NEW YEAR JOY
Happy New Year 2018!

Whom having not seen, ye love;

in whom, though now ye see him not,

yet believing,

ye rejoice with joy unspeakable

and full of glory:

1 Peter 1:8 KJV

Through faith, we now have joy unspeakable. Just imagine how much more joy we will have when we can see Jesus face to face!

I've decided to end every post this year with the word "Joy". The Bible talks a lot about joy. It's the second fruit of the Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is

love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 

gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:

against such there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

There are glimpses of glory in nature. I was driving home one day, recently, and the evening sun lit the tops of big, puffy white clouds against a beautiful blue and purple sky. The base of the cloud was flat and much darker than the rest of the cloud. It was like a magnificent painting, only better. 

On another occasion, I was also driving home at night, after music practice. The moon was huge, like a super moon. The snow on the ground reflected its light. A crystal clear evening revealed a glory. Seeing glimpses of creation's glory reminds me of the great joy I have. The spectacle to enjoy treats the eyes and other senses. And those reach into the heart.

    

Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:

and to him that ordereth his conversation aright

will I shew the salvation of God.

Psalm 50:23

Whoever praises God glorifies God. Pray praising! It doesn't go unnoticed by a God who is all-seeing and all-powerful. He is also aware of what our conversation is about and how we order it. That's because God looks at the heart. The promise is to see God's salvation. 

I have glimpses already. Do you?

Because of Jesus Christ, may the 2018 year be an awesome year filled with overwhelming and unspeakable JOY!