Joy in the Journey

Joy in the Journey JoyNow

06/13/2026

Nature Reflects God’s Peace

For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Isaiah 55:12

Recommended Reading: Isaiah 55:10-13
Every single day millions of people play ocean sounds from their music streaming services for relaxation, sleep, and ambient noise. The repetitive sounds of waves crashing and receding calm us. Psychologists have noticed that recurring ocean sounds resemble actual biological rhythms such as breathing and heartbeat patterns. The Lord has built these peaceful patterns into His creation for our benefit.

It’s true that nature was diminished by Adam’s sin in Genesis 3. Weeds now grow naturally while crops must be cultivated. Natural disasters occur. But the genius of God’s creative ability still shines through. What restoring, refreshing moments we experience when we sit in the sunshine, gaze across a mountain vista, or even hear the birds chirping! Being outdoors is good for us physically and mentally. There’s value to sitting on the porch or patio watching the sunrise or sunset. Puttering in the backyard or hiking in the forest is therapy for the soul.

This summer find a way to let God’s vast outdoors bring peace and joy to you!

Spending time outside, enjoying God’s creation is good for us.
Gemma Hunt

06/12/2026

Do Not Grieve

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30

Everyone knows what it feels like to experience grief or pain and to inflict grief or pain on another person. Ephesians 4:30 is an important verse about the Holy Spirit being a person rather than an impersonal force. Only a person can be grieved.

Recommended Reading:
1 John 1:8-9

To determine what can grieve the Holy Spirit, we only need to read the verses surrounding Ephesians 4:30. Paul warns against unwholesome speech (verse 29) and actions such as bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander, and malice (verse 31, NIV). Instead, we are to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving toward others as God is toward us (verse 32). So acting in a carnal or sinful way can grieve the Holy Spirit, but acting like God—being “imitators of God” (Ephesians 5:1)—will please the Holy Spirit. What should we do when we know we have grieved the Spirit? We must confess our sin and receive God’s forgiveness and cleansing (1 John 1:9).

Don’t delay confession when you realize you have sinned and grieved the Spirit. It is the only way to continue to experience His filling.

We may grieve the Spirit as truly by not joyfully acknowledging His wonders as by not praying to Him.
Robert Murray M’Cheyne

06/11/2026

Walk in the Spirit

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16

It comes as a surprise to some new Christians that the habits, temptations, actions, and desires that they experienced as a non-Christian do not disappear when they begin to follow Christ. Man’s sinful nature is not eradicated when a person is born again. Instead, a new conflict begins between the desires of the flesh and desires of the Spirit.

Recommended Reading:
Romans 8:1-4

The apostle Paul confessed to experiencing this conflict in his own life (Romans 7:14-25). The things he wanted to do he was not able to do, and the things he didn’t want to do he found himself doing. He declared that only through the power of the Holy Spirit could he be set free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). In Galatians 5:16-25, he contrasts living by the Spirit and living in the flesh. Living by the Spirit means yielding to the leading of the Spirit and trusting in His power to overcome the desires of the sinful nature.

Form the practice daily of asking God to fill you with His Spirit; practice the discipline of sensing and following His leading.

He who has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the Scriptures in his hands has all he needs.
Alexander MacLaren

06/10/2026

Come, Holy Spirit!

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:16-17

Christians think differently than those without the Lord. Paul said, “But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). He told us to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23).

Recommended Reading:
Romans 8:12-18

When we receive Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit begins to refurbish our minds. The Spirit takes the words of Scripture and makes them real to us and real in us. He bears witness with our spirits that we are God’s children and that the sufferings of this world are not worth comparing to our future glory (Romans 8:18).

The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to face life in a different way. When we encounter a crisis, the Holy Spirit strengthens us with the knowledge of God, which gives us perspective. That provides confidence and strength to see beyond the crisis and to focus on the Lord.

If you’re facing a difficult situation, ask the Holy Spirit to give you His divine perspective.

Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I need. Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself.
Francois Fenelon

06/09/2026

The Word of God

But you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ: how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time.
Jude 17-18

Would you devote your life to studying a book you didn’t believe to be reliable? Rudolf Bultmann, a German New Testament scholar, argued for “demythologizing” the New Testament. He believed it could speak to us existentially but shouldn’t be taken historically. Bultmann is an example of someone who poured himself into Bible study but whose heart wasn’t open to the illumination of the Holy Spirit. Academia is filled with such people today. So are pulpits.

Recommended Reading:
Jude 1-11

Only those who truly know the Lord can understand His message. When we have questions and concerns of the heart, we need to take counsel from those who also know the Lord. Guard against the influence of liberal scholars and unbelieving teachers. The book of Jude warns against “certain individuals” who “have secretly slipped in among you” (Jude 4, NIV).

Even when seeking Christian counsel, go to those who truly know and love God’s Word. Take time to identify solid Christians in your life you can turn to when you need godly advice.

We call this book—and only this book—the Word of God. That is why it has supreme authority for our lives.
Robertson McQuilkin

06/08/2026

Caltrops

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 13:52

Earlier this year in Michigan the North Shore Police Department warned motorists that someone was placing caltrops on the highways. These are small, sharp objects meant to puncture and deflate car tires. As we all know, tires need to be filled with air; they are useless when flat.

Recommended Reading:
Acts 13:48-51

The devil is constantly throwing caltrops in our pathway. We’re to be filled with the Spirit, but he endeavors to deflate us. Have you felt deflated recently? The normal and victorious Christian experience means being filled with the Spirit. When you’re filled with the Spirit of God, your life will be different. You will have a song in your heart, a spirit of thanksgiving in your personality, and a yearning to bless others (Ephesians 5:18-21). You’ll also have a contagious motivation to share the Word of God with others (Acts 4:31).

Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your steps as you choose to have a positive influence on others. Open your life fully to the Lord Jesus Christ and ask Him to keep you inflated and filled with His Spirit today.

The Spirit-filled life is not a deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.
A. W. Tozer

06/06/2026

Nature Declares His Glory

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow.
Matthew 6:28

Recommended Reading: Matthew 6:25-30
As we step into summer, many of us take steps into the great outdoors to enjoy God’s creation in the warm sunlight of the season. Some will take hikes up mountain pathways; others will walk to the edge of canyons or to the top of gushing waterfalls. But even a walk down the street or through the park—if we will only focus—shows us lilies, daisies, billowing clouds, chirping birds, and calming breezes.

Psalm 125:2 says, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever.” Psalm 148 says, “Mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars…. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His glory is above the earth and heaven” (verses 9, 13).

Romans 1:20 tells us that God’s invisible power and glorious attributes can be seen in what He has made. Take time to enjoy the birds, flowers, stars, leaves, plants, hills, and brooks He has made. Praise Him and know that if He cares for His great outdoors, He will also care for you.

The world was no doubt made, that it might be the theater of the divine glory.
John Calvin

06/05/2026

The Spirit of Wisdom

And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18

When God gave Moses instructions for building the tabernacle, He appointed a man named Bezalel to be master craftsman for the project. God “filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 31:2-3). The apostle Paul picked up on the connection between wisdom and being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:15-18.

Recommended Reading:
Romans 8:5-17

Paul cautioned the Ephesians about being foolish and wasting the opportunities of living for God. He equated being wise with understanding and carrying out God’s will, exhorting them not to be “drunk with wine” but to “be filled with the Spirit.” Just as a master craftsman could not carry out his tasks if he was drunk with wine, so the Christian cannot carry out God’s will by living a wasteful and uncontrolled life. Part of the fruit of the Spirit is self-control (Galatians 5:23).

Imagine yourself as a master craftsman, constructing a life that is pleasing to the Lord and fruitful in His work. Purpose each day to be filled with the Spirit so that your gifts and talents are not wasted.

The more we are filled with the Holy Spirit, the more we shall glorify the Lord Jesus.
Frank Gaebelein

06/04/2026

How Faith Comes

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Romans 10:17, NIV1984

The book of Acts illustrates the truths expressed by the apostles in their letters to the churches. One example is how Acts 14:8-10 illustrates the truth taught in Romans 10:17.

Recommended Reading:
Acts 14:8-10

In Romans 10, Paul says Israel needs someone to preach the Gospel to them. He then says that “faith comes from hearing ... the word of Christ.” “Word of Christ” can mean either the word(s) spoken by Christ as repeated by a preacher or words spoken about Christ by a preacher. The effect is the same—anyone preaching about Christ will no doubt quote some of Christ’s words. And those words produce faith. That’s what happened when Paul was in Lystra. A man who was crippled from birth, who had never walked, was listening to Paul preach. Paul looked at the man and saw “that he had faith to be healed” and told him to stand up—and he did (Acts 14:8-10)! The words of/about Jesus created faith in this man.

Do you need faith or know someone else who needs faith? Meditate on “the word of Christ” and trust God that faith will come.

Faith rests on the naked Word of God. That Word believed gives full assurance.
H. A. Ironside

06/03/2026

Birthed by God

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:3

When describing the birth of a newborn, we never say, “The baby birthed himself at 3:00 p.m.” Likewise, when describing spiritual rebirth, Jesus said, “Unless you are born.” That is, both human birth and spiritual rebirth are passive events for the infant. Mothers give birth to physical babies; the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual babies (John 3:5-8).

Recommended Reading:
Ephesians 2:8-9

This idea is behind Paul’s words in Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Our spiritual rebirth is not something we do by ourselves, by our own efforts. If it was, we would be right to boast. Since it is of God rather than ourselves, we can only boast about God and His grace (1 Corinthians 1:27-31; 2 Timothy 1:9).

If you have been born again through faith in Christ, give thanks to God that He has birthed you for a purpose. As the Spirit brought you into God’s Kingdom, so He will lead you and transform you.

“Except a man be born again,” he will wish one day he had never been born at all.
J. C. Ryle

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