Psalm 126:2 Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.

What do you think about when you talk about the Joy of Christ? Do you think of the happiest time on earth you can have?

This is a simple view of what Joy can mean – when your life is filled with laughter and all you can talk about is the great time you are having!

God is not going to fill out lives with earthly wealth and possessions if He knows they will corrupt our hearts!

God want us to enjoy real joy, which goes beyond our simple understanding and fills our lives with something new!

John 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Why did Jesus ask to have glory shone on Him? Was it to boast before people? No. It was to shine light upon God!

We need to shine for Jesus – which means not boasting about what we can do or have done, but to boast about what Christ does!

Jesus gave God the glory, but, because He was fully human, needed a bit of a boost to keep going!

It’s OK to ask for help!

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

I’m not asking you all to give up your life for someone today – please don’t! Jesus gave us the ultimate example by giving His life for us.

He did this because we were all guilty and we were all facing the ultimate price to pay for our sins – our death.

What He did was to give us life by giving us His life. He did this knowing God would accept His death as the final payment for our sins.

He did this because there was no other way!