Devotion

Joy can be a challenging value to live out for us stoic Minnesotans. Many of us grew up being taught that joy was an emotion to avoid. We didnt want to get too full of ourselves or too emotional. Joy is more than a strong expression of enthusiasm. It is this, and it is more than this. Joy starts because of our connection with God. We can experience exuberant joy, quiet joy, connective joy, and other types of joy The Scriptures offer all sorts of teachings about joy. The word joy is used 211 times in the Bible. The following Scriptures are a small sample of what the Scriptures teach about joy. Enjoy!!

Thursday, June 21 Read Psalm 16

Joy is a profoundly spiritual quality that takes place because of our connection to God. Joy is like happiness, but it goes beyond happiness. Happiness often depends on our external situation. Were happy because were doing well with our family, work, health, or finances. Joy is deeperlife can be going terrible and we can still experience joy. This happens because of our realization of what God has done for us. Take a moment to reflect deeply on verse 11. Read it over and over. If you have time, take time to memorize the verse. In God presence there is fullness of joy. Take a moment to reflect on how youve experienced Gods presence in the past 24 hours. Most likely joy accompanied this experience. Today, as you pray, pray for a deepened sense of Gods presence. When this happens we will experience joy!

Friday, June 22 Read Exodus 15:1-21

The Song of Mosesthe first 19 versesand the Song of Miriamthe final two versesare recognized as the oldest and one of the most important poems in the Old Testament. If youve ever wondered about the basics of the Old Testament, study these poems. Both Moses and Miriam expressed a sense of release. The Israelites were released from death when God opened the Red Sea to them. At Chain of Lakes when we explained the Core Value of Joyful Love, we started out with this idea of release. We said that we are released to love each other with joy

To experience joy we must understand this concept of release. Through God, through Christs death on the cross and the resurrection we have been released from deathwe are offered the gift of salvation. Death does not have final power over us. Because of this release we can love each other with joy. As you pray today, give thanks for this sense of release. God has released us so that we may lovewhat a gift of joy!!

Saturday, June 23 Read Luke 2:1-14

The message of the angel to the shepherds was one of joy. Look at verse 10, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people. Jesus entrance into the world was a message of great joy for all people. Soon after this message the whole multitude of the heavenly host praised God. What a sight this must have been!! One way to experience joy is to constantly praise God. Praise is an act of bestowing favor onto God for a quality of God. We can praise God for steadfast love, forgiveness, peace and many other qualities. The more we praise God the more our hearts are open to receiving joy. Today as you pray, take time to praise God for qualities of God that are important to you. As you go through your day, focus your thoughts on this praise of God. As you praise, you will be open to receiving joy!! What a gift!

Sunday, June 24 Read Philippians 1:12-26

The letter that Paul wrote to the people in the town of Philippi is often known as the letter of joy. Joy is the principle theme of the letter. The word joy occurs five times and the verbs rejoice and be glad occur eleven times. If you have some time today, read this letterit would only take about 20 minutes. That Paul experience joy is remarkable as he was sitting in jail not knowing if he was going to live or die when he wrote this letter. Despite being under a death sentence, he wrote of joy. How can this happen? Paul was able to look beyond his own self and see how God was working and alive in the circumstances in which he found himself. Paul saw that his own imprisonment was helping spread the gospel. Paul was willing to suffer so that people would receive Christ. This gave him joy. Today as you pray, pray that you can look beyond your own self. Pay special attention to how God is working and is alive in the circumstances in which you find yourself. In moving beyond self, you can experience joy!!

Monday, June 25

Read John 15:1-11

This passage is part of Jesus High Priestly prayer. The prayer covers chapters 14-17 in John. Jesus closed these eleven verses by praying that his joy may be made complete. Jesus joy was made complete when his followers abided in God. God is the vine and we are the branches. The more we abide in God the more Gods joy is complete in us. Rememberjoy is a profoundly spiritual quality. It starts with God. Joy depends on how deeply we abide with God that is how deeply we allow God to be home in us. When we are connected spiritually in a deep way into the vine, others will see and experience our joy. Today as you pray, pray that you will be known as a joyful person. Pray that our joy will take place because of our connection into the vine.

Tuesday, June 26 Read 2 Samuel 6:1-5

Joy can be a once-in-a-lifetime event. An event like the birth of a baby, or meeting our spouse, our marriage, or getting the job we always wanted. David experienced this type of event in this story. He had been successful in taking the ark from the Philistines. He and his followers danced before the Lord with all of their might. When are some instances when you experienced this intensity of joy? As you pray today, give thanks for these times.