How is Joy Connected to an Eternal Perspective?

“A believer should count it a wasted day when he (she) does not learn something new from or is not more deeply enriched by the truth of God’s Word. Scripture is food for the believer’s growth and power— and there is no other….The most noble are still those who search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11)” Quoted from John MacArthur’s study on 1 Peter. Connect these thoughts with John 15:11. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” Who could not want such a life as this? So simple, but so seldom believed. Does this verse describe your life?

Let’s encourage one another this Thursday morning in believing and living in a way that brings great glory to God and great joy to our souls. Our discussion will begin on page 18-question 5.

HAVE YOU FOUND TRUE JOY?

A study through the Psalms points us over and over again to finding our joy in the Lord. Oh what a source of comfort and help He is to everyone that leans hard on Him; the only source of true, lasting joy. Consider the following two quotes from Spurgeon on this subject.

“This morning being myself more than usually compassed with infirmities, I desire to speak, as a weak and suffering preacher, of that High Priest who is full of compassion: and my longing is that any who are low in spirit, faint, despondent, and even out of the way, may take heart to approach the Lord Jesus…

…Jesus is touched, not with a feeling of your strength, but of your infirmity. Down here poor, feeble nothings affect the heart of their great High Priest on high, who is crowned with glory and honour. As the mother feels with the weakness of her babe, so does Jesus feel with the poorest, saddest, and weakest of his chosen.”

“In the old Pilgrim’s Progress I used to read in my grandfather’s house, I remember the picture of Hopeful in the river holding Christian up; and the engraver has done it very well. Hopeful has his arm around Christian, and lifts up his hands, and says, ‘Fear not, brother, I feel the bottom.’ That is just what Jesus does in our trials; he puts his arm round us, points up and says, ‘Fear not! the water may be deep, but the bottom is good.’”

Study Psalm 98 this week and consider where you seek your joy; EVERY source gives false promises except for the Lord. See you Thursday morning.

A BEAUTIFUL LIFE

One beautiful morning this week my doorbell rang and as I opened it I suddenly realized that flowers were being delivered to my door!  Oh, wow--that doesn't happen just every day.  But, beyond that these were not just ordinary flowers being delivered by a regular delivery person.  No, I was receiving a foxglove plant with the roots recently pulled from the ground and the blossom end appearing to be looking down at those little roots. 

What made this flower delivery most special is that it came from the chubby little hand of one of my two year old grandsons.  His eyes sparkled with love and joy as he proudly presented his gift.

Just today I came across an entry in my journal from six years ago when Mark and I were returning from our trip to Ireland and I was thinking about life.  "It doesn't matter--rich or poor--to have fine character makes life beautiful;  humility, kindness, compassion (the fruit of the Spirit of God, really).  The opposite of fine character brings misery no matter one's station in life."

And so, I see this little delivery of flowers to be a good illustration of the unfeigned love, joy, and kindness we all need to show toward other people.  Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law"  God always leads us to a life of beauty.