True Joy

This is a devotion I wrote for the student ministry I intern for here in Clarksville. I figure I will also post it here since I've gotten a little lazy at late with the new semester starting and all.


“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O LORD; you cover him with favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:11-12

A picture is painted in these verses, as well as the full Psalm of David that they are contained in, and that picture is a life of joy. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice,” that statement, in and of itself, is an amazing description of what we have in Christ. In Him we rejoice and have joy in life.

Throughout time, we have always had the instinct to search for something more in life. Specifically in today’s culture, we have continually searched for joy and happiness in money, fame, recognition, power, and so much else. We search high and low for something to fulfill our lives, but time and time again we have been let down or pushed aside and eventually are back at square one. The problem we have run into is that we are always eventually unfulfilled in our own efforts.

I remember during my junior year of high school I had a substitute teacher in chemistry one day. As the class went on that day I became increasingly frustrated by his, for lack of a better word, “preaching” of “success and money equal happiness” to our class. It was a bit ironic in my mind though. I couldn’t figure out where he was in his own plan, being a substitute teacher as a relatively older man. The problem I had with what he was saying was that so many times I’ve seen that way of life fail people, yet others keep on trying.

One of my favorite quotes, one that I’ve had posted on my facebook for about a year now, is by C. S. Lewis. In it Lewis says this, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” The truth of the matter is that, apart from God, we are miserable. In all of our failed attempts at happiness we are miserable. Without God there is no reason in life, but with God, through Christ, we find meaning. “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy,” I can’t not say that with anything but joy in my voice because of Christ in me. There is nothing apart from God that will fulfill our lives.

So take refuge, and rejoice, even when times seem rough we have the true bringer of joy.

Check This Out

The new album from House of Heroes came out in September, but I have just come upon it. The refreshing music and lyrics are fantastic, and from the intro to the end I completely love it. The first single, "In The Valley of the Dying Sun", is not only a great song, but is also from the biblical story where Jacob wrestles with God. Other songs on the CD that are my personal favorites are the acoustic ballad, "By Your Side", and the fast moving song of hope in Christ, "Journey Into Space (part one)". There is not a bad song on the album and would be a great pick up if your looking for something new to listen to.

This is the video for their single, "In The Valley of the Dying Sun"

House of Heroes from Endeavor Media Group on Vimeo.

Fact or Fiction

I have seen, growing up in the Baptist church, quite a bit of book, or movie, “bashing”. For example, when the Harry Potter series hit America’s shores I began reading them. From our church, my mom was immediately given a pamphlet on the reasons these books were evil (the witchcraft, the author being an atheist, etc.). I personally have always been able to distinguish the fantasy of the novels. And then more recently, in the passing weeks that the new movie Avatar has been in theaters, I have begun to see some “bashing” of the story of this movie. I’ve heard it called “pure paganism”, and I personally was thrown by this statement. My first thought after hearing this was, “So is Batman and Transformers…,” and the point of that is the fact that anything we create that is not of scripture is pagan, or worldly. I could write a book, or make a movie, and no matter how clean or wholesome that story is, if it has no truth of scripture in it the story is as pagan as anything else you could think of. I often feel that we as Christians look too deeply into fiction. If you’re going into either a good read or a movie looking for any more than a good story, you should reevaluate why you’re picking up that book, or going the theater. We don’t go to the movies to learn thoughts on philosophy, we go to be entertained. To say that Avatar is pagan because it equates God to nature is completely looking too far into the plot of a science fiction movie. This movie is no more pagan than The Land Before Time movie series. We have been able to distinguish fact from fiction for a good couple hundred of years, so what’s changed? What about some of the classics like The Iliad, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Alice in Wonderland, or so many others. We must be able to discern what is truth in scripture, and what is made for enjoyment and entertainment.