Daily Devotions

John 17:13 -17 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

There are almost 200 references to joy in the Bible beginning in Deut. In the Old Testament and ending in Jude in the New Testament. One of the things Jesus prayed for concerning the Christian was that we be filled with joy. (Verse 13) Yet joy is something that is missing from many lives today, even Christians seem to lack the true joy of the Lord. What is the problem? The problem is that we often allow the circumstances of life to control our joy just as they do our happiness. Happiness is wrapped up in events, conditions, and circumstances. I am happy that my team won, but they may not next week and happiness changes. I am happy that I am healthy, but that may change tomorrow. But joy is something different. Joy, true Christian joy is wrapped up in a person and not events, conditions, or circumstances. True Christian joy is wrapped up in Jesus Christ. What then controls our joy is our relationship to Him. Think for a moment Christian about this, about your relationship to Jesus Christ. Did you know that the more you obey Him the more joy you will have? Did you know that the more that you serve Him the more joy you will have? Did you know that the more you know about Him the more joy you will have? Our joy is wrapped up in a person, in the Lord Jesus Christ. With so many shallow Christians today it is no wonder that there is a shallow joy.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 23rd, 2012 at 5:36 am and is filed under Daily Devotions. You can skip to the end and leave a response.