JOY in the Lord

"God’s glory consists much in the fact that he is happy beyond our wildest imagination.
As the great eighteenth-century preacher, Jonathan Edwards, said, “Part of God’s fullness which he communicates is his happiness. This happiness consists in enjoying and rejoicing in himself; so does also the creature’s happiness.....

Jesus lived and died that his joy — God’s joy — might be in us and our joy might be full (John 15:11; 17:13). Therefore the gospel is “the gospel of the glory of the happy God.” 
-John Piper 

Amen!  That is why the gospel is supposed to be "good news," not the gospel that takes every one's fun away lol  That's what the Pharisees wanted to do, take every one's fun away through the letter of the law.  But life is much better with Jesus, not worse.  And that was why Jesus was SO angry with the Pharisees, because they were painting a completely incorrect picture of God to people.  God is not a kill joy, he came to bring us life "and life abundantly." :)  He wants to give us joy.  He WANTS us to happy, did you know that? lol  Most people do not realize God actually WANTS them to be happy. :)

The Pharisees wanted everyone to be miserable.  Why?  Because miserable people are much easier to control.  Happy people will not let anyone boss them around.  Happy people will stand up for themselves.  Happy will people not allow themselves to be mistreated.  But miserable people, who feel worthless, as the Pharisees made people feel, they can be enslaved easily.  They can be manipulated and controlled easily. 

This still goes on in churches today, religious abuse.  People in churches want to make others feel like they are nothing so that they can control them.  But Christianity is not supposed to be about people controlling people, but about us all letting God set us free.

Satan also very much wants humans to feel miserable so that he can control them.  He wants us to feel like we can't do anything on our own; that we are worthless, unattractive, incapable of anything great.  He wants us to feel beaten down so that we will run to him, to sin, for relief. 

This is why "THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH."

Joy in the Lord is your strength and your BEST defense against the enemy. 

Satan's lies to us and tries to make us think Christianity takes all the fun out of life.  But it does NOT.  On the contrary, it is SIN that takes all the fun out of life. 

Sin ensnares people and traps them.  They become a slave to whatever their sin is.  Some are enslaved to porn, others to drinking, others to drugs, others to relationships.  As long as we are in sin we are not free.

But Jesus can set us free.  "He whom the son sets free is free indeed."  Amen?  Yes. :)

And once we are free we can have real joy.  True joy can only be found in knowing God and letting him set us free from sin.  Amen?  Amen :)

This is why the gospel is the GOOD NEWS for the whole world!  It is a gospel of redemption, of freedom, of complete and total joy. 

Independence day is all about freedom, but so few in America really are free, spiritually.  Most of Americans are slaves, whether they realize it or not.  Slaves to the matrix of sin. 

If you are not free, let God set you free TODAY.

A good mental image for this is that sin keeps you in a dark dungeon, with no light, in chains, with rats running around and spiders crawling all over you.  You don't see it, but if you are in sin, THAT is your current state. 

But JESUS CAN SAVE YOU from the dungeon.  HE can lift you out of that pit and into the sunlight; into a field of flowers where you can run free like you are a child again.  He can lead you to the most amazing tropical beach in the world.  He can lead you to crystal clear waters that you can swim free in and play in like an otter swimming carefree in a river.

He can even make you fly through the air, unhindered, completely and totally free, like a kite soaring above it all.  He can make you completely weightless, with not a care in the world, so that you can float away on a breeze like a bubble. 

Don't you want to be THAT free?  I know I do. :) 

It's a daily struggle to let Jesus set us free from the webs that Satan is trying to throw over us constantly.  But remember, "THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS." 

Don't let anyone try to bring condemnation on you.  Don't let them try to bring you down!

You ARE a beautiful, radiant child of God!  He loves you more than anyone has ever loved you!

And you CAN do WAY MORE THAN YOU EVER IMAGINED! with God

So don't give up, fellow Christian, DON'T loose heart.  Keep pressing on.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  Jesus IS coming back soon, I just know it. 

So keep running the race!  We will make it to the finish line before you know it! 

KEEP RUNNING! :) lol

May God BLESS YOU!  ABUNDANTLY, AMAZINGLY, UNTIL YOUR CUP IS OVERFLOWING!

Amen :)