JESUS SPEAKING
“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 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. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” (John 15: 9 – 11)
FAITHFUL THOUGHTS
According to Jesus, those who abide in His love will also be filled with His joy. This kind of joy is defined as a deep, enduring contentment and inner peace derived from God’s Holy Spirit dwelling within us, rather than from external circumstances. This divine joy is a constant disposition that reveals the presence of God.
As the story goes, many years ago when a missionary named Adoniram Judson returned home on furlough, he passed through the city of Stonington Connecticut. A young boy who was playing nearby was struck by the man’s appearance. He had never seen such a light on any human face. He promptly ran up the street and asked a minister if he knew who the stranger was. The minister hurried back, but became so absorbed in conversation with Judson that he forgot about the impatient youngster standing beside him. Years later, that young boy became a powerful preacher named Henry Clay Trumbull. In a book of memoirs he penned a chapter entitled: “What a Boy Saw in the Face of Adoniram Judson.” From an early age, that man’s joyful countenance had changed his life.
Like Mr. Judson, we too are called to exemplify the joy of Christ in our behaviors and mannerisms. If Christ is alive within us, then His supernatural joy will flow outward from us; and we will experience even greater joy as we build upon our relationship with the Lord. If we love God, His love will be revealed in us.
“Lord Heavenly Father, fill us with Your love. May Your Holy Spirit come alive within our hearts . May we know pure joy and experience the eternal peace that “surpasses all understanding.” We love You Father, we praise You, and we thank You, and we ask and pray all of these things, according to Your will, in Jesus Christ name. Amen.” God bless all of you!
