Scripture
Quote
Joy is the flag that flies above the castle of our lives, announcing the presence of the the King.
~Chuck Swindoll
The Royal Standard {flag} is flown only when the Sovereign is present. If the Union Jack is flying above Buckingham Palace instead of the Standard, The King is not in residence. When The King goes to Parliament, the Royal Standard flies from Victoria Tower. I don’t know about you, but I knew nothing of this tradition and have no idea if it orignated in Great Britain, but I like the concept. JOY definitely depends on the presence of the KING {Jesus}. Perhaps you are thinking, “I would be overflowing with gladness…I would be overjoyed if I had a million dollars.” Well, you might be for a short time but it would not last. Does more money make a man generous? No, sometimes the more we get the more we hoard. Excuses abound for the unhappy…If only I had more talent…if only I was more attractive…if only I had a better job, etc. None of these things will make you happy. Marriage will not make you happy. There is not a woman alive who can make a man happy and certainly not a man that can satisfy a woman. You better get it into your brain ASAP, you need Jesus and so does your spouse.
As Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher said, “Man is born with a void in his life that only God can fill.” It is a J shaped hole that only Jesus can fill. You can have fun without Jesus but not Joy. Pleasure and fun last only for a season and depend totally on circumstances. Joy is a grace gift from Jesus and a true sign that He lives within. Hardship can rob you of fun but it cannot steal your joy. Sickness is not pleasant but not even cancer can steal your joy. Cancer destroyed my good friend Ken Nelson’s body, but I assure you, it did not get his joy.
Verse 4 would make us a good prayer for the day…Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again. Revive us again, fill each heart with Your love, may each soul be rekindled with fire from above.
Extra
Our team is in Atlanta at the moment. They will be joining the others in Guatemala around lunch or a little after. No work day Saturday, PTL. The 49ers do meet tomorrow at 11:30. Blake continues to improve, PTL. I hope you have a great day. Thanks for reading the blog.