October

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,…" Galatians 5:22

I think everyone would agree that we all enjoy having joy in our lives.  Joy is different from happiness because happiness comes from certain things happening.  But you can have joy whether things are going good or bad.  And we need joy all the time because the joy of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

The Bible doesn’t teach that joy comes from our circumstances, but that joy comes from the Spirit of God.  It’s a fruit of the Spirit.  Where is the Spirit of God?  He’s in you if you’ve invited Him in!  So if the Spirit of God is in you then joy is a fruit, a result, a product, of the Spirit of God within you.

Notice in Galatians that joy comes right after love.  Love is a fruit of the Spirit and so is joy.  The Bible teaches us that if we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves that we will fulfill the law of God.  (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31; Romans 13:8-10).

Jesus said in John 15:9-11:

9. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

10. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."

He’s talking about continuing in the love of the Father and keeping His commands and He says in verse 11 that He’s telling us these things so that His joy might remain in us and be full.  The Amplified Bible says in verse 11:

11. I have told you these things that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be full measure and complete and overflowing.

Not just full of joy, delight and gladness but overflowing!  As we continue in the love of God and keep the commandments of love then the joy of Jesus will fill us and overflow out of us!  He’s showing us how to have our lives overflowing with joy and it’s by keeping the commandments of loving our Father, ourselves and others!

In order to do this you have to receive the love of the Father first, and the only way to do that is through Jesus Christ.  Then you can love Him with the love that you received from Him.  You don’t have the love that it takes inside of you to love God with.  You need to receive His love first and then love Him with the love that He gives you!

"We love him, because he first loved us."  1 John 4:19

And if we’re told to love our neighbor as ourselves then we have to love ourselves first, before we love others right?  It goes like this: Receive God’s love through Jesus, love Him back, love yourself, love your neighbor and overflow with joy!