Another inspirational read from the heart of a genuine believer in Christ Jesus our LORD. As I read through to the finish, I was reminded of the Apostle Paul in the jail at Philippi after obeying God and preaching the Gospel, he was wrongfully accused and beaten. And yet, he writes the Epistle of Joy from this place. “Be rejoicing in the Lord always. Again I say, Be rejoicing. Let your sweet reasonableness, your forbearance, your being satisfied with less than your due, become known to all men” (Phil 4:4-5a). How could he do this?
Paul was a man of grace through faith. He wrote in Galations that he set his faith in the fact that Jesus had been crucified and Paul was there on the cross with Him. He was buried and raised to life with Him and the life that he lived, he lived by faith in the same Son of God. Paul was able to write these things from that jail (Acts 16) because he believed in positional truth and not circumstantial evidence. He was not going to be moved by what he was currently experiencing and pressing in on him to change his way. No, he pressed into that ever faithful Word of God given him and by prayer and singing stirred themselves up into an overflowing joy. The Scripture said that “suddenly” the jail shook opening the jail doors and loosening their chains.
That joy, a fruit of the spirit, is a witness. The jailer realizing what happened thought that they had all escaped and was about to commit suicide. Paul and Silas were able to stop him saying that they were all still present and no one had left. The soldier witnessing all of this, “fell down before Paul and Silas,” asking Paul what must he do to be saved. They told him “at once” to put his trust in the Lord Jesus and he and his household were saved. We are told that we would know others by their fruit. Seeing as how we have been ‘rooted and grounded in love’ then we can only produce good fruit. Joy is a fruit of the spirit listed right after love because I believe that it is one of the most visible fruits in a person’s life. Love, joy, and peace.
We cannot lose this joy. Thank you once again for sharing your heart and Godly wisdom.
Another inspirational read from the heart of a genuine believer in Christ Jesus our LORD. As I read through to the finish, I was reminded of the Apostle Paul in the jail at Philippi after obeying God and preaching the Gospel, he was wrongfully accused and beaten. And yet, he writes the Epistle of Joy from this place. “Be rejoicing in the Lord always. Again I say, Be rejoicing. Let your sweet reasonableness, your forbearance, your being satisfied with less than your due, become known to all men” (Phil 4:4-5a). How could he do this?
Paul was a man of grace through faith. He wrote in Galations that he set his faith in the fact that Jesus had been crucified and Paul was there on the cross with Him. He was buried and raised to life with Him and the life that he lived, he lived by faith in the same Son of God. Paul was able to write these things from that jail (Acts 16) because he believed in positional truth and not circumstantial evidence. He was not going to be moved by what he was currently experiencing and pressing in on him to change his way. No, he pressed into that ever faithful Word of God given him and by prayer and singing stirred themselves up into an overflowing joy. The Scripture said that “suddenly” the jail shook opening the jail doors and loosening their chains.
That joy, a fruit of the spirit, is a witness. The jailer realizing what happened thought that they had all escaped and was about to commit suicide. Paul and Silas were able to stop him saying that they were all still present and no one had left. The soldier witnessing all of this, “fell down before Paul and Silas,” asking Paul what must he do to be saved. They told him “at once” to put his trust in the Lord Jesus and he and his household were saved. We are told that we would know others by their fruit. Seeing as how we have been ‘rooted and grounded in love’ then we can only produce good fruit. Joy is a fruit of the spirit listed right after love because I believe that it is one of the most visible fruits in a person’s life. Love, joy, and peace.
We cannot lose this joy. Thank you once again for sharing your heart and Godly wisdom.