A City Filled With Joy

[logi bear]

(Another Devotional From My Church)

A City Filled with Joy
January 16th, 2012

In Acts 8:1 we see that Saul was consenting to Stephen’s death by stoning. He was watching the coats for those who were throwing the stones. Saul, who we know later becomes Paul the Apostle--the man who would write a major portion of the New Testament--was vehemently coming against the church at the time of Stephen’s stoning. Sometimes the people that we love so much, and whom we want to come to Jesus Christ--those who are resisting the greatest, are often the closest.

Maybe you are one of those people. Maybe you greatly oppose Jesus Christ, and you don’t even know why. You have a hatred within you for Jesus Christ. The Lord is working on your heart. Perhaps you will be the next Paul.

If you are currently praying for the “Sauls” in your life—those whom you think are so far from the Lord, resisting and fighting with all of their might, those very loved ones may be the next ones to become radical for Jesus Christ! Keep praying. We know what happened to Saul!

As this persecution in Acts 8 was brought upon the church, they were scattered out of Jerusalem. Acts 8:1 is the fulfillment of Acts 1:8. We are to be witnesses of Jesus Christ… to the uttermost parts of the earth. The church was becoming bigger and bigger in Jerusalem. We all like our comfort zones, don’t we? In order for the Lord to get His Word scattered abroad, He allowed persecution in the church at Jerusalem. His will was fulfilled as they were driven out.

Many times, the way that God works in our lives seems unconventional, doesn’t it? He allows things to transpire in our lives so that we will fulfill His will. When we’re in the midst of it, we think, “Lord, this is painful.” Sometimes, it’s the only way for us to get aligned with God’s way. As Christians, our only concern should be to be aligned with His will.

God’s desire, is that all men come to repentance. We were all born in sin and all fall short of the glory of God. Jesus Christ is the only way—the only bridge to God. So more than us being comfortable, or enjoying the church in Jerusalem, Jesus is more concerned with the souls that are on their way to Hell. God may stir up circumstances in our lives to move us. He does not wish that any be separated from Him for all of eternity.

Christianity is not complex. Preach Christ. It’s not our opinion but it’s Christ and it’s Christ crucified. Spread that good news! The Apostle Paul was a scholar and he said that all that knowledge he counted loss for the excellency of knowing Jesus. It’s all about the knowledge of knowing Jesus Christ. Acts 8:8 says there was great JOY in the city as they came to know Jesus Christ. I would love to see great JOY in our city! But if we look around, are our neighbors and the people of our community full of great joy? No, there’s great depression, oppression, and sadness, because without Jesus people have no meaning for life.

Those who don’t know and live for Christ try and put temporary things in their lives to fill that void. If you are one of those people today, trying to candy-coat life and take things to numb yourself from life to get by day in and day out, God wants to give you a purpose. That purpose is found in Jesus Christ. The characteristic that comes from knowing Jesus Christ is JOY. We cannot have joy apart from Jesus Christ. Oh, we can have temporal happiness. But we will never have everlasting joy, in spite of our circumstances, without Jesus Christ. The fruit of knowing Jesus is Joy.

Jesus is alive. He conquered the cross and the grave and He is at the right hand of the Father. He will give you life and purpose because you will know that your sin, falling short of His glory, has been paid in full. There’s no punishment for you, because He took our punishment, upon the cross. We sin from day one. It’s only through Jesus Christ and accepting His sacrifice that we can have salvation. That’s true JOY.