"Our Strength"

 "And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves." (John 17:13 KJV)

  "And Nehemiah continued, "Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don't be dejected and sad, for the joy of the LORD is your strength!"" (Nehemiah 8:10 NLT)

 They called this place, "The Happiest Place on Earth," and growing up as a kid, I thought it was true. I guess it depends how much you like hanging around in crowded places and 55-minute waits to ride on something that will last 5-minutes, if that. There was only at 6 rides that Marianne could get on, and the one I took her on before, the Farris-Wheel, standing in the sun for 30 minutes, did not seem like such a good idea. 

 One thing for sure, hanging out with family is the best part of the whole adventure. We need to spend as much time with our families as we can afford, because time is short, and before you know it, the little ones are grown and living lives of their own. 

 Last night was not all that pleasant; testing my patience, would be a better way to put it. Marianne had to be suctioned almost every 10 minutes; no sooner than I would suction her, she would start building up more secretions again, and it would be time to suction, again and again. After several hours, like up to 2am in the morning, I cried out for help and begged for her to stop. She stopped, but then I had a hard time going to sleep, wondering if she was still with us! 

 So, I thanked God for His rich mercy, begging Him to forgive my outburst, and suddenly I felt joy in my heart, having peace with whatever might happen! This morning, I woke up the latest I have for many years; I don't even remember hearing my 4am alarm; but I must have shut it off, because it wasn't displaying anything when I woke up at 6am! 

 We need to understand something that is very important: The joy that we must share, is not joy that is brought on by the lives we live in this world; it is the joy of Lord, of what He has done and how He has given us life eternal, beyond this world! That is where we have strength to overcome whatever might come against us; nothing on this earth can take away joy that is of the Lord! 

 If we go any length of time without repenting from sin or communicating with the Lord, joy will seem harder and harder to be present in our lives. Taking a closer look at what Jesus is praying, to the Father, we see that there are three main things we should see in this: First of which, is He speaks in the world, which is a reference to all that is going to take place, most of which, will devastate any joy that His disciples might have, having shared three and a third years with Him. 

 Secondly, His joy! That His joy might be fulfilled in them, which He has already explained to them, but they most likely didn't understand why He even said it. And thirdly, without fellowship together, we perish! Iron sharpens iron! We need to share the joy of the Lord amongst each other, for our strength to be in the joy of the Lord, and not based upon ourselves and the individual experience's will go through in this world. 

 When I go without fellowship with by brothers and sisters in Christ, I feel as though there is a severing in my soul; as if there is a part of me that is thirsty, and all dried up! Yes, it is about the 'third-person-principle', where Jesus said, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20) 

 Be very aware of one thing: the enemy will try to keep you from fellowship with other believers. As I have been told, over and over again, the lone sheep is the perfect target for the wolf to eat...

"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up." (Romans 14:17-19 NLT)