It’s an exciting life when you’ve accepted Christ for salvation. We still face many things that can make us feel fearful, anxious, or even hinder our joy in Christ. Bills pile up, our sons march off to war, and the weatherman predicts violent storms. These things can steal our joy in the Lord. When life becomes too much to handle, that’s when we need to take a good look at our blessings that only come from God.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world: but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).
Take a few moments and let that verse fill your mind and heart. God Almighty loves you. He has loved you since before you were even born. We’re talking about the Creator of the universe who loves you. God the Father sent His only begotten Son to shed His blood, just so you can live eternally with Him. The Son came willingly knowing that He would be mocked, beaten, and crucified. All because you are that important to Him. That fact should fill you with unbounded joy.
The only way to live with Him forever is to put your faith in Him. There’s no other way. Why do so many people choose to reject His love? We hear it all the time. “I can’t love a god who sends people to Hell?” God doesn’t send anybody to Hell; we make our own choice as to where we spend eternity.
Go back and re-read the above verses. It takes faith. Not faith in a false god, or the teachings of a cult, not even faith in yourself. You must be born again; you must have a spiritual rebirth. Recognize that you are a sinner and only faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ can take your sin away.
The body is a temporary place where your soul resides, but your soul is eternal. You will live eternally either with Jesus in Heaven, or with Satan in the burning lake of fire. You must truly believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God…Jesus!
When you make that profession of faith, your life should change. You should no longer desire to follow the lusts of the flesh, but you should desire the things of God. That’s how you find true joy in spite of the pressures of this world. More often than not, the change in your life and attitude will take a while to show in your life. The deeper you study Scripture, the more you will see your own imperfections and begin to live to please God rather than yourself. Don’t get discouraged because that will cause you to return to your old ways. You might have found temporary pleasure in sin, but that will never be as satisfying as the joy you find in Jesus.
There will always be temptations in life, and there’s more than a slight chance that you will slip now and then. That doesn’t mean you’ve lost your salvation. When you truly have repented and asked Jesus to forgive your sin, you are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit…the Godhead. When you truly understand that the Holy Spirit resides in you, your attitude will change. It will humble you.
Pride will cause you to think you don’t sin. Then you will become smug and “holier than thou.” The Holy Spirit living in you will draw you nearer to Jesus, and sin will no longer win the battle. While we live on this side of Heaven, we will always wrestle with our sin nature.
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).
If you continue to embrace the sin you claim you were forgiven of, then His word isn’t in you. Your lifestyle should reflect your life in Christ. He will always forgive you if you truly repent. What a blessing it is to know Jesus! What a joy!
Another thing you need to let sink in is that the Holy Spirit lives in you. You might have read in mythology that the gods live on Mount Olympus or some other faraway place of fiction. Satan always tries to deceive us. Scripture tells us God’s truth. The Father and Son are in Heaven, but the Holy Spirit indwells Christians. When we first truly believe, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, and He will guide us. No matter what we do, He’s right there watching and feeling joy when we obey God, and grief when we choose to sin. He feels our hurt when we lie, or gossip, or worse.
“Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderheated, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:25-32).
The best way to have joy in the Lord is to live your life to honor Him. Jesus loves you. He died for you. That should bring great joy to every Christian.
Nobody said it would be an easy walk when you walk with Jesus. There will always be temptations and always another person who will get under your skin. Believe me, I struggle to keep loving thoughts when I’m around certain people. Remember, Jesus died for your adversaries just as He died for you. If you come into contact with someone who really riles you, pray. Pray for God to keep your thoughts pure, and pray for the other person. Then, instead of acting angrily towards them, do kindness. That will really throw them off!
You cannot be a soul-winner if you spew anger to the very people you need to share the Gospel with. There’s no greater example of kindness and love than when Jesus was hanging on the cross and looking down at the people mocking Him, and seeing the soldiers who had driven the nails into His hands and feet as they divided His clothing. Do you recall His prayer?
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).
Jesus could have called upon angels to take Him off the cross and wreak havoc upon those who had done such evil to Him, but He chose love and forgiveness. Can we be so forgiving of those who have done far less evil to us? You will feel more joy when you choose to forgive.
Peace and joy come from walking with Jesus, but we also have hope. Not the type of hope that you have when you want things to go a certain way, but the kind of hope that comes from knowing that no matter what happens, everything will be alright. Most people see death as a loss and something to be feared. Christians know that, for us, death in this world means stepping into life in eternity with Jesus.
“For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
That will be a glorious event. We have another hope, and that is the Rapture. The time is coming when God’s wrath will be poured out. Judgment is coming quickly. Things are being put in place for a one-world leader, a one-world religion, and a one-world economy. Scripture tells us this will happen, and it will be a time like no other time in history. Evil will reign, and demonic entities will be unleashed. You don’t want to be here to see those horrors.
The blessed hope that Christians have is that when the seven-year tribulation is happening on Earth and everyone who has rejected Christ is facing judgments, Christians will have been taken Home away from God’s wrath. This isn’t a false hope, but a blessed promise from God.
If you watch the world news, you know there are troubling things happening throughout the world, not the least of which is the war in the Middle East. Remember, Biblical prophecy focuses on Israel, not America, France, England, or any other nation. If you watch that war with an eye to Bible prophecy, you’ll know this war is mentioned. Which war is it? I really don’t think we can be certain until it’s over and we have the benefit of hindsight. Some say it’s Ezekiel 38, some say it’s Zechariah 14, others say Jeremiah 49. In my opinion, it looks more like what’s described in Jeremiah 49, but I won’t say that for sure.
Whichever war it is, you don’t have to be afraid. God didn’t want us to be afraid when the signs of the end of time begin to happen. That’s why He gave us prophecy. It comforts me to know that God saw this happening and told us about it. Remember, God has not turned His back on Israel. He chose that nation centuries ago when He called Abram away from his pagan life and gave him the land we now know as Israel. That gift and the promises to Abraham are forever, and the Jewish people are still His chosen people.
The war looks bad right now, but God is still protecting Israel. Prophecy will be fulfilled just as God foretold. One day, the Jewish people will know the joy that comes from knowing Christ. It will be a struggle, but at the end of the Tribulation, they will look to their Messiah and know that He is Jesus. At that time, He will finish the war they face and will be victorious. Then they will find the joy that comes from knowing Jesus. Christians have that joy now.
If you haven’t found joy in Jesus, but you claim to be a Christian, the problem isn’t with Jesus. Living in this fallen world comes with many struggles. Are you studying Scripture and living to honor Him? If you are looking for joy, don’t follow the ways of the world. Knowing that Jesus is your Lord and will never leave nor forsake you will bring joy. Don’t allow the world to steal your joy.
God bless you all,
Nathele Graham
Recommended prophecy sites:
www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com
All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.
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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” Psalm 122:6.
This world is a crazy place to live anymore, and I hope we go Home soon. I know it’s getting close.