{"id":1015,"date":"2020-03-09T22:02:31","date_gmt":"2020-03-09T22:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.glitterandgraceteens.com\/?p=1015"},"modified":"2020-03-09T22:02:31","modified_gmt":"2020-03-09T22:02:31","slug":"choose-joy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/?p=1015","title":{"rendered":"Choose joy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Choose Joy: Jesus Over Yourself <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If Christians are supposed to reflect the fruits of the Spirit, then we have to be able to understand them first. They are much more than just words. Each one has a purpose and each one brings us closer to God.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the next few weeks, I\u2019ll be exploring each fruit of the Spirit and sharing with you what I find. This week, I\u2019m digging into is JOY. There have been many times that I\u2019ve asked myself, \u201c will I ever find joy again?\u201d So what is JOY and how can you find it in your life? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Find joy on your darkest days. Every trial has a purpose. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.\u201d
\u202d\u202dJames\u202c \u202d1:2-4\u202c \u202dNIV\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Our Joy comes through Jesus not this world. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut the angel said to them, \u201cDo not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.\u201d
\u202d\u202dLuke\u202c \u202d2:10\u202c \u202dNIV\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. You are chosen – be joyful that Jesus chose to die for YOU. Love as Jesus – live as Jesus and you will find joy in His Name<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one\u2019s life for one\u2019s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master\u2019s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit\u2014fruit that will last\u2014and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.\u201d
\u202d\u202dJohn\u202c \u202d15:11-17\u202c \u202dNIV\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Your joy is depleted when you compare yourself to the world around you. You will be hated at times, but find Joy in your Heavenly Father. Don\u2019t depend on this world for your joy – you\u2019ll never find it here.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u201cIf the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.\u201d
\u202d\u202dJohn\u202c \u202d15:18-19\u202c \u202dNIV\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Jesus chose joy as He walked to the cross. Why can\u2019t we find joy in our everyday battles? Fix your eyes on Jesus and live by His example. Adjust your focus.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cfixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.\u201d
\n\u202d\u202dHebrews\u202c \u202d12:2\u202c \u202dNIV\u202c\u202c<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choose joy.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May God bless you and show you His grace every day!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Kayla Rampey <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Christians are supposed to reflect the fruits of the Spirit, then we have to be able to understand them first. They are much more than just words. Each one has a purpose and each one brings us closer to God. In the next few weeks, I\u2019ll be exploring each fruit of the Spirit and … Continue reading Choose joy<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-devotions"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1015"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1016,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1015\/revisions\/1016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empoweredjesusgirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}