who stole your joy!?

1 Peter 1: 3-9

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! in his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trails. these have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.



for some reason the church has become so consumed with the legalism of "church." Jesus never meant for faith to be about regulations and nitpicking over little things that mean you are "OK." though somehow Christianity has become about religion and less about relationship. less about the the freedom and joy found in Christ. it is about God.

peter had it straight. Christianity is not about contradicting life or what was done wrong. the goal of the faith claimed in Christianity is SALVATION- achieved through Christ. and this should be what radically changes our chore inside and ultimately, lifestyle. the result is a filling, more than excitement- "a glorious and inexpressible joy!"

be excited about what God is doing on the inside. let the life be radically changed from the religious games of cleaning and about what you are trying to receive from your faith to contentment and joy.

as Christians our faith is in a resurrected Christ- who claims us as His own! and gives salvation! and life with him forever! i know whose i am. for this reason i am excited to live a life inexcusably joy filled!

yes, i will not be understood when bad things happen and i am still joy filled, but that will be because my focus is on the eternal. i want all who meet me to be able to feel this freedom and and inexpressible life. Christianity is not a place of stoic faces but a place of joy!