From The Pastor’s Desk

From the Pastor’s Desk

Joy, is one of the central themes that interlaces throughout the word of God. God’s Prophet Nehemiah exhorted the returning remnant of Israel saying, “the Joy of the Lord is my strength”. The Apostle Paul wrote to the saints at Philippi saying, “rejoice in the Lord always”. When we rejoice in the Lord, we are remembering all that He has done in our lives. We are contemplating His goodness and thanking Him simply for
being the God we serve. Our anxieties leave us and our gentleness invades us. Suddenly, the world outside is gone and the peace that
“surpasses all understanding” fills our hearts and minds. As we look at the Apostle Paul’s exhortations in today’s message, I am pleased to report that God has given us a way to receive this Joy. Paul tells us to “meditate” on the good things in our lives and he even gives us a list of those virtuous “things”. Somehow, when we actively concentrate on good, our brain is renewed and our spirit is restored. Again, Paul writes, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”. It is almost as if the God who built us knows how to fix us – REJOICE and be filled with JOY!

Pastor Wayne