IQ #236 “Living with Pure Joy”

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ, blessed is the Lord, for the gift of a new breath on a new day. Hallelujah! 

Many of you have heard me say that, God wants us to live a joyful and fulfilled life. If my statement was left to just that alone, you will question the truth in it when those days come where all does not go well.

Remember also, when you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your life would be filled with trials and temptations.  (Acts 14:22)  “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.

 In the book of Job we discovered that Job was a most righteous man who loved God and was totally committed to God’s commandments. Job was tested when God let Satan take away everything Job had and inflicted severe pain on him (Job 1:12)… “What!? How could our loving God do such a thing as to let Satan induce all this pain and suffering?” Yet, Job remained strong even when told to curse God for his troubles (1:22) 

From chapters 4-37, Job’s friends give him plenty of bad advice. They mistakenly blame his sufferings on his personal sins rather than God testing and growing Job. One of them was half-correct in that God wanted to humble him, but this was only a part of God’s test.

We are imperfect individuals. It is when you accept Jesus Christ into your life that God begins his sanctification process in making you holy. The trials and tribulations God allows you to be put though will cause you pain and anguish and you may cry out, “Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”… Are people giving you advice on what to do? Are you questioning God’s actions or are you questioning your understanding of God”

In chapters 38-42, God speaks to Job and restores him. God knows that Job has received incorrect guidance from his friends, (38:2) “Who is this that obscures my plans by words without knowledge?” God fittingly declares that humans do not know everything. Then He humbles Job by asking a series of questions that could never be answered by anyone other than Almighty God; for example, (38:18) “Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this”. God then brings him to an understanding that believers don’t always know what God is doing in their lives.

In the end, Job answers God by saying, (42:3b) “Surely I spoke of things I did not understand”. God then blessed Job with twice as much as he had before his trials began.

Job persevered and God filled his heart with joy. In the book of James we find out how we obtain pure joy.

James 1:2-6

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

That is probably one of the hardest passages of scripture to comprehend. You may ask, “How am I supposed to find joy in pain and suffering?”

As your personal trials and temptations begin to heat up it is only natural that all the junk and impurities festering inside you begin to rise to the top (come out in the open). With prayers for understanding to the blessed and almighty Lord, God begins scraping off those impurities and keeps testing you, all the while scraping off more junk, until all the impurities have been removed. Then, God will look at you, as you would a finely polished mirror, and see his reflection. God’s sanctification process in making you holy is where Christ Jesus can be seen and witnessed through you. Praise God for his wonderful acts! Hallelujah!

It is difficult to fully understand what God wants from us by what we go through in life until we let God cleanse our lives from the earthly junk.

Living with pure Joy can only be accomplished with love of God in your heart.

Peace and perseverance be with you my friends. 

John 7:31:15

IQ #235 "Is Wisdom Enough"

As Billy looked at the candles on his birthday cake, he was told to make a wish, and if he blew out all the candles in one breath, his wish would come true.

Being a video game nerd, Billy knew what he wanted. “I wish to be the best ViGaN in the world!” Billy blew out every candle and you could see in his eyes the excitement of the wish he had made.

Billy had already mastered every previous game and game system on the market and was getting well known in the world of top ViGaNs. For years he was consumed by every game he played and thirsted for each new game that would come on the market. Mine Craft, left 4 dead, Gears of War 4, Halo 5:Guardians, Fall Out 4 and all others were no match for his knowledge and skill. It was as if the agility and swift movements of his hands, fingers and eyes were made for playing video Games. Then came Epic’s game, “Fortnite” and with deft precision claimed victory over its seemingly invincible levels of mayhem and destruction. There was nothing in the game world that Billy could not beat. He had become king of the ViGaNs. For years he reigned supreme master of the video game empire.

One day Billy looked up from his console and looked out his widow and saw many people of all ages playing together and laughing underneath the sunny blue sky. In his darkened room, Billy sat back and reflected on his personal gaming world and how it began. As Billy thought about his birthday wish, he said to himself, “I am the best video gamer in the world and all those people out there seem oblivious to my achievements. Is this what I will be remembered for? Will I be remembered? What am I missing?”

Wisdom: The quality of having experience, knowledge and good judgment.

Proverbs 4:7

The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom.
Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Billy was very wise on how to play video games. His knowledge and expertise was unsurpassed, but there was emptiness to all he had accomplished. His quest for newer and more challenging games was unquenchable. The more games he conquered, the more new games he needed. It was a never ending and never satisfying quest for Billy.

Success in any area of life apart from God will be empty and meaningless, and the constant pursuit of self-satisfaction apart from God is ultimately unfulfilled.

Ecclesiastes 6:2 

A man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous evil.

Vanity is an endless pursuit with no guarantee of happiness.

Gaining wisdom is essential, but without God it is worthless.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Amen.”

Papa John 7:24:15

IQ #234 He Keeps His Word

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ, it is by God’s Word that your life has purpose and to give you hope for the future.

Isaiah 40:29-31

²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Even the strongest people get tired at times, but God’s power and strength never diminish. He is never too tired or too busy to help and listen. His strength is our source of strength. When you feel all of life crushing you and cannot go another step, remember that you can call upon God to renew your strength.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, your pastors, church teachers, leaders and myself are here to help guide you in your spiritual journey and to pray for you and with you. Your friends in Christ are here for you as well, to encourage you, to be by your side when things get rough and to celebrate with you in times of jubilation, to pray for you and with you.

In reading God’s Word, you will find that He keeps His word. Believe in Him.

May you find peace, strength, courage and love through God’s Word and Christ Jesus’ love for you, and through the fellowship of your Christian brothers and sisters.

Papa John 7:17:15

IQ #233 Rejoice! Rejoice!

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ; Rejoice! Rejoice! God, our sovereign Lord, and Creator, is here to bring you joy and peace!

I am pumped up with excitement, and, despite my current outward appearance, feel Fantabulous!

As you may recall, I did a crash and burn on the gym floor this past Tuesday during a volleyball game. My untimely ‘faceplant’ earned a trip to the emergency room where I received 26 stitches around my right eye.

You might be wondering, “Why is Papa John in such an upbeat mood?” I will tell you. “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart!...” You can sing the rest if you know it, if you don’t, learn it.

In one of the Facebook posts my wonderful wife, Connie, posted a message asking for prayers for my healing. She included a picture of me sitting on the exam table in the ER with a very bloody gauze dressing wrapped around my head and a smile on my face.

One of Connie’s friends made a comment by asking how I could be sitting there in the ER, in my condition with a smile on my face.

Psalm 28:7

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

When I hit the floor 5 or 6 people were directly involved in taking care of my injury in preparation for my road trip to the ER. A close friend took me to the ER. I had called Connie earlier and she met us at the hospital. The number of ER staff that took part in my short stay was eight people by my count. At least 15 people were involved in my physical need.

 Philippians 2:3-4

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

With Connie’s request for healing prayers on my behalf, many of you, and many more honored that request. Dozens of people became involved in the healing process.

Because of everyone’s compassion and personal sacrifices I was never alone. But, I was smiling from the beginning. How did I know I would receive so much care? I have great faith and trust in God, and know he will provide what is needed. How could I not smile?

Each one of you go through or are going through times of pain, either physical or emotional, maybe both. If you try to go through any of it by yourself, you are missing out on God’s love and provisions for you through his chosen people.   

Colossians 3:12

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

You may be asking, “Can I always be joyful in any situation?”

In the movie ‘Inside Out’ 11 year old Riley is an upbeat, happy girl, but when her life is suddenly changed her emotions go into turmoil with each emotion trying to control Riley’s reactions. Joy, the happy emotion does everything she can to keep the other emotions from taking over. With Riley’s life twirling out of control and her emotions in chaos, it isn’t until Joy sees into Riley’s past where Sadness got to be expressed and then witness how others came to Riley with compassion, that Joy realized that each emotion is there for a reason and should not be suppressed.

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

God wants us to have a wonderful and joyful life, but he knows we live in a sinful world that seeks to disconnect us from him, and lets us express those emotions needed for joyless situations.

Rest assured that God is in control and gives every believer in Jesus Christ the strength to overcome any obstacle and the promise of an everlasting joyful life.

Knowing God has never let us down and has kept Every promise how can we not be without a joyful spirit?

Philippians 4:4-5

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Papa John 7:3:15