"rejoice with inexpressible joy" (1 pt 1:8)
"I tell you, there will be the same kind of joy before the angels of God over one repentant sinner." —Luke 15:10
Jesus promises us that we can have the joy He has, that is, complete joy (Jn 15:11). He commands and therefore graces us to rejoice in Him always (Phil 4:4). We can "rejoice with inexpressible joy touched with glory" (1 Pt 1:8) because:
- Jesus is Lord (Phil 4:4).
- God is our Savior (Lk 1:47).
- We have gone up to the house of the Lord (Ps 122:1).
- We have drawn "water at the fountain of salvation" (Is 12:3).
- One sinner has repented (Lk 15:7, 10, 32).
- We are suffering for love of Jesus (Col 1:24; 1 Pt 4:13).
- The Holy Spirit has produced the fruit of joy in our lives (Gal 5:22).
- What the Father has hidden from the learned and the clever He has "revealed to the merest children" (Lk 10:21).
- "Despite the increase of sin, grace has far surpassed it" (Rm 5:20).
- "God makes all things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His decree" (Rm 8:28).
- "Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor 2:9).
"Our purpose in writing you this is that our joy may be complete" (1 Jn 1:4). "There is cause for rejoicing here" (1 Pt 1:6).
Prayer: Father, make my joy complete (see Phil 2:2).
Promise: "I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ." —Phil 3:8
Praise: Bill and Doris recently celebrated their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary. They have spent a number of years training people to be Bible teachers.
Rescript: ..
The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, April 4, 1998
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 8, 1998