“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” – Philippians 4:4

This is one of those great commands that we seem to mess up all the time. People who know me, know I am a  pretty happy and upbeat person. The big test is when I am really me. My husband is probably the only living soul who gets every phase of me. And let me tell you, it is not always a rejoiceful person he gets to live with. Did you know that the secular Greek writers did not use the word rejoice (chairo / cairo) in their writings? The meaning of it is not how we look at it today. It does not mean to be glad or happy. It means to have a deep spiritual joy in knowing you have salvation in Christ. That is a bit deeper than happy and glad. My husband has been known to call me Debbie (aka Debbie Downer.) Ha! Of course we are allowed to be sad at times, mourn things, but we need to not be overwhelmed by them. Are you deeply grateful and joyful for your gift of Eternal Life? It brings me to tears some days with excitement and anticipation. One of my favorite sermons on this verse is by Frances Chan. He asks us to ponder why Paul says it twice. Rejoice in the Lord always, I’ll say it again, Rejoice. The Bible does not do this for any other command. Think about it, “Thou shall not commit adultery, I’ll say it again, don’t commit adultery.” God knew this would be hard for us. Listen to Frances’ sermon. It will bless your day! http://www.saddleback.com/mc/m/b0263/

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible. (Eph. 6:24)
Maranatha! (Come, Lord Jesus!)

~ Jen O’Sullivan
www.HolyJustLove.com