Do You have Joy?

Happiness! Perfect happiness! Is it not like a bird that flies away, or that dies in our hands when we catch it? Why is it that we do not have complete happiness in our hearts? There is always an emptiness which is never satisfied. This is true of all people - for those who have all the pleasures and money and fame which the world can give, as well as those who are without. Why is this?

It is because God has made us this way. He loves us, and He wants us to love Him. He created us with a place inside us which is for Him. He wants to live in us, in order to bless us. He Himself within us, is the One Who can give us that complete joy which we are searching for.

Many people think that money brings pleasure, so they work and work until they have a great deal, but when they have it,they are still not satisfied. Some people say that being religious is the way to find the answer to this problem. Others say that if they are only healthy, that is all they ask for. Still others think that pleasures bring happiness, and they give all they have, to get them. But none of these things fill that place of emptiness which we feel, when we are all alone with our thoughts. The reason for this is that the empty place in our hearts cannot be filled with our thoughts. The reason for this is that the empty place in our hearts cannot be filled with "something." It has to be filled by "Someone." And that is God Himself. We need love more than anything else, and no one on earth can love us as He does. He expresses His love for us all through the Bible, which is truly God's message to man. The greatest way in which He has shown us His love is through His gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Perhaps you are thinking your greatest desire is to have more money, or better health, or more pleasant circumstances. But you are only thinking about the short time you live on this earth. Have you thought about your life after you die, which will never end? This is a far more important question than anything of this world. Jesus said, "What will it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" He has stated clearly that the real blessing, or punishment for our sins, will come after we die. We will either go to heaven, where everything is joy - or we will go to hell, where we will be in great torment forever. In God's sight all sins are serious, whether they seem great or small to us. God has said that all have sinned, and therefore all are condemned, and there is nothing good which we can do to take away this judgment. That is why God Himself has provided a way for us. This is a far greater blessing than giving you only what you are wishing for here. This salvation is through His Son Jesus, Who died on the cross in order to receive our punishment.

Have you received His love? It is not a matter of being more religious, or of doing more good things. It is a matter of allowing the Lord to enter into our lives, to live in us and control us. It is a matter of having our hearts cleansed from sin, of becoming a new person with a new nature that does not have a tendency to sin. Jesus says we have all sinned, but He also says that if we repent sincerely, and confess our sins to God, He will forgive them. The blood which Jesus gave on the cross is sufficient to cleanse them all. God says He will never again remember them against us. More than this, He will make new people of us. God does not offer to improve our bad nature, but He says He will make us new people in Christ Jesus. You can experience it yourself. Pray to God. Believe that He forgives you, because of the death of Jesus. Ask Jesus to come and live in your heart. His Spirit will cleanse you, and give you a new nature, and He will live within you. He will satisfy that longing you have had, and give you His joy. When you die you will go immediately to heaven. That is a wonderful place that God has prepared for those who receive the forgiveness of their sins, through faith in Jesus, and who allow Him to change their nature.

This happiness is offered to you now. Will you accept it?

REF: John 3:16