Too Good to be True

 I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7  NASB Joy– Why does Yeshua make such an outrageous claim?  Think about it. Aren’t ninety-nine righteous people a great delight to God?  Aren’t they a blessing to others? …

A Blissful Life

O clap your hands, all peoples; shout to God with the voice of joy. Psalm 47:1  NASB A note about Friday’s post:  As you probably guessed, we have on-going issues with the service we use to send out the daily emails.  Friday was another missed Today’s Word.  Then it went out on Saturday, which was not supposed to…

Not Going There

So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.  Acts 5:41  NASB Rejoicing– When the disciples were beaten and instructed no longer to proclaim Yeshua as Messiah, they reacted in a way that is not easily understood.  They rejoiced.  This seems particularly strange given…

Underworld

“There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, and through the skies in His majesty.  The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; Deuteronomy 33:26-27a  NASB Everlasting arms – “And, of course, one of the things we must listen for is joy.  It’s hard to…

Hebrew Joy

You shall multiply the nation, You shall increase their gladness; they will be glad in Your presence as with the gladness of harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.   Isaiah 9:3 NASB Gladness– One English dictionary defines joy as “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” As you can readily see, this definition follows the Greek conflation of chará and hēdonḗ (rejoicing and pleasure).  It’s typical…

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (2)

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,”James 1:2  NASB Joy– I don’t think we listen to James.  We simply do not regard trials as joyful. I don’t regard trials as joyful.  If I really look at my own emotional response to James’ instructions, I discover that his words don’t penetrate my heart.  Trials…

Party Time

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  Romans 12:6a Berean Study Bible Gifts – Paul introduces the subject of gifts with the word chárismata.  The Greek text does not designate these as spiritual gifts.  Church doctrine often views this word as though it is confined to the spiritual realm, but that is an extension…

Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,” James 1:2  NASB Joy – What is joy?  According to the ancient Greeks, joy is the unbridled experience of self-being, the manifestation of the fullness of who we are as the culmination of our existence.  It is that feeling that arises when we no longer are…

Pleasing Pursuits

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  Romans 12:6 Berean Study Bible Gifts– The Greeks recognized a connection between chairo (joy) and edone (pleasure).  In later Greek thinking the two terms are barely distinguishable.  Alignment with the deepest expression of joy is the truest sense of pleasure. Eric Liddell made the connection when he…

The Difference It Makes

For the Jews there was light and gladnessand joyand honor.  Esther 8:16  NASB Gladness/joy – The usual Hebrew word for “joy” is śimḥâ. It comes from the root śāmaḥ, “to rejoice.”  You would have expected it to be the Hebrew translated as “joy” in this verse.  But it isn’t. In this verse, śimḥâ is translated “gladness,” because there is…