The Joy of Jesus Scripture for Living Today

Acts 4
Peter and John Before the Council
1And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, 2greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. 4But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.

5On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11This Jesusa is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.b 12And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

13Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. 14But seeing the man who was healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition. 15But when they had commanded them to leave the council, they conferred with one another, 16saying, “What shall we do with these men? For that a notable sign has been performed through them is evident to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. 17But in order that it may spread no further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to anyone in this name.” 18So they called them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” 21And when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people, for all were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness
23When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, 25who through the mouth of our father David, your servant,c said by the Holy Spirit,

“‘Why did the Gentiles rage,
and the peoples plot in vain?
26 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’d—

27for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. 29And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servantse to continue to speak your word with all boldness, 30while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

They Had Everything in Common
32Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, 37sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.


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Footnotes:
a 11 Greek This one
b 11 Greek the head of the corner

Faith is The Joy of Jesus Rev. Dr. James A. Lee

Faith:
Do you believe in seeing is believing? If I didn't see it: It never happened. This is the way a great number of people live their life. We lean and perceive things through ones senses.

Yet, the most important factor of life has not been seen at all.

We need to go one step beyound to experience the full joy of Jesus in order to take the next faze of life. Jesus preached a pure message of faith. If we had the faith of a very small seed, it would grow into a huge and beautiful tree.

Faith can move mountains. It is a deep belief in The Creator of all the universe and His son. God gave us Jesus and the world rejected Him because of what He represents. To stand tall for love,grace and peace is not what those in power care about in life.

Our faith is in Christ Jesus, who turned water into wine, walk on the water and heal people. Jesus raised folk from the dead.

Our faith tells us that Jesus was betrayed, beaten, and crucified for our transgressions. Move Over, the Power of God raised Him from the dead and He will return with all power, honor and glory.

Our faith in Christ Jesus is The Joy of Jesus. We too can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthen us from day to day. Our faith in Him is the key to all the universe of the great unseen. We walk by faith and not by sight.

Convocation: The Joy of Jesus Church/Healing

Prayer: Dear God our Father, in Christ Jesus name we pray.We ask for the healing of the world of all evil and hate. We ask that Your love can move us in new direction of perfect peace and healing. We pray for all people around the world in need. We ask that you continue to make this ministry grow in love and power. Bless all those who follow our teachings with your grace and mercy. We love You today Lord. We give You all of the power , honor and glory in Christ Jesus names and The Holy Spirit of God...

Scripture:And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. And Simon's wife's mother was taken with a great fever; and anon they tell Him of her; and they besought Him for her. And He stood over her and rebuked the fever; and He came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them.

—Mark 1:29-31

The Power of Jesus:The rebuking of the fever signifies that diseases are due to the lack of proper operation of the conscious forces which govern the body, and are also due to the evil forces which consciously allow the evil of disease to spread in the body. Some diseases are brought about by physical transgressions against the laws of health, but disease germs are also created by an evil force that tries to destroy the beautiful creation of God — the human body. When the actions of an individual become very bad, evil vibrations are generated, attracting disease germs, which are the agencies of evil.

Jesus could see the evil force that was responsible for the introduction of fever into the body of Simon's wife's mother, and thus he rebuked it away and restored the harmony of health. Jesus commanded the predominating evil force to depart from the body of the stricken woman, thus reinstating the conscious Astral forces which govern normal health.

And at even, when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with diverse diseases brought them unto Him; and they that were possessed with devils; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them. And all the city was gathered together at the door.

—Mark 1:32-33

Jesus exercised his supreme healing power to heal everyone who came to Him. He could heal all those who came unto Him at that time because all of them had the power of receptivity and faith. Faith is the soil, and the power of God flowing through the healer is the seed. True healing requires the true soil of faith in the patient and the powerful seed of healing in the healer or God.

Jesus could not heal everybody in the place where He was born because, even powerful as He was, He could not sprout the seed of his healing power on the rocky soil of disbelieving minds.

In healing, the power of the healer, great or small, is limited as compared to the unlimited healing power of God. Hence, all healers, instead of commanding their own powers in healing should invoke the unlimited Divine power of healing to flow through them and work certain healing. Man's power may fail but God's power can never fail. Even though God has unlimited healing power and though our Father does not want to see us suffer from disease, yet He cannot heal us until we open the gates of our own willingness to be healed. God has given us free choice, unlike the animals, and by misusing it we can keep God out of our lives. By using it properly, we can allow God to heal us.

In order to be sure of God's healing power, one must know and feel Him deeply in meditation daily. When sure of the Divine Communion, one should completely absorb oneself in God preceding every healing which one tries to perform. When administering Divine healing, the healer must act as a perfect medium in order to let God's unlimited power flow through without obstruction. Egotism and loud declaration, and self-laudation, such as, "I healed her," and so forth, should be strictly avoided both in speech and mind, in order to let the all-knowing God perform the healing.

Prayer for Peace The Rev. Dr. James A. Lee

We pray for peace Dear God. People are suffering and need hope and love all in Christ Jesus. We ask in the name of Jesus that violence is ended. we pray for peace, hope and love. We ask for forgiveness of all sin, we forgive all enemies in the blood of Jesus.

Lord we thank you for this opportunity to pray unto you. Lord help us all.

We Praise your Holy name.

God save us all in Jesus name we pray.....

The Joy of Jesus Church position on Violence

The recent reports of violence and threats of violence needs to be addressed publicly. The Joy of Jesus Church calls on all responsible pillars of society to speak out against violence. This does not resolve any problem we may face as a society. The Joy of Jesus Church is rooted on peace,hope and love for all people http://thejoyofjesuschurchonline.blogspot.com/

We are now on a peace and prosperity campaign to help people in need to become empowered to help others, and that violence is not the answer to problems. Children are the most adversely impacted by such hate and ignorance. Education and values which promote civility are in order.

The Rev. Dr. James A. Lee, Pastor of the Joy of Jesus Church http://thejoyofjesuschurchonline.blogspot.com/ will develop a Center for Peace to help resolve some of the frustration people may experience with t5he political and economic issues that may result in violence. Please donate to The Joy of Jesus to Uplift Humanity http://thejoyofjesuschurchonline.blogspot.com/

Pray for Peace!

The Power of God by The Rev. Dr. James A. Lee

Do you often feel weak and powerless against the forces of life sometimes? There are so many events and changes occurring that one can easily get lost in the utter confusion of it all. What can the average person do?

The Joy of Jesus is idea that no matter how weak one may be; there is a great power. Faith is vital to ones belief system. Faith is the shield of God in a Godless world. We must place all of our trust in The Power of God to The Joy of Jesus.

The real question today is how does one access The Power of God? The answer my friend is written. The meek shall inherit the earth. In other words one must submit to the absolute authority of God through Christ Jesus.

In closing, Jesus gave His life on the cross for all of the sins of world, and The Power of God raised Jesus with all power and glory. Jesus will return to wipe away all tears and evil will never be remembered. Weeping may endure for a night, but The Joy of Jesus will come in the morning.

The Joy of Jesus International Sunday School Lesson

Acceptance in the Community (Ruth 2:5-12; 3:9-11)



The coach of the local football team began his season opening address by saying he wanted his team to be relevant when the league’s playoff picture began taking shape in the last few weeks of the season. I don’t ever remember hearing a coach use the term relevant to measure the success or failure of his team.

Relevant. Important. Impactful. Vital. Significant. A team could play well for a few games and still have no bearing on the championship. A team could be surrounded with enough drama to grab the headlines of the evening news and the daily paper and still have a stranglehold on last place. Its roster could be loaded with players capable of padding their individual stats, making all-star teams, and shattering performance records, and still be irrelevant in the hunt for the prize.

Relevant for Her Works
Ruth was relevant. By her good works, she caused people to notice her and she made a positive impact on those around her. Having turned down her mother-in-law’s “greener pastures” offer, this Moabite woman stood by Naomi. She unassumingly toiled behind the regular harvesters, content with the leftover grain rather than demanding the best the fields had to offer. She also expressed kindness and loyalty to Boaz. He noticed, and word spread to all of the people of the area who had taken notice of Ruth’s character (Ruth 3:11).

Motivated by His Love
There are plenty of people in our communities who pull on the jersey of faith and attempt to be players for Christ. Some on our team want to exercise their world-class criticism talent to point out the faults and sins of others. Many of us are more tactical. We boycott and denounce ideas and initiatives with which we disagree. A few of us even look to pad our stats of the faith by serving on every civic committee and community watch group we can find.

But if these things are not done in the name of the love that Christ demonstrated for each one of us, we risk becoming nothing more than the clanking, out-of-tune instruments Paul writes about (1 Corinthians 13:1).

We may show up for practice every Sunday. We may grab the attention of the local media with our marches and sit-ins. We may outwardly wear the uniform with pride. But without the sincerity, humility, and devotion that Ruth showed, we are unaccepted by our community. Then the message of Christ we try so desperately to deliver falls on deaf ears, and we are irrelevant to the cause for Christ.

I recently watched the local team play a game that had championship relevance. Late in the game, one of our players tackled an opposing player for a short loss. The tackler sprang from the turf, pointed at the downed player, and celebrated as if his team had just conquered the world.

In reality, his team faced a 30-point deficit and had not scored a single point. One great tackle, as flashy as it was, had no impact. No one cared. It was irrelevant to the outcome of the game.

Example to Our Neighbors
So, as we go through the seasons of our lives, let us do so with humility and motives like Ruth’s. If we’re in the game for fame and glory, self-promotion, or for reasons other than wanting to bring people closer to a relationship with Christ, then we run the risk of our actions having no relevance in the very community we are trying to serve. The people of Bethlehem noticed how Ruth went about her work as much as they did the deeds themselves. Likewise, we need our neighbors and coworkers to know we feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and love the unlovable because Christ first loved us.

My playbook tells me that gentleness and meekness will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). My Coach also tells me that, after this season of life is over, his postseason definitely is worth the training!

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*All Scripture references are from the New International Version, unless otherwise indicated.