In Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus in this story likens the kingdom of heaven to a king whose son was to be married and many were invited to the reception, but those invited took it lightly and refused to come putting their own interests ahead of the kings invitation, even treating the messengers who brought the invitation […]
Posts in category Joy
Two sons (Parables of Jesus part nin...
In Luke 15:11-32 Jesus tells a story of a father with two sons. Since we do not have space in this meditation to talk about both sons we are focusing on the younger, who approached the father asking to receive his inheritance early. According to Jewish law at the father’s death the younger son would […]
Rejoicing in hope
The first of Peter was written by this Apostle to first century Christians living in various places of Asia Minor and suffering rejection by the world around them, they were grieved or distressed by various trials which likely included persecution, etc. because they were followers of Christ. Following Christ is not always an easy road […]
Distress, pain, and worry
Distress, a close relative of pain, anxiety, and grief, are among Satan’s “big guns” in his attack on Christians. It is on the opposite end of the spectrum from joy and gladness! Jesus wants His followers to be joyful, telling us, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, […]
Poverty (Beatitudes part one)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, this is the first of nine blessed’s in Matthew 5:3-12. The Greek here means to be supremely blessed, and through extension to be fortunate or well off, the Amplified Bible using happy as an alternate or explanatory word. To be poor in […]
What Joy What Delight
Pleasure, that feeling of enjoyment and delight, or that which gives it to us; other words that describe pleasure include happiness, bliss, contentment, satisfaction, and gratification. In Psalm 16:11 David, speaking to God, shows us the place of lasting pleasure saying, “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of […]
Two Kinds Of Pleasure
Pleasure is a feeling that is joyful and delightful, bringing with it a sense of satisfaction; we could include enjoyment and happiness as synonyms. There are really two kinds of pleasure, the first we tend to chase through things the Bible describes as “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the […]
Overflowing, Un-understandable, Exub...
Peter, in his first epistle, addresses people who because of their commitment to Christ are suffering various trials and rejection by their fellowmen, with such opposition that in 4:12 he refers to it as a “fiery trial”. Yet in spite of all this Peter takes note of, and thus encourages them to continue in their […]
A Living Fountain
In Jeremiah 2:13 God portrays Himself as “The fountain of living waters”. The problem is that the people to whom He is speaking have “hewn out for themselves cisterns – broken cisterns that can hold no water.” People still do this today; I ask you, have you tried everything this world placed before you trying […]