A Blog By A Family Member

Hey everybody,

I know the blog has been somewhat silent for a while. Such usually happens when the summer hits. Life becomes so wonderfully full as families get time to grow closer to one another, play ball, go to cookouts, or soar off on a nice getaway. After all, why be stuck inside in front of a computer screen when you can do something outside...that's my thinking. However, one of the things that I love about cyberspace is that it constantly gives us a chance, and yet one more avenue, to glorify God and edify our church family. I'm constantly amazed by the talent that God has placed among the Oasis family. All of our church family seem to be growing in amazing ways in regards to their theological foundations. One of things I love about our church family is that it seems like virtually everyone can open their mouth and speak solid truth that is firmly rooted in good biblical principle. One such person in our church family that is developing great truth her heart is Miranda Barse...some may know her better as Kenny's fiancee...or that girl that's always with Kenny : - ) If you haven't yet gotten the chance to know Kenny and Miranda you really should. They are wonderful people who have fiery hearts to seek the truth of God's wisdom. Recently Miranda sent me a blog article that she had written and I just found it to be very good...it strengthened me personally and seemed to speak directly to a struggle that I'm having right now. I wanted to share it with you as well. Remember, what you read below is not the work of chad...it's the word that God placed on Miranda's heart.

Living in joy; it sounds like an increasingly impossible thing to do. Many will agree with me when I say that unless you are rich you will not find joy in this world. Wealth is the gateway to freedom from stress and the road on which joyfulness is found. There is only one flaw in that philosophy; it's wrong!!

Joy, true joy, is not dependant on outside circumstances; it is a reflection of the condition of your inner self. It is not merely an emotion. It is the result of looking beyond what the truth appears to be in your life in order to see what it really is. The truth is not an opinion and being of this world brings more sorrow and strife than most people can see past.

The truth of the matter is that true joy comes from relationship with Christ and can only be found in Him. It is not based on our worldly accomplishments; that joy is as fleeting as a hummingbird at play. It is temporary and when that euphoric sensation fades, you're left down-trodden until your next big thing. In order to keep the joyous feeling alive at all times you must constantly work at outdoing not only everyone else, but yourself as well; and that, my friends, is a fruitless endeavor. All you reap from the totality of your efforts is total emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion.

It was in the perfect sacrifice of love that God not only brought salvation to the human race, but reconciliation to Him and a true chance at real joy; joy in the Lord. He is the primary source of joy and we need only to turn to him to receive it. In turning our lives over to the Lord we will not receive instant gratification, material wealth, or a life of ease. The prosperity gospel is a false gospel. It is wrong. There is no no biblical foundation for it. God's idea of wealth and riches is not what we, in our base material-driven human understanding, can imagine. The scope is far grander than we are capable of understanding. However, the knowledge that our reward for a life lived in the joy of the Lord will dazzle our minds should not be the sole reason for our obedience to Him. It is for the love of His creation that we have been reconciled and it should be for the love of Him and with deep gratitude for His unfailing mercy that we bow to His will in our lives.

If you read the book of Job, or even study Jesus' life, you will see example after example of struggle along the path of Christian living. Pain and sorrow are not strangers at our doors. However, throughout the Bible, and life in this day and age, we find testimony after testimony that living a life immersed in the joy of the Lord brings peace even in the midst of our sorrows. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

A sacrifice of praise in the midst of great loss, acknowledging that God is enough, even if you have just lost the love of your life, is a far greater praise to His ears than one sung amidst triumph and prosperity in your life. As John Piper says "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him in the midst of loss, not prosperity"

Joy is a gift from God and can only be found in Him. If you listen carefully in those quiet times, those dark moments when you're all alone, you'll hear Him calling you home to Him. Look deep into your heart of hearts and listen to that gentle nudging. Living a life of joy in the Lord may mean experiencing great sorrows, but having God to count on is worth all the tortures this world can throw your way. The alternative is far more terrifying than dying daily to your own desires and living for Him.

posted by chad but written by Miranda

Comments

[Jacynda Lynch]

Miranda, what a great post! I think that a lot of people struggle with this, well at least I do,finding joy in Christ rather than accomplishments, jobs, people, etc. Thank you for your great words of encouragement and truth!

[songstress7]

"A sacrifice of praise in the midst of great loss, acknowledging that God is enough, even if you have just lost the love of your life, is a far greater praise to His ears than one sung amidst triumph and prosperity in your life."

How timely... thanks so much for posting that.

[Des]

Great Post. It is SO EASY to allow our focus to shift from God and the fact that only HE can give us true joy in this world we live in. This is a great reminder that it isn't about us or what we accomplish. That is all for naught. Those things only provide a temporary rush.
Only a life rooted in and focused on Christ and His sacfice for us, can give us true Joy, which doesn't depend on our circumstances.

[Josh Lynch]

Miranda, very insightful. In a culture that glories in itself, accomplishments/merit for self worth an "success", the message of the gospel is very counter-culture. True joy is the pearl of salvation, and the prize of our love in God.

[Miranda]

I want to thank everyone for their comments. I've been writing articles like these for some time now but they have gone mostly unread and unappreciated. I was completely unware Chad was going to post this until after the fact but I'm glad he did. My goal with my articles is not for acknowledgement for them, but for them to reach and help others.