Choosing Joy – Come On, Get Happy – Purity 1480
Purity 1480 10/18/2024 Purity 1480 Audio Podcast
Purity 1480 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Well, It’s Friday, Thank God, and when I took today’s photo last week, I was positively filled with happiness as the work week was done, the fall foliage was popping, and the weather was outstanding causing me to momentarily surmise that October was the best month of the year! And then Sunday came with the cold chill of October rains, and I wasn’t so sure about that “best month of the year” proclamation, after all.
If we choose to base our happiness on the things of this world and the changing circumstances of the atmospheric conditions, we will be on a roller coaster of up and down emotions and feel like we have no control over our moods.
But that’s a big lie! We don’t need blue skies and fresh “peaking” fall foliage to make us happy. To take control of our moods we have to focus on the things of God and come to the realization that how we choose to look at the world and how we choose to think, yes we can control our thoughts, has a big impact on how we feel.
Our conscious contact with God, which is established through faith in Jesus, regular spiritual disciplines, and developing a conversational relationship with the Lord, in itself should give us all we need to have an abiding baseline of joy. Just knowing that God is over and above the circumstances we face can give us peace and cause us to rejoice.
But we have to be intentional and choose it. One of the best examples of drawing on our faith to overcome negative circumstances is in
1 Samuel 30:6 (NKJV) which tells us
6 Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.
While David and his men were away, marauders came in and sacked their camp, taking away everything – including the wives and children. Talk about bad circumstances! But the text tells us that David “strengthened himself in the Lord” and I believe that the Psalmist of Israel – drew upon his knowledge of His God and went to Him in prayer and worship Him and to be prepared for the hard things He would have to do to go on. And only after David connected with God, was strengthened, and put on the proper attire did he ask the Lord if he could “do this”. Could he dare to dream that he could get his people back? And the Lord said Yes! … “Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.” And so He did. Instead of despairing, David chose to strengthen himself in the Lord.
And likewise, we can choose to strengthen ourselves in the Lord and rejoice! We can choose to view life through the lens of our faith, draw close to the Lord, and choose to live in the joy of the Lord.
Today’s Turning Point with Dr. David Jeremiah reminds us that our faith is best expressed when the joy of the Lord manifests itself in our lives through happiness. So I am sharing it on the blog today to inspire all of us to choose happiness. David Jeremiah writes:
“In Our Element
Happy are the people who know the joyful shout; Lord, they walk in the light from your face. – Psalm 89:15, CSB
A. W. Tozer said, “The people of God ought to be the happiest people in all the wide world! People should be coming to us constantly and asking the source of our joy and delight.” Charles Spurgeon felt the same way, writing, “God made human beings as He made His other creatures, to be happy…. They are in their right element when they are happy.”
One day the world will be filled with joy when Christ returns. Isaac Watts wrote, “Joy to the World,” which is actually based on the Millennial passage of Psalm 98 about the Second Coming. But we don’t have to wait for the return of Christ to be happy. He lives in, among, and through us right now by His Spirit. Choose happiness today!
Francis of Assisi said, “Let us leave sadness to the devil and his angels. As for us, what can we be but rejoicing and glad!” And Jonathan Edwards added, “He has created man for this very end, to make him happy in the enjoyment of himself, the Almighty, who was happy from the days of eternity in himself.”” – David Jeremiah
Man is more himself…when joy is the fundamental thing in him.
G. K. Chesterton
Amen.
Happiness is a choice and, for the disciple of Jesus Christ who focuses on their identity in Christ and who regularly practices gratitude, it’s a choice that is easy to make as the truth of our “state of Grace” naturally puts us there… or at least it should.
Even though we may “know” who we are in Christ and count our blessings each day – we must still choose to let the joy of the Lord move through us.
Amazingly, we can take our faith for granted or see it as a burden instead of seeing it as the miraculous gift that it is.
We were SO LOST but now we are FOUND! We were SO ALONE but now GOD is WITH US! Let’s not forget this!
This is the day that the Lord has made, so let us REJOICE and be glad in it.
No problem, circumstance, or condition can separate us from God’s love so let’s CHOOSE to not let anything separate us from the joy of the Lord.
So choose the truth of your blessed condition as your abiding narrative and let’s write another chapter in the book of our lives that continues to tell the story of how God saved us and now lives with us forever.
Come on CHOOSE it – Come on, let’s get happy…
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For those who want more evidence for Christianity than my simple encouragements provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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Today’s Bible verse comes to us from “The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling” By John G. Kruis.
( While Bible verses on various topics of Counseling can be found with a quick Google search, we encourage you to purchase this resource to support the late author’s work. (https://www.amazon.com/Quick-Scripture-Reference-Counseling-Kruis-ebook/dp/B00CIUJZT2?ref_=ast_author_dp )
This morning’s meditation verses come from the section on Forgiving Others
Genesis 50:19-21 (NLT2)
19 But Joseph replied, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, that I can punish you?
20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
21 No don’t be afraid. I will continue to take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them by speaking kindly to them.
Today’s verses are the third of three passages of scripture that fall under the fifteenth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Forgiving Others.
15. Joseph forgave his brothers for selling him into slavery and treated them kindly.
Today’s Bible verses tell how Joseph sought to comfort his brothers and assure them of his intention to care for them even though they had utterly betrayed him.
Joseph had that God perspective because he suffered greatly and even though he was sold into slavery and thrown into prison, His relationship with God upheld him and because of his faith and God’s favor, he prospered everywhere he went.
Joseph saw firsthand how good and faithful God was and when the circumstances changed where his brothers were in desperate need, he didn’t seek his revenge. Instead, he bore witness of God’s goodness and assured his brothers that they had nothing to fear from him for God had taken what they intended for evil and turned it all for good.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.com where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from “According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament” By Stephen F. Olford – A Collection of Devotional Journals: 1940-1941.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Olford’s books for your own private study and to support his work. This resource is available online for less than $10 at many sites.
MORNING READING: REVELATION 1
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am
alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of
Hades and of Death.” – Revelation 1:18
“I am He who lives.” “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). This speaks of His eternity. He is from “everlasting to everlasting” (Ps. 90:2).
“I … was dead.” “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3). This speaks of His atoning work.
“I am alive forevermore.” He now lives in “the power of an endless life” (Heb. 7:16). “Knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him” (Rom. 6:9).
“I have the keys” – of Heaven and of Hell (only He could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in). He holds the issues of men’s lives in His hand. For the Father has handed all judgment over to the Son. He holds the keys – the symbol of power and sovereignty. He holds the keys of every kingdom, problem, and situation.
Thank God, He lives in me.[1]
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Encouragement for the Path of Christian Discipleship
[1] Stephen Olford and Heather Olford, According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament, A Collection of Devotional Journals 1940-1941 (Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 2008).
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