 |
 |
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
| >>> | |||||
John 15:10-11 - Dynamics of Joy.John 15:10-11 (NLT) When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!INTRODUCTION When things are going well, we feel elated. When hardships come, we sink into sorrow. But true joy transcends the rolling waves of circumstance. Joy comes from a consistent relationship with Jesus Christ. When our lives are intertwined with his, he will help us walk through adversity without sinking into debilitating lows and manage prosperity without moving into deceptive highs. The joy of living with Jesus Christ daily will keep us levelheaded, no matter how high or low our circumstances. [Life Application SB 2019] COMMENTARY PEARL Christ pointed His disciples to the flowers of the field, growing in rich profusion and glowing in the simple beauty which the heavenly Father had given them, as an expression of His love to man. He said, "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." The beauty and simplicity of these natural flowers far outrival the splendor of Solomon. The most gorgeous attire produced by the skill of art cannot bear comparison with the natural grace and radiant beauty of the flowers of God's creation. Jesus asks, "If God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Matthew 6:28, 30. If God, the divine Artist, gives to the simple flowers that perish in a day their delicate and varied colors, how much greater care will He have for those who are created in His own image? This lesson of Christ's is a rebuke to the anxious thought, the perplexity and doubt, of the faithless heart. The Lord would have all His sons and daughters happy, peaceful, and obedient. Jesus says, "My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." "These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 14:27; 15:11. Happiness that is sought from selfish motives, outside of the path of duty, is ill-balanced, fitful, and transitory; it passes away, and the soul is filled with loneliness and sorrow; but there is joy and satisfaction in the service of God; the Christian is not left to walk in uncertain paths; he is not left to vain regrets and disappointments. If we do not have the pleasures of this life we may still be joyful in looking to the life beyond. But even here Christians may have the joy of communion with Christ; they may have the light of His love, the perpetual comfort of His presence. Every step in life may bring us closer to Jesus, may give us a deeper experience of His love, and may bring us one step nearer to the blessed home of peace. SC123-125 COMMENTARY A Joyful Chain Hands Across America was a 1986 fundraiser which attempted to create a coast-to-coast human chain across the United States to relieve hunger. Millions of Americans joined the effort - including 50 Abraham Lincoln impersonators in Springfield, Illinois; 100 scuba divers spanning the Susquehanna River; President Reagan at the White House; and Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. The event raised million for charities. Jesus told His disciples how to join a different chain. This chain starts with God the Father, connects to Jesus Christ, and is then extended to you: "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you," said Christ (John 15:9). "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love" (v. 10). Loving Christ means abiding in Christ, which means keeping God's law, the commandments. Sin broke the chain between us and God (Isaiah 59:2), but Jesus came to repair that link. This was "the joy that was set before Him" (Hebrews 12:2), to become the Mediator between heaven and earth, to open access to our salvation by "coming in the likeness of men" (Philippians 2:7) and enduring the shame of the cross. By this, Christ could bring fallen man back up to God's heavenly kingdom. If we choose to join hands with Him in the great chain spanning the divine and mortal - if we accept His sacrifice and allow Him to abide in us - Christ promises that we will partake in His joy. His joy of self-sacrifice for the redemption of mankind will become ours; we will have the Father's character of love. Thus will Christ's joy, our joy, "be full," fulfilled in our salvation. Dear Jesus, I choose to join hands with You in the spiritual chain and have Your joy replicated in me to the fullest. [The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts] ILLUSTRATIONS A young mom invited me to meet her at a nearby park. We spent an hour at the playground and then took her two sons for a walk around the lake in the center of the park. At one point, the four-year-old ran ahead of us. We watched as he darted for a dock. His mom yelled for him to stop, but he didn't listen. She sprinted after him, grabbed his hand, and brought him back to where I waited with the baby in the stroller. The woman knelt beside her son and explained his need to obey her. "You're not allowed on the dock without me," she said. "That's a rule you must obey because I want you to be safe." Whether we're talking about a mother's safety rule or Jesus's teachings for life, the truth remains the same: obedience is for our benefit. He never issues commands to burst our joy bubble. His only motivation for telling us how to think and behave is to enable us to experience life to the fullest. Just as he did to Eve in the Garden of Eden, Satan sows seeds of doubt in our minds, hoping to dupe us into disobedience. But let's remember the fallout from Eve's choice, and choose obedience instead. Doing what Jesus says - forgiving our enemies, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in everything, fixing our minds on pure thoughts, and more - brings freedom, peace, and joy - overflowing! by Grace Fox [Mornings With Jesus 2018 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] Two Sundays ago, a little girl - two or three years old - wandered through the sanctuary at the end of the service. She looked lost but happily so. The child gazed up into every passing face, as if hoping to see one she recognized. I stooped to her eye level and asked if she knew where her mommy or daddy was. She said no but smiled. I took her hand. Together, we made our way through the crowded foyer. A woman about my age approached. "Ellie! There you are!" Grandma said the little one was fearlessly "prone to wander." We all smiled with relief and joy. It happened again this past Sunday during the opening worship set. This time, a small boy strolled in mid-service. He peered at all the faces. Again, too young to wander alone, he obviously needed to be reunited with someone. I left my seat and took him by the hand. Soon parents and child joyfully reconnected. I apparently hadn't gotten the lesson the first time. Now, though, I more fully understand what Jesus might have meant when He said His "joy" could be ours. Could it be this - reuniting a wandering, lost child with the Father? It explains how Jesus could talk about joy so close to His upcoming crucifixion. Inexpressible joy overflows in the simple task of reuniting people with the Father, as Jesus spent His whole life - and death - doing. After all, we're all prone to wander. Cynthia Ruchti Faith Step: Watch for ways Jesus might invite you to rise from jour chair to do some small thing to help reconnect a wanderer with His Father. [Mornings With Jesus 2024 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan] PARADOX: YES JOY; YET SUFFERING SOMETIMES AS WELL. God's Gladness The other night at 2:00 a.m. I panicked. A bad flu on top of paralysis had my mind playing weird games. If the Father loves me so much, then why overload my circuits with all this hardship?! I did a split screen in my head; since I couldn't emotionally go to the Father with my panicky feelings, I found myself running to the Son. I realize the Father and the Son are one, but at 2:00 a.m., with the flu, paralysis, and a pounding headache, I seemed to identify best with Jesus who also suffered. The next morning after I felt better, I re-anchored my soul deep into the biblical truth that, yes, the Father is full of love. He is joy and happiness spilling over. He swims in elation. And because the Son is the exact representation of the Father, both persons of the Trinity are driven to share that joy with us (Hebrews 1:3). But God is nobody's water boy. As the solemn king of the universe, he shares his gladness on his own terms. Those terms call for us to suffer, in some measure, as did his beloved Son while on earth. Should we never taste pain when our Savior had to swallow it whole? Jesus is the Man of Sorrows acquainted with grief. How can we say we know him if we don't experience at least some of that grief? We may not understand his reasons, but we are insane to fight him on this issue. He is ecstasy beyond words, and it is worth anything to be his friend - even at 2:00 a.m. with paralysis and a pounding headache. Father God and precious Son, thank you that you invite me into your joy in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. May my afflictions this day draw me deeper into your fellowship, and may I experience all the divine joy I can contain! [Pearls of Great Price by Joni Eareckson Tada] ONE LINER Happiness Come And Goes Joy Comes And Grows [by Randy Roberts] LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY John 15:11 - Dynamics of Joy. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20201017-1033.html https://www.abible.com/devotions/2019/20190718-1043.html John 17:13 - Joy In Jesus. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240607-0842.html 1 John 1:3, 4 - Sharing Jesus With Joy. https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20210302-1118.html Joy from the Holy Spirit: Galatians 5:22, 23 - The Fruit of the Spirit. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2008/20080619-1043.html Joy in God's presence: Psalm 16:11 - Fullness of Joy in God's Presence. http://www.abible.com/devotions/2016/20161026-1855.html LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT https://abible.com/links/ |