Our Story
Have you noticed any JOY around Lakeside yet? You may see it on paper and posters but is it in your heart? It is just a motto or is it real? Psalm 97:12 says “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name!” This is the joy that flows from the heart to inspire others in their spiritual growth. We who live by the Holy Spirit are all about joy even in the grimiest of places and the grimmest of times. We live in joy because God has delivered His grace to us in Jesus. This moves us from empty insults and complaints about people into a “Jesus is enough” contentment. Oh, what words of comfort we have, “Jesus is enough.” Can you say them and truly be satisfied? Or must they be augmented with other stuff for you to be happy? When Jesus becomes “enough” we move from an attitude of selfish desires to one of sacrificial giving in the name of God. What a miracle we witness when our insults and complaints are replaced with joy even in the most painful of situations. When your life shows great faithfulness to God and His word, others see such a witness and are filled with joy. Remember the words of Paul to the church in Thessalonians 3:9: “For what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God.” In fact you can joyfully inspire others in their spiritual growth. Your faith lived out daily does amazing things in the lives of others. This is basic discipleship: Jesus shining through you into the lives of others. This is what the church is all about. Every activity in the church is simply getting us ready to be the Gospel in the lives of others. Your steadfast faith in God brings joy to others. Remember Barnabas in in Acts 11:23-24: “When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.” I love how joy and thanksgiving are tied together in the Bible. Can you see it in Psalm 28:7? “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.” What does joy replace when it floods us in God’s grace? What does joy bring when it is alive in Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit? It stops dark-hearted grumbling, complaining, lack of contentment, muttering, whining and groaning. Joy, in Christ, brings us into real-life loving, positive, glad, satisfied, content, invigorating, exhorting, thrilled and giving relationships with others. People can read us easily by our words and phrases that we speak and by our actions. Keep in mind that in our daily lives we are the joyful disciples in Christ Jesus who seek to inspire the lives of others. What a privilege is the gift of eternal life in Jesus we have received!
Pastor Dahlke, November Newsletter 2020
