In case you haven’t noticed, I like to talk about joy.  I believe that the more we focus on something, the more intentional we become about making it a goal.  Who couldn’t use more JOY in their life?  Especially…..Joy from the Lord!

            Joy is a healer! Proverbs 17:22 reminds us that “A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.”   Many times a happy heart leads to laughter! Doctors tell us that laughter has many benefits:

• It reduces stress and tension.
• It strengthens our immune system.
• It’s great exercise for our lungs and increases circulation.
• It even reduces pain

  God created us with a need for joy and laughter.  We should surround ourselves with good Christian friends who love to laugh and share joy with others.   Let’s try to see the humor in our circumstances, no matter how gloomy things may appear at the time. If all else fails, let's find some children to keep us company.  Any time we volunteer at school or church in the children’s department or hang with our kids or grandkids, we can be guaranteed plenty of laughter.

            God delights when His children are JOYful.  And JOY is contagious!!!

            Find joy where-ever you go….it’s not hiding.  It’s right there waiting for you to open your heart to a relationship with Jesus. That’s where you’ll find true JOY of the Lord!

Joyfully Passionate for Christ

         Have you had your Joy Juice today?  The best batches are found when we dig deep into the fruitful places of our heart.

            We’ve talked this week about the wisdom that is packed into the short parable that Jesus told about the “Four Soils”.  We know that when Jesus referred to the hard ground, He was warning against a hard heart.

      Let’s talk for a few moments about the shallow soil…or the “Shallow Soul” as John Ortberg likes to call it.  The parable says that some of the seed fell on rocky soil.  This doesn’t necessarily mean that there was a bunch of rocks piled up there….but perhaps only a thin/shallow layer of topsoil with solid rock underneath.  The seed had life until the sun came out.  But then the plant withered quickly because the soil was too shallow for roots.  How does that apply to our souls?

      Richard Foster said, “Superficiality is the curse of our age.” The desperate need of our soul is really not to have more stuff, more talent or to be more successful by the world’s standards.  What we NEED is spiritual depth. Oh, to be just as passionate as the Psalmist who sincerely wrote: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” (Psalm 42:1) We need a deep, abiding relationship with the Lord.

      Let’s not be shallow and superficial in our faith.  Allow God to prepare your heart & soul with much love & joy in the Lord. 

A Bumper Crop of Joy

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Is there a connection between the condition of our heart and having joy in the Lord?  

            In his book Soul Keeping,  John Orberg says that when he studies the Parable of the Four Soils found in three of the gospels, he likes to think of the “soil” as the “soul”.

           If we want the seeds…such as JOY…. to grow in our souls, we must prepare the soil of our heart. We don’t want to find ourselves with a HARDENED SOUL.  Jesus said that some seeds fell on the path.  The path is where people walk.  It’s hard and dry.  Our hearts can become like that….so hard that even a good seed can’t grow. 

         What causes a hardened heart?  Sin, unbelief, anger, pride, resentment, bitterness, guilt, envy, jealousy. Underneath the hardness is often fear.  The fear of being rejected. The fear of looking foolish. The fear of being hurt..again!

 

        But here’s the HOPE:  It only takes a tiny bit of softness in the soil to give the seed a chance! The seed is strong---stronger than you can imagine.  Because it’s planted by the Master Gardener! Just look at any sidewalk….One tiny grass seed can break through the hard cement if it can find a little room to breathe. That says to me that a hardened heart, a hardened soul, is not hopeless.  When that seed breaks through, we will find the fruit of JOY!

May the soil of your heart and the soul of your faith overflow with a bumper crop of JOY!

Plant Seeds of Joy

           Have you had your Joy Juice today?  When we prepare the soil in the garden of our heart, God can plant some healthy seeds of joy.

            The Parable of the Four Soils is a powerful illustration that Jesus used to teach about the importance of the soil of our hearts.

• If our hearts are hardened…like the soil in the story Jesus told…then we may hear but not understand the Word because of sin in our life.  Satan can easily pluck the message away, keeping our heart dull and preventing the Word of God from making a difference in our life.
• Our hearts may be like the stony ground mentioned in scripture.  We may profess JOY in hearing the Word, but we don’t let it sink in and change us.  When troubles and difficulties come, our faith disappears.
• Then there is the thorny soil which refers a heart that is so full of the things of this world…riches, pleasures, success by the world’s standards. All of that chokes out the Word and we do not grow spiritually.
• But, don’t lose hope! The last type of soil mentioned in the parable is the good soil.  That person hears, understands and receives God’s Word.  If the soil of our heart is good soil, then we will notice major changes in our life and we will produce good fruit.

             May the soil of our heart always be good soil, prepared and ready for God to plant His seeds and produce the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23)

           

Prepare the Soil of Your Heart

            Have you had your Joy Juice today?  It’s made of delicious ingredients fresh from God’s Joy garden!

            The Parable of the Sower /Four Soils…is a story that Jesus used to teach the multitudes and his disciples.  The beauty of the Word of God is that its value never diminishes. This parable still teaches such an important lesson for Christians in today’s society.

            Matthew, Mark and Luke recorded this parable in their gospels. It tells about a farmer who scatters seed which falls on four different types of ground or soil.  Let’s note that in this parable, the SEED is a constant.  It’s a symbol of God’s continuous desire to plant good seeds in our hearts. The FARMER or SOWER is also a constant.  God is always there, continually scattering good seeds…generously.  BUT the SOIL is the variable.

            Four different types are listed:

• The hard ground represents someone who is hardened by sin
• The stony ground pictures a man who delights in hearing the Word; but his heart is not changed
•  The thorny ground depicts one who seems to receive the Word, but whose heart is so full of the pursuit of riches, pleasures, and lusts til the good seed has no room to grow.
• The good soil portrays the one who hears, understands, and receives the Word of God.

                Prepare the soil of your heart so that seeds of joy may sprout, grow and flourish.

Scatter Joy!

          Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Let’s start a habit of scattering seeds of joy all along our path.

            One of the “grown up” songs that I remember singing as a child in my beloved country church was entitled “Scattering Precious Seed”.  I liked it then because of the catchy tune…but I didn’t have a clue what the words meant. 

“Scattering precious seed by the wayside;

Scattering precious seed by the hillside.

Scattering precious seed o’er the field, wide,

Scattering precious seed by the way.”  

            In my little girl way of thinking, I could see myself planting seeds in a garden….literally. Now, as an adult, I understand the depth of the words of this old hymn.  If we are committed Christians, indeed, we should want to be scattering the seeds of our faith everywhere we go. 

            Jesus told this parable (which was recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke.) 

           "A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.  Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.  But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.  Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.  Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!"(Matthew 13:3-8)

           We are called to joyfully scatter the seeds…and then trust God to help them multiply!

Joyfully Say to God: "WHATEVER!"

           Have you had your Joy Juice today?  Are you prepared to do whatever God asks you to do…even if it’s uncomfortable?

            We’ve talked this week about leaving our “comfort zone” and stepping out by faith into God’s plan.  That’s not always so easy to do…especially when we are enjoying our comfortable spot.  Being a Christian is the most wonderful decision you can ever make, and though there is much joy along the way, we are not always guaranteed “comfort.”

• In Matthew 16:24, Jesus asks His followers to die to themselves, to take up their crosses and follow him. These are not “comfortable” actions.  We must be willing to step outside our comfort zone in order to be obedient to His commands.
• Christ calls His followers to stop seeking earthly riches (Matthew 6:19)
• To not worry about the future (Luke 12:22)
• To live sacrificially & to seek the good of others (Matthew 22:39)

               All of these are contrary to the values of the world.  When we leave the “old way of life” to live as a “new creation” in Christ, we have to learn a radically different lifestyle! That often calls for us to leave the security of our “comfortable spot” in life.

             Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone.  As long as God is guiding you, He will take care of you…and you may discover an abundance of joy in the Lord.