"The Joy Of The Lord"

There is something which must be present in our lives which demonstrates that we are abiding in Him, and He in us: His Joy! This is what He places within us as soon as we come to Him, and it will remain within us as long as we are abiding in Him. So then, What can cause us to not be abiding in Him? Lust for one; pride can do it also; but I think lust is twice as enticing, because there are two types: the lust of the flesh, and lust of the eyes. In John 15:6, Jesus says, "If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned." Not to much to have joy about if you are the one cast off; right? But, what Jesus is saying is that this is the result of not abiding in Him. Because when we do not abide in Him, one of the first things to depart from us is our joy; and I did say our joy; there is a difference. His joy is complete and unchanging; our joy is only complete when it is based upon His joy remaining in us, and we remaining in it. The reason that Joy is one of the first fruits to depart from us when we begin to lust, is that we are replacing the eternal things with temporary things, in our heart; and when this happens, one of the greatest sources of our joy is everlasting life in Jesus. This is changed within our hearts when we begin to lust after other things; things that are temporary, and of this world, instead of having our hearts set upon the things which are eternal. When that happens, our joy becomes as fleeing as those things which we have our heart set upon. However, the Joy of the Lord will remain in us, and will only be experienced when we put down those things and return to Him; if we do not put down those things, we will become withered; which is just a dried up branch that is laying on the ground; not a good place to be... "If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My Love. If ye keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My Love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His Love. These things have I spoken unto you, that My Joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." (John 15:7-11)