BEING JOYFUL for the LORD!

BEING JOYFUL for the LORD!
joelle: a thankful me says (23:00):
ben you are really very JOYFUL leh.
joelle: a thankful me says (23:00):
why you always so excited!
BennnnLau©(I'm a SMILEY BANANA){Trust in the LORD with all your heart,& lean not on your own understanding}-benlau89.blogspot.com says (23:00):
HAHAH
BennnnLau©(I'm a SMILEY BANANA){Trust in the LORD with all your heart,& lean not on your own understanding}-benlau89.blogspot.com says (23:00):
DUNNNOOO LEH!
joelle: a thankful me says (23:00):
thank God! (:
BennnnLau©(I'm a SMILEY BANANA){Trust in the LORD with all your heart,& lean not on your own understanding}-benlau89.blogspot.com says (23:01):
well.... actually i do noe why... BCOZ I KNOW I HAVE GOD IN MY LIFE MAH!
BennnnLau©(I'm a SMILEY BANANA){Trust in the LORD with all your heart,& lean not on your own understanding}-benlau89.blogspot.com says (23:01):
So thats why JOYFUL!
---- after sometime----
joelle: a thankful me says (23:41):
God's people should be the most positive, joyful people on earth. This joy should be a by-product of a healthy, intimate relationship with Jesus. -> the first sentence in my QT material!!! hahaha

so Coincidence lor! God reminded her abt JOYFULNESS in her QT when only just before we were talkin abt it!

Joy of the Lord

by Tom Brown (EXTRACT)

One of the most popular passages in the Bible is Nehemiah 8:10: "Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength."

Why is joy important? Because the "joy of the Lord is your strength!" Joy produces strength. And strength is needed to fight. You are called to "fight the good fight of faith" (1 Timothy 6:12). I sense in my spirit that many people in the body of Christ are tired of fighting the good fight of faith. They are struggling to fight because they have lost their joy.

REJOICE ALWAYS
Philippians 4:4 says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" How often are you to rejoice? You know the answer, Always! You are to rejoice always, because "joy" is the easiest fruit to lose. You can't live off of the joy you had yesterday. Joy can give you strength only when you possess it.

If you had joy last week, that joy will not give you strength today. Joy can only give you strength today, if you have it today. This is why you must rejoice always.

You might say, "I don't feel like rejoicing." God didn't say, "Rejoice, only if you feel like it." No! He said, "Rejoice always." Obviously, God knows that you don't feel like rejoicing always. Yet you need to rejoice always because if you don't then you lose the strength to fight.

James 1:2 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds." Pure joy is not happiness. "Happiness" comes from the word "happen." Happiness, therefore, is based on what is happening. If something good is happening, then you are happy. However, God says that pure joy occurs even in the midst of trials--even when the car breaks down, or when the kids get sick, or when the boss cuts your hours, or when your spouse is in a bad mood, etc.

Why is James telling us to count it pure joy whenever we face trials? Because joy gives you strength to fight your trials, and if you'll fight the trials, you will overcome. James continues, "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (v. 4). You see, James has in mind "victory over trials", not "acceptance of his trials." So by rejoicing, you overcome your trials.

if you read my a recent previous post.. the one abt YMLC 07... (extract from previous post)
"I was prayed for by my very own mentor leader Pastor Bernard chao.. and what he said was QUITE ACCURATE! Although maybe bcoz his my grp leader thats why he knew abit more of me. He prayed alot abt my JOY... and that this JOY wld be my strength! AND its like sooo true lor! Alot of people has ask me why i'm always so JOYFUL! and i believed its really God's gift for me!"

"...Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10"