Finish Your Course with Joy

I'm amazed at Paul's words in Acts 20.24. He understood that due to the course he was on, "bonds and afflictions" (vs. 23) awaited him. Having experienced bonds and afflictions before, he fully understood what this meant. And yet he says here: "None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy...to testify of the gospel of the grace of God" (KJV).

For Paul the very thing that caused him bonds and afflictions was what would allow him to finish his course with joy. We understand from this that joy then, must come despite bonds and afflictions. This is supernatural joy; this is the joy of the Holy Spirit.

What are we to make of this? I understand it to mean that we ought to finish well by continuing to do what God has called us to do; to minister as he directs; to walk before him faithfully; to do what he calls us to do, and for all of us to testify of the gospel of the grace of God to whomever will listen.

The Ransomed of the Lord

Isaiah 35.10 is one of my favorite verses. "The ransomed of the Lord shall return." That's me! That's you! (if your sins have been paid by Christ at the cross). We shall return to Zion, to God's place with great joy and with everlasting songs. There is no boredom in heaven. None. Zilch. Nada. There is also no sorrow and sighing. Those are gone, replace by joy and songs.

Splendor, Majesty, Strength, and Joy

All four are characteristics of our God as David points out in 1 Chr 16.27. I especially like strength and joy juxtaposed together because we do not normally associate the two. Strong people are not normally marked with joy, and joyful people are not normally renowned for their strength. Our God is both.

Sacrifices of Thanksgiving and Songs of Joy

Psalm 107.22, this morning, in which the psalmist says to let God's people offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and tell of his deeds in songs of joy. The Hebrew says, Let them sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving. I take this to mean, not that it is a a sacrifice to offer thanksgiving as we understand it, but that, in the same manner that they offer up other types of sacrifices to God, let them also offer up thanksgiving to God.

The Hebrew verb used in tell of his deeds ‏וְ ספר in songs of joy means to count or recount or relate, so I like to think the psalmist was telling us to list off God's deeds as we offer up songs of joy to him.

Exultation, Jubilance, Gladness

Three characteristics of those whose hope is in God from Ps 68.3.

Getting Serious About Joy

My buddy and I are reading through a book on the spiritual disciplines for our accountability meetings. We just read a chapter on joy. In the course of thinking through the chapter, I've decided that I need to get serious about joy, that is, I need to pursue it with purpose.

The older I get, the more clearly I see that it is joy that separates the believer from those who do not follow Christ. Joy should bubble out of the nooks and crannies of our lives like an underground spring that keeps discovering new and unusual ways to reach the surface of the earth. Where do we go to learn joy? The writer of our book suggests a "joy mentor," someone you think of who stands out for their joy. Little kids are another good place to become suffused in joy which knows no boundaries. Certainly, the more we study and delight in the works of God the creator, the more joy we will have in all that he is and does.

My Grandson and Delighting in All God Has Made

We went over to my son's house last night to celebrate our grandson's second birthday. He is a great kid. I'm convinced that God gives us grandkids as a reward for enduring as parents. At any rate, he's at the age where he knows what is going on. He'd had some M&M's so he was already bouncing off the walls, literally running from one end of the house to the other because he could not contain his excitement, not so much at the prospect of presents, but just because there were a bunch of people there and he was, well, excited!

He dug into his cake with his hands—searching for M&M's—and then zestfully opened his many presents. As I watched him I got the sense that what God wants us to learn from excited little grandkids is radical and unflinching joy in all that God has made. No effort is required, one just lives in the moment of effervescent exuberance because everything is new and fresh and people are so fun.

God grant me to see life through the eyes of a two year old kid!