Many Happinesses – Preserving to Find Joy – Purity 1594
Purity 1594 02/28/2025 Purity 1594 Audio Podcast
Purity 1594 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a clear blue sky in the heavens and the colors of autumn among the trees comes to us from yours truly as I captured this simple scene of suburban autumn bliss while at work in the field back on October 18th, 2024.
Well, It’s Friday, Thank God, and even though my “TGIF Joy” is tempered by the fact that I have to work tomorrow, I am happy for those who will really be experiencing Friday today and look forward to the end of the work day all the same because my joy is not dependent upon the days of the week, my joy comes from the Lord and I keep reminding myself of that profound but simple fact no matter what circumstances come my way.
Yesterday is a good example of this. I work outside and yesterday it rained, and I have to admit having to work aloft aerially while it’s raining doesn’t naturally fill one with happiness. In fact, the rainy conditions yesterday really threatened to drive me down into the dumps as I had a job to do, and it put me in the midst of the downpour. I even prayed for the Lord to stop the rain but that prayer wasn’t immediately answered and the weather and the uncertainty about the problems I was diagnosing with my work combined to try to cause me to not only be grieving the weather but also caused me to even question if I knew what I was doing. When your instruments give you results that you don’t expect, you can doubt their readings, question what they are telling you, and even condemn yourself for not trusting in what they are telling you. But God’s spirit in me encouraged me to persist in doing my job and as I worked though my emotions and the situation, I found peace of mind and was able to confirm what my instruments were saying was in fact true. I weathered the storm and was able to move on – and then the rain stopped!
Similarly, when we come to put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can have “storms” of negative circumstances blow into our lives and we can begin to doubt whether or not what God’s word is true, or if we are reading it right, or if its promises are true for us. But if we keep asking God for help and stay the course of following Him, God will be faithful to help us and we will come to know experientially, that God’s word is true after all, His spirit with uphold us and help us to overcome, and eventually the storms will stop.
The Christian is blessed with the truth and with God’s helping presence and when we walk in the Spirit, peace and joy will grow. God doesn’t want us to suffer and when we follow Him, we can find joy and happiness even in the middle of trials. Speaking of happiness, David Jeremiah’s Turning Point devotion for today speaks about that topic today so I am sharing it on the blog today to encourage us. David Jeremiah writes:
“Many Happinesses
Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. – Psalm 86:4, NLT
The founder of a large chain of Chinese supermarkets has introduced “unhappy leave” days for employees. Workers were told, “Everyone has times when they’re not happy, so if you’re not happy, do not come to work.”
We all have days like that, but the Christian’s life should be characterized by as much happiness as possible.
Randy Alcorn wrote, “Until Christ completely cures us and this world, our happiness will be punctuated by times of great sorrow. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be predominately happy in Christ.”
Thomas Brooks said, “God is the author of all true happiness; he is the donor of all true happiness; he is the maintainer of all true happiness; and he is the center of all true happiness.”
Through cultivating our relationship with Jesus, we will know real, personal joy and happiness in our lives. Ask God, “Give me happiness, for I give myself to You.” May He remind you that you can achieve happiness through Him.” – David Jeremiah
Ah, friends, if you would but in good earnest set upon reading of the holy Scriptures, you may find in them so many happinesses as cannot be numbered. –
Thomas Brooks
Amen. While I can acknowledge the fact that life can be extremely difficult and trying at times, Jeremiah’s simple advice holds the key to experiencing joy even in the midst of great suffering and regardless of the negative circumstances that we may face. –
“Through cultivating our relationship with Jesus, we will know real, personal joy and happiness in our lives.”
That’s the truth and I will spend the rest of my days proclaiming it because it was only through much suffering and struggle that I came to know it.
My life was a mess. My emotions were a mess. I don’t know if I was the chief of sinners, but I was definitely one of them. I was a rebel and viewed the world and anything religious with contempt. I saw life as meaningless and selfish pleasures as the only thing worth pursuing. I rejected God and sneered at those who claimed to know Him.
I can understand those who sneer at the idea of reading God’s word or how find it terrifying because that was me.
But God called me out of the darkness in a moment of grace and invited me to follow Him, to know the truth, and to test His ways.
His word and His Spirit answered my questions, led me deeper into His love, and guided me through the fires of tribulation and affliction.
Coming in line with God and accepting His truth and ways is not always “happy happy, joy joy” but when we pray to Him to help us to believe and to do His will, He is faithful to guide us through our objections, doubts, fear, and skepticism to reveal that He is real, He is alive, and all His words are faithful and true and all of His promises and claims are true about us, individually, too.
My latest devotional (33 Days to Eucharistic Glory – By Matthew Kelly) prompts me every day to “Trust. Surrender. Believe. Receive.” and I have to tell you that when you put your faith in Jesus and do these things it won’t be too long before things change.
It might be a struggle for quite some time but if you continue to follow the Lord peace will come and joy isn’t far behind it.
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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. (The Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling By John G. Kruis on Amazon )
This morning’s meditation verse comes from the section on Loving and Serving Others.
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (NIV) Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Today’s verses fall under the fifth point of our counseling reference guide resource’s section on Loving and Serving Others.
5. Paul describes what love really is.
Today’s Bible verses answer the request of that 1984 Foreigner classic – “I want to know what love is”. Well, foreigner and sojourners, love is patient and kind. It doesn’t envy or boast, and it is not proud. Love doesn’t dishonor others, isn’t self-seeking, and is not easily angered, keeping no record of wrongs. And get this love does NOT delight in evil but rejoices in Biblical truth. Love always protects, trusts and hopes in God, and always perseveres.”
Restating these Biblical truths make me feel like Linus in that Peanuts Christmas special. That’s what love is Charlie Brown!
And so, the word of God informs us what love is, with the implication that we are to practice true love with one another.
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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 “Day by Day Along the Way” By Jay E. Adams.
As always, I share this information for educational purposes and encourage you all to purchase Adams’ books for your own private study and to support the late author’s work. This resource is available online for less than $20 at many sites.
Day 93
And when you awaken they will talk to you. – Proverbs 6:22c
How many people have been duped by thinking they would hear a word from God apart from the Scriptures! No such extra-biblical revelation is promised to you. God revealed “all truth” to the apostles (John 16:13). He gave this to them so that they would be able to remember all He did and said, in order that they might write inerrantly in the books of the New Testament. The books of the Old Testament were not complete when this Proverb was written since Christ had not come. But with the final words of the Spirit to the apostles, all Scriptures came to completion, so that now, far more than in the time of Proverbs, the Scriptures speak to us. God’s commands, like those of a good Father, talk to you. As you study Scripture, and your mind becomes filled with God’s commands, your conscience speaks out of that embedded Word. Carry God’s Word with you upon your heart and follow it in your walk daily. God speaks fully in His Word. He gave the apostles all the truth you need.[1]
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[1] Jay E. Adams, Day by Day along the Way (Cordova, TN: Institute for Nouthetic Studies, 2020), 101.
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