In Nehemiah 8:10 it is written: “the joy of the Lord is our strength” (KJV). Joy is a fruit of the Spirit in us (Gal 5:22); it will naturally well up in us as we allow God to inhabit us, as we focus on him and press in to him. It just has to be expressed.

From the definitions of the words used, the bible talks of its expression in dancing, spinning, cheering and singing (Hab 3:18; Psalm 30:5), despite our outward situation (Col 1:11; James 1:2). “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation: (Hab 3;18). “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations” (James 1:2).

In Zephaniah 3:17 the picture is of God’s joy over his people expressed in wild spinning, dancing and singing.  Get alone with him and think on the goodness of God and allow God’s joy to well up in you and be expressed, it will do you a world of good and strengthen you. “For the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10).

If we all allowed God’s joy to well up in us how our corporate praise and worship at church would change.

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“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7; KJV). Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved” (Ps 55:22). These verses are fairly clear, so why do we cast and then reclaim our burdens; why do we hang on to them?  It’s probably because we need to know the word more, build up our faith and refuse to allow satan to talk us out of the freedoms the word brings us (Rom 10:17; John 8:32 and 36).

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30).

What was Jesus teaching us here? We need to learn to not try to labor in our own strength but to do thing his way. His way is easy and does not come with any cares or anxiety. Be still before the Lord (Ps 46:10), don’t be anxious (Matt 6:31), trust him and let him calm the storms (Luke 8:24)!

O me, O my, the Lord is preaching to me. Lord, your word is so straight forward, help us to press in to your word.

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“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Cor.1:9; KJV). The word called means invited or called. The word fellowship is the Greek word koinonia, which means intimate fellowship.

Prior to Christs death and resurrection only a few selected people were able to enjoy an intimate relationship with God. God said of Moses: “I speak with him face to face” (Num 12:8). Jesus poured himself into his disciples during his earthly ministry (John 13:1-7). When Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom by God (Matt 27:51). By his sacrifice Christ won forgiveness for us (Col 1:14) and the way was opened for his people to enter into the very thrown room of God. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16).  

Isn’t it great that God, the creator of the universe, has invited us to have this intimate fellowship with him through Jesus? “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).  Let`s not ignore the invitation, and remember, we don’t have to fellowship at a specific time, we can enter in at any and every time; whenever we want to.

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(Gal. 5:22-23; KJV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such things there is no law.

These fruits are developed in us entirely by the Holy Spirit working on the inside of us to bring revelation from God’s word and then change as we allow him. There is no way we can produce this kind of fruit in our own ability.

Don’t get frustrated if your fruit isn’t as developed and luscious as you would like it to be; be patient with yourself because fruit grows slowly. Make sure you are providing the right conditions for your fruit such as sun and light (Jesus), water (the word), and tender loving care (the work of the Spirit) and slowly but surely your fruit will develop.

If we are truly serious about developing the fruit of the Spirit in our lives then I believe we will need to spend time studying it, meditating on it and then putting it into practice. Just think of our lives yielded to God and flowing in the fruit of the Spirit. Think of our churches if we would all allow the Holy Spirit to have his way in all of our lives!

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God called King David: “a man after mine own heart” (Acts 13:22; KJV), and yet David committed adultery and had the husband of the woman involved (Bathsheba) killed (2 Sam.11). However, David recognized his sin and repented and God forgave him (2 Sam 12) and used David mightily. Saul (Paul) said he was the worst of sinners (1 Tim 1:15) and yet God used him to evangelize much of the known world at that time and to write a large portion of the New Testament of the Bible.

As Christians we have been forgiven and made righteous by Christs sacrifice on the cross (Col 1:14; 2 Cor 5:21); we are no longer sinners. We should no longer willfully continue to sin (1 John 3:6) but we will slip and sin; however, if we repent and ask forgiveness God is quick to forgive us (1 John 1:8-2:2).

Don’t be condemned, be encouraged; none of us are perfect, but God in his mercy is perfecting us day by day (Phil 1:6). If there is an area of your life that is causing you to be tempted remember that God can help you; Romans 8:37 tells us that we are: "more than conquerors THROUGH HIM that loved us."

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Check out our web site ( www.onthewayinlove.com ) for information on our book: “On the Way: Basic Christian Training”, including how to purchase it and also to see more encouraging Bible based blogs. Please recommend our book to others.