FROM THE KEYBOARD

The fruit of true joy finds its root in the truth of Jesus. And you don’t get true joy by simply asking one time, but you get it through steady abiding in the Vine. 'Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full"' (John 15:11).

When we don't fear dying, we won't fear living. And only believers in Christ and His Kingdom can live with such wisdom. Thus, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

In Christ alone, we are preserved from the gates of hell and reserved for the glory of heaven. So, we have nothing to fear, as we are kept by Him while here. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24).

To be a bond-servant to Jesus is to be a recipient of His freedom and forgiveness. You see, when we are bound to Christ, the life of Christ abounds in us. "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin" (Romans 6:6).

We see the death of death in the death of Christ. And through this atonement, we have life of life in the life of Christ. In Him, death died so life can live. "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive" (I Corinthians 15:22).

This may be counter intuitive, but it's true and redemptive. And it's how affliction can be considered good when the affliction brings us to God. "It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes" (Psalm 119:71).