Can't Stop Joy

A cool thing happened the other day. I went to a meeting that my friends lead with teens. They have a ministry called Sons and Daughters of Destiny. On Saturday they had "Jesus Night"—a night set aside to encounter God.

We were singing and praying when one of the teens told me he felt like he was supposed to pray for me. He said, "God wants to give you joy." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA (that's what I said.) I just laughed. It's the truth, ain't it? Then he said, "The joy of the Lord is your strength," several times. Wow! God is so good to remind me of His promise of joy. As far as I know, he didn't know that I had been study "joy." And how I needed joy. Last week at work was very stressful with the possible government shutdown, looming layoffs, disagreements, misunderstandings, and more. I don't know how I would have made it without the joy of the Lord. I know I couldn't have done it.

The 30 days of joy may be over, but you don't have to stop planting seeds of joy. I had to remember that myself. There was one morning during the 30 days that I was jolted from my sleep by the thought that I hadn't read my joy scriptures the day before. Then I relaxed when I realized that even though I didn't read them, I had listened to them.

I had recorded myself reading the scriptures. It's on the iPod and iPad. I listen to it in the car. It's on the computer. But I still have to read it, too. I read and hear so much garbage throughout the day, that I have to get the Word anyway I can. When I say "garbage" I don't mean bad or profane stuff, necessarily. Listening to the news too much can be garbage, especially when it's bad news and finger pointing.

I have to be careful that joy killers like political propaganda and talk of economic failure do not attach themselves to my heart to produce weeds. I'm expecting the harvest. I feel like so far I'm only seeing the little sprouts of joy. I want the whole crop of joy.

Father, I pray that my family, friends, and I will continue to sow seeds of joy into our lives. And that we will water the seeds with our thanks to You. I pray that you will shine Your light on the seeds that we have planted so that they will grow into a beautiful harvest of joy in our lives. Bless us to open our hearts to receive the joy that is promised in scripture—joy inexpressible and full of glory (I Peter 1:8). Thank You for the results. Thank You for changed lives. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen—so be it.

God's Exchange Policy -- Isaiah 61:1-3, 7

Last week I had an unpleasant experience of exchanging a product that did not work. I had to return it to a members-only store. Well, they don't exchange products; they give refunds on their "cash cards." I had bought the item with a coupon that had expired a few days after the purchase. So I was refunded the regular price. I explained that I had used a coupon and the cashier made the correction. Then I had to go to the other side of the store, find a new product, and check out again while explaining that the cash card was for a lesser amount because of the coupon, but I wanted that sale price again.

Here's the problem: In between the time of that purchase and my return, my membership card had expired. I did not want to renew my membership that day; I just wanted to exchange a faulty product. But they don't make exchanges so this was going to be a new purchase. I could not use the gift card without my membership card. (That's not what it says on the store website.) They brought a manager into the situation. We finally worked it out and I said thank you and was leaving. But before I left he made it quite clear that they don't usually do what he had done for me and they would NOT do it again.

If only he would have stopped before that last sentence. So basically he was doing me a favor by giving me a replacement that hopefully worked. I drew a deep breath and made my exit. I kept thinking about joy.

"I am not going to get upset. I am not going to let that man steal my joy. Oh, like he did me a favor. I'm not sure if I'm going to renew my membership there. He's got a lot of nerve. Calm down, Denise; it's no big deal. Relax."

God's exchange is such a contrast:

FOR OUR	GOD GIVES
Poverty	Good news (He has the solution)
Broken hearts	Healing
Captivity	Liberty
Spiritual incarceration	Open doors to freedom
Mourning	Comfort and consolation
Ashes of self-hate and humiliation	Beauty
Mourning	Oil of joy
Heaviness	Praise
Shame	Double honor
Confusion	Good inheritance and everlasting joy

As read in Isaiah 61:1-3, 7

¹ “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
      Because the LORD has anointed Me
      To preach good tidings to the poor;
      He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
      To proclaim liberty to the captives,
      And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

 ² To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
      And the day of vengeance of our God;
      To comfort all who mourn,
 ³ To console those who mourn in Zion,
      To give them beauty for ashes,
      The oil of joy for mourning,
      The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
      That they may be called trees of righteousness,
      The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

 ⁷  Instead of your shame you shall have double honor,
      And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion.
      Therefore in their land they shall possess double;
      Everlasting joy shall be theirs.

Through Jesus, God exchanges all of our faults and defects without the attitude. To become a member, all you have to do is trust Him with your life. It is well worth it. He paid the price. Amen!

Who He Is; Who I Am -- Psalm 43:3-5 & Psalm 71:23

³Send out Your light and Your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to Your holy mountain, to the place where You live. ⁴ There I will go to the altar of God, to God--the source of all my joy. I will praise You with my harp, O God, my God! ⁵ Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! Psalm 43:3-5 NIV

So who is He? I can agree with the psalmist; God is the source of all my joy. People and stuff may make me happy for a minute, but no one else can give me joy. I'm thankful that His Word—His light and His truth—lead me to Him. When I lose my way or I am forgetful i.e., when my priorities are off, His light and truth bring me back to reality.

I like how David the psalmist asks himself questions: "Why am I discouraged? Why so sad?" I can relate to David. I ask myself questions and give myself good advice. David wrote this psalm apparently during a time of war. Verse 2 says: Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? I can imagine him asking himself, "Why am I tripping because of the haters around me?" Then he prays, "Send out Your light and Your truth."  He says I will go to God the source of my joy. In verse 5 he reminds himself that it won't always be like that. He's going to hope in God and praise God.

Sometimes you have to talk to yourself. Sometimes you have to remind yourself where joy comes from. It cannot depend on the situation. I can't depend on people for joy. What happens when they have bad days? But I know something that will not change: God is the source of my joy. He is my Savior and My God.

Who I am

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You-I, whom You have redeemed. Psalm 71:23 NIV

I can sing and shout because I am confident in who He is and in who I am. Who am I? I, like David am the one that God redeemed. I'm the one that He brought out of darkness, fear, shame, depression, sin, guilt . . . I could go on. That's a reason to sing praise and shout for joy! HALLELUJAH!

Good Bye, Sigh – Isaiah 51:11

I may not be queen, but I am probably a runner-up of the sighers. I sigh by email and instant message. "I just needed to breathe," is my response when my mom questions my exaggerated exhalings (dipped in sarcasm).

Yeah, well my sighs are for dramatic pause. I do it well. I even throw in an eyeroll or two . . .  by email, by IM, and on the phone.

But sometimes people's sighs are more meaningful than mine. A sigh can be a moan of a soul looking for relief and comfort. It can be an escape valve to release the pressure. A sigh can be the groan of a heavy heart.

God gives His people hope in Isaiah 51:11. They had done wrong and ended up in hard place – captured by enemies. A loving God reminds them of who He is and what He has already done. Then He brings it home in this verse letting them know that they will be set free from captivity, filled with joy, and delivered from sadness.

     So the ransomed of the LORD shall return,

      And come to Zion with singing,

      With everlasting joy on their heads.

      They shall obtain joy and gladness;

      Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 51:11 NKJV

God reveals His heart about what He wants for His people.  You've gotta love it. I may not wear a tiara for being a sigh runner-up (insert eyeroll here), but I can be crowned with joy. God gives joy and gladness. What an awesome promise from an awesome God. And when that dynamic duo comes, we have to serve sorrow and sighing their papers . . . as in you don't have to go home but you've got to get the heck up out of here. I don't know, I picture sorrow and sighing picking up their robes so they won't drag the ground as they quickly put a distance between me and them. I'm okay with that. Sayonara. (insert sigh of relief here). 

Plow Now!

Are you committed yet to having more joy in your life? If you want the fruit of joy, plant the seeds of joy. But remember before you plant, you have to prepare the soil.

The seed is the Word of God. The sower sows the word. Mark 4:14

The soil is your heart.    Plow up the hard ground of your hearts … Hosea 10:12b NLT

You plant the seeds the seeds of joy by saying the Words about joy. A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. Proverbs 18:20

Today is the first day of spring. It's a good day to begin your garden. Starting by plowing the ground and removing rocks and obstacles. As I was planning the journey of joy and considering not following through with my plans, a scripture kept rolling around my head:

If you are too lazy to plow in the right season, you will have no food at the harvest. Proverbs 20:4 NLT 2004

I knew that this was the Spirit of God reminding me not to procrastinate. If we wait until June, it may be too late. And remember how I literally saw a sign to get me started on my journey? The bumper sticker said, "Don't postpone joy."

How funny, I just realized that I saw a sign. :-) I didn't even ask for one.

Let's get this party garden started. PLOW NOW!

From a previous post, Till Until -- Grab a Plow! Part 2:

So how do I till the soil/my heart?

Repentance – turning away from everything that is not like God.

Forgiveness – forgiving offenses quickly and not holding grudges.

Humility – realizing that God is in control and I'm not.

Gratefulness – giving thanks instead of complaining.

Trust – leaning on God and not myself. 

Don't postpone joy. You deserve all the good that God has for you.

Commandments = Joy? Psalm 19:8

Some people just have a different perspective. When I read Psalm 19:8 NLT

The commandments of the LORD are right,
      bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are clear,
      giving insight for living.

I have to wonder what the psalmist was thinking. When I hear the word "commandment," I think Ten Commandments. When I think of the Ten Commandments, I often think of the movie with Charlton Heston and Yule Brenner. Oy! It's not one of my favorite movies, to say the least. But I think about a bunch of "thou shalt nots."

How do words that start with "thou shalt not" bring joy to the heart? It's all of matter of perspective. If you look at it in the sense that someone is telling what you cannot do, it's no fun at all. But if you read the Word of God like a promise, it does bring joy.

Because I know that God is working in me, I can read the Ten Commandments in a different way.

Instead of:	I can say:
'You shall have no other gods before Me.'	I shall have no other gods before You
'You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.'	I will not make for myself a carved image.
'You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.'	I shall not take the name of the LORD my God in vain.
'Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.	I remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
'Honor your father and your mother.'	I honor my father and my mother.
'You shall not murder.'	I shall not murder.
'You shall not commit adultery.'	I shall not commit adultery.
'You shall not steal.'	I shall not steal.
'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.'	I shall not bear false witness again my neighbor.
'You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's	I shall not covet my neighbor's stuff.

This brings joy to my heart. I know that I am not above breaking any of the commandments, but I have joy knowing that I don't have to and I have God in me to help me.  And I have joy knowing that this is the right way to live. So when God says, "you shall not," I agree with Him and say, "You're right, I shall not. I don't have to. Thanks for helping me not to. "

And BTW, thanks for joy.

Good Morning, Joy -- Psalm 30:4-5

Throughout life we go through seasons. In a couple of days it will be the first day of spring. But we also go through seasons of emotions. There are times when we are more contemplative than others. When we anticipate something new on the horizon, we have a season of excitement. We may have a season of grief after a tragic event. But these are seasons. They come and they go.

In the book of Psalms, the writer says

 ⁴ Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His,
         And give thanks at the remembrance of His

         holy name.
 ⁵ For His anger is but for a moment,
         His favor is for life;
         Weeping may endure for a night,
         But joy comes in the morning.

                                            Psalm 30:4-5 NKJV

The psalmist reminds the people to offer thanks to God. Why? Because some things do not last for ever. Back in the day, the people were so disobedient that God would allow them to get into sticky situations. But the psalmist knew that God's anger was only temporary and that His grace is forever. The psalmist also  recognized that grief, weeping, and sadness are also as temporary as the night. Why? Because a season of joy is coming. Just as morning follows night, joy follows weeping. Just as favor is for a lifetime, joy can be forever. Or as Isaiah 61:7 calls it, "everlasting joy."

I pray that you recognize that the tough times, the sadness, the grief, the despair, and the sorrow pass away just like the night. Know that joy is coming. I pray that you will meet the new day by saying, "good morning, joy."

Joy to the Max -- Psalm 16:11

      You have made known to me the path of life;
      you will fill me with joy in your presence,
      with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11 NIV

Wow! What a promise: joy in His presence. Not just joy, but filled with joy. "Filled" is joy in every nook and cranny. From the end of every strand of hair to the tip of every toe. Joy to the max! That promise is for "some day." And it comes with  a side of eternal pleasures. This will happen when our lives on this planet are over.

But what about today? Try it and see if it can happen here and now. Get in His presence today and see what happens. We can enter God's presence on earth when we pray in Jesus' name. If we quiet ourselves and pray something like, "God I want to be in Your presence now. Please show me what it's like to know You are with me." Then let Him take it from there.

I pray that you will know what it is like to be in God's presence. I pray that you will prepare your heart so that you can know Him. I pray that you and I will have first-hand experience with Psalm 16:11

This Is What It's All About -- Romans 14:16-18

Waaaaay back in the day – the day of the Old Testament – the people had a lot of dietary laws. There was quite a list of what they could not eat. In the New Testament, Jesus said, "Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.” Matthew 15:11 NKJV.

It was a new day. But there were still people who observed the dietary laws while others did not. Paul the apostle of Jesus Christ wanted people to understand that they shouldn't make a big deal about it. He explained,

The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.  Romans 14:3 NIV

Ok Denise, where are you going with this? What does this have to do with joy? I'm so glad you asked. In later verses Paul goes on to explain  . . .

¹⁵ If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. ¹⁶ Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, ¹⁸ because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

This is what the Kingdom of God is about: righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Some people today still follow dietary laws. I have met Christians who do not eat seafood or catfish because of laws in the Old Testament.

Shrimp, lobster, and crab are some of my favorite foods. But it would be better for me to eat a cracker than offend someone. Why? Because I don't want my "good be spoken of as evil." I could be right, but what does it matter if I offend someone? It is not about rules and regulations. The Kingdom is about joy. This is God's order. This is what is normal in the Kingdom of God.

So that's the reason Romans 14:16-18 is the second verse in the Joy booklet. It's to remind us what the Kingdom of God is about . . . righteousness (being in right relationship with God), peace, and joy.

Joy is our way of life.

Don't Be Surprised by "Anti-Joy"

Is it just me or is anyone else experiencing what I would call "anti-joy"?

I knew this day was coming. I shouldn't be surprised. Yet it still snuck up on me. Before I began this blog, I knew I was going to write about this subject.

In our pursuit to plant, cultivate, and reap joy in our lives there comes a day(s) when everything in life seems to fight against us achieving our goal. Stress, discouragement, depression, misunderstandings, anger, sadness, grief, arguments, disagreements, crankiness, disappointments, and sorrow are a few emotions and events that I would put in the anti-joy category. Maybe you are experiencing one or all of these as of late. Don't be surprised that such things would happen.

Remember Jesus' parable about the sower scattering seeds?

¹⁶And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who, when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy; ¹⁷And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away. Mark 4:16-17 AMP

Why did trouble or persecution come? On account of the word. It's a promise. It's something to be expected no matter what type of soil, no matter the condition of your heart. It's a fact of life.

We can replace the words "trouble or persecution," in that verse with "test."Everyone is familiar with that concept: after you learn something new, you take a test on it. So, on "account of the word" a test will come.  It is a test to see if you believe what you've been reading. It is a test of your faith.

I noticed it over last weekend. I was feeling stressed and as if I had a short fuse. Then I thought, "oh this is to be expected." That helped to me relax.

The Book of James tells us what to do in these situations:

² Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles 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. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:2-3 NLT

"Let it grow."  I like that. You know I'm going to have to start saying that phrase. :-) But here's the deal: consider this is an opportunity for great joy! Well, there's a joy scripture that I did not include in the joy booklet. Now that's going to take a transformed mind to consider a test an opportunity for joy. But then again it's not too much of a stretch. When you studied and were prepared in school, you could tell the teacher "bring it" at test time. You wanted to prove that you learned your lesson, right? So be ready when your test comes. Your reward is that your patience will grow and you will be complete (mature, promotable) and not needing help with every little thing.

As you are pursuing joy, know that anti-joy is going to come on account of the Word. Now you won't be caught off guard.

¹² Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. ¹³ But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV

So, if I may take the liberty to rewrite one of the Shirelles' songs:

Jesus said there'll be days like this,
There'll be days like this Jesus said
(Jesus said, Jesus said)
Jesus said there'll be days like this,
There'll be days like this my Jesus said
(Jesus said, Jesus said)

What Is Joy?

Let's look at joy in context of the other fruit of the Spirit.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23a  NIV

These fruit are not emotions; they are more like qualities or characteristics. Emotions can and do change within seconds depending on the situation. Joy is more than happiness. Happiness is based on what happens. I am happy because ______.  I am not happy because _____. Or I will be happy if _____. But joy is that gladness that is in our hearts no matter what.

When Jesus knew that it was time to die and that He would be leaving His disciples, He explained to them:

Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.  John 16:22 NKJV

That's what we're looking for: having the quality of a life of joy that is not based on a situation. It does not mean that we will laugh all the time, nor does it mean that we'll never feel sadness,  but we will have joy that no one will take from us.  Amen!

Don't Postpone Joy – The Story of Joy part 1

I had been thinking about joy a lot. I kept thinking 2011 is going to be a year of joy. One mid-December morning as I was driving, I stopped behind a car with a plain white bumper sticker that said, "Don't postpone joy."  I thought hmmm, that is talking to me.

The sticker made a good point. Why wait until a certain time to be joyful, why not now? Why say, when I make more money, or when I have a new job, or when I get married or unmarried (God forbid) I will enjoy life. Today is a good day to enjoy life.

When I went back to my hometown on Christmas Eve, I ran into a friend that I had not seen for yeeears. Well, when I returned home to my mom's, a couple of hours later, my lightning fast brain realized  . . . I had run into Joy (the name of the friend). Coincidence? I think not.

My mom had Christmas cards on her coffee table and one of them had a cute "joy" with a peppermint O in the center. I asked it I could have it. I guess it was at this point that I decided I would collect joy. Then Mom said she had an idea for a project called "Joy to the World." But I'm not supposed to tell anyone about it. So ssshhh. ;-) Wow! Mom is talking about joy, too. On the way home from Alton, I stopped at the after Christmas sales and picked up a couple of joy ornaments to add to my collection. Oh, I already had a joy Christmas postcard on my cubicle wall at work. My coworker/friend who likes to put pictures of HER family on MY wall (try to figure that one out) had posted her sons with a joy and love greeting (but we don't care about love right now, focus on joy). Some one at work was walking around giving Christmas cookies and asked if I wanted one, you know which ornament I took. I think I have established the pattern by now. So I removed the other family pictures (that weren't MY family) and made my joy wall with the postcard, plastic-wrapped joy ornament cookie, and joy ornaments. I was trying to create an atmosphere.

I had already begun the practice of wishing family and friends a joy-filled and prosperous new year when I spoke to them on Christmas. I was planning 2011.

 I need some more joy on my wall.

Let Joy Begin

Today is the first day of our 30 days of Joy. It's easy; we're reading the Joy scriptures everyday and allowing the Word to take effect. The word of God is a seed that we're planting in our hearts. In this case we're planting seeds of joy, so we expect a harvest of joy. 

It's like Jesus said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. ²⁸ The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. ²⁹ And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”  Mark 4:26-29 NLT

We may not understand how it happens, but voilà, our lives are filled with joy. Yay joy!

30 Days of Joy

So what is this Joy thing? It is something that was on my heart that I wanted to share with my family and friends. I like to make little scripture books pertaining to certain topics. For example, I have a booklet on prayer and one of healing. All the scriptures in those booklets pertain to that subject.

The subject of "joy" has been on my heart since before Christmas. I certainly can use more joy. In light of this, I have made a shortened version of my usual booklets so that it would be a quick read and it would plant the seeds of joy in the heart of the reader to the end that after reading this booklet daily for 30 days (beginning March 1), we will begin to see a harvest of joy in our lives.

Joy comes in the morning! J