A Love Letter like no other

   'See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called
children of God! And that is what we are! ...' ~1 John 3:1

   'Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the
right to become children of God children born not of natural descent... but
born of God' ~John 1:12-13.

God changes us from the inside out: our heart is renewed and filled with God’s love and joy that overflows; and as our heart is changed, life has new purpose and direction.

   'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast' ~Ephesians 2:8-9.

God’s grace: His kindness, unmerited favour and forgiving love displayed ultimately by giving us Jesus, His only beloved Son, to die so that we can spend eternity in Heaven with Him, if we give Him our heart to change while here on earth.

What a comforting thought - to know that we are His little ones!

What lies within

What lies behind us and

What lies before us are tiny matters compared to

What lies within us.

 

~Ralph Waldorf Emerson

 

'You (O Lord) have filled my heart with great joy' ~Psalm 4:7a

Although at times interchangeably used, joy is something entirely different from happiness.

A dictionary definition of happiness is 'a state of well-being, a pleasurable or satisfying experience.' The definition of the word 'rejoice', from which our word 'joy' comes, is 'to feel great delight, to welcome or to be glad.'

Joy, in the Biblical context, is not an emotion. Joy is an attitude of the heart; it is not necessarily based on something positive happening. Joy is something that lasts; happiness is something that is temporary and fleeting. When happiness fades away, joy remains.

Joy is something that is bigger than you and I and our current circumstances. Joy brings us peace in the middle of a storm of life. Joy is what God deposits into us when we accept Jesus into our heart, and entrust Him with our life.

Satan tries everything in his power to drown and steal our joy because joy allows us to view and perceive the storms of life with a different perspective. Joy changes our mindset in the face of adversity.

'And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose' ~Romans 8:28.

Happiness tends to be fleeting and depends upon temporal factors like circumstances or other people. Joy is true contentment that comes from within. It is internal - the inner attitude of rejoicing in one’s salvation regardless of outward circumstances. It is one of the fruits of a right relationship with God.

  'We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts...' ~Romans 5:2b-5; (Hope in this context is not to be equated with unfounded optimism - it is the assurance of a future with Him in eternity).

The enemy goes about attempting to steal our joy deviously. He provides temptation in things that will temporarily bring happiness, and when acted upon, causes clouds of shame, regret and disappointment to creep in; that he increases, plays on and rejoices in seeing the suffering of consequences. As a result, one's joy is dampened.

'Above all else guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life' ~Proverbs 4:23

The heart is at the centre of us, from which spring emotions, thought, motivations, courage, action - it is 'the wellspring of life'.

     'For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks' ~Luke 6:45

What we hide in our heart and what we keep close to our heart is that which our mouth speaks, and that which our life displays:

    'As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man' ~Proverbs 27:19.

Joy is a beautiful thing. True joy is eternal and its source is your relationship with Jesus in knowing, accepting and appreciating that we have been saved from the inevitable agony of eternity in hell for rejecting Him; and thus living our lives accordingly, following what is written in the Bible - not just that, but LOVING and ENJOYING doing so.

He suffered so that we have the choice to choose Him and be spared from suffering in hell for eternity.


LORD Jesus, teach us to enjoy YOU, and revel in Your wonderful gift of salvation, even when difficulty surrounds us and times of trouble overwhelm us. Infiltrate your joy, O Lord, to the deepest part of our heart; may we treasure it and guard it; that our lives might be a celebration of your grace in giving us Christ Jesus.


Amen.

I know who holds my hand

I don't know about tomorrow;
I just live from day to day.
I don't borrow from its sunshine
For its skies may turn to grey.
I don't worry o'er the future,
For I know what Jesus said.
And today I'll walk beside Him,
For He knows what lies ahead.

Every step is getting brighter
As the golden stairs I climb;
Every burden's getting lighter,
Every cloud is silver-lined.
There the sun is always shining,
There no tear will dim the eye;
At the ending of the rainbow
Where the mountains touch the sky.

I don't know about tomorrow;
It may bring me poverty.
But the one who feeds the sparrow,
Is the one who stands by me.
And the path that is my portion
May be through the flame or flood;
But His presence goes before me
And I'm covered with His blood.

 

Many things about tomorrow
I don't seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand...

 

'For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, "Do not fear; I will help you"' ~Isaiah 41:13

 

'So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand' ~Isaiah 41:10

 

'Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, simply trust and obey' ~John H. Sammis, 1887
 

The words of this hymn speak profound words:

just trust Him and do as His Word instructs us to do.

God knows what is best for us because He made us!

The Bible is an Owner's manual for life.

 

As the Psalmist David testified:

'O Lord Almighty, blessed is the [one] who trusts in you' ~Psalm 84:12