FILLED WITH JOY

God's ultimate plan for each one of us is "to be conformed to the image of his Son" (Romans 8:29). What is the image of Jesus? It is His character which we see revealed through His life and spoken Word. The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 reveals His character. Can we mention just one of them in this little post?

Joy! Hebrews 1:9 tells us that Jesus was anointed with the "oil of joy" more than anyone else! Therefore, if we allow Him to work in our lives and conform us to His image, we will be filled and overflowing with joy. It is true that we don't always feel joyful. But, life does not consist of our feelings. Feelings come and go, but the Spirit of Christ who dwells within us is permanent and His life is a LIFE OF JOY, no matter what the circumstances.

As we shared Family Devotions this morning I thanked each of our lovely Above Rubies helpers for coming into the kitchen each morning with a smile on their face, filled with happiness and joy. They fill our home with joy as they seek to be more and more like Jesus. And, it proves they have been trained well by their parents.

One of the girls shared how that one morning she came downstairs to the breakfast table in her home with a grouchy face. Her mother sent her straight back to her room and told her to come back with happy smiling face. Good training!

I hope you don't let your children, and especially your teens (they should certainly be trained by now) come to the breakfast table with a sour and grumpy face. If they do, send them straight back to change their countenance and come back with a smile! Teach your children that the action they put on their face will soon change their attitude within. And you are also training your children for marriage. What a horrible thing for a spouse to wake up to a grumpy and grouchy wife. Of course, you'll have a wonderful smile on your face, to show them the way, won't you?

Are you being conformed to Christ's image? Then JOY will be one of your attributes.

Blessings from Nancy Campbell