| “When he arrived and saw the evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.” – Acts 11:23 |
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| The JOY of Testimonies There are numerous things that bring happiness and yes, true joy to our lives. If I asked each reader to tell what has brought the most joy to your life, we would get a wide variety of answers. For some, it would be the birth of a child. For some, it could be a special celebration with your spouse. It could be a sports team FINALLY winning a championship. It could be getting a promotion at work. It could be getting accepted at a desired school. As you can see from the shortlist, there are numerous things that can bring happiness and joy to our lives. I do however wonder if on your list of things that bring great joy is learning of God at work? In our verse to DATE we see from Acts 11:23 that Barnabas was filled with joy because he had learned by seeing firsthand that God was blessing the ministry at Antioch. Knowing that lives were being changed by God was exciting. Knowing that God’s people were learning and growing and living like Christ and making Christ known to others was thrilling. It brought to the heart of Barnabas true joy!! Barnabas, the encourager then did what he did best and he lived up to his name and spoke words of encouragement to the believers that they might stay true or fully committed to the Lord. Putting this verse into personal action are you on the lookout for evidence of God’s blessings? Do you ask people to share how God is working? I encourage you to do so. May I also ask how do you respond when you hear of God’s blessings to a ministry? Do you find yourself filled with joy or (you might need to brace yourself, put on some steel-toed shoes) or do you find yourself having feelings of jealousy? It is a real possibility that upon seeing or hearing of God’s work and blessings you can become dismissive or jealous instead of filled with joy. I hope you will be like Barnabas and be excited and overflowing with joy as you hear of God’s working and blessing! Now I ask one more question. Are you sharing with others what God is doing in your life? As Christians, we do have to balance being boastful with being humble. I would encourage you to make sure you are bragging on God, not self. And I would encourage you to SHARE what God is doing!! I heard a Christian leader say one time that if we don’t tell our story no one else will. The sharing of a testimony will bring joy to other believers. While we share your burdens with one another but also share your blessings with one another! Verse to DATE the Word on November 23 (11/23) is Acts 11:23. It says, “When he (Barnabas) arrived and saw the evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord.” Be filled with joy when you hear of God working and blessing and share your testimony of God working and blessing so others will be filled with joy! Continue Strong looking for and affirming the evidence of God’s blessings, And remember to DATE THE WORD PS. An easy question for Thanksgiving Dinner asking for testimonies of how has God been working in your life this past year. And HAPPY THANKSGIVING! |