.1847737转载请声明出处1正1方1翻1译1网.7550471 2 Corinthians 3 All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
This month we look at the second fruit, Joy. The Oxford University Press Dictionary defines joy as 揳 feeling of great pleasure and happiness.?The New Testament uses three different words that have been translated as joy. All three references imply very active emotional experiences. Joy is a basic human emotion which captures one抯 entire being. It can be experienced as a subjective sense of happiness, pleasure and physical comfort. Joy is always related to a sense of well-being. It is sometimes used as a verb when greeting or departing from someone. It can be an expression that wishes for personal health and happiness. Joy is all consuming. It is a central emotion in times of festivity and celebration. In Jewish festivals, for example The Feast of Tabernacles, the participants were filled with joy. Luke uses the word to describe how people feel when eating, drinking and enjoying themselves in the festive company of friends. He expands this human experience to include joyful experience of God抯 presence. Paul tells us that bringing Christ to the Gentiles is a cause for rejoicing. Even Jesus enjoyed himself during the festivities of the common meal. The Scriptures also speak of Christian joy in public worship. Gratitude in God resulting in exultant rejoicing is a popular Biblical expression. Joy is also offered as an alternative to suffering and the loss of hope. Because joy is so powerful and fulfilling, the Enemy wants to fill your life with antidotes to joy: guilt, anxiety, fear, depression, resentment and helplessness. These emotions are specifically designed by the Enemy to keep you from experiencing joy in your life. As with most emotions that enrich your life, joy is not something you have to learn. All babies are born with joyfulness in their hearts. It is only when the Enemy creeps into our lives as we grow older that joy is then forced out. As you learn and master the tools we teach, you will discover that defeating the Enemy will open up your heart and soul for the return of joy. When the vermin and pests are forced from your garden, you will have the time and temperament to nurture your being. Then you will begin to enjoy the joy that God has made available for you. You will be more able to experience God抯 presence in the joy of your relationships and all of life.
Please visit our web site at http://www.RenewingYourMind.us .1847737转载请声明出处1正1方1翻1译1网.7550471 |