Abundant Joy Devotion

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

· God is sovereign and He uses all things to refine us

· The key is our nattitude

· Why do we lose sight?

· We must be content with God’s sovereignty

In Francis Chan’s book, Crazy Love, he talks about anxiousness and how this is a form of arrogance on our part. It expresses that we think what we are facing is so important it warrants us stepping out of sync with God to find a solution on our own. But, what do we find in God’s word about staying in step with Him?

Galatians 5:16-17, 22-25

· The Spirit and the flesh are set against one another

· v24 “have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires”

· Walking in the Spirit is not emotioinal

· v25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit”

The fruit of the Spirit is a crop of fruit, therefore they cannot be separated. To live in love is to produce more love, joy produces more joy and so on. The flesh cannot produce fruit because it is ultimately rooted in pride, but the Spirit alone produces fruit because it then brings glory to God. The Greek word for love here is agape (a divine love), a gift from God. When we live in His love, then we experience joy. How do you define joy?

Warren Wiersbe defines joy as “inward peace and sufficiency that is not affected by outward circumstances.” Love and joy together then produce peace, which passes all understanding. Now, with a proper understanding of from where the fruit of the Spirit flows, we can practice the outward flow of the remaining fruit.

We are not given this crop of fruit to display, but rather to invest into the lives of those around us. We have the freedom in Christ to act as an ambassador for Him in every circumstance we find ourselves.

How do we live in the “peace and sufficiency” provided for us?

John 15:4-5

· v5 “apart from Me you can do nothing”

· Living in God’s abundant joy does not equate a life of striving

· Galatians 5:16 “walk by the Spirit”

We cannot get ahead of the Spirit (seen in us trying to figure it all out) or lag behind (seen in us remaining in disappointment or fear). We must keep in step with the Spirit, because this is where we experience the joy needed to produce the fruit God will be pleased with.

Will you yield to the Spirit and walk with Him? What do you need to confess in order that you may have a clean slate to start fresh walking in His peace and sufficiency?

Abundant Joy study

I love the journey. I appreciate the security I feel in Christ, even when the world I’m living in feels a bit shaky. The challenges, the pressures, the roles I have as a woman, the commitments…the list goes on and on. “Where exactly does the idea of joy fit into all of this?” Well, I say, right in the middle.

Not because it is always evident in our circumstances. Not because our lives are easy and blissful all the time. No, not because of us or anything in the world, but because of our amazing God! A loving and merciful God who saved us and made available to us, His everlasting joy. It is accessible, so you and I must choose to live it out each day, amidst our daily lives.

Abundant Joy was written to encourage us all to take time out and really look at what makes up our life. We will spend time evaluating what it is around us that influences us, where we find our priorities leading us and where we find that our life holds the most joy. My personal prayer is that joy is found in your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I pray that the benefits of abiding in Him flow over into all aspects of your life and influence you in a profound way~ A joyful way!

God placed the idea for this book on my heart in November 2007, right before we went on a family vacation for eight days. I can tell you that I definitely battled with Satan on “feeling” joy during parts of the trip. We were tired, out of our routine and even sick with the stomach bug, but of course, God was faithful!

As I write this, we are traveling home in the car for eight hours and my two year old is singing in the back with Miss Pattycake, “When-o, when-o I pwaise God! Haweywujah.” My heart smiles at this precious sound. This is joy to me~ yes, I am tired and longing for my own home. I am also making sure my three year old throws up in the bucket and not all over the car. The journey. I have to choose joy over frustration. God’s way over my own. I am a natural optimist, but with Christ living in us, we can all make the choice to live in God’s abundant joy in whatever circumstances we face. In His joy, I have an inner peace and contentment knowing there is nothing I would rather do today or any other day!

I think about Galatians 5:22-23. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” God’s gift to us when we have a personal relationship with Him, is the Holy Spirit, which means the fruit of the Spirit is available to us at all times. Our relationship with God, gives us the ability to live a life based on love. Following love is the inward focus of joy and when it is in its proper place, the others are produced in us. We often long for the “outward” actions of the fruit of the Spirit, but without love and joy, we are incapable of actually using this gift we have received.

I pray for us all to open our hearts to our awesome God and what He wants to teach us about His everlasting joy! Purpose to grab hold of His joy today and really live! Enjoy this process and continue walking steadfast in His Truth, abiding in Him each step of the way.

Each week our group meets on Fridays for the study and then creative fun of putting together our scrapbooks! I will post the study on Mondays here and a picture of my pages! I hope you will be able to join us in the journey and post a comment if you post your pages on your blog! Enjoy :)

Abide

Last night I was organizing all of our homeschool materials and listening to a John Piper sermon. Have you ever listened to that man teach? It is incredible! I actually listened to this sermon twice last night, because it touched a very deep part in my heart and I have not stopped thinking about it since. So...I thought I would share my notes and thoughts with you, along with the prayer that God will also strike a deep chord in your heart.

John 5:38 "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent."

Nothing can replace the Word of God.

• The words of Jesus take root and bear the fruit of faith and obedience.


• The word is at home in you. (John 8:37)


• You need to move stuff out to make room for His Word


• The Truth sanctifies: Where the word of God is not changing~it is not abiding!

Why does it have this affect?
John 3:34 "For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for He gives the Spirit without measure."

1. Jesus' words are God's words.

• No one speaks God's words as consistently and perfectly as Jesus


• Everytime Jesus spoke...God spoke
  

2. Jesus' words are life-giving.

• John 6:63 "...the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

3. Jesus' words conquer the devil

• Without the word, you have NO defense


• Satan hates family, marriage, truth, goodness, etc.... SO! What do you have to go up against him? God's word is your sword

If you do not have the word at home in you, you will...EVERYTIME...be defeated by the circumstances around you. Without God's word, we have nothing to go to battle, no weapons, no strength, no ammunition. Satan himself knows scripture, but he twists it, so we must KNOW it and let it live at home in our heart.

The number of God's thoughts about our marriages, our children, our jobs, our finances, absolutely everything...is too great to even know them all. Proclaiming the thoughts and words of God is my sword. When difficult times come I need to speak to the goodness of God, because it is more than could be told.

Psalm 40:5 "Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us; there is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count."

I recommend that you take the time (about 50 mins) to listen to his message here

I would love to hear what God speaks to your heart about abiding in Him every moment of every day~