In this world
Joy is as illusive as a migrating sandhill crane. Quite rare, joy is.
Followers of Jesus have it, not as the world has it. The truly saved have the joy that is from God. There is this joy from God that is “inexpressible”!
1 Peter 1:8 Amplified Bible
Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and though you do not even see Him now, you believe and trust in Him and you greatly rejoice and delight with inexpressible and glorious joy
Do “you greatly rejoice”, and “delight with inexpressible and glorious joy”? You can. But “you must be born again” (Jesus said).
I’ve got that joy
I’ve got joy – THAT joy of God. It is amazingly deep. And it’s all because I stand in confidence before God Almighty, and know that I am enough, because He Himself made me brand new – ready for that first day when I stand in front of God.
This world is not my home! That is why…
I live with confidence
I am not afraid of death
I cast aside fear. God is my refuge and strength
I do not allow sin to reign over me
I have exceedingly vibrant joy in my inner soul
Although I am not perfect, I have, growing in me…
“love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control”
I converse with my Savior all throughout my day
I make it my aim to do everything I do – with all my might, and – for the glory of God
– Source: Never Again
Joy is from God
Joy is one of those spiritual gifts from God. We see it well-up, feel it. It is “inexpressible” and “glorious” because it is deep and real, and comes from His Spirit inside, deep inside.
I am amazed: That joy comes from God inside me! (It is never replicated by the flesh.) His Spirit fills me and I am filled with His joy. I am not what I was without Christ – I have been made “brand new” inside and now I am this new person. And I have that joy.
Jesus Saved Me. He created in me a new heart. And with it, now I’m ready for my entrance into His Kingdom.
Are you ready? Or is there something lacking? Now THAT is the scariest thought EVER – kneeling before God and finding you are lacking one thing!
John 14:6 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Jesus said to him,
“I am the [only] Way [to God] and
the [real] Truth and
the [real] Life;
no one
comes to the Father
but through Me.
[by accepting Him as Lord and Savior]
has the life [that is eternal];
he who does not have the Son of God
[by personal faith]
does not have the life.
Psalm 51: verse 10
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.
I was “clean” from that moment in time when I was truly born again, reborn from above – way long ago. But I am not as mature as I wish I were by now. So I am still frequently needing His renewal. Are you also? I am so, so glad He has not stopped His work in me. See: The non-stop work of God inside you and me
“…continue to work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. 13 For it is [not your strength, but it is] [c]God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.
I confess sin to God
I do not “practice sin” (1 John 3:9), but I do still fall way short of God’s perfect will for me. However, this new person that I am is constantly being renewed. I am saved, forever, but because I still live in this “body of flesh”… I still sin. So I work diligently to NOT let sin reign over me (Romans 6:12-14).
I confess to God in order to keep a close relationship with Him. I want a sparkling soul – every day. How ’bout you?
As I live and breath, and give myself anew to Him, His Spirit inside my insides is creating in me “a clean heart“, new life afresh, as I yield again in repentance whenever I fail Him.
My Answer to Condemning Thoughts
It is this constant renewal by God that has me saying loudly,
“I am not what Satan says I am. I will NOT be characterized by my failings. I am redeemed and living for Jesus” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Jesus saved me and calls me His “friend”.
We need to follow Jesus’ example of how to forgive others. (After all – we are ALL sinners. Jesus said: “Who among you are without sin?” and “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-12). Jesus did not dump on her and start others gossiping about her.
Source: I’m not what he says I am.
Satan is the big accuser. Jesus Himself calls Satan a liar and deceiver. 1 I refuse to accept Satan’s lying accusations against me. I refuse his false depiction of me. I am not what he says I am.
I am what God says I am. God says I am a brand new creature — in Christ. I am not the sum total of all my sins. Why? Because all my sins are gone gone gone gone. Because God Himself has declared me clean, cleansed by His judicial court. If (since) God has removed my sin “as far as the East is from the West…” then who but the Accuser would bring it up again, and attempt to lure me back to that old self? Do you?
I stand on the promises of Christ my Savior. I refuse the Enemy’s attempts to make me his slave to sin.
– Source: I’m not what he says I am.
How are you doing with this? 2
My citizenship is in Heaven, and God is my Father. He is the Champion of my soul.
Therefore I will daily put on His robes and identify myself as one of His own. Like an army arrayed in its own colors, I am part of the body of Christ, and I will put on His colors, identify myself as His.
– Source: I’m not what he says I am
“personal integrity, godly character,
and moral courage” Galatians 5:25
Sin robs us of what God instills in us. Joy is lost with sinful acts and a rebellious heart.
We can’t fabricate joy. Joy starts anew with confession of sin anew – a willingness to yield to God, anew, to “walk by the Spirit” – anew. His Spirit, once crushed by my sin, fills me, anew. And joy fills me again.
25 If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit].
– Galatians 5: verse 25
King David wrote Psalm 51. He had just seduced another man’s wife, and she was having their baby, then he murdered the husband in order to openly take her, and freely marry her. But then, later, he felt convicted of that sin, and he repented. He then wrote this Psalm 51:
verse 1
Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.
verse 2
Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt
And cleanse me from my sin.
verse 3
For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them;
My sin is always before me.
verse 6
Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.
verse 7
Purify me with [a]hyssop, and I will be clean;
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
verse 8
Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied;
Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.
verse 12
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51 type repentance
I go into this “Psalm 51 mode” myself, when I repent. God asks for this “Psalm 51 type” repentance and salvation – from all of us. How often? Well, how often do you sin?
The joy that comes with being put right with God is not-of-this-world. But it can be quickly lost, taken by sin. It is illusive because we can so easily yield to temptations, and we can so quickly allow other things to take 1st place in our living.
Lost your joy? People talk’in ’bout you behind your back – gossip about you? It’s time, now, to repent and turn to Jesus.
I aim to see these flowing from deep inside me all the time. Still workin’ on them:
The fruit of the Spirit
Are you seeing lots of the good fruit coming out from deep inside your inner self? It inevitably shows in your living.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit
[the result of His presence within us]
is love
[unselfish concern for others],
joy,
[inner] peace,
patience
[not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting],
kindness,
goodness,
faithfulness,
gentleness,
self-control.
Against such things there is no law.
Source: Streaming from my soul
What is your soul streaming today? Got joy?
FOR MORE:
Psalm 95:1
O come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord;
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
My wild and crazy stallion heart
1 Thessalonians 5:19 …His Holy Spirit – crushed by my sin
Psalm 51 type repentance and salvation… there is no other type that saves
Entrance Granted Into the Eternal
The non-stop work of God inside you and me
Being 100% given-over to Jesus
Being faithful, little by little
Is Jesus’ worldview your worldview?
When I find myself in times of trouble, I turn to Jesus
Footnotes
- John
8:44 Amplified Bible (AMP) 4You are of your father the devil, and it is your will to practice the desires [which are characteristic] of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar and the father of lies and half-truths. -
Romans 6: Verses 1-4:
What shall we say [to all this]? Should we continue in sin and practice sin as a habit so that [God’s gift of] grace may increase and overflow? 2 Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to
live in it any longer? 3 Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways]….Romans 6: Verses 12-14:
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts and passions. 13 Do not go on offering members of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness. But offer yourselves to God [in a decisive act] as those alive [raised] from the dead [to a new life], and your members [all of your abilities—sanctified, set apart] as instruments of righteousness [yielded] to God. 14 For sin will no longer be a master over you, since you are not under Law [as slaves], but under [unmerited] grace [as recipients of God’s favor and mercy].
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