SMILE, JESUS LOVES YOU!

JOHN 15:5

⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

• God’s word makes it clear that the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT is…

Love..

..and JOY

A member of Alcoholics Anonymous once sent columnist Ann Landers the following:

1. We drank for happiness and became unhappy.
2. We drank for joy and became miserable.
3. We drank for sociability and became argumentative.
4. We drank for sophistication and became obnoxious.
5. We drank for friendship and made enemies.
6. We drank for sleep and awakened without rest.
7. We drank “medicinally” and acquired health problems.
8. We drank for relaxation and got the shakes.
9. We drank to make conversation easier and slurred our speech.
10. We drank to feel heavenly and ended up feeling like hell.
11. We drank to forget and were forever haunted.
12. We drank for freedom and became slaves.
13. We drank to erase problems and saw them multiply.
14. We drank to cope with life and invited death.

• Let me give you a definition of “joy.” “Joy is an evidence of the presence of God in your life.” If God is in your life, if you are filled with the Spirit of God, then this fruit of the Spirit will be obvious in your life.

• Now don’t mistake happiness for joy. It’s easy to do that. The Bible mentions “joy” or “rejoicing” 330 times. But it only mentions “happiness” 26 times.

• Happiness depends upon what happens to you. So if all the circumstances are right, then you can be happy. BUT JOY COMES FROM THE INSIDE no matter what is HAPPENING AROUND YOU, – PERIOD!

A NUMBER ONE COMPETITOR OF JOY..

1. UNRESOLVED GUILT 

“If you can forgive yourself, then you will stop avoiding yourself” – Tim Storey

• A lot of people can accept the forgiveness of God, but can’t accept their own forgiveness.

• If you feel like you can’t smile these days because your competitor has cut in on your race, pray what David prayed.. Psalms 51:12“Restore to me the joy of your salvation…”

• Go ahead, lift your head up, smile and get on with walking forward. After all, – THE PAST IS THE PAST.

Advertisement