"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23
As I enter my first day of Christmas Break (one of the benefits of being a teacher), I am filled with extreme joy! I have a break from work, my family is growing closer, the new allergy medicine my doctor gave me seems to be working, and there are presents I look forward to giving and receiving! However, even with all these wonderful things that are happening in my life, none of this even begins to describe true joy.
The world around us is full of problems, and although my life is on the up-and-up, it's still not perfect. How can I be joyful when I know that my budget it so tight? How can I be joyful when I know that so many people in my community (and around the nation and world) are unable to buy presents for their family because of the financial toilet we've flushed ourselves down? How can I be joyful when I know that there are starving children around the world - even here in our own communities?
I can be joyful because, no matter what's going wrong in my life or anybody else's, there is hope for a better day to come. There is hope that financial crises can be resolved. There is hope that hunger can be filled. There is hope that storms can be calmed, wars can be ended, and relationships can be mended. There is joy in these hopes because of who we place our hopes in - Jesus.
He made Himself flesh so that we would know He tells the truth when He says, "I know what you're going through; it will be okay." He was executed for sins not of his own, but rather the sins of all mankind, so that we might be washed clean and taste righteousness. He rose again, so that we can be assured that one day the worries of this world will no longer be of any concern because He will rise us up with Him. This is joy! The others mentioned above are merely a small taste of joy.
Prayer of the Day:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The Lord God Almighty has sent us His own Son to be our Messiah, our Savior, our Joy! He carries away the sin of the world, and renews all who come before Him! He sows His Spirit among us so that we may all be directly connected with our Father in Heaven, and thus not need to worry about the troubles of the world! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The Lord has blessed His people indefinitely! Amen!
The world around us is full of problems, and although my life is on the up-and-up, it's still not perfect. How can I be joyful when I know that my budget it so tight? How can I be joyful when I know that so many people in my community (and around the nation and world) are unable to buy presents for their family because of the financial toilet we've flushed ourselves down? How can I be joyful when I know that there are starving children around the world - even here in our own communities?
I can be joyful because, no matter what's going wrong in my life or anybody else's, there is hope for a better day to come. There is hope that financial crises can be resolved. There is hope that hunger can be filled. There is hope that storms can be calmed, wars can be ended, and relationships can be mended. There is joy in these hopes because of who we place our hopes in - Jesus.
He made Himself flesh so that we would know He tells the truth when He says, "I know what you're going through; it will be okay." He was executed for sins not of his own, but rather the sins of all mankind, so that we might be washed clean and taste righteousness. He rose again, so that we can be assured that one day the worries of this world will no longer be of any concern because He will rise us up with Him. This is joy! The others mentioned above are merely a small taste of joy.
Prayer of the Day:
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The Lord God Almighty has sent us His own Son to be our Messiah, our Savior, our Joy! He carries away the sin of the world, and renews all who come before Him! He sows His Spirit among us so that we may all be directly connected with our Father in Heaven, and thus not need to worry about the troubles of the world! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! The Lord has blessed His people indefinitely! Amen!
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