Joy...

... I have found, is vital. I've resurfaced from a couple of weeks of just being down with a sorrowful heart and by God's grace had such a lovely day yesterday. I met up for prayer with some Christians in my course which was really encouraging and I also had a wonderful Discipleship Time where I shared about Joy. I won't say much about it... just let the verses speak to you.

JOY

Oxford English Dictionary definitions:

a. A vivid emotion of pleasure arising from a sense of well-being or satisfaction; the feeling or state of being highly pleased or delighted; exultation of spirit; gladness, delight.

b. An instance or kind of this.

c. The expression of glad feeling; outward rejoicing; mirth; jubilant festivity.

Some verses about joy in the Bible

Who

¹ Shout for joy to God, all the earth; ²sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! ³Say to God, “how awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. ⁴ All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name." [Psalm 66:1-4]

What

²⁷ The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. ²⁸ The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing. ²⁹ The way of the LORD is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil. [Proverbs 10:27-20]

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. [Galatians 5:22-23]

When

²¹A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²²So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. [John 16:21-22]

² Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, ³for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. ⁴And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. [James 1:2-4]

Where

²⁴ Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. ²⁵ For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. ²⁶ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens. ²⁷ Splendour and majesty are before him; strength and joy in his dwelling place. [1 Chronicles 16:24-27]

Why

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." [Nehemiah 8:10]

How

¹⁰If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. ¹¹I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. ¹²My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. [John 15:10-12]

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. [ Philippians 2:1-4]

>> Some of these things may seem to counter-intuitive. But there you have it - that Jesus, He's so radical! In one of the Rebel's Guide to Joy sermons, Mark Driscoll spoke of finding freedom in slavery (to Christ) and joy in humility.

>> Go watch that part in Sister Act II where they perform Joyful, Joyful.

>> And read Philippians.

I, Human (or Saint Veronica?)

It frustrates me so much to be human sometimes. I know I am a new creation, having been reborn of the Spirit. But I still stumble, I still fall, and sometimes I still foolishly refuse to pick myself up and choose instead to wallow in the pain.

But I know God says to me: you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off"; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. [Isaiah 41:9-10]

Wow. God is upholding me. Praise His name! Perseverance of the saints, booyah!

Encouragement notes from my brothers before me

Dear Nica,

Count it all joy when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Love, James [based on James 1:2-4]




Dear Nica,

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the days of your life, and you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

<sup>Love, David [based on Psalm 46:1, 55:22 and 23:6]




Dear Nica,</sup>

Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. Therefore, as you suffer according to God’s will, entrust your soul to our faithful Creator while doing good.

^{Love, Peter [based on 1 Peter 4:12-14, 19]}




Dear Nica,

I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed in you— so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Do not lose heart. Though your outer self is wasting away, your inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for you an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

You show that you are a letter from Christ written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Love, Paul [based on 1 Corinthians 1:4-9, 2 Corinthians 4:16-20 and 3:3, 2 Timothy 1:6-7, Philippians 1:6, Ephesians 3:20-21]

Putting the FUN back in Christian Fundamentalism

On Monday night, I was watching the news with my parents. There was a news story about an American student from a Christian school being barred from graduation for attending prom at a secular high school. (You can read about it here). I don't actually have much to say about this event in particular (because I don't know the guy and I don't know the school), but I want to talk about why it made me sad to see it being reported. I suspect this news item was included for broadcast on Australian television only for its sensationalist value. Christian Fundamentalism receives a lot of bad press... actually, bad press is the only kind of press it does receive. When Christians contribute to something good which the community notices, the Christian part is usually cut off from the news reports.

For the last two years, I have gone on Summer Projects with the Christian group at uni I am involved in. Both years, I went to Lorne which is the beach town on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria where Schoolies is held each year for the Victorian kids (much like the Gold Coast for NSW & QLD students). For those two weeks, we serve God by serving the Schoolies - we set up sports games and BBQs by day and run a drop-in-centre in the evenings with pool and table tennis tables, poker and card games, guitar and open mic, manicures and pedicures and provide food and drinks in a safe and alcohol-and-drug-free environment.

We also openly share our faith with these kids not because we want to shove religious dogma down their throats but because hearing the gospel of Christ was the single most amazing thing that ever happened to us and continues to transform our lives such that we can't help but share our source of strength, comfort, purpose and joy. That God is real, that He loves us and wants to have a relationship with us and that we can have this personal and amazing relationship with Him because Jesus has paid and fully dealt with our sins (past, present and future) and thus bridged the gap between us and God. We know this to be true and have experienced the forgiveness and love of God's saving grace and that is why we share about what God has done and continues to do in our lives.

We're only a small group, but by God's grace and providence, last year we were officially included in the Schoolies program and had a fantastic site to run our drop-in-centre. A much bigger Christian group also present is the Red Frogs, who we get along with swimmingly. They usually make it on to the news because of the large-scale services that they tirelessly and selflessly provide the Schoolies: first aid assistance, free water and red frogs (of course), rides back home to their accommodation at early hours of the morning, free breakfasts and clean up service and so on. The grateful Aussie community rates these guys and gives them a pat on the back. The Aussie media reports their good deeds, but not their motivation. They cut God out.

So the only portrait of Christianity we get in the media is pretty much of mega-boring, super-strict Christian Fundamentalists who tolerate nothing, shows grace to no one, deprive children of life experiences and take the fun out of worshipping God and living life, all in the name of Jesus. People think of Christianity as suppressing and depressing. This is pretty much the opposite of my experience with Christianity. I don't think I've ever had so much fun in my life or been so free

♫ my chains are gone, I've been set free ♪ My God, my Saviour has ransomed me ♫ and like a flood, his mercy reigns ♪ unending love, amazing grace ♫ - Chris Tomlin - Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone).

For the first time in my life, I feel secure and significant because I have my identity in Christ. This doesn't mean that I've lost all personality (I know some of you will debate whether I had any in the first place) and turned into a God-fearing zombie. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight - Proverbs 9:10. And this wisdom and insight has led me to the fact that God created me, unique, and He loves me, unconditionally, so that I finally feel free to be me.

♥ I would consider myself a Christian Fundamentalist (in that I don't subscribe to Christian liberalism as I don't think we can pick and choose what we want to believe in... I'm only interested in knowing God on His terms).
♥ I listen to rock music, more than any other kind. (I hate it being referred to as "the devil's music").
♥ I read my Bible. And I read other books.
♥ I dance - well, I jump around at least. And I have bucketloads of fun.
♥ I love God and by His grace and the work of His spirit I try to lead an authentic life pleasing to Him.

On our last night in Lorne, we came together - not just as a Christian group, but more like a family - and had a massive dinner and dance party. I was amongst brothers and sisters, safe in the knowledge that the girls were not going to socially ostracise me on account of my fashion sense and that the guys were not going to be sleazy or manipulate me into doing what they want. We had tremendous fun (I especially love the image of 4 rows of crazily happy Christians doing the Nutbush in front of big glass doors and can only imagine what passers-by were thinking). A few Schoolies tried to join us but we couldn't let them in as our drop-in-centre service had officially concluded. Disappointed, one Schoolie parted saying that our party was way cooler than the lame farewell dance party they threw down at the only pub in town.

While I personally may not be the funnest person ever, take my word for it: Christianity is not restrictive and it is not boring. Just so you know, I have, and love, friends who've flown planes, fire-twirled and sky dived, or have tattoos and piercings, or have scars and metal plates in them from skateboarding accidents... and the same applies to those who spend their days making physics puns or who practice the seemingly dated but continually awesome art of knitting too! ;) Whatever way, knowing God is the most extreme life experience you'll get. It'll get your heart a-pumping and your blood a-flowing and you'll be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Christians are not boring because they're full of (eternal) life. Christianity is not boring because Christ is not boring.

♫ Jesus was a rebel, a renegade, outlaw ♪ sanctified troublemaker but He never sinned, naw ♫ and He lived His life by a different set of rules... ♪ yeah that's the God I roll with ♫ - Lecrae - Rebel intro.

Yeah. That's the God I roll with.

God of (sm)all things

I find it easy to pray to God for big things or if I'm in a crisis. Broken heart, financial problem, life threatening situation - sure.

It's often much more difficult to pray about the little things. The trivial things. The things, it may seem, that are too small for God or have little to do with him. Foolishness! If God is the God of the Universe, then He is Lord over that uni assignment, King over laundry loads, Master over all your hobbies. He's GOD. God of everything and I mean everything.

Today, I got a great mark back on an assignment from a couple of weeks ago. An assignment that was left kinda late and was handed in with barely any time to spare. But an assignment that I gave up to God anyway - confessing my bad time management, acknowledging my helplessness and claiming His strength. I am learning. To trust God with every aspect of my life and claim Him lord over everything. He has blessed me with so much and I can't believe He likes -and in fact, delights in - helping me, this dirty and broken person, and showering me with love and grace.

God is awesome. He really is my very caring and loving father in heaven. He corrects me and comforts me. He rules over me and rewards me. He teaches me and treasures me. He loves me and longs for me.

♫ My strength ♪ My song ♫