JOY

“Finally, Rejoice in the Lord!”

“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

What keeps us from joy?

Paul says, “Forgetting what is behind, I press on….”

The past keeps us from joy.

“Whatever was to my profit I now consider loss

For the sake of Christ.”

Things that are to our “profit” steal our joy.

Self-righteousness, pride, envy, jealousy….steals our joy.

Idols steal our joy.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.”

God help us to take our eyes off of what we see, that we may SEE you.

And be filled with JOY to overflowing.  Amen.