At His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Psalm 27:6
Joy is one of God's great gifts. His kingdom, declares Saint Paul, is "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit" (Romans 14:17). The same apostle prays in behalf of his readers that God may "fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Romans 15:13). The fruit of the Spirit is like a string of precious pearls, including these: "Love, joy, peace, patience ..." (Galatians 5:22).
The chief source of the joy of Christians is Jesus Christ, who, having completed our salvation, rose from the dead to put our joy on a firm and permanent footing.
Aside from the great gift of salvation, God grants other gifts, and these prompt our joy and thanks: the birth of an new baby, recovery from illness, doing well in school, better opportunities at one's work, enjoyable travel, visits with friends. Since it is from God that all blessings flow, it is only right that we thank Him. This is how the psalmist determined to express his joy, with singing and making music to God. We do this as well!
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are our priceless treasure, fount of purest pleasure, our truest friend. We thank You for bringing joy. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 1-3 1 Corinthians 16
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