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Tag Archives: Joy
In the Midst of It All, Rejoice
In “In the Midst of It All, Rejoice,” the author reflects on the biblical nature of joy—distinct from happiness and often found not after hardship, but within it. Drawing from Isaiah’s Advent prophecy, Paul’s conversion from darkness to light, and personal moments of faith, loss, and redirection, the post explores how true joy emerges when we recognize our need for Christ and trust His guidance through life’s winding paths. With the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as a musical metaphor, readers are reminded that even quiet, trembling, minor-key rejoicing is still real joy—because the Light has come, and the darkness will not win. Continue reading
Posted in Advent & Christmas, Advent Reflections, Christian Living, Faith & Spiritual Growth
Tagged Acts 26, Advent, Aslan, C.S. Lewis, Christian encouragement, Conversion, Darkness and Light, Faith Journey, Finding Joy, Following Jesus, Hope in Hard Times, Isaiah 9, Joy, Minor Key Joy, O Come O Come Emmanuel, Rejoice, Worship God
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Stealing Back Joy
Introduction In a world that often seems filled with endless to-do lists, challenges, and disappointments, it’s easy for joy to slip through our fingers. We tend to think of joy as synonymous with happiness—something that occurs when everything aligns perfectly … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical insights, Biblical Teachings, Christian, Christian encouragement, Christian Living, Contentment and Gratitude, Daily Devotional, Dependence on God, Faith, Faith and Encouragement, Faith and Inspiration, Faith and Resilience, Faith and Resilliance, Family Relationships, God's love, Grace and Redemption, Healing and Restoration, Inspirational, Life Challenges, Mental Health and Wellness, Navigating Life's Challenges, Personal Reflection, Prayer and faith, Prayer and Worship, Self-Improvement, Serving Others, Spiritual Encouragement, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Reflection
Tagged Biblical Encouragement, Christian inspiration, Daily Walk with God, Eternal Hope, Faith in Hard Times, Finding Joy in Jesus, God, Joy, Joy of the Lord, Psalm 16:11, Revelation 21:4, Spiritual Resilience
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No Comparison: Finding Joy in Our Own Journey
In the Daily Audio Bible’s annual journey through the Bible, this week we reached the end of the book of John, the last of the gospels. In John 21, we find a poignant scene that speaks volumes about human nature … Continue reading
Posted in Biblical Teachings, Christian, Christian Living, Christianity and Mental Health, Daily Devotional, Faith, Jesus's teachings, Self-Improvement, Spiritual Encouragement, Spiritual Growth
Tagged Christian Contentment, Contentment, Faith, Faith and Challenges, Gratitude, Jesus, Joy, Overcoming envy
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Stealing Joy
One of the evil one’s tactics, I believe, is to cause us to focus on the worst aspects of any given experience or situation, thus stealing joy from even the best that life has to offer. This causes people to … Continue reading
You Want Me to Do What???
This past week, I was fortunate to be able to go see episodes 1 and 2 of the new season (season 3) of my favorite TV show, The Chosen, in a local theater. These episodes were as well done as … Continue reading
Posted in Christian, Faith
Tagged Following God's calling, Joy, Joy of the Lord is my strength, The Chosen, Trust God
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Feelings Follow Faithfulness
At church this morning, they mentioned that the 21st Desperation Conference took place this past week, and they described how so many of the 2000 teenagers who attended had dedicated or rededicated their lives to Christ and left the conference … Continue reading
Posted in Christian, Faith, Miracles
Tagged Conversion experience, Desperation Conference, Faithfulness, If you do what you should do it can become something you want to do, Joy, New Life Church, Obedience, On fire for Jesus, Rejoice in the Lord, Rejoice!, We must pass through obedience to reach joy
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The Joy of the Lord Comes from Hoping in Him
This weekend in America we are celebrating Independence Day, a time commemorating the birth of our nation. This got me thinking about joy. Joy is a gift from God, but one that is all too often overlooked. I get it, … Continue reading
Whom Will You Thank?
This being the Sunday leading into Thanksgiving week, I felt God leading me to pause our series on apologetics (“Beyond Belief“), at least for this week, to reflect on this upcoming holiday, particularly focusing on thankfulness and gratitude. Let’s start … Continue reading
Advent: The Invasion – Ode to Joy!
I don’t know about you, but I love positive stories that are counter-intuitive or even, to some extent, counter-cultural. I must not be alone in this, since stories where the hero overcomes incredible odds to achieve his/her goal are quite … Continue reading
Posted in Christian, Faith
Tagged Advent, Advent - Joy, Joy, Joy to the World, Ode to Joy
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Master's Canvas - Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter 