Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!  Good day, friends.  That is my prayer for you this week, that you have His joy within you, even in the midst of circumstances that are less than joyful.

We knew we would be a little short last week with Pris and Kimi out, but Anita made it, and we were glad to see Shelly and Clarke back again too.  Remember Kimi in your prayers as these next few days are the toughest part of her recovery.

I started out quoting from that well-known verse in Philippians 4:4.  Paul then follows up with some advice that will help us do that.  There’s another quote we know well from the book of James, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. ” (1:2-4)

If you’ve gone through any trouble at all as part of a body of believers, you’ve probably had these thrown at you.  You may have resisted the urge to duck!  It’s easy for people who are not in the midst of suffering to say these things, but they ring hollow.  The verses are true.  They are part of God’s word.  The trouble is until we see them lived out, it’s hard to imagine them as other than lofty goals that are out of reach for you and me.

That is why our ministry is so important.  We have the opportunity to show the world  what God can do with broken vessels.  But we need help.  If we don’t stop reading, we’ll find some.  James, too, follows this difficult directive with advice that will show us how we can “consider it all joy.”  Join us on Sunday as we study James 1:2-12.

Love y’all,

Larry