PBPC Daily - Monday, May 11

Good morning and welcome to Monday. 

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. - Galatians 5:22-23

During this season we are focusing on the theme of the new life that God gives to us in Jesus Christ. The sign of this new life is the good fruit that God produces in our lives through His Holy Spirit. Last week we spent time thinking about love, the first and most important of the fruit of the Spirit.

This week we will talk about joy. I am not so sure that we can clearly differentiate between the definitions of joy and happiness - there is a great deal of overlap. So I will speak of Christian joy as a particular attitude or emotion that takes great pleasure in the good work of God. And I will say a few things here about joy to set the stage for the days to come:

• God's primary goal for your life isn't for you to be happy - God is more interested in the kind of person you are becoming and in what makes you happy
  
• God wants joy to be present in the lives of His people - God wants us to experience great joy and for us to be joyful people
• We are encouraged, instructed, and even commanded in scripture to rejoice - so this joy is more than a feeling that happens to us, but also an attitude that we can choose

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! - Philippians 4:4

Today, I encourage you to reflect on these questions: Are you a joyful person? What makes you feel happy? How might God be calling you to have a deeper sense of joy in your life?

Have a blessed day,

Pastor Chris