John 15:11 These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
Oh mih Friends, who says the ole fella doh work hard on these Bits eh? While flipping through the One More Day Devotional earlier on, I glimpsed a quote on joy that set me to thinking it was an excellent topic for today. But Lucifer, in the form of laziness intervened and I didn’t check the exact location of the quote. So now, when I came to write the Bit, aimless flipping didn’t help, I had to check through from the beginning, thirty something pages, to find it. Moral of that story; laziness and procrastination don’t pay. But that was the easy part, cause when I sought a suitable passage on joy from the Good Book, I looked through all that dealt with it, until I came to the one from Jesus that finally satisfied my soul. It’s strange though, how the Spirit sometimes guides me; I will go through several scriptures, then end up using the very first one. Other times, like tonight, one will just hit me, and I know that’s it. But what better authority to quote on joy, than the One who died so that our souls could be cleansed, and our joy restored in the Lord? Let me give you the quote from the Devotional first, just in case I forget it. (smile) Someone by the name of Tahuma is reputed to have declared that ‘Joy waits for no man.’ And it’s true Friends. Joy doesn’t wait for us, or come to us on its own accord, we have to actively seek it, and then through discipline and hard work, hold on to it. Yes mih people, it takes a lot of hard work to hold on to that ephemeral emotion we term joy, for it can be with us in great abundance at one moment, then completely gone the next. And one of Lucifer’s favourite tricks is to put things or circumstances in place to steal our joy, because he knows that ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh.8:10) Oh my brethren, that is an awesome truth that we must all realize, and instil in the very depths of our souls. Only as strong as we are in the Lord Jehovah, will we find joy and be joyful. It’s because of His many promises, His faithfulness, that we in turn can trust Him, and know that He will always take care of us, so we don’t need to worry about anything. When we surrender our lives to Christ, then fear and worry are thrown out the window and replaced by joy, for those three emotions can’t exist together in one soul, in large quantities. Wherever there’s much fear and worry, little joy will prevail. But where joy abounds, fear and worry will be non-existent. Now we’ve been talking so much about joy that some of us will probably be wondering exactly what we’re referring to. Well the dictionary defines joy as: ‘vivid emotions of pleasure; gladness; things that cause delight, ecstasy, rejoicing, effervescence, expansiveness, and buoyancy.’ In other words the uplifting of the human Spirit. That’s where Jesus comes in. Friends, nobody can uplift the human Spirit like Him. He likens Himself to the Good Shepherd, who comes to lead and care for mankind, to give us a new and better life. ‘The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:10-11) And that He did my people, so that our souls would be cleansed and our lives greatly improved. We are free from sin, blessed with the faithful promise of salvation and eternal life, so there’s nothing for us to worry about. And after spending much time explaining who He was and His role on earth, Jesus finally told the disciples: ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ While He was there with them, they felt safe and secure, had nothing to fear or worry about, so their spirits were generally joyful. But tell me Friends, how can it be otherwise eh, if we hanging out with Jesus? (smile) However, knowing that He had to leave them soon, and the hard times and persecution they would face solely by invoking His Holy Name, Jesus wanted to reassure them, to let them know that everything would be fine. ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) That’s gospel mih breddren! So let’s read, remember, inwardly digest and live according to that principle. For if you can’t do anything without Jesus, and Jesus brings abundant life and joy, then if you’re not following Him, it’s like you’re stranded in the middle of a vast desert: no food, water, joy, LOVE, friendship and fellowship. And later on, in his first Epistle, the intro, Testimony to Christ, John continues Jesus’ teaching on the subject. ‘And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.’ (1 John 1:4) Now Friends, it’s our turn to keep on spreading that joy that ‘s only found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for it’s the only way to grow and mature and become more like Him. Remember, He never allowed too much to get Him down and sorrowful; neither should we. I know life’s not easy, but that’s exactly why we’re proclaiming Jesus; because when He lives in your heart and soul, then you have the wherewithal to handle anything that the evil world, or Beelzebub and his goons throw at you. So let’s conclude with some more applicable words of Jesus, for if it’s one thing our world badly needs right now, it’s joy. ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ (John 15:7) Then, He tells them that though they’ll be sad and sorrowful on His departure, their sorrow will be turned to joy when He rises from the dead and the Holy Spirit comes upon them. ”And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you… Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’ (John 16:22,24) Much LOVE!…ask…not in greed, selfishness or evil…but in faith, kindness, LOVE and forgiveness…
Oh mih Friends, who says the ole fella doh work hard on these Bits eh? While flipping through the One More Day Devotional earlier on, I glimpsed a quote on joy that set me to thinking it was an excellent topic for today. But Lucifer, in the form of laziness intervened and I didn’t check the exact location of the quote. So now, when I came to write the Bit, aimless flipping didn’t help, I had to check through from the beginning, thirty something pages, to find it. Moral of that story; laziness and procrastination don’t pay. But that was the easy part, cause when I sought a suitable passage on joy from the Good Book, I looked through all that dealt with it, until I came to the one from Jesus that finally satisfied my soul. It’s strange though, how the Spirit sometimes guides me; I will go through several scriptures, then end up using the very first one. Other times, like tonight, one will just hit me, and I know that’s it. But what better authority to quote on joy, than the One who died so that our souls could be cleansed, and our joy restored in the Lord? Let me give you the quote from the Devotional first, just in case I forget it. (smile) Someone by the name of Tahuma is reputed to have declared that ‘Joy waits for no man.’ And it’s true Friends. Joy doesn’t wait for us, or come to us on its own accord, we have to actively seek it, and then through discipline and hard work, hold on to it. Yes mih people, it takes a lot of hard work to hold on to that ephemeral emotion we term joy, for it can be with us in great abundance at one moment, then completely gone the next. And one of Lucifer’s favourite tricks is to put things or circumstances in place to steal our joy, because he knows that ‘the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Neh.8:10) Oh my brethren, that is an awesome truth that we must all realize, and instil in the very depths of our souls. Only as strong as we are in the Lord Jehovah, will we find joy and be joyful. It’s because of His many promises, His faithfulness, that we in turn can trust Him, and know that He will always take care of us, so we don’t need to worry about anything. When we surrender our lives to Christ, then fear and worry are thrown out the window and replaced by joy, for those three emotions can’t exist together in one soul, in large quantities. Wherever there’s much fear and worry, little joy will prevail. But where joy abounds, fear and worry will be non-existent. Now we’ve been talking so much about joy that some of us will probably be wondering exactly what we’re referring to. Well the dictionary defines joy as: ‘vivid emotions of pleasure; gladness; things that cause delight, ecstasy, rejoicing, effervescence, expansiveness, and buoyancy.’ In other words the uplifting of the human Spirit. That’s where Jesus comes in. Friends, nobody can uplift the human Spirit like Him. He likens Himself to the Good Shepherd, who comes to lead and care for mankind, to give us a new and better life. ‘The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.’ (John 10:10-11) And that He did my people, so that our souls would be cleansed and our lives greatly improved. We are free from sin, blessed with the faithful promise of salvation and eternal life, so there’s nothing for us to worry about. And after spending much time explaining who He was and His role on earth, Jesus finally told the disciples: ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.’ While He was there with them, they felt safe and secure, had nothing to fear or worry about, so their spirits were generally joyful. But tell me Friends, how can it be otherwise eh, if we hanging out with Jesus? (smile) However, knowing that He had to leave them soon, and the hard times and persecution they would face solely by invoking His Holy Name, Jesus wanted to reassure them, to let them know that everything would be fine. ‘I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.’ (John 15:5) That’s gospel mih breddren! So let’s read, remember, inwardly digest and live according to that principle. For if you can’t do anything without Jesus, and Jesus brings abundant life and joy, then if you’re not following Him, it’s like you’re stranded in the middle of a vast desert: no food, water, joy, LOVE, friendship and fellowship. And later on, in his first Epistle, the intro, Testimony to Christ, John continues Jesus’ teaching on the subject. ‘And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.’ (1 John 1:4) Now Friends, it’s our turn to keep on spreading that joy that ‘s only found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, for it’s the only way to grow and mature and become more like Him. Remember, He never allowed too much to get Him down and sorrowful; neither should we. I know life’s not easy, but that’s exactly why we’re proclaiming Jesus; because when He lives in your heart and soul, then you have the wherewithal to handle anything that the evil world, or Beelzebub and his goons throw at you. So let’s conclude with some more applicable words of Jesus, for if it’s one thing our world badly needs right now, it’s joy. ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ (John 15:7) Then, He tells them that though they’ll be sad and sorrowful on His departure, their sorrow will be turned to joy when He rises from the dead and the Holy Spirit comes upon them. ”And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you… Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.’ (John 16:22,24) Much LOVE!…ask…not in greed, selfishness or evil…but in faith, kindness, LOVE and forgiveness…
SCRIP-BITS 