holes of imperfection
a gap; in obscenity
words of profanity
live in Black-Downed today.
works of illustration
a window; to depravity
art lost its sanity
living a fallen angel's way.
Man. God's work of art.
penned 07th September, 01:09:48
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Friday, September 01, 2006
No. 17/ 010906
ahhh. the first day of september. please wake me up when september ends. teachers day influence. bleppo.
you can't make yourself joyful.
it's not possible, no matter how hard you try.
you can say to yourself, "i'm going to be a joyful person today." you can put a big smile on your face and determine to be cheerful everywhere you go. it may work for a few hours, but take it from me, before long something will come crashing down and the artificial joy will be gone.
let's think about where real joy comes from. joy is a "supernatural delight". you've already figured out that you can't manufacture it. you can do a lot of things to reduce joy, but you can't do anything to increase it. you can seek it, but you can't produce it. only God can give you joy.
joy from God is found in 3 things:
1. in the person of God: When you see God's true character revealed in the world, you begin to be joyful. When you notice His work in your life and other believers' lives, you're more loving, more patient, more obedient - and you feel joy in knowing that you're living a Godly life, in the light of His Word.
2. in the purposes of God: Lasting joy comes from connecting with God's purposes. During my catechism interview, they asked me, "what do you make out of life?" and to that, i responded: "living out and fulfilling God's purposes for my life." God is doing great things in this world. Do you want to be a part of the action? Be involved! Don't stand on the sidelines! If you participate in the purposes of God, you will know real joy. and that includes living a life that others can see and recognize as a life of a child of God. it doesn't have to be big - it's in the small ways that you touch peoples' lives. Don't be afraid to add in that 'God bless' and 'Take care, i'll be praying for you' in any conversation or sms or email you send out - be bold in sharing the good news (:
3. in the people of God: As we work for God's purposes, we work together as one body with God's people. That's the 3rd part of joy - deep satisfying relationships with others who know and love the Lord. That's where joy comes from - delighting in the person of God and working for the purposes of God in partnership with the people of God. knowing that these people will be with you now and always, on earth or in heaven; delighting in the knowledge that they too believe and are saved; being encouraged to spread the Word with these people to bring even more to Christ!
:D
you can't make yourself joyful.
it's not possible, no matter how hard you try.
you can say to yourself, "i'm going to be a joyful person today." you can put a big smile on your face and determine to be cheerful everywhere you go. it may work for a few hours, but take it from me, before long something will come crashing down and the artificial joy will be gone.
let's think about where real joy comes from. joy is a "supernatural delight". you've already figured out that you can't manufacture it. you can do a lot of things to reduce joy, but you can't do anything to increase it. you can seek it, but you can't produce it. only God can give you joy.
joy from God is found in 3 things:
1. in the person of God: When you see God's true character revealed in the world, you begin to be joyful. When you notice His work in your life and other believers' lives, you're more loving, more patient, more obedient - and you feel joy in knowing that you're living a Godly life, in the light of His Word.
2. in the purposes of God: Lasting joy comes from connecting with God's purposes. During my catechism interview, they asked me, "what do you make out of life?" and to that, i responded: "living out and fulfilling God's purposes for my life." God is doing great things in this world. Do you want to be a part of the action? Be involved! Don't stand on the sidelines! If you participate in the purposes of God, you will know real joy. and that includes living a life that others can see and recognize as a life of a child of God. it doesn't have to be big - it's in the small ways that you touch peoples' lives. Don't be afraid to add in that 'God bless' and 'Take care, i'll be praying for you' in any conversation or sms or email you send out - be bold in sharing the good news (:
3. in the people of God: As we work for God's purposes, we work together as one body with God's people. That's the 3rd part of joy - deep satisfying relationships with others who know and love the Lord. That's where joy comes from - delighting in the person of God and working for the purposes of God in partnership with the people of God. knowing that these people will be with you now and always, on earth or in heaven; delighting in the knowledge that they too believe and are saved; being encouraged to spread the Word with these people to bring even more to Christ!
:D
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