Joy is an essential spiritual practice growing out of faith, grace, gratitude, hope, and love. It is the pure and simple delight in being alive. Joy is our elated response to feelings of happiness, experiences of pleasure, and awareness of abundance. It is also the deep satisfaction we know when we are able to serve others and be glad for their good fortune.
Invite joy into your life by staging celebrations. Host festivities to mark transitions and changes in your life. Toast moments of happiness you notice as you go through your day. Dance — jump for joy — as often as possible. Life is not meant to be endured; it is to be enjoyed.
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From the True Source of Joy here Luke 10:17-24
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Excerpt from Mike’s blog
Joy is both an outcome of our relationship with the Lord and our source of strength for our obedience of Him. (John 15) The Joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:9) God desires for His people to be strong in Him so He graciously gives us joy as we cooperate with Him in our sanctification. (Philippians 2:12-13)
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50 ways to find joy article here [secular article, no mention of the Almighty One]
Question: How/where/who do you find joy?
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in the new testament there are 15 different words or tenses of the word joy HERE, 39 in the old testament Hebrew HERE
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Spring 1991 faculty preaching series on the fruit of the Spirit, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary
1. Christians have joy because of their place in Christ
2. Christians have joy because of their purpose in life.
3. Christians have joy because of their perspective on eternity.
[i would have to agree with him on these points, we should, as christians have joy because of these things. But do we? and if we don't, why not?]
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some joy scriptures I love:
Luke 10:17-20
The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and {that} your joy may be made full. “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Thru trials of life right now, my joy is gone, wandered off to the other side of the street, to another family, to another time.
I want joy, i pray for joy, i just don’t seem to have it.
It seems too hard to rescue it from the traffic as it plays in the street. I demand it come back and entertain me with its smile and life and light.
it flitters away thru the open window of the neighbors house, winking at me, beckoning me to find catch it….
it floats upward to the heavenly stars, motioning to me with its embracing arms, it points to the place i should look, but its too bright…..
like a shooting star its gone, leaving me standing on the ground, praying for it to return to me….
Filed under: Christianity, God, Jesus Christ, Musings, Thoughts, bible, bible study, christian, faith, holy spirit, relationships, religion, theology
I’ve read your post twice, been thinking about it this morning. First question that came to my mind is…is it realistic to have joy while you are in the midst of being broken?…I know I know, I can give you 10 “pat” “party line” answers with the best of them from a doctrinal perspective…the next thing I would say to the person who starts giving those pat answers is you probably sound a lot like 4 guys who tried to comfort a certain somebody in the O.T (Job) so then the next thing I would say to the person who we can and should have joy in the midst of being broken is..have you personally really been broken? If so, then I’m listening…tell me more…if not, then honestly I am not interested hearing what you have to say….it’s too easy to spout simplistic answers to people…that’s why I think Charles Swindol said, if God is going to use a person greatly, then almost w/o exception, God will break them….(I never liked that idea by the way, but the older I get ,the more I see the validity in it)