My dear Covenant Partners and GEM Family:
Joy is the experience of Jesus as our Risen Lord and God. Jesus is Lord and God because He suffered and died and rose from the dead. In doing so, He vanquished permanently the dominion of Satan and the darkness of sin. We are established firmly in the victory of the Risen Lord who will “give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne” (Revelation 3: 21). No matter what the challenging circumstances of our lives might be, our joy is the grace that Jesus Christ is our permanent security. He is our Way, Truth, and Life. In Him we live, move, and have our being. We are, therefore, joyful!
Jesus is truly God and truly man. He has the fullness of Deity. Jesus is truly divine. Through Jesus, we have all been reconciled with the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit (Colossians 1: 19-20). In Jesus, we have become God’s covenant family. We are the Father’s sons and daughters. With Jesus, we address God as Father, in the same way as Jesus does. In Jesus’ love for His Father and for us, we are joyful!
We are now God’s covenant family. The Blessed Trinity shares the fullness of the divine life with us. Jesus abides in us. He is the Head and we are His body! His Father who abides in Jesus now abides in us. The Holy Spirit, given to be our Advocate, dwells in us as the Keeper of our souls. We are, therefore, joyful!
The Holy Spirit teaches us everything and reminds us of everything that Jesus taught (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God (1Corinthians 2:10), and reveals to us the treasures of God’s heart. Through His power, the Holy Spirit re-creates us in the image and likeness of Jesus who is the fullness of Deity. We are, therefore, joyful!
Joy is the fruit of the peace of Christ. Peace is the comforting assurance that Jesus has overcome Satan, sin, and permanent death. No hurricane force of evil can withstand the power of His love and mercy, given to us through His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. We are, therefore, joyful!
In joy, the reality of our souls could best be described as the multi-layers of the ocean: on the surface, we are constantly buffeted, tossed to and from, sometimes dangerously. However, hundreds of fathoms below, our souls are at rest, because the Master of the deep is also the Master of the storm. We are, therefore, joyful! Remember: In our Risen Lord we are called to be always joyful, even in adverse circumstances. God bless you. You are in our daily prayers!
