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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Wednesday, May 5, 2021
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Fruits of the Spirit - Joy (Galatians #80) Bible Verse:Galatians 5:22-23 (Daily Prayer Bible) "The Spirit, on the other hand, produces fruit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, fidelity, tolerance and self-control. In this, the Law and the Spirit agree, because the Law does not forbid such things. American Bible 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience under tribulation, kindness, goodness, faith, 23 meekness, self-control; no law is contrary to such things." Message:
In our “granular” study of Galatians, we are going to encounter some terms where the translation of the original Greek is ambiguous; in such cases, Bible translations will usually vary. And if they don’t . . . they should! But the word “joy,” as it describes the second fruit of the Spirit in today’s passage, is universal among translations. The Greek word, charaBy the time of Christ, the ancient root “char-” had developed into two related, but different, words: Chara, meaning “joy”, and charis, with a primary meaning of “grace.” It is charis which was adopted into the Latin as caritas and, ultimately, evolved into the English word “charity.”, is perfectly translated by “joy.”
Paul
St. Paul
Joy is, first of all, an emotion. When we are living in the Spirit, we are settled into an emotional state of immense happiness. Our feeling of rejoicing transcends our transient reactions to events. It never completely dissipates even under the most cruel circumstances life can throw at us.
Whenever I think of joy during adversity, I think of an Episcopal priest whose daughter was a friend of mine. She died in a car crash when she was in her 20s, a lovely, intelligent girl, strong in faith and virtue — the sort of daughter who would make any parent proud. Yet, at her wake, her father did not shed a tear. He did not frown. Rather, he beamed with the joy of Christ, despite the most horrible moment that life can possibly inflict upon us — the death of a beloved child.
Why would this man rejoice at the death of a child? Well, he didn’t. He rejoiced despite the death of his child, for surely it was as painful to him as it would have been to you or I. He was utterly confident that Christ’s love for his daughter would transcend the death of her body. He knew for a fact that she was not in pain and that God was taking care of her.
His joy, in short, overcame his grief. And if we live in the Spirit, our joy will overcome any tragedy Satan can throw at us.
The Dove of the Holy Spirit by Sebastiano Bombelli, ca. 1703.
The Dove of the Holy Spirit
Sebastiano Bombelli, 1703.
I don’t know which is greater: my joy at my own salvation, or my joy in the salvation of someone I love. Salvation is the most wonderful thing we can have; so if we have it, what shall we mourn? It is so marvelous that everything else in life is secondary. Our membership in the holy priesthood of saints outweighs poverty, disease, and death itself. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55)
Thus joy, which is an emotion, transcends emotion. Our joy can and should become a state of existence. If our lives have been saved for all eternity, to dwell with God in the perfect happiness of heaven, what then can make us unhappy? The earth and its power cannot spoil our joy, for the earth is temporary, and Christ, who is eternal, has overcome it. We share in his victory. We have been adopted as sons and daughter of God, inheritors of His kingdom, by the power of the cross.
So this is the true joy of the Spirit: The sense of happiness and well-being that our convicted faith gives us, so powerful that it will transcend any hardship or tragedy.
Meditation : Prayer : Now, oh Lord, I pray that you may lift up the light of your countenance upon me, and give me peace; in my going out and in my coming in; in my sitting down and my rising up; in my work and in my play; in my joy and in my sorrow, in my laughter and in my tears; until that day comes which is without dawn and without dark........Amen |
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