Enjoy Joy

Have you ever felt like just being miserable and then couldn't do it? Have you ever tried to tell 'joy' to go away and leave you alone? Everybody has ideas about what 'holy spirit' is and how it affects us, but the fruit of the spirit tells all. Joy is one of those fruits. Fruit is something that is produced as a result of operation of the gift of holy spirit.

If you are chilly and someone gives you a sweater and you accept it by putting it on, you can't stop the feeling of sensing warmth. It is a similar analogy with the gift God has given us. God has given us something very precious. He has given each of us a piece of what He actually is!  (John 4:24) You can't see spirit (you can't see God) but you can see its action in something physical and see the results of its action.

Joy comes from within and it is from God.  It is individual.  In II Corinthians 1:24, Paul says:

24 Not for that we have dominion over your faith (individual and personal), but are helpers (sunergos- joint workers) of your joy: for by faith (individual and personal) ye stand.

II Corinthians is a great chapter on the comfort (paraklesis) of God. Jesus Christ talked about the comforter that would come after him:

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter (parakleton), that he may abide with you for ever;17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

22 And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John 16:22

I, II, III John

The three letters of John toward the end of the Bible are rich encouragement to the believer. The letters are about fellowship with the Father, Jesus Christ and each other. The Free On-Line Dictionary defines 'fellowship' as:

1. a. The condition of sharing similar interests, ideals, or experiences, as by reason of profession, religion, or nationality
b. The companionship of individuals in a congenial atmosphere and on equal terms.
2. A close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests.
3. Friendship; comradeship.

John's letters are addressed to Christians, not pagans seeking salvation. He makes this quite clear in
I John 2:21:

21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

When reading all three letters, it is important to keep who this is addressed to in mind.We can be a son of God and be out of fellowship with Him. God wants to have a vital spiritual relationship with us. in 1:3-4 it says:

3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Our joy is to be full! It is one thing to say we are Christian, but it is quite another thing to experience the great pleasure that comes with having an active relationship with God. Throughout these letters, fellowship is the big topic.

 In I John I and II, the word 'abide' is used over and over (actually 26 times). It is an interesting study and substantiates the point of John's letters. 'To abide' in something means to continue in, to stay in or to remain at. Studying God's word enables a person to reach for the 'full joy' of fellowship. It is a continuing process. We remain at it. An appleseed never produced an apple without first producing roots, stems and leaves. It takes time and staying at it. We produce fruit in just the same way. The fruit is a result of our continuing relationship with God.

The Wind in Your Sail

Last week as I wiggled my toes in the sand and looked out over the Sound, I envisioned the sailboats that soon would come out of their storage and take up residence among the hollows and crests of lapping waves of this inlet.  The ocean is amazing to me, its beauty, its color reflecting the sky and its wonderful sounds.  The waves are ruffled at the surface, but deep below there is quiet and it is somewhat motionless.

Last summer for my birthday, one of my kids rented a large sailboat to sail over this area around sunset.  We were there vacationing for a week  and everyday the weather had been beautiful. The night before the sail, however, a big storm had blown in and was threatening the next day. It was supposed to last all day. Miraculously 45 minutes before our voyage, we got a call from a member of the crew of the ship that the storm  had blown by and the sail would be even better in the aftermath of the storm and it was!

Watching big sails unfurl and catch the wind reminded me of what life is like when God is the wind in your sail. It is in reading and quiet times with God that we unfurl the canvas and we are energized. As we then act in whatever situation we are involved in we start to notice fruit in our heart, love (not grouchiness), joy (not misery), peace (not anxiety), longsuffering (not impatience), gentleness (not hardness), goodness (not cruelty), faith (not fear), meekness (not arrogance), temperance (not greed) despite what is going on around us. (Galatians 5:22-23)

With God's strength we are able to tackle even the most difficult tasks and projects. When the waves get rough we also have the courage to make those decisions that are necessary to move in the direction of still waters.

In Acts 12 it is recorded that Herod had killed James (one of the apostles) and Peter had been thrown in jail.  There was great pressure all around and yet Peter was able to sleep (verse 6) in this ordeal and God was able to deliver him.  This had all happened right after his meeting with the Cornelius household in one of the most significant events in God's timetable. Waves of life come with crests and hollows.

I think of things that Peter must have remembered like walking on water, the transfiguration, standing up with the eleven on Pentecost, and healing the man at the temple gate.  Unlike the walking on water incident, he did not hesitate to stand in the wake of the spiritual tsunamis that was pounding on Jerusalem. He did not question himself and his standing with God. He set his sail.

We also have access to God through Jesus Christ. God is faithful to His promises. He listens to our heart and His strength becomes our strength as he directs and guides us to safe harbors.

Romans 15:13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.