I want to share this series with you because I remember when I didn't get it, and I can't forget the moment when I finally did. More to the point, I sincerely hope the Lord helps you understand this too.
I shared some of the details of when this all clicked for me in a post several years back. I experienced a lengthy bout of depression which developed as many of my closest companions moved away and I felt deeply alone. It was a series of events that set even a normally steady extrovert like myself into a tailspin.
After months of this, while barely going through the motions spiritually, my church featured a series by John Piper called "The Blazing Center." I remember thinking, "Piper's alright. I guess I'll go," and dragged myself in on Sunday morning. I dutifully sat through the first session and thought, "Well, I guess I'll come back next week." Thankfully, my a-ha moment began that next week when Piper lets us ponder, and then answers, a question just after 15:10 of session two.
The question: "What will satisfy your soul most deeply? If God refuses to give you that, he doesn't love you..." I was really listening, thinking hard through all I perceived was or could be taken from me. But it wasn't rhetorical. After a few seconds, Piper states, "Answer: Himself."
Suddenly I realized why I, and several of my friends, were so down. We were all looking in the wrong place, looking to the wrong things for satisfaction and security and identity and, ultimately, joy. And as Piper continued to paint this picture of how the greatest thing in the universe is God Himself, and the best thing God can give us is Himself through Jesus, everything Piper ever wrote finally made sense. Lewis and Edwards and Augustine and others made sense. Jesus is the place to find all those things. And from there, from Him, all the rest of life flows.
I still take people through "The Blazing Center," which was actually filmed at a youth retreat, and you should certainly take the extra time to watch if you wish. It takes a few different turns than the series below. Yet I appreciate that this more recent series highlights some of those main points (as do all of Piper's works) yet can be viewed in about an hour.
I hope you'll spend time with these, perhaps watch with friends, and I pray you'll understand the true root of eternal joy found only in Jesus which will last as He carries us even through any suffering or sorrow we experience now.
"Jesus & the Journey to Joy" - A Six-Part Study With John Piper
How Do You Define Joy?
What Is Christian Hedonism?
What Is the Secret of Joy in Suffering?
Do We Have to Enjoy God to Believe?
How Does Joy Overflow in Love?
Does Joy Die in Sorrow?
"And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." -John 17:3 (ESV)
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label joy. Show all posts
12.24.2010
Christmas letter 2010: what Joy is this?
"Joy, unspeakable joy,An overflowing well,
no tongue can tell.
Joy, unspeakable joy,
Rises in my soul,
Joy, unspeakable joy,
Rises in my soul,
never lets me go."
-Chris Tomlin,
"Joy to the World
(Unspeakable Joy)"
Joy is a word often seen and heard during the Christmas season, and it's a topic I can't seem to get away from anymore. Yet if you've had years like my last few, suffering some significant pain and loss in this world (and I know many who have and are), you might understand it's not something I want to get away from.
But the joy of which I speak isn't found in the things of this world, and therefore can't be destroyed by the loss of them, or even increased by worldly gain. Grief and gratitude are both appropriate reactions in certain situations, but true joy is measured well beyond emotion and circumstance. It is joy that comes from and is found in God alone.
There is a significant gift I received this year in which I take great joy. By God's grace, I haven't missed a day in His Word since January 1. And one of the many threads this allowed me to see repeatedly in the Bible is that of joy in the Lord. In the English Standard Version the word "joy" is translated not quite 200 times, with even more instances of the word "rejoice," and countless other expressions of joy throughout.
At the birth of Jesus, angels came to some shepherds near Bethlehem saying, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11, ESV)
A few years later, when men from the east saw the star which led them to Jesus, "...they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him." (Matthew 2:10-11, ESV)
All this joy from men and angels over one child—an amazing child who would grow into a Man, live as no man had, without breaking God's Law, and come back to life after a horrific public execution, all to fulfill the promise of God to save His rebellious people in their broken world. Joy is a gift of Jesus to those who, by His grace, stop living out of that brokenness and instead trust Him.
To know this Man, then, is to know a joy we can't find within ourselves or in anything around us. To be known by Him is unspeakable joy.
On this note, I want to share something from a man God has used to help me grasp this concept as the Lord took His joy beyond mere talk or intellect and continues to form it deep in my heart. Pastor John Piper's "Quest for Joy" draws out six Biblical truths on where true happiness and joy come from as found only in Jesus. Even if you happen to be familiar with this writing, I encourage you to dwell on this truth, asking God to use it to change you in ways yet unimaginable.
May the joy of the God Man Jesus Christ truly be yours this holiday season. Praying for you a blessed, happy and joyous Christmas in Christ. †
"Quest for Joy" by John Piper. ©Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org.
Graphic used by Creative Commons license from creativemyk.com.
2.25.2009
a crust or a Kingdom?
"Jesus said to him, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.' But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions." -Matthew 19:21 (NKJV)
During our 2 days in Chicago at Moody's Founders Week (see previous post for details), we had some down time and got to wander around the city. While one of those was just a dinner time walk to Ed Debevic's so I could throw a roll at the waiter, another was time in a shopping district at a very nice Borders and a very scary American Girl store. ((shudder))
Personally, I would have preferred to sit in on more sessions at Moody, but I stayed with the group for the most part. Eventually I decided to go back and catch a late session. The group was going for pizza anyway, and it's always best for me to take care of myself when it comes to food. (Cranky digestive system.) So I marched the several blocks back only to find the session was full and they didn't allow standing room.
Drat. Separated from my group in downtown Chicago with nothing to do for a few hours.
I made a call and decided to head back to where they were. Maybe I couldn't eat the stuff, but I didn't mind the company or the exercise to get there. "There" happened to be Giordano's Restaurant and Pizzeria, a finer Italian establishment.
As I made my turn onto Rush Street and was just about to enter the restaurant, a man walked up to me and asked if I had any spare change. While it is my policy to never stand on the sidewalk with an open wallet or encourage pan handling, I could honestly say I did not. However, trying to practice the love of Christ, I told the guy I was meeting a group and if he came in we'd feed him.
You could see his wheels turning. Was I serious?
"You'll feed me?" he asked.
"Yeah, come on," said I.
But no, no. He said he didn't want to interrupt. (Now the guy just stopped me on the sidewalk to ask for change. Was that not an interruption?) But I insisted I was serious, and told him to come in. So he came inside.
I told him to wait by the front door and I'd look for my group, who of course were clear at the back. I didn't know if he'd hang around, but I found him again, asked his name and said, "Come with me." He did, and I introduced him to the group as we got him a chair.
He nearly immediately launched into a story of how he recently lost his job as a forklift operator and was on hard times. But as soon as the youth pastor and I began discussing food, he got nervous again and said he didn't want to intrude (again). This time nothing we said would get him to stay. All we had on the table at this point was one small piece of bread which we gave him to take with. He shook my hand to thank me and walked out.
And that was that. We went on with a nice meal, and pizza left over. I managed a bowl of clam chowder (PTL, happy tummy) and gratefully enjoyed that. The leftover pizza went to a bus driver, who was ecstatic for the gift.
I later considered just what our friend at Giordano's gave up.
We were offering him a full meal, for free, and given the chance would have extended him an invitation into the Kingdom of God. Instead, he settled for a crust of bread and a handshake. He could have left satisfied physically and spiritually, dinner in his stomach and an heir of the One who owns everything. Instead, he walked out with nothing but a morsel to continue his brief life on Earth a mere street beggar.
While the harsh reality breaks my heart, it also makes me think. I think of all the times I see people so quickly willing to settle. I know I've done it myself. We settle for the immediate, for the here and now, for the thing we think will satisfy in the moment or the emotion we won't let go while completely ignoring an eternity to come. We settle for the tiny, insignificant things we think this world has to offer instead of the fullness of God's glory and the joy of knowing Him.
So these are my questions to you... (And don't stop reading here, Christian. This is for you too.)
Are you going to settle for a "crust of bread" today, that little thing that satisfies some perceived, immediate desire without any further commitment? Or are you ready to be full and rich in joy, completely satisfied by God Himself?
Certainly if you don't know Him, or have doubts to that end, I ask you to consider who He is and what He's done. Jesus died for you, for every wrong you ever did, and rose again so you can be an heir of God and spend eternity with Him, if you're willing to accept. He offers you infinitely more than all the little things this world has to offer combined. He's offering you Himself. Think about it.
If you do know Him, or think you do, then think about the statement above. Read it again. Remember what He did for you. Think about it. Really think! The God of the universe died for you and wants you to want Him with every fiber of your being. Do you? Or are you just willing to settle? Are you already an heir but still living as a beggar? Have you heard it all before and think, "That's great. I get to go to Heaven. Now, God, make me happy with Your stuff."? (No, you won't think those exact words. But you'll mean them.) Or are you ready to truly seek Him, trust Him, love Him, thank Him and give up everything else just to have Him?
So, what will it be? A crust or a Kingdom? Don't walk away begging for a morsel and miss out on the satisfaction of more than a meal. Wait and realize what God really has to offer—Himself. And He is everything.
"...the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." -Matthew 13:44-45 (NKJV)
(This story was also shared for Resurrection Day 2009.)
During our 2 days in Chicago at Moody's Founders Week (see previous post for details), we had some down time and got to wander around the city. While one of those was just a dinner time walk to Ed Debevic's so I could throw a roll at the waiter, another was time in a shopping district at a very nice Borders and a very scary American Girl store. ((shudder))
Personally, I would have preferred to sit in on more sessions at Moody, but I stayed with the group for the most part. Eventually I decided to go back and catch a late session. The group was going for pizza anyway, and it's always best for me to take care of myself when it comes to food. (Cranky digestive system.) So I marched the several blocks back only to find the session was full and they didn't allow standing room.
Drat. Separated from my group in downtown Chicago with nothing to do for a few hours.
I made a call and decided to head back to where they were. Maybe I couldn't eat the stuff, but I didn't mind the company or the exercise to get there. "There" happened to be Giordano's Restaurant and Pizzeria, a finer Italian establishment.
As I made my turn onto Rush Street and was just about to enter the restaurant, a man walked up to me and asked if I had any spare change. While it is my policy to never stand on the sidewalk with an open wallet or encourage pan handling, I could honestly say I did not. However, trying to practice the love of Christ, I told the guy I was meeting a group and if he came in we'd feed him.
You could see his wheels turning. Was I serious?
"You'll feed me?" he asked.
"Yeah, come on," said I.
But no, no. He said he didn't want to interrupt. (Now the guy just stopped me on the sidewalk to ask for change. Was that not an interruption?) But I insisted I was serious, and told him to come in. So he came inside.
I told him to wait by the front door and I'd look for my group, who of course were clear at the back. I didn't know if he'd hang around, but I found him again, asked his name and said, "Come with me." He did, and I introduced him to the group as we got him a chair.
He nearly immediately launched into a story of how he recently lost his job as a forklift operator and was on hard times. But as soon as the youth pastor and I began discussing food, he got nervous again and said he didn't want to intrude (again). This time nothing we said would get him to stay. All we had on the table at this point was one small piece of bread which we gave him to take with. He shook my hand to thank me and walked out.
And that was that. We went on with a nice meal, and pizza left over. I managed a bowl of clam chowder (PTL, happy tummy) and gratefully enjoyed that. The leftover pizza went to a bus driver, who was ecstatic for the gift.
I later considered just what our friend at Giordano's gave up.
We were offering him a full meal, for free, and given the chance would have extended him an invitation into the Kingdom of God. Instead, he settled for a crust of bread and a handshake. He could have left satisfied physically and spiritually, dinner in his stomach and an heir of the One who owns everything. Instead, he walked out with nothing but a morsel to continue his brief life on Earth a mere street beggar.
While the harsh reality breaks my heart, it also makes me think. I think of all the times I see people so quickly willing to settle. I know I've done it myself. We settle for the immediate, for the here and now, for the thing we think will satisfy in the moment or the emotion we won't let go while completely ignoring an eternity to come. We settle for the tiny, insignificant things we think this world has to offer instead of the fullness of God's glory and the joy of knowing Him.
So these are my questions to you... (And don't stop reading here, Christian. This is for you too.)
Are you going to settle for a "crust of bread" today, that little thing that satisfies some perceived, immediate desire without any further commitment? Or are you ready to be full and rich in joy, completely satisfied by God Himself?
Certainly if you don't know Him, or have doubts to that end, I ask you to consider who He is and what He's done. Jesus died for you, for every wrong you ever did, and rose again so you can be an heir of God and spend eternity with Him, if you're willing to accept. He offers you infinitely more than all the little things this world has to offer combined. He's offering you Himself. Think about it.
If you do know Him, or think you do, then think about the statement above. Read it again. Remember what He did for you. Think about it. Really think! The God of the universe died for you and wants you to want Him with every fiber of your being. Do you? Or are you just willing to settle? Are you already an heir but still living as a beggar? Have you heard it all before and think, "That's great. I get to go to Heaven. Now, God, make me happy with Your stuff."? (No, you won't think those exact words. But you'll mean them.) Or are you ready to truly seek Him, trust Him, love Him, thank Him and give up everything else just to have Him?
So, what will it be? A crust or a Kingdom? Don't walk away begging for a morsel and miss out on the satisfaction of more than a meal. Wait and realize what God really has to offer—Himself. And He is everything.
"...the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." -Matthew 13:44-45 (NKJV)
(This story was also shared for Resurrection Day 2009.)
12.20.2008
Christmas Letter '08: JOY
“You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
-Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
“Joy to the world,
the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King!”
What’s got you down? (Is that a weird way to start a Christmas letter about joy?) We might try to mask it around the friends and family, but in reality most people are going through something right now. Job stuff, financial stuff, relationship stuff. Crazy, messed up planet stuff. Regardless of what it is or why, almost everyone I talk to is going through something. And if we’re not now, we certainly will at some point. Welcome to a sinful, fallen world.
To be honest, for me this year kind of started where last year left off. I struggled to maintain the eternal perspective I long for, but couldn’t seem to get past some circumstances I wasn’t thrilled with. It bothered me more than I can express to realize at one point I was just going through the motions spiritually. I was seriously going through some stuff.
But in late summer, while half-heartedly viewing a video series, something finally clicked for me. Joy. Not the short-lived, temporary “happiness” we often seek in people and position and stuff, but a real and lasting joy that goes infinitely beyond all that, even in the face of trouble. We cannot find true joy or lasting happiness anywhere but in the Lord alone, and I was focused in the wrong direction.
How I missed this before I don’t know (how many times have I said that?), but things really began to change for me once I acknowledged God in this. He began working in me in all kinds of ways, and I truly started trusting Him in every situation, even the frustrating ones that didn’t change at all. I learned more of what it it means to see Him as Provider and Sustainer (especially given that hubby’s job situation suddenly changed this year), the source of every blessing and all good gifts, and what it means to give thanks in all things.
Of course, all this was contingent upon truly knowing the Lord. Not just knowing about Him. Not just giving a nod to God a few times a year, maybe showing up at church or mumbling a prayer when things get scary, but really knowing Him.
Consider this—what we actually celebrate at Christmas isn’t presents and food and family time, though all those can be wonderful gifts of God. What we actually celebrate is God coming to Earth. He lived among us and understands our struggles. He taught a radical message of love in what it means to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” and then “love your neighbor as yourself.” And He died for anyone who will believe and trust Him for it, all to restore our relationship with Him that was severed by our own willful disobedience, then returned to life proving again He truly is God.
Jesus did all that. That’s Who we celebrate and why we celebrate, because of the Joy only He could bring through a life only He can offer us.
If you know Him, never forget this. Dwell on Him as the heart of your holiday, and trust Him completely as you find your Joy in Him alone.
If you don’t know Him and you feel He’s calling you, accept the call. Receive your King. Make this Christmas one worth remembering, one worth celebrating and one full of the only true and lasting joy mankind can ever know—the Joy of the Lord.
Merry Christmas †
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
-Psalm 16:11 (ESV)
“Joy to the world,
the Lord is come;
Let Earth receive her King!”
What’s got you down? (Is that a weird way to start a Christmas letter about joy?) We might try to mask it around the friends and family, but in reality most people are going through something right now. Job stuff, financial stuff, relationship stuff. Crazy, messed up planet stuff. Regardless of what it is or why, almost everyone I talk to is going through something. And if we’re not now, we certainly will at some point. Welcome to a sinful, fallen world.
To be honest, for me this year kind of started where last year left off. I struggled to maintain the eternal perspective I long for, but couldn’t seem to get past some circumstances I wasn’t thrilled with. It bothered me more than I can express to realize at one point I was just going through the motions spiritually. I was seriously going through some stuff.
But in late summer, while half-heartedly viewing a video series, something finally clicked for me. Joy. Not the short-lived, temporary “happiness” we often seek in people and position and stuff, but a real and lasting joy that goes infinitely beyond all that, even in the face of trouble. We cannot find true joy or lasting happiness anywhere but in the Lord alone, and I was focused in the wrong direction.
How I missed this before I don’t know (how many times have I said that?), but things really began to change for me once I acknowledged God in this. He began working in me in all kinds of ways, and I truly started trusting Him in every situation, even the frustrating ones that didn’t change at all. I learned more of what it it means to see Him as Provider and Sustainer (especially given that hubby’s job situation suddenly changed this year), the source of every blessing and all good gifts, and what it means to give thanks in all things.
Of course, all this was contingent upon truly knowing the Lord. Not just knowing about Him. Not just giving a nod to God a few times a year, maybe showing up at church or mumbling a prayer when things get scary, but really knowing Him.
Consider this—what we actually celebrate at Christmas isn’t presents and food and family time, though all those can be wonderful gifts of God. What we actually celebrate is God coming to Earth. He lived among us and understands our struggles. He taught a radical message of love in what it means to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” and then “love your neighbor as yourself.” And He died for anyone who will believe and trust Him for it, all to restore our relationship with Him that was severed by our own willful disobedience, then returned to life proving again He truly is God.
Jesus did all that. That’s Who we celebrate and why we celebrate, because of the Joy only He could bring through a life only He can offer us.
If you know Him, never forget this. Dwell on Him as the heart of your holiday, and trust Him completely as you find your Joy in Him alone.
If you don’t know Him and you feel He’s calling you, accept the call. Receive your King. Make this Christmas one worth remembering, one worth celebrating and one full of the only true and lasting joy mankind can ever know—the Joy of the Lord.
Merry Christmas †
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