Friday's Five - Joy

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness. - John Keats

I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for joy. - C. S. Lewis

The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again. - Charles Dickens

Be good, keep your feet dry, your eyes open, your heart at peace and your soul in the joy of Christ. - Thomas Merton

A laugh, to be joyous, must flow from a joyous heart, for without kindness, there can be no true joy. - Thomas Carlyle

Joy

Joy is a sweet savour

Like

A gaze of love melts a cold forlorn night

A golden delight springs a fountain of honour

A whisper of praise delights an altar of time

A drop of oil breaks an alabaster frown

A silver coin brings a path of comfort

A heart’s melody gives glory and praise

Joy is a satisfied heart

Joy is an overflowing fountain

Joy is glory received

Joy is poured out grace.

Grace Gems - Joy of the Lord

Many believers wait until their emotions feel like praising the Lord before they enter in to worship. They think it's hypocritical to act like they are rejoicing in the Lord if they don't "feel" it. But our spirits are always rejoicing in the Lord. It's actually hypocritical to go by our feelings and not magnify the Lord with our souls when our born again spirits are already rejoicing.

Our born again spirits are always in tune with the Lord and walking in the joy of the Lord. Our flesh is often dominated by what it sees and feels.

Sometimes it doesn't feel like praising the Lord, but the choice rests with our souls. If we choose to praise the Lord, our emotions will follow.

The decision is yours (Dt. 30:19).

Today, choose to walk in the joy of the Lord.

Andrew Wommack

Grace Gems - Joy

Here is the secret source of my joy: I simply realized that I have been crucified with Christ! Nothing strange or elusive about it whatsoever! Everything that separated me from God was abolished once and for all. No matter what I’m feeling at the moment about myself or my circumstances, this single truth trumps it all. When I wake up everyday, I just know that my old depressed self went into the grave with Jesus. It is difficult for a dead man to be worried about his bank statement or a bad doctor’s report. No circumstance can dictate my emotional state. The gospel tells me that my old critically religious self no longer exists! If I’m feeling bored with my Christian walk, the message of the gospel quickly snaps me out of that lie! My old boring self is dead. The new me is intoxicated on the wine of the new covenant. I can “reckon myself dead” with Christ … simply realize that I do not own those negative feelings any longer.

John Crowder

God Demands Joy

God demands joy

Demands that we be fat

On the things that he is fat on

Delight in him

Pleasure in him

Feast in him

Drink him in

Soak him in

Bathe him in

Be drenched in a deluge of his love

Drowned in the overflow of his grace.