Acts 2:28.....You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence. NKJV
JOY: God's kind of joy is holy and pure. It is one that will rise above any circumstance and sets our focus on the One who gave this joy. Joy: usually Hebrew gil to "leap" or "spin around" with much pleasure.
Rejoicing: Greek...chara..........gladness as seen in Matthew 2:10.......10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. NKJV
It is a characteristic that brings us or transport us to a place of satisfaction, to a place in His peace, a place of triumph.........and it is an honorable place. It is described as glory.
Psalm 43:4............4 Then will I go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God. NIV
Isaiah 61:10-11..............10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations. NIV
From the above scripture, we find that Isaiah pronounces his delight in the God of his soul. He proclaimed that God had clothed him with the garments of salvation and arrayed him with a robe of righteousness.
Wow! Sounds like royalty to me...........
It is God Himself who makes the sprout and causes a plant from the seeds to grow. In His Sovereign Love and righteousness...........He sows seeds of righteousness and praise.
When we spend time with our grandchild, she has her agenda. She loves to color and loves to dance to praise music to the Lord. One cannot but be infused with that same love once you pick a coloring book and a scented marker and start placing some color over those pages of white with black lines. When you hear the child speak and you both share a common end............that is to see a picture finished in its entirety and know that every color was placed "within the lines" with love, you experience a great amount of satisfaction. It brings me back to my time as a young child and how I loved to color and create things out of paper, clay and color paint.
When the music begins to play out, you cannot help but want to dance as she dances before the Lord. She sings and makes up many songs to the Lord and in all that, she has a joy. There is laughter and fun in each thing she brings to the table.
Our grand-daughter was just being who she is created to be. She has no ulterior motives. She is a child and expects fun no matter what. She sows to the things she has been taught. She is being taught that the Word of God works and there is praise to be given to His holy name.
So when we spend time with the Word and search out His joy and His glory.........we find that we speak and can continue to sow seeds of joy............a gladness in our hearts that others will see and experience much like we did with our grand-daughter.
This joy is always produced by the Spirit of God. It is a joy that always looks forward to eternity. It does not focus on the bad report, the evil day or the world's economy, but looks for the coming of Jesus for His believers.
When the Holy Spirit is invited in, He is known by the fruit of His love, His joy, His peace, kindness, patience, goodness and faithfulness, gentleness and yes, self-control.
That those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. To live by the Spirit is to keep step with the Spirit. We are to never become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26
The spirit of rejoicing, joy and laughter is our heritage. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty….an emancipation from bondage
If we must protest something, can we be those who do it in and through the Holy Spirit,so that people will know us by His love? Can we expect to see the justice in our lives that is from heaven when we allow God into every situation?
If I sow joy into others, will I not see the sprouts spring up into joy for my own life?
If we sow towards being self-centered, our way and no other way, then we leave ourselves open to chaos, perverseness and judgment. (and it will come)
When we say come Holy Spirit, and have Your way today in our lives...........we move over into the things of God that lead to life-giving plans He placed in us from the foundation of the world. When we understand that we can keep and abide in His presence by seeking His plan and find that assignment for our lives. We should be able to see with His eyes and experience the same creativity He did from the beginning of the this world. His joy is one that brings us out of human plans and programs and brings us to the new thing in God. Today, I ask for the perfect plan that God has given us through His glory, His joy that helps us rise above every devil, every evil day and every bad report and expect to see God arise in our lives and see His glory. Amen
John 17:20-24........................20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. NKJV
It was our being restored to glory that was the "joy" set before Christ. We were made one with He and the Father. When we look to the scripture of the "prodigal son" in Luke 15 we see the great joy our Father had in restoring us as sons to Himself. He delighted, and took great joy to see this oneness. It was the gift of the Holy Spirit, His Spirit to dwell within us and live as one.
The answer is clear: it is God who as our Father took delight in His children and His own created children to delight in Him. Just like we delight in our grand-daughter who is so vitally important in our family, so too, are we so vitally important in the family of God. Yes, it was a Big dose of JOY!
Father, thank You for Jesus who endured the cross despising the shame that was set before HIM! You were working on bringing Your family back together as one! I pray that each who read this will walk as sons and daughters of the Most High God. I pray we tremble with extreme joy of knowing and living in Your Presence our Heavenly Father. Today I thank YOU for restoration and salvation for all who take part in this prayer. I believe and expect to see Your glory that is joy abounding in our hearts and lives.You live in our hearts by faith and know YOU have our best in mind. I pray that we would continue to be those who walk on in connecting with You daily and to see our relationship with You grow and expand. Nothing matters more than our life with You. I thank You for the legacy of glory in our families. I bless YOU and give thanks in remembrance of Your Holy Name and Your Son's Holy Name. Amen.
You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV
Our grand-daughter was just being who she is created to be. She has no ulterior motives. She is a child and expects fun no matter what. She sows to the things she has been taught. She is being taught that the Word of God works and there is praise to be given to His holy name.
So when we spend time with the Word and search out His joy and His glory.........we find that we speak and can continue to sow seeds of joy............a gladness in our hearts that others will see and experience much like we did with our grand-daughter.
This joy is always produced by the Spirit of God. It is a joy that always looks forward to eternity. It does not focus on the bad report, the evil day or the world's economy, but looks for the coming of Jesus for His believers.
When the Holy Spirit is invited in, He is known by the fruit of His love, His joy, His peace, kindness, patience, goodness and faithfulness, gentleness and yes, self-control.
That those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. To live by the Spirit is to keep step with the Spirit. We are to never become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Galatians 5:22-26
The spirit of rejoicing, joy and laughter is our heritage. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty….an emancipation from bondage
If we must protest something, can we be those who do it in and through the Holy Spirit,so that people will know us by His love? Can we expect to see the justice in our lives that is from heaven when we allow God into every situation?
If I sow joy into others, will I not see the sprouts spring up into joy for my own life?
If we sow towards being self-centered, our way and no other way, then we leave ourselves open to chaos, perverseness and judgment. (and it will come)
John 17:20-24........................20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. NKJV
It was our being restored to glory that was the "joy" set before Christ. We were made one with He and the Father. When we look to the scripture of the "prodigal son" in Luke 15 we see the great joy our Father had in restoring us as sons to Himself. He delighted, and took great joy to see this oneness. It was the gift of the Holy Spirit, His Spirit to dwell within us and live as one.
The answer is clear: it is God who as our Father took delight in His children and His own created children to delight in Him. Just like we delight in our grand-daughter who is so vitally important in our family, so too, are we so vitally important in the family of God. Yes, it was a Big dose of JOY!
Father, thank You for Jesus who endured the cross despising the shame that was set before HIM! You were working on bringing Your family back together as one! I pray that each who read this will walk as sons and daughters of the Most High God. I pray we tremble with extreme joy of knowing and living in Your Presence our Heavenly Father. Today I thank YOU for restoration and salvation for all who take part in this prayer. I believe and expect to see Your glory that is joy abounding in our hearts and lives.You live in our hearts by faith and know YOU have our best in mind. I pray that we would continue to be those who walk on in connecting with You daily and to see our relationship with You grow and expand. Nothing matters more than our life with You. I thank You for the legacy of glory in our families. I bless YOU and give thanks in remembrance of Your Holy Name and Your Son's Holy Name. Amen.
You can also visit my Youtube channel The Voice of Prayer for more teaching at http://bit.ly/1tNyBhV
Thank you, Shelley, I needed this Word today. God bless you for obedience in sharing God's Word.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimi, thank you for the comment. I pray over each title and writing, that they would be sent out when that word was needed. Praise the Lord for His goodness.........am glad you are encouraged............you have truly encouraged me today......... to continue to write...........Shelley
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