Dear friends, does Christ want us to be intentional in seeking to become more and more joyful?
I seem to wait for it to happen, and I am wondering if the Scriptures have something to say on this subject. From my study this morning, it seems that Christ wants us to seek out the joy of Christ. Let's look at this together. HOW TO GET MORE JOY "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." - John 15:9-12 Christ seems to be saying that He wants His joy inside of us. If we think about the vast amount of joy that Christ has, that is pretty compelling, don't you think? If this is true, which I believe it is, then there are certain actions that I need to take personally to be more intentional about gaining greater measures of Christ's joy. Here are a few that I came up with. I am sure you can think of more. Actions:
ASK FOR MORE JOY John 16:24: "Until now, you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:24 Actions: ● Ask Christ in our daily times of prayer and meditation for more joy. ● Realize that joy is much deeper than happiness. ● Read Scriptures that encourage us to be joyful, such as those in the next section of this blog. READ SCRIPTURES THAT ENCOURAGE JOY
CONCLUSION The joy of Christ is a divine gift and a disposition to cultivate in one's life. Let us be intentional about pursuing Christ's joy and a disposition to gaining progressively greater amounts of it. This seems to be a good test of my spiritual condition. The more joy I have, the closer to Christ I likely am, and conversely, the less joy I have, the further away. Let us all be more obviously joyful! We want to let our lights shine brightly for the world to see. Yes? If we are obviously joyful, we will attract more potential Christ-followers to explore a relationship with Christ, and those who are Christ-followers, to delve into a deeper relationship with our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Amen. Your aspiring (and joyful) servant, Daniel M. October 10, 2023 POSTSCRIPT: Dear friends, if this daily, transparent "Conversations with Christ" blesses you, please go to www.SOLIDpastors.org, where you will find these posted, and a repository of all, in English and Spanish. Note: All scriptures quoted are from the NIV. If you ever want to chat, you can reach me at [email protected]. May Christ bless you richly as you have your own intimate, daily conversation with Christ. Comments are closed.
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