The Fruit and The Vine: COUNT IT ALL A JOY II

“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 14:17 (ESV)

I thought was an interesting story about our 26^th President of America, Theodore Roosevelt…“While hunting buffalo in the Dakota Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt spent two weeks in intense heat and driving rain. He got a deep gash in his forehead when his horse reared up unexpectedly. As he crawled on his belly to get a shot at an animal, he accidentally place his hand on a cactus and received a fistful of spines. That evening he and his guide were rudely awakened by a cold rain that left them lying in four inches of water. Shivering between sodden blankets, the guide heard Roosevelt exclaim, “By Godfrey, but this is fun!”

Not too sure if that would have been me but joy can be found in the strangest places. If we keep this mentality that we only find joy in those things that make us content just because it is our thing to bring us joy, God will turn that upside down in a New York minute if it gets in the way of His will for our lives. As I have searched out joy in God’s Word I have found that even our heavenly Father will use the strangest things for us to find our joy complete in Him, if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit moving in our lives. Here are my last three places to visit while on the pathway…

4. Joy in the Gospel (Philippians 1:3-26) The highest honor I could ever achieve, if I am even allowed to say this, is to be called a servant of Jesus Christ. I am not sure about being called a saint because apart from Christ, the best saints are sinners, unable to stand before God. The things which most honor God will most benefit us and whatever turns to our salvation, is by the Spirit of Christ. Our hope should not be to be honored by men, or to escape the Cross for that matter, but to be upheld amidst temptation, contempt, and affliction. Let’s leave it all to Christ and then He will make us servants to His glory. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21)
   5. Joy in Gods Discipline (Hebrews 12:1-13) Persevering our obedience of faith in Christ is the race set before us, where we could either win the crown of glory, or have everlasting misery for our efforts. However, there seems to be a proneness in us believers to grow weary and to faint under trials and afflictions. Brothers (and sisters) we should not faint under our trials, but at times we do. Maybe we need to learn that the trials and afflictions brought on us by the malice of men are sent as a correction by our wise and gracious Father, for our spiritual good. “It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:7)
5. Joy in Christ’s Rest (Matthew 11:28-30) Time and time again throughout my study in what the Fruits of the Spirit are in my life does this verse pop up. “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” Joy and contentment is to be found while abiding in Him and being in the same yoke that Jesus Himself says is His. It all sounds so constricting yet so liberating because He has promised that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Then why was I afraid to share in the joy? My answer…

“For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” The answer…”Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” AMEN!! – Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy and is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger

Daily Bible Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1-5

Think About This: “I Choose Joy…I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.”—Max Lucado

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ … 1 Peter 1:13