Where can one go to find a devotional that doesn’t exhort one to enjoy and joyful life? Joy, joy, joy . . . joy, joy, joy! Where can one go to find a devotional that teaches one how to do that . . . to enjoy a joyful life? The Abbess can recommend one! Oh, the B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for thee!
“The joy of the Lord is our strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10) We know that. At least, we’ve heard about it! However, there is a progression . . . which is not unusual in Scripture. Here it is:
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed 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 15:10-12)
Let us employ Lectio Divina . . . Divine Reading . . . based upon what we just read. We will break down the main thoughts, and pray about them one by one.
1) Obey the Lord’s commands
2) Thus . . . remaining in His love.
3) His obedience to the Father is our example.
4) These instructions are for our JOY!
5) Our joy is meant to be complete!
6) Here is the Lord’s command . . . Love one another as He has loved us.
The very Word of God, which we may hold in our hands, teaches us how to rejoice and stay joyful! Perhaps each of us will spend a few minutes on a joy check up, not the “just do it,” but the “how it is done” aspect of rejoicing that will take us through this year . . . in strength, and we’re gonna need it!
Where is the photo credit? Is that an old photo of you? And which of your children is that?
ReplyDeleteThat is an old photo of my sister with my first daughter, Christina, now 32!
ReplyDelete