518 - Joy, We do have a responsibility

Heavenly Father - I come to you asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit to the brim this morning. I have the opportunity to teach the older TeamKids class tonight and that is such a challenge. My own son is in there and that makes it kind of tough. Lord, give me their attention and soak Your Word deep into their lives and memory! Thank you!

This morning I am in Deut. 16:15 "For the Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and all your work of your hands, and your joy will be complete." Lord, so many times because joy is not circumstantial I tend to think I shouldn't have to do anything to receive it. Well, I don't, I mean, it is a gift of the Spirit, but I mean that it should be in abundance at all times. Like there is nothing that should make it more evident in my life or less obvious too! But what I find today in this scripture is that there could be something that relates to our "workings" and how much joy is displayed or evident in our lives.

In this scripture the people had just been lead or were actually going through Passover. Then to follow were all the many feast and celebrations. They had much to do. It was not just ideas the Lord was suggesting that might be good things to do, but they were commands of what you need to do here, what you have to do there, and in exact proportions. Then and only then would your joy be made complete.

I equate this in my pea brain to the workings of the Holy Spirit. When we received Jesus as our Savior He entered into our hearts never to leave and I do mean never!!! And He was there with all the power and fullness of Himself ready to work through us and in us! But immediately as the day went by or even weeks, we sin. We allow sin in our lives and it dilutes, if you will, the power of the Spirit. He is still there, never to leave, but the power or fullness of His work has been diluted because of the sin we are doing and the unconfessed sin we leave "undealt" with. Its like the coffee cup that still has the smell and residue of coffee in it - you know it is there and has been to the brim. Our sin is like throwing pebbles in the cup and splashes the Holy Spirit out. He is still there - I can not say that enough - but the ability for Him to be manifested in our lives has lessened because of OUR sin.

So just as we have a part in the way the Holy Spirit works in our lives, we have a part in how or whether our joy is complete. I want completed joy - I want no rock left unturned - I want it all!! JOY!!! But the verse above explains that there are times that there are some actions that must be taken to make the joy complete or full or manifested in our lives. No, we have no power in that, but we have responsibility. God can still choose to work wonderfully in our lives and make our joy complete even though we sin or disobey. He is just like that and always faithful and merciful. It is Grace again!

I am also reminded in James about our faith being dead without works. We do not have to work for our faith, but we have a responsibility to display that faith through works. It should be a immediate reaction to what He has done in our lives, etc. We do not have to work to receive that initial amount of Joy - it is a gift, but we do have a responsibility to do something - in this case it was particular things for this feast - to have that joy made complete. His love for us is never conditional, but that does not mean we don't have responsibilities in our relationship with Him. It is not an all Him, Him relationship. It is Him and me!!! little me! Big Him!!

Thank you Father - what can i DO today to make my joy complete. Lord, show me my responsibilities - oh yeah Teamkids tonight! I know there must be more today, help me to aware!! Yesterday was a day of much laundry and stuff. Oh yes, I filled my day even though i was not on the email and blog reading. It was good!! We had basketball practice for all three kids, it was my dad's birthday, and my momma is still off in the Caribbean cruising around with her sister and girlfriends. I hope they don't get burned - really I do hope they do, I mean don't! ha ha! I was suppose to be on that trip speaking, but it got cancelled not too long ago. Bummer, huge bummer!!! SO i sit here in 20 degree temp waiting for a tad of snow and all!!! I am not bitter, not at all. ha ha!!! Today will be grand - i choose Joy!