Choose Joy Hebrews 1:9 Romans 15:13 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Nehemiah 8:10 B Psalms 30:5 08.13.14

CHOOSE JOY

BREAD

⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

Hebrews 1:9 (NIV)

¹³ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13 (NIV)

¹⁶ Be joyful always;

1 Thessalonians 5:16 (NIV)

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10B (NIV)

⁵ For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalms 30:5 (NIV)

BUTTER

“We all know the value of joy.  It alone is the proof that what we have really satisfies the heart.  Just this makes gladness such a mighty element in the Christian character:  there is no proof of the reality of God’s love and the blessing He bestows, which men so soon feel the force of, as when the joy of God overcomes all the trials of life.  And for the Christian’s own welfare, joy is no less indispensable:  the joy of the Lord is his strength; confidence, and courage, and patience finds their inspiration in joy.  With a heart full of joy no work can weary, and no burden can depress; God Himself is strength and song.”   Andrew Murray

    

“I realize that I am not used to the image of God throwing a party. It seems to contradict the solemnity and seriousness I have always attached to God. But when I think about the ways in which Jesus describes God’s Kingdom, a joyful banquet is often at its center…This invitation to a meal is an invitation to intimacy with God…Celebration belongs to God’s Kingdom. God not only offers forgiveness, reconciliation, and healing, but wants to lift up these gifts as a source of joy for all who witness them.”  Henri Nouwen

“Joys are always on their way to us.  They are always traveling to us through the darkness of the night. There is never a night when they are not coming.”   Amy Carmichael

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”   Mother Teresa

HEART SAVOR

• ·       In Jesus, I am anointed with the “oil of joy” through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• ·       God desires for me to be joyful.  Jesus was loving, winsome and wooing when He walked on this earth.  Why would anyone else choose to follow Christ if they see in me such a run of the mill, joyless and lifeless life?  “Amy Carmichael felt that the world had far too many run-of-the-mill Christians, cool, respectable, satisfied with the usual, the mediocre.  Why bother to lay down one’s life to multiply the number of those?”   Elisabeth Elliot
• ·       Jesus really satisfies my heart and I want others to know it.