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Last Sunday morning we had a lovely service. My theme was the anointing. It was a happy service, and, at the end when we were offline, it was as if an explosion of joy burst amongst us. He dealt bountifully with us!
We had been singing, ‘I am standing beneath your wings’ when it began to happen. I could feel the Spirit falling, and people began to lose themselves in worship. I signalled to Mark, our pianist, to choose a song, and he began playing, ‘I will enter His gates with thanksgiving in my heart.’ Suddenly, we were alive with the joy of the Lord. It was wonderful. We’ve had the privilege of an influx of Nigerians at church recently. Some are university students and will only be with us for a short time. It was lovely to see them so free in their worship. We Scots must be pretty sombre to them! Perhaps we caught something of their joy: culture and ways of worshipping didn’t matter anymore because we were all in the presence of the Lord. His light was all around us, and we were enjoying His Presence. It was the talk amongst us for several days - the joy of those last ten minutes on Sunday morning. I felt the effects of it physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually for several days and can feel it even now as I write. Joy is incredibly infectious, and it passed amongst us like fire. The lead-up to the weekend had been a difficult few days for me, but it was worth it all for those ten minutes of heaven. Recently at one of our beginner's groups, I asked folks what their spiritual target was for this week. Some spoke of wanting peace from tormenting thoughts, whilst one said ‘I want more happiness’. Are you going through a difficult time? Does your way feel thorny, and your life in the shadows at present? It will pass. Remember: “For the joy set before him he endured the cross.” Hebrews 12:2 NIV Christ focused on the joy set before Him. He longed to share the glory He once had with His Father before the world began. (John 17:5) We should set our minds on Christ - the joy set before us. Like the joy given on Sunday morning, when He draws near, or of leading another soul to Him, of blessings today and hopes for tomorrow. Christ encourages us to be happy. It is of great benefit in every way to us to find joy in our faith. “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.” John 16:24 NIV Feel free to fill in our Padlet if you haven’t done it already. Tell us where you are from The link is below. https://padlet.com/padstruthers/9fridq21i02v1cdt
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