Tag: joy
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When Christ is Important, We Find Joy
What moves you? What makes your heart beat with passion or your eyes light up? It’s worth it, isn’t it? It’s worth the effort. It’s worth the struggle. It’s a joy! Is this Jesus to us?
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Walking in Faith in the Love of God
There’s a song from the 20th century that asks this question: “What’s love got to do with it?” When we think about the things we believe and put our faith in, we usually think about its truth. However, over and over in the Word of God we are told that our faith is placed in…
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Embracing God
What does God care about? How does a person receive eternal life? What must I do to be saved? I find it ironic how often the answer to these three question will contradict each other even when you are asking the same person. For example, a person like me who has been saved through Christ’s…
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The Christian Atheist – A Scary Thought
Today we think about one of the oddest actions in the world. No, it isn’t when people who don’t believe in God act like they don’t believe in Him. It isn’t when people who are iffy about God act like they don’t believe in Him. No, the oddest action to me is when those who…
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The Mystery of Knowing God
Mysteries. They catch my fascination. I love a good who-done-it. They stretch my mind. They capture my imagination. They make me want to solve the puzzle before it is revealed. Have you ever thought of the wonderful mystery of knowing God? I mean, He is there – the King of the universe – and He…
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The Power We Have (encouragement)
This week I am thinking about God’s uncommon faithfulness. He was faithful to Paul when he was heading to Rome. Paul’s relationship with God tells us much about God’s relationship with all of His people. God is faithful. He encourages. He works when we cannot see Him. He cannot be stopped! (See Acts 27-28) This…
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Shadows at Christmas?
I was thinking last week about the dark things that we sometimes miss seeing when we talk about the first Christmas. We overlook that Joseph was about to abandon Mary. We tend to not talk about the babies that were killed by Harod. We gloss over Simeon’s blessing in the temple that includes declaring that…
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The Foundation of Generosity
I am a pastor. This means that I am responsible for shepherding God’s people. It means that I encourage and walk alongside God’s people in all areas of life. I help them with their family life. I help them when discouraged or tempted. It also means I talk about money. 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 7 Each…
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An Unexpected Protection
When I think of my mistakes I have a recurring question: How can I make it right? In my quest to right the wrongs of my own making, I have discovered there is a difference between acknowledging wrongs and constantly living under the crushing weight of guilt. The difference is grace. Here’s a newsflash…
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He is Worth It
There are a couple of ways to measure what we value. The first way to measure what we value is what we are willing to pay or sacrifice to get it. The other way is how does what we value stack up to other similar items. Consider those that love Apple devices. The average iPad…
Pastor John D Jakes 