Monday May 21,
John 16:17-24
"Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy" (John 16:22b)
Written by Derl G. Keeper
(District Superintendent,
Wisconsin District Church
of the Nazarene)
Charles Swindoll entitled one of the devotionals in is book, Seasons of Life, "The Winsome Witness." He suggested that the following fraternity of the sour first got started in the crowd of stuffed shirts called the Pharisees. They made life miserable for everyone around them and their cantankerous actions and rigid lifestyle. The Lord's harshest words were reserved for them. Their pickle juice expressions probably sickened Jesus.
John 16:22b gives us insight into Jesus. He understood grief, concern, and worry, but in the middle of it all, he also wanted joy to trump the downers. His33 years of life and 3 years of public ministry reveal Jesus with abundance of joy. He was the author of experiential joy along with the Father and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said,"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (Jhon15:11). With inner presence of Christ, we should be able to have a hearty laugh, a fun filled life,total transparency, plain honesty, mixing in playful humor and amusement. Purposely plan to start today with a happy thought, a smile, laughing out loud, and encouraging someone. Join the joyful fraternity of happy people!
Joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of Christ (William Vander Hoven).
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