Tag: Joy
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Finding Joy
Luke 1:47 GW: “My spirit finds its joy in God, my Savior.” This third week of Advent is Joy, symbolized by a rose-colored candle. It seems intentionally out of place, breaking up the deep purples of waiting and quietly challenging the long ache leading to Christmas. The origins of the Advent wreath and candles go…
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Give Thanks
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV: “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances”. These three instructions are divided into three different verses. People always say the shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus wept” from the Book of John, but “Rejoice always” and “Pray Continually” are also only two words long! I’m not sure why…
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Yet I Will
Habakkuk 3:18 NIV: “yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” If you were to just read this verse on its own, it would be unremarkable. Finding joy or rejoicing in God seems to be a common theme throughout the Bible. For the most part, if life is…
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Abide
John 15:4 ASV “Abide in me, and I in you.” Abide is most definitely not a word we use frequently today. When’s the last time you heard someone say, “I’ll just abide here until you get back.” Probably, the best contemporary substitute in English is stay, so this verse could read, “Stay in me and…