–Kenneth Pratt  (The Wolves of Windsor Ridge)

       “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them…  And there was great joy in that city.”

                    –Acts 8:5,8 (NKJV)
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Another month gone by, or is it another month started?  Hard to believe that it’s already September.  Goodness, the year is whirling by, summer is almost over and fall will soon be upon us.  On this first day of September, I want to focus on joy.  “If you want joy, real joy, wonderful joy, let Jesus come into your heart.” (Joseph D. Carlson)
       Robert Louis Stevenson said, “A happy man or woman is a better thing to find than a five pound note.  He or she is a radiating focus of good will; and their entrance into a room is as though another candle has been lighted.”  Paul exhorts us to “rejoice in the Lord always…” (Philippians 4:4).  Have you known those with whom it is a delight to be in their presence because of the joy that comes from within their being?  Joy, like doom and gloom, is contagious.  It is an attitude that can spread hope to those around in the midst of trying circumstances.
       Joy (Greek–“chara”) — “delight, gladness of heart; cheerfulness; calmy happy.”  Webster says that joy is an “emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, or by the prospect of possessing what one desires; a source or cause of delight.”  We must remember that joy, or the lack of it, is associated with life.  H.E. Fosdick writes, “Joy is the tingling sense of being fully alive, and that cannot come to narrow minds, absorbed by selfish concerns.”  Someone else has said, “Happiness was born a twin.”  I will say here that being happy is not the same as being joyful.  Oh, they can coincide, but a person cannot be happy in sorrow, while a person with genuine joy in their heart can “rejoice.”  Happiness normally takes an event or special circumstance whereas joy is a condition of the heart.
       No matter the situation we need to heed the words of Paul and rejoice.  The Prophet said, “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:18)  The early English Pentecostal writer, Donald Gee says that “Such a joy becomes independent of outward circumstances, and even of inward blessings.  It rejoices in a certain and sure possession of the Blesser.”  We have joy in knowing God.  He is our Father, and we can depend upon Him throughout this journey called life–that should bring joy to our souls.
       We have the joy of salvation–of sins forgiven.  There is a sense of relief from the intolerable burden of sin.  We can exhale a joyous sigh because our sins are gone.  We can be joyful of a spiritual hunger that is now satisfied.  I’ve had a craving for steak, and on Wednesday night I prepared steak for Annie and me for supper.  I was happy looking at the steak, I was enjoying the aroma as I fried it, but when I consumed it, my inward parts were now joyful, the hunger was abated and also the craving was gone.  I sat there with a joyful “aahhh”.  Joy is an inward satisfaction of knowing who God is and what He has done for us.  Truly we have

               “…found the joy no tongue can tell,
               How its waves of glory roll!
               It is like a great o’er-flowing-well,
               Springing up within my soul.

                    It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
                    Full of glory, full of glory;
                    It is joy unspeakable and full of glory,
                    Oh, the half has never yet been told.”
                              –B.E. Warren

                    –2 Corinthians 2:4 (NLT)
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               “O wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”
                           –Romans 7:24-8:2 (NKJV)

Romans, that wonderful book of theology written by Paul.  In it he tells of the condition of the believer.  It is well we remember that the epistles were written to the Church, therefore written to believers.  Unbelievers may gain some knowledge, some moral truths, but they cannot comprehend what Paul is saying because they do not have the Spirit of God residing in them.
       There are some vital words in this portion of Scripture.  This should be a comforting set of verses to the Christian.  “Who shall deliver me?” (7:24) to “has made me free” (8:2)  Oh, if we look at ourselves we surely can find sin.  We find things of which we can condemn ourselves, but–thank the Lord–we are not condemned if we trust in Christ.  The key–get this–are the two words, “in Christ.”  The unbeliever is not in Christ therefore he is to be condemned.  “Now!” notice, because we are in Christ, there is “now no condemnation.”  Before a person was born again they were “in Adam” and under condemnation, now, however, the believer is “in Christ.”
       Before Christ, those were “wretched” days for sure.  The term means “distressed, miserable,” and whenever the believer sins he feels that condemnation.  The unbeliever does not feel condemnation unless there is the conviction of the Holy Spirit.  When we fail to live “in Christ” and in the power of the Spirit we feel this death sentence.  Oh my, help me, Lord!  We cry and then we rejoice with Paul with the next words–“I thank God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
       The Christian is now empowered by the Spirit to live for Christ.  I will not go into the spiritual judiciary of these verses, suffice to write, “No condemnation from the law, or on account of inward corruption, or because Satan can substantiate a charge against me; there is none from any source or for any cause at all.” (Arthur Pink)  Note, however, those two words again, “in Christ.”  We must be in Christ.  Matthew and Luke both write regarding the tree that does not bear fruit, “And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:9, NKJV)  We must bear fruit, that is an indication that we are “in Christ.”  We must be like “a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.” (Psalm 1:3, NKJV)
       No condemnation to those “in Christ.”  Pink writes, “To be in Christ Jesus is to be perfectly identified with Him in the judicial reckoning and dealings of God:  and it is also to be one with Him as vitally united by faith.”  He further states, “Immunity from condemnation does not depend in any-wise upon our ‘walk,’ but solely on our being ‘in Christ.'”  Friend take comfort–as long as we remain in Christ we are free from any condemnation that the devil may throw at us or that our mind might prompt us to remember.  Stay in Christ, look at the world with His divine biblical perspective and do not get entangled with the evil system of the world.

                    –Psalm 119:18 (HCSB)
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               “Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

Since the past three Mondays I have been looking at Psalm 103, I have been pondering how I can bless the Lord.  It seems to be normal fare that we ask for the Lord to bless us.  But in this psalm it begins by the Psalmist calling on his soul to bless God.  Perhaps it is that we have the wrong perspective.  George Matheson wrote, “The eye of the heart is generally first directed to its own desires; the eye of the Psalmist’s heart is first directed to the desires of God!”
       We hold our hands out to receive blessings from God.  “Seek ye first the welfare of God, the establishment of His kingdom, the reign of His righteousness!” (Matheson).  What is it that God wants?  He wants souls for the kingdom, He wants His word spread to all lands, peoples, and nations.  That is first and foremost.  Then He wants you–all of you.  He wants each of us to pick up our cross and follow Him.  By being a witness and daily taking up our cross we can bless the Lord.
       It is not in our power to bless the Lord, but it should be our desire, our wish.  We cannot sway the universe, we cannot create new worlds, we cannot bring a proper sacrifice, but we can give Him our hearts and minds.  We can bless Him with our love and our joy.  We can bless Him by living our lives for Him in joyful expectation.  We can work for Him, even in our jobs, by worshiping Him in all that we do.  That will bless Him.
       What are you doing with your talents and with your gifts?  They are many, are they being used to bring glory to God?  Do not be self-seeking, that will bless the Lord.  In the troubles of life, how do you respond?  In the seasons that come and go, how do you praise God?  There is a reckoning, a day of harvest, not only of the fields, but of each of our lives.  What kind of harvest do we bring to the Lord?

               “But the song I would now sing is of higher strain; and the rhythm of its music is this:  A good harvest to Thee, O Lord!  May earth grant Thee Thy heart’s desire!  May the wings of Thy love be untrammelled!  May the flight of Thy hope by unfettered!  May the sweep of Thy grace be unhampered!  May the power of Thy peace be unimpeded!  May the reign of Thy righteousness be unchequered!  May the joy of Thy presence be unbroken!  May the light of Thy countenance be unsullied!  May the music of Thy voice be unmuffled!  May the sway of Thy Spirit be unceasing!  These are my morning wishes–my burden of blessings on Thee.”
                            –George Matheson

       We bless the Lord by keeping His commandments.  We bless Him by watching what we say and what we express.  We bless Him by a righteous attitude, a humble walk, and a servant’s heart.  We worship Him, and express it with the prayer of David, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14, NKJV)