"Father, I am coming to You now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of My joy within them." (John 17:13)

If there is anything that ought to characterize our lives as Christians, it is JOY! Jesus spoke many times to His disciples about His joy being complete and full in them. His disciples were filled with joy as they realized who they were: children of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17). With such a marvelous salvation experience with Jesus, how could the disciples be anything less than joyful??

Yet there are lots of crabby, inward-focusing believers! How can that be? I guess it's because some folks deny themselves their birthright as children of God. Oddly, they are satisfied with less than joyful lives.

There ought to be in every Christian a deep, settled fullness of the joy of Christ that no circumstance on earth can dispel. This feeling comes to us as we allow the Holy Spirit to be expressed through our living. One of the fruits of the Spirit is JOY (Galatians 5:22)! This joy is unlike any happiness that is produced by the world. THIS JOY fills each of us and permeates everything that we do.

Our late brother in Christ, Roy Orr, used to share with me his profound joy that he had an everlasting bond with God through His Son, Jesus. Even when Roy was in his very last days on earth, he smiled and encouraged his nurses. He spoke with a lightness and trust in his voice. He welcomed the reading of God's comforting Word and relied on those promises that were sealed in a rich bonding with his Father. He radiated true joy in knowing that he was a member of God's eternal family.

Jesus did not pray that we would merely be happy or even that we would escape grief. He prayed that we would have the SAME JOY that our heavenly Father had given to Him: a divine joy, a joy that comes from a deep and unwavering relationship with God that none of life's events can ever shake.

Joy is a decision based on the depth of our belief. Jesus is praying that His joy will be in each of us today, tomorrow, and forever. This is the day that the Lord has made.let's re-JOY-ce and be glad in it!

~Pastor Linda