Acts 4:13

They took note that they had been with Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

Always be joyful. Always keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

To get ready for this week’s theme of Joy as a foundational fruit of the Spirit, we share a few quotes from 4 Habits of Joy-filled People:

“Joy helps you endure hardship well. Joy gives us the strength to deal with emotional pain. The idea of living with joy doesn’t mean that we don’t suffer or feel emotional pain. It doesn’t even mean that we get past our emotional pain quickly. It means that despite the emotional pain we have, we can still find relational joy in the midst of the hard stuff.”
p. 10, The 4 Habits, Warner, Coursey

“Joy is a high-energy emotion related to knowing that someone is happy to see me. The relational happiness we feel when we experience spontaneous joy can also be experienced when we relive joyful moments from the past or anticipate joyful moments in the future.”
p. 33, The 4 Habits, Warner, Coursey

May the Holy Spirit give us wisdom and understanding about joy, expanding not just our knowledge, but our experience of joy in the Lord – and among each other – daily.

Prayer for this Week of Devotions

based on Isaiah 61:10

I greatly rejoice in You Lord; my soul exults in having You as my God. You clothe me with garments of salvation – a robe of righteousness. Thank You for treasuring me – us as your people. Build our joy this week, mine, my family and friends, church, and community. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Theme: The Foundational Fruit of JOY

Romans 12:12 ESV

Rejoice in hope,
be patient in tribulation,
be constant in prayer.

Pondering Point

Here’s a quote from friend Chris Coursey:

You have likely experienced the following description yourself: Immature people often change their personality depending on the emotion they feel. Others tend to walk around them on eggshells because of it. One of the characteristics of adult-level maturity is the ability to act like ourselves even under stress. The world needs more adults. We need more people who are running on the fuel of joy and handling their emotions with predictable stability.
~ page 125, The 4 Habits, Warner, Coursey

We add to that the extremely helpful (God-given) ability to handle difficulties without losing ourselves. Here is Jim Wilder:

Suffering well means that we go through difficulties in life without being traumatized and that we respond to each situation relationally. We were created as relational beings, but we forget that when reacting out of pain. In order to suffer well, we need maturity. All Christians are called to develop maturity. One of the main characteristics of a mature person is the ability to handle difficult emotions. Mature people are able to return to a state of calm from the six big emotions. Maturity rises to life's challenges rather than reacting from fear. Maturity allows us to live according to God's values, remembering that we are created in his image to do good works. Although life is not easy, we can still live by our values during challenging times.
27, Joyful Journey, Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow

Prayer

Father God, remind us that joy does not require a lack of pain or difficulty, but the presence of You – and others – in the midst of all life’s varied situations.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Micro-Group Connections
in the Discipleship Lifestyle

Luke 5:3

[Jesus] got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Micro-Group Moment (MGM)

When Jesus stepped into Peter’s boat, He walked into a pre-existing MG of Peter, James, and John – fishing buddies. The Bible calls them partners, but it is the same church-y word in Greek that we use for “fellowship” (koinonia). What Jesus did was invite these pre-existing partners into a deeper spiritual journey as well.

MGers: siblings spouse parents teammates classmates neighbors friends church folk
co-workers

less often: pet-vet
gym rats wait staff
clientele hobbyists

This is a key understanding to the MG life of disciples. While we can be open to starting new relationships, more so we look to welcome Jesus into pre-existing fellowships (when and where the Holy Spirit directs). We may not be able to foster dozens of Small Groups, but we can be intentional about a few of the dozens of MGs that already exist in our current lives. We can, like Jesus, invite others into a deeper spiritual journey as well. These groups meet anywhere from weekly to monthly.

Are you open to letting Jesus use your life (boat) as a platform to teach or connect with others?
Make a list of your current or past MGs that include teammates or partners. They may be based on work, like Peter, or hobbies like scouting, bowling, music, or book clubs. They could be family-, health- or sports-oriented. Share your list with a friend.