Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with song and lyrics from a group of Mennonite singers singing the old hymn… Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee … singing JOYFULLY of the attitude we should have when we come into the presence of our Lord … i.e., joy at knowing that He is our God and He has saved us from ourselves.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 92:4 [NLT] … 4 You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.
… David sings for joy in looking back at what the Lord has done for him.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 92 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… David sings of the joy of knowing his Lord.
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Reference Passage : … Psalm 28:7 [NLT] … 7 The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.
… We capture joy in hearts when we trust in the Lord - no matter what. Reference Passage : …
Psalm 32:1-2 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… King David relates the joy he found when God forgave him of his sins involving Bathsheba and how any believer can find that joy in God’s forgiveness.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 3:16-17 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… [Also Mark 1:11] God, the Father, finds His greatest joy in His Son … and so should we!
Reference Passage : … John 15:10-12 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus makes it clear that we will only find joy when we walk in obedience to His word.
Reference Passage : … James 1:2-3 [NKJV] … 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
… You see, … we can even choose joy when we’re cast into moments of trial.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Allison Kieda, cites King David’s reference to finding joy in our relationship with God (see the Psalms highlighted and referenced below. The ODB author wrote: I’m fast approaching a new season—the “winter” of old age—but I’m not there yet. Even though the years are galloping by and sometimes I’d like to slow them down, I have joy that sustains me. Each day is a new day given me by the Lord. With the psalmist, I can say, “It is good to praise the Lord . . . proclaiming your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night”! (Psalm 92:1–2).
Well the ODB author today may not be in the “winter” of her life; but I am. And I’m here to give witness to what King David proclaimed in his songs, cited above; … that we can only find true joy, especially in the difficult times of life, when we capture the joy that God, the Father, has in His Son (see Matt. 3:16-17 and Mark 1:11). When things are tough in life, it’s only our abiding relationship with Christ (see John 15) and our trust in Him that can inject joy into our lives (even in the milieu of sorrow or pain - see James 1:2-3).
When can you remember a moment like the one in the photo, where you were almost overwhelmed with the joy of friendships? Well, that was likely sparked by the happiness of the circumstances; but our joy is not a feeling. It is a choice; … and it is kindled when we remember and revel in our abiding relationship with Christ.
I will pray that we all choose to bask in the joy that Christ has brought in to our lives as a gift of the Spirit (on your own, see Gal. 5:22-23).
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Lord, Jesus, thank You for the joy of knowing and abiding in You.
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My Prayer Today: Abba Father, … King Jesus, … Precious Spirit … Let me choose joy … even when lift gets trough. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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