Then comes summer. Children rejoice because school is out. Swimming pools fill, families begin vacation plans, and family reunions bring the joy of renewing bond. We buy fireworks for the 4th of July. We watch parades, and have hamburgers, hot dogs, and corn on the cob. We plant gardens, we visit with the neighbors and relax on our decks and patios.
Now it is Fall. Days are cooler, and days are shorter. Flowers have bloomed their last, and the trees put on their colors. It is time for football, tail gate parties, and fire pits. Children are back in school, which brings first band concerts, Fall Harvest parties, Trick or Treat, and Pumpkin Patches!
Fall is over way too soon, and Winter is approaching. Winter is my least favorite, because I don't like cold. Of course some of you live where it is warm all year around, but some of you, like me live in cold winters. Flower beds are cleaned up, the last leaves are raked, and trees stand with bare branches. Soon snow and ice cover our lawns and streets, and all are busy getting ready for Christmas.
Christmas even though it is cold weather time, it is a joy, like no other. Christmas is my Savior's Birthday! It was on this day God the Father sent His son to be born in human flesh, so He could live a humble, perfect life, and then die on a cross for my sins. Because I have accepted Him into my heart, I am His child. That friends, is the source of all my joys!
When I look around me, I see God's world, and that is joy, no matter the season. My joy is hard to explain, and even harder to understand, because it comes from deep within me where The Holy Spirit dwells. It does not depend on where I am, or material blessings, or the season. Whatever season I am in, I have inner joy! My joy is because Jesus loved me so much, He willingly died a horrible death in my place.
I am quilty of sin. Because God can not look on sin, I was not fit to be in His presence. Jesus, by dying, shed
His sacrificial blood to cover my sin, so God can look on me as His child. When I accept that, joy abounds. I am a friend of God, I am loved, I am forgiven, and I am His princess! He has reserved a place in heaven for me, My name is in His book of life! You see no matter what life on earth holds for me, I have joy!
Before I was saved, my worst fear was dying. I was terrified, because I didn't know what would happen if I died. I was terrified of hell. I thought if I was good enough, maybe I would go to heaven. That is not true. Imagine my joy, when I was saved, and I learned that, my place in heaven is secure, and it had nothing to do with good. I could never be good enough, or do works enough to get into heaven. No amount of money will pay the way. It is only through the blood of Jesus and accepting that, that I gain heaven and eternal life with Jesus.
My joy is complete. Even if I am killed, or get sick and die, My life will not be over, but just beginning.
That my friends is the ultimate joy! After all what is the worst thing that could happen? I would die, only to wake again in Jesus presence! I have joy! I pray you do too!
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