"and again I say" ~ 7/30/18

Monday, July 30, 2018 (7:02 a.m. MDT)

Questa, New Mexico,

Good Morning God,

(8:12 a.m.)

And again I say, “Good morning, God.”

Thank You Father for sleep. And family. And fellowship. Thank You for the opportunities You give us to share ourselves with others.

Father God, I love You. So many times already this morning I have considered how awesome it is to love and be loved by You. Thank You for this privilege.

Thank You again for the reminder of how imperative [vitally important, crucial, essential] it is to ♪Rejoice in the Lord always And again I say, “Rejoice!”♪

I sit here acknowledging the far too many times I have practically thumbed my nose at this command of Paul’s. As I confess to You my deeply rooted reticence to joy I am fully aware of Your ability to change even this in me.

Reading from and of Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi, I am struck by the circumstance of his writing. In prison, he sees “his imprisonment as a good thing” (Philippians 1:12-30) Illustrated Bible Handbook.

THE BIG PICTURE in The Life Recovery Bible presents the essential features of this letter as:

A. JOY IN THE MIDST OF DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES (1:1-30)

B. THE SECRET OF VICTORIOUS LIVING (2:1-30)

C. HAVING A VICTORIOUS FOCUS (3:1-21)

D. FINDING A JOYFUL FELLOWSHIP (4:1-23)

Illustrated Bible Handbook titles each of these chapters:

Chapter 1. Joy in the Gospel

Chapter 2. Joy in Following Jesus

Chapter 3. Joy through Commitment

Chapter 4. Joy in the Lord

Again I confess, I don’t “do” joy readily. It is not my automatic, go-to nature. YOU can change that in me. I don’t know how. Or when. But I absolutely look forward to the day that I will be able to respond to the circumstances of life as Paul encouraged his Philippian (4:4) supporters:

               “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again - rejoice!”

Teach me Father. I have a woman here who exudes joy. She actually has tissue boxes throughout her house that say, “Be joyful”. And she is! Make me able Father.

“For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need” (v. 13).

Do all You must to instill in me the joyfulness of which Paul lived and wrote. I love You Father. I want to be joyful. To TRULY ♪Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, “Rejoice!”♪

Please. Thank You. I love You. Amen.

(430 words ~ 9:30 a.m. MDT)