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.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
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!
________
*All Scripture references are from the New International Version, unless otherwise indicated.
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!
________
*All Scripture references are from the New International Version, unless otherwise indicated.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
The Joy of Jesus by Rev. Dr. James A. Lee
What would life be without joy? When a child is born in the world it gives the parents and related families tremendous joy. We can find joy in all types of activities if one so desires. The real question is what gives Jesus Joy?
Many years ago a child was born under the most adverse circumstances. Born in a manger with all of the burdens of the world on his life. The governments rested on him.
Jesus was born to save the world from sin.The Joy of The Lord is doing the perfect will of God. Do you know of anyone who who die for your sins and was so perfect in doing the absolute will of his father?
The Joy of The Lord is our Salvation. This is the good news. Jesus died in the cross so that we who believe in Him shall have everlasting life. God raised Him with all power and glory. Jesus will return to set all things right. The Joy of The Lord is my salvation
Many years ago a child was born under the most adverse circumstances. Born in a manger with all of the burdens of the world on his life. The governments rested on him.
Jesus was born to save the world from sin.The Joy of The Lord is doing the perfect will of God. Do you know of anyone who who die for your sins and was so perfect in doing the absolute will of his father?
The Joy of The Lord is our Salvation. This is the good news. Jesus died in the cross so that we who believe in Him shall have everlasting life. God raised Him with all power and glory. Jesus will return to set all things right. The Joy of The Lord is my salvation
The Joy of Jesus Church Bible Study for Life
Doing God’s Will
The Bible must be our only authority in religion if we want to please God and go to Heaven. People must give up all the various false doctrines that propagate the many different kinds of denominations and go back to only the Bible. There were no denominations in the New Testament times and there would be none today if only the Bible was taught and practiced. There would only be the Lord's one true church, the church of Christ.
How then do we make sure that we are among the few who are saved and not among the many who are lost? Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness". If you believe and call Jesus, "Lord, Lord", you are still lost if you have not done what God says. If we are not obeying God, we are practicing lawlessness. If we ever hope to go to heaven, we must do the will of the Father. This is the only way. Not the will of men, but God’s will. Not our own will, but God’s will. Just because we call Jesus our Lord, this will not save us.
We cannot go to Heaven by just calling Jesus, "Lord, Lord". Jesus says in the above scripture, on the Day of Judgment, many will be pleading with him, calling him Lord, Lord, and reminding him of the many wonderful works they had done in His name, but He will say unto them, "I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness". Why? Why? Because they had not done the will of the Father in heaven. Oh, they thought they had, but they hadn’t. They had done their own will or the will of men in their many differing denominations. This will be the worst thing that will ever be said to an individual, when the Lord on Judgment Day says to the majority of people, "I never knew you; depart from Me". The majority of people will be told this and be punished forever in Hell. There will be no appeal to this decision. There will be no second chance. We have to get it right the first time.
These people in the above scripture seemed to be honest, but they were honestly mistaken as the majority of people are today. The people seemed to be sincere. There will be many surprised but lost people on the Day of Judgment who thought that it doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. To believe this is to believe a lie of Satan. If it doesn't matter what you believe, then it doesn't matter if you believe at all. Apparently many were good people, because they had "done many wonderful works". But they had not done the will of the Father who is in heaven. Man generally wants to do things his way and he doesn't really care what God thinks. We cannot obey God without doing what God says to do, when God says to do it, how God says to do it, and for the reason God says to do it. Nothing is more important than pleasing God by doing His will so that we can go to Heaven.
We learn from the above scripture, that we don't go to Heaven by doing the will of men, or by doing what we think is right. The only way we can go to Heaven is by doing the will of the Father, and that will is found right in our Bibles. Do we really know what the will of the Father is so that we can be sure of going to Heaven? This is too important a matter to assume we do know or to take someone else’s word for it. One must know what the will of God is before he can obey it. Do you really know what the Bible says that God wants us to do in order to be saved?
What must I do to be saved? This is a very important question. Many people would answer this question in many different ways. The many different denominations give many different and conflicting answers. Only God's way is correct. The Bible is the only reliable source we can go to for our answer, since it is our soul that will be lost if we follow man's advice. Our obedience to Christ is a very serious decision and must not be taken lightly. It must be on the Lord's terms as laid out in the scriptures and not on our terms.
We have already seen in Matthew 7:13-14, 21, only few will be saved, and many will be lost, and only those who do the will of the Father can go to Heaven. We read in 1 John 2:4, "He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." "A liar" is pretty strong language. A person is lying to himself and everyone else who says he knows and loves God, but does not keep God's commandments. We know that a liar cannot go to Heaven (Revelation 21:8).
We must do all of God's will, so that we can go to Heaven. There is no other way. We must do all of what God has commanded us. Our Lord says in Matthew 28:20, “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” We must do all things God has commanded us. We cannot pick and choose and take a verse out of context but we must take all of what the Bible says. We cannot be pleasing to God by dreaming up our own plan of salvation as to how God is going to save us. We must follow His plan and only His plan if we expect Him to save us. Our salvation in Heaven is too great to lose, because if we don’t go to Heaven we will spend forever and ever in a burning Hell. Many people don’t really believe this, but they all will one day.
No single condition, that God imposes, can be ignored. God has no non-essential commands. When we don't obey a command of God, we have just broken it. Many people think that God will save them, no matter if they follow God's specific instructions on what they must do to be saved or not. We must obey God by doing what God says to do, when God says to do it, how God says to do it, and for the reason God says to do it. What then is God's will, so that we can go to Heaven and not have to endure eternal punishment forever and ever? We will find the answer in the Bible in the following lessons.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions Lesson 9
Doing God's Will
(click on the button of the answer of your choice)
1) (Matthew 7:21) How do we go to heaven?
By doing our will.
By doing man's will.
By doing God's will.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) All who call Jesus their Lord will be saved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) (Matthew 7:21) Those who call Jesus, Lord, Lord
Will all go to heaven.
Many of which will not go to heaven.
Will all be pleasing to the Lord.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) On Judgment Day many will be vainly pleading with Jesus to be saved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) (Matthew 7:23) What is the worse thing one can hear on Judgment Day?
Welcome to heaven.
That heaven has no more room.
Depart, I never knew you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) If we haven't done the will of God, we will not go to heaven even if we have done many good works.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) (1 John 2:4) If I say I know and love God, but I do not keep His commandments,
I am telling the truth.
I am a liar.
God will overlook it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) One is telling the truth if he says he loves and knows God but does not keep His commandments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bible must be our only authority in religion if we want to please God and go to Heaven. People must give up all the various false doctrines that propagate the many different kinds of denominations and go back to only the Bible. There were no denominations in the New Testament times and there would be none today if only the Bible was taught and practiced. There would only be the Lord's one true church, the church of Christ.
How then do we make sure that we are among the few who are saved and not among the many who are lost? Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, "Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then will I declare to them, I never knew you, depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness". If you believe and call Jesus, "Lord, Lord", you are still lost if you have not done what God says. If we are not obeying God, we are practicing lawlessness. If we ever hope to go to heaven, we must do the will of the Father. This is the only way. Not the will of men, but God’s will. Not our own will, but God’s will. Just because we call Jesus our Lord, this will not save us.
We cannot go to Heaven by just calling Jesus, "Lord, Lord". Jesus says in the above scripture, on the Day of Judgment, many will be pleading with him, calling him Lord, Lord, and reminding him of the many wonderful works they had done in His name, but He will say unto them, "I never knew you, depart from Me you who practice lawlessness". Why? Why? Because they had not done the will of the Father in heaven. Oh, they thought they had, but they hadn’t. They had done their own will or the will of men in their many differing denominations. This will be the worst thing that will ever be said to an individual, when the Lord on Judgment Day says to the majority of people, "I never knew you; depart from Me". The majority of people will be told this and be punished forever in Hell. There will be no appeal to this decision. There will be no second chance. We have to get it right the first time.
These people in the above scripture seemed to be honest, but they were honestly mistaken as the majority of people are today. The people seemed to be sincere. There will be many surprised but lost people on the Day of Judgment who thought that it doesn't really matter what you believe as long as you are sincere. To believe this is to believe a lie of Satan. If it doesn't matter what you believe, then it doesn't matter if you believe at all. Apparently many were good people, because they had "done many wonderful works". But they had not done the will of the Father who is in heaven. Man generally wants to do things his way and he doesn't really care what God thinks. We cannot obey God without doing what God says to do, when God says to do it, how God says to do it, and for the reason God says to do it. Nothing is more important than pleasing God by doing His will so that we can go to Heaven.
We learn from the above scripture, that we don't go to Heaven by doing the will of men, or by doing what we think is right. The only way we can go to Heaven is by doing the will of the Father, and that will is found right in our Bibles. Do we really know what the will of the Father is so that we can be sure of going to Heaven? This is too important a matter to assume we do know or to take someone else’s word for it. One must know what the will of God is before he can obey it. Do you really know what the Bible says that God wants us to do in order to be saved?
What must I do to be saved? This is a very important question. Many people would answer this question in many different ways. The many different denominations give many different and conflicting answers. Only God's way is correct. The Bible is the only reliable source we can go to for our answer, since it is our soul that will be lost if we follow man's advice. Our obedience to Christ is a very serious decision and must not be taken lightly. It must be on the Lord's terms as laid out in the scriptures and not on our terms.
We have already seen in Matthew 7:13-14, 21, only few will be saved, and many will be lost, and only those who do the will of the Father can go to Heaven. We read in 1 John 2:4, "He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." "A liar" is pretty strong language. A person is lying to himself and everyone else who says he knows and loves God, but does not keep God's commandments. We know that a liar cannot go to Heaven (Revelation 21:8).
We must do all of God's will, so that we can go to Heaven. There is no other way. We must do all of what God has commanded us. Our Lord says in Matthew 28:20, “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.” We must do all things God has commanded us. We cannot pick and choose and take a verse out of context but we must take all of what the Bible says. We cannot be pleasing to God by dreaming up our own plan of salvation as to how God is going to save us. We must follow His plan and only His plan if we expect Him to save us. Our salvation in Heaven is too great to lose, because if we don’t go to Heaven we will spend forever and ever in a burning Hell. Many people don’t really believe this, but they all will one day.
No single condition, that God imposes, can be ignored. God has no non-essential commands. When we don't obey a command of God, we have just broken it. Many people think that God will save them, no matter if they follow God's specific instructions on what they must do to be saved or not. We must obey God by doing what God says to do, when God says to do it, how God says to do it, and for the reason God says to do it. What then is God's will, so that we can go to Heaven and not have to endure eternal punishment forever and ever? We will find the answer in the Bible in the following lessons.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Questions Lesson 9
Doing God's Will
(click on the button of the answer of your choice)
1) (Matthew 7:21) How do we go to heaven?
By doing our will.
By doing man's will.
By doing God's will.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) All who call Jesus their Lord will be saved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) (Matthew 7:21) Those who call Jesus, Lord, Lord
Will all go to heaven.
Many of which will not go to heaven.
Will all be pleasing to the Lord.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) On Judgment Day many will be vainly pleading with Jesus to be saved.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) (Matthew 7:23) What is the worse thing one can hear on Judgment Day?
Welcome to heaven.
That heaven has no more room.
Depart, I never knew you.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) If we haven't done the will of God, we will not go to heaven even if we have done many good works.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) (1 John 2:4) If I say I know and love God, but I do not keep His commandments,
I am telling the truth.
I am a liar.
God will overlook it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) One is telling the truth if he says he loves and knows God but does not keep His commandments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
The Joy of Jesus Church of New Hope
The Joy of Jesus Church is Hope
by Dr.James A. Lee
Have you ever had something that was so precious to you, and lost it? What should one do under such circumstances? There many people today that have very little hope for the future. The Joy of Jesus Church has found the answer to such a dilemma.
The Bible tells a story about a woman who had a precious coin collection and lost one that she truly valued. What did she do? She cleaned up her house searching everywhere until she found it.
People are losing hope today due to the horrible economic conditions. We must look quickly to Scripture. The Bible states that when our dear woman found what she valued and lost she rejoiced with a celebration with her loved ones.
Where is our hope. All of our hope is in the Lord of all salvation. Jesus gave His life on the cross and was raise by God. The promise of all hope is that Jesus shall return and save all who believe in Him. This is the reason for all hope in The Joy of Jesus Church for you.
The Joy of Jesus Church Scripture for Life
Psalm 103 >>
King James Bible
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:
3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth.
16 For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children;
18 To such as keep his covenant, and to those that remember his commandments to do them.
19 The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over all.
20 Bless the LORD, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word.
21 Bless ye the LORD, all ye his hosts; ye ministers of his, that do his pleasure.
22 Bless the LORD, all his works in all places of his dominion: bless the LORD, O my soul.
Prayer: Bless the reading of God's Holy Word. We pray for a speacial blessing for you in your life today and forever. In Jesus name A-men.
The Rev. Dr. James A. Lee
Monday, March 22, 2010
The Joy of Jesus Church is all about Healing
Dear God in Heaven we praise Thee in Christ Jesus and The Holy Spirit for Healing.
Lord there are so many people who are suffering both physically and spiritually as well. We pray for their divine healing in the name of Jesus. Lord please take away the hate from their hearts. Show us the way of love, peace and joy in Jesus name we pray. A-men
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