As a teen dealing with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, I was sent to a rehabilitation center run by a Jewish organization. It seemed Jewish patients celebrated special times and events all the time.
The Bible confirms that while God wants a people who follow Him and Him alone, without divided loyalties, he also wants to bring His people joy.
Deuteronomy 16:10-11 And you shall keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give unto the LORD your God, according as the LORD God has blessed you:
Rejoice before the LORD your God, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite that is within your gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD God has chosen to place his name there.
Those who live the Christian life with long lists of don’ts and even longer faces have missed the basic message. We can’t save ourselves by what we do. We are saved by what Jesus already did for us. That is cause for joy and celebration to and from the God who created us for joy.
When we’re down, maybe it is because we are living in our own strength instead by the healing power of the Holy Spirit.
Am I “Doing” religion instead of following Him?
Philippians 4:4 (KJV) Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
By Carolyn R Scheidies
From First I Bow