Making Your Joy Complete

Chuckle: The veterinarian in our little east Texas town was also the taxidermist for our county. I love his sign - "Either way you get your dog back!"

Good Quote: "A faith worth embracing is a faith worth imparting." --William Arthur Ward

"And our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete" (1 John 1:3b-4 NIV).

Have you experienced the joy of sharing the good news of Jesus with someone? Have you shared with someone what God has done in your life since you became a believer? Have you experienced the feeling that comes from leading someone to faith in Jesus Christ? How long has it been since you let God use you as His messenger to share His wonderful plan of salvation?

From my own personal experience, there is no joy that even comes close to that of seeing a person pray to receive Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord as a result of my sharing God's plan of salvation with him or her.

The joy of the apostle John was made complete by sharing what he had seen and heard in the presence of Jesus -- the impact that Jesus had on his life. By touching the lives of others through his writings, he received complete joy as they too experienced the fellowship with the Father through faith in His Son.

We experience great joy when we receive Christ as Savior and have fellowship with Him. However, complete joy is found as we share Christ with others through faithful service and witness. Dr. Mark Kemp put it this way: "Remember to inhale the sweet air of fellowship with Christ daily and then to exhale in Christ-like service to others."

"Joy means the perfect fulfillment of that for which I was created and regenerated, not the successful doing of a thing. The joy our Lord had lay in doing what the Father sent Him to do." --Oswald Chambers. Jesus says: "As the Father has sent me, I am sending you" (John 20:21 NIV). It only stands to reason that our greatest joy will come from doing what God has charged us to do -- spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If we are willing, God will always provide the opportunities to share His love with others. As you and I take advantage of those opportunities, we are on the path to complete joy.

Love, Jerry & Dotse