Words of Encouragement

Coming to God through Jesus is the only way for us to have the joy of repentance. Our dark lives gain the light of Christ and we can say, the joy of the Lord is our strength.


Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." - Nehemiah 8:10



Happiness in Jesus. Repentance brings joy. The people heard the words of God and began to weep because of the realization of their sinful behavior. Yet, Nehemiah tells them, no do not weep, do not be grieved, instead be joyful and celebrate because the joy of the Lord is your strength.


When God brings to us our sinfulness, we too weep at the realization of our sins. Yet just as quickly as we are grieved because of our sinful behavior, God comes and brings us joy. Jesus allows us to move from grieving to rejoicing because of his sacrifice of blood.


We can celebrate God's goodness unto us. When deserved to be completely destroyed, God's love bought us back from captivity. Jesus' blood brought us with a price from the captivity of sin. When the Holy Spirit convinces us of our sinful condition and we come to the place of repentance, we now have access to the great abundance of God's love. What a reason to celebrate!


I pray for us today, that God would help us find the joy in repentance. There is a time of repentance for the unsaved, but there is also a time when the saved must come to repent for those sins that have crept back into their lives. God will quickly forgive and restore your joy.

Words of Encouragement

While this is a building, it is also the place that God's people come to worship, the local church. Do you think it matters to God how we treat the church? Yes, because it is a reflection of what we feel about him.


The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy. For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel. - Ezra 6:15-17


Happiness in Jesus. Joy in the House of God. The people have been in exile for 70 years because of their disobedience to God. Now they are here with the priest, the Levites to celebrate the rebuilding of the House of God. They are glad to be able to rejoice in the house of God.



This house they took little concern about and dismissed it's importance, is now the house they are happy about. They remember what it was like not to have a place of worship. Can you image that? What if the house where you go to worship God was taken away? What you take for granted would suddenly seem so important.


That is what has happened to the people. What they took for granted had been taken away and they remembered they had lost the place where they could go and meet God. We too must not become neglectful to the privilege we have to come to the house of God and find joy in his presence. We want to be thankful when we have the opportunity to worship God. When we can go to the house of God and rejoice in him, we can find his joy meeting us there in that place.


I pray for us today that we would be thankful for the opportunity to praise God in the places we go for worship. Yes, we can worship him anywhere, but we still must not take for granted the opportunity to worship him together as a family or a body.

Words of Encouragement

What if you could eat all the delicious deserts you like, and never have to worry about doing an extra hour on the treadmill or stepper? Oh, that would be great. However, it is wonderful that we can feast on the delicacies of the Spirit of God and the "weight" we gain is a good thing. (picture by James S. Williams)




for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. - Ecclesiastes 2:25-26

Happiness in Jesus. Happiness Comes From Pleasing God. The question asked, is who can find enjoyment or even eat without God. It is asking us to really examine how we are able to live.

The wicked gather and try to gain wealth but it is meaningless because it is like chasing the wind which you can never catch. That is what happens to the unsaved, all that they run after for happiness turns out to be like wind slipping through their hands, it will not bring true happiness. The unsaved have fallen prey to the belief that they can find happiness in things, positions, possessions and relationships. However, it is like the wind, they never catch it.


However, the one that pleases God, not only gains happiness but wisdom, knowledge and God's provision for what they need. The saved have a tangible gift of joy, it does not slip through the fingers like the fleeting happiness of the unsaved.


Today, Lord help us to seek our happiness in you. When we seek to please you we find true happiness. Anything else we pursue will only take us down dark rodes and we gain nothing. Thank you for giving us that which is real and that will sustain us.

Words of Encouragement

Just clowning around sometimes with friends can bring happiness. Yet, as happy as those moments with friends can be, it is not the ultimate source of happiness. These friendships man wane over time, but being a friend of God never loses it intensity.


The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!' - Matthew 25:20-21



Happiness in Jesus. Sharing God's happiness. Have you ever had a friend that had something you really wanted? Then to your amazement, that friend shared it with you. How did that make you feel? I can image you must have felt really loved or cared for that your friend thought enough about you to share his or her treat with you.



This is what God does with you and I. When God gives us talents (something valuable) he wants us to use it wisely and increase it. When we do, God says to us that we will be given another special treat, we will be able to share in his happiness.



The word happiness carries many meaning. In this instance it is the allowing of one to share in the joy or delight of God. This joy cannot be gained in any other way, than offered by God. What a blessing to be able to come and experience the joy and happiness of God. It is important for us to know that when we are obedient to God, he increases our joy and our happiness. It also shows us that our happiness is not depend upon outside factors. It is not because of what I have or what I will be able to get, it is based on the obedience to God.



Today, I pray that we would be obedient to God so that we can experience true happiness in him. Lord help us experience the treasures that you have for those that love you.