Grace Abounds Ministries

 Origin of Joy "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," Galatians 5:22 (NKJV) In today's article, we will be looking at the origin of joy. From Galatians 5:22, we see that joy is what the Holy Spirit supplies. However, I want to show the first expression of joy in the New Testament and what caused it, as described in Luke 2:8-11 (NKJV): "Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'" The above scripture reveals the conversation between the angel and shepherds when Jesus was born. The angel told...

 The Fruit of the Spirit Joy - Definition Continued But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:23 In this article, we will continue our discussion on joy. In the last article, I debunked the idea that joy is just a feeling, emphasizing that it is tangible. Therefore, I define joy as the rejoicing of the heart because of the grace we have received from God. To review the last article, kindly click on the link . In today's article, I will provide another perspective on biblical joy. Although it is similar to the previous definition, it offers a different expression. Joy responds to external circumstances with inner contentment and satisfaction in Christ. The key highlight in this definition is choice. Joy is a choice! It is a life you choose to walk in. Even though, as believers, you have joy inside of you, you might choose to neglect it. You might decide to deny...

  The Fruit of the Spirit (Introduction to  Joy) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness," Galatians 5:22 (NKJV) For some weeks, I have shared about love from a biblical perspective. Starting with this article, I will be sharing about joy from a biblical perspective. The first thing I want us to know is that joy is an essential component of the Christian life. It is so important that it appears over 100 times in the Old Testament and over 50 times in the New Testament. I am sharing this background because I have discovered that many believers don't experience joy. We talk about love, patience, and faith, but joy is equally important. Galatians 5:22 shows us that joy is one of the characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit, the second on the list. This highlights its significance. Unfortunately, the reason we have not been walking in this dimension of the Spirit is that we have reduced joy to just a feeling. Joy is ...