Joy

I have a horizontal plaque in my bathroom that says "Sometimes Heaven is Just a Hot Bath"...and thougth it may not be heaven as we know it..it sure has melted away many an worry...and is often my cure for many things...The plaque has 12 "Bits of Wisdom" quotes on it....and each day as I am getting dressed I usually glance at it and wonder which one will catch my eye today...it was this one:

"Joy is not in things...it is in US!"
Benjamen Franklin.
A pretty good reminder especially at Christmas when we are busy sorting and buying and wrapping the "things". Just for a couple of minutes consider joy....and how much of it you have within you. Has it been plundered and have you allowed it to be stolen away by anxieties and disappointments.and time-lines, and responsibilities..or have you been able to keep it in tack in spite of circumstances?

The word "joy" is mentioned in the bible 242 times...so it must be an important topic to God. The following verses are some of my favorites...think on these things as you ponder you own life...joy of knowing and loving Christ is available to each of us at every minute of the day but we have to seek it with a disciplines approach and be content in life knowing that God is in charge...and we are not.

His ultimate plan is in progress...we may not see it, we may not agree with how it is being done, we may not like the timing or the conditions....but Christ remains sovereign....and as long as we let our joy rest in who he is and not who we are..and the circumstances that are before us then that joy, HIS JOY will remain in tact WITHIN us.

These are a few of the verses that I have favored over the years and have been reminders to me to stay steady ....no matter what is going on around me.

James1:
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
1 John 1
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched-this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.

3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
Romans 12:12
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Philippians 2:
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,

1 Thessalonians 2:19
For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?

Psalm 100:2
Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs
Psalm 92:4
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
Psalm 126:5
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.
Psalm 68:3
But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.


May you find joy in this day and in the events that have preceded it and the ones to come.
For JOY TO THE WORLD that Christ has COME~

Dear Lord, Help us to retrieve the joy that we have lost...maintain the joy that we have held onto and increase the joy that is before us! Amen
Praise God wherever you are or whatever situation he has allowed you to be in ...for His glory will shine through!