Shotgun Joy
God wants us to be full of joy because joy is the source of our strength. I find the easiest way for me to remain full of joy is to simply obey God. You might be suprised to learn that your shotgun (if you have one) can teach you a lot about obedience. When I was a kid we shot a lot of skeet and it was a blast. My dad always said if you are going to hit the target there are a few things that must happen.
- You must pull the trigger
- When God convicts you to do something you do it
- You don’t delay. You don’t procrastinate. You don”t make excuses.
- You Just do it. Do it now. .
2. You must follow through completely
- My dad always stressed following through—That is when I started hitting the targets
- This carries the idea of completeness. When God asks you to do something, finish it.
3. You must reload for the next round
- Life is not a 50-yard dash. It’s a marathon. Obey God all your life.
I’ve made the choice to obey God until I die. Because of that choice the blessings in my life have been beyond my wildest dreams. Just tell me what to do God and I’ll do it – make that your prayer. A lot of people say, “Why doesn’t God tell me what to do? I’ve been asking Him what to do in this situation.” Often the reason He hasn’t told you is because you’re not already doing what He’s already told you to do. God does not play games where you say, “God, tell me what to do and then I’ll decide whether to do it or not.” No, you say, “In advance, I’m going to do whatever You tell me to do.” That’s faith. Then He’ll tell you. Yesterday we learned about faith—faith and obedience are locked
NIV James 2:22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
It’s acting on faith that makes you grow. If you want joy you have an attitude of doing whatever God tells you even when it doesn’t make sense.
NIV John 15:10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
What is God asking you to take dead aim on?
Life. Since visiting home again… helping people and living for the moment is what God wants me to do. We all seem to get caught up in everything else in the world… but truly our one calling is what? to serve. and i know i havent been serving others as much as God wants… and i am not sure others in the church are either. I cannot speak for others… but helping out more in life is what God and i are focusing in on.
i hope we all can do that a little more than we do right now. Because helping others… animals, humans, the enviroment… simply giving a hand brings that JOY into our lives. Even people who are not believers… bring a little bit of Christ around them when they are helping. I believe God is help and we are to honor Him in doing so… helping is joy and joy is Christ. so the circle continues. Give a hand.