Find True Joy

December 15, 2024

Pastor Josh Starnes presented today's message, "Find True Joy." A video of today's message is here on YouTube.

I'm simply going to share some other works I find interesting on the topic of joy and rejoicing, particularly in the Old Testament (but these are by no means limited to the Old Testament):

How many times is joy mentioned in the bible
Joy Is Not Optional
What Does Rejoice Mean In The Bible
What is Joy in the Bible?

Here are some bullet points from these articles:

• Joy, rejoicing, gladness, and other synonyms are referenced throughout the Bible in both testaments hundreds of times. Joy is a central theme of the Bible.
• Joy is associated with praise and thanksgiving.
• Joy is dependent upon gratitude.
• Joy comes from God and being in relationship with God.
• Joy is not a fleeting moment. It can be a constant state of someone grounded in God, a source of strength and resilience.
• Find joy in everything.
• Joy comes from trusting God and can lead to peace.
• Joy is a fruit of the spirit.
• Joy can be found through prayer.
• Joy can be found through serving others.
• Joy can be found in trusting God's plan.
• Joy is not optional: God's people are both commanded to rejoice and characterized by rejoicing. Joy is possible.
• Know that God is committed to your joy.
• Joy comes from associating with joyful people.
• There is joy in worship and vice versa.
• True rejoicing comes from a deep spiritual understanding of the trials of life and a knowledge of the goodness of God.
• A few sources of joy: in each other, in our children, in wine, in abundant harvest, in victory, and in an apt answer.
• Rejoice in Him because of His salvation, His justice, His protection, His word, etc.
• Other Biblical synonyms include calm delight and inner gladness.
• Even during our difficult times, we can still choose to have joy because of our hope in God.
• Joy comes not from what we have but rather from who we are in relationship with God.
• Repentance brings joy.
• Joy is a gift from God.
• Joy gives us strength.
• The Word of God brings us joy.
• Hope gives us joy.

There are many, many more references out there...

You shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord your God has given to you (Deuteronomy 26:11).

Bonus

Native Americans and Christianity

Lynn and I spent a few days in Santa Fe, New Mexico last week. Among the great attractions at Christmas time are the concerts in the Basilica, the lights in the Plaza, and the luminaria along the rooftops. Any time of year there's the attraction of the art galleries throughout town, but especially along Canyon Road. It was in one of those galleries that we saw a number of bronze sculptures by Dave McGary.

What caught my eye was a cross on a turquoise necklace in a McGary piece called "Blessing of the Bear" at Meyer Gallery (close-up pictured above). It took me by such surprise that I just blurted out "what is that cross doing there?" The gallery person explained two things. One, Dave McGary, an Irish lad, began teaching himself the skills required of bronze sculpturing at 16 years of age, and began producing fine pieces shortly thereafter. In addition to the art skills, he also studied Native American culture as is evident in his work.

The answer to my question was that a fair amount of Christianity was shared with these indigenous peoples, and some of that was actually accepted into their culture along with their other religious practices. Like everything else, however, all was not hunky dory. There were plenty of clashes over religion as well.

If you're interested in such things, there is plenty of material out there to study. I have not read nearly enough to speak on my own, so I'll simply point you to a couple of articles. You can find plenty more. First Encounters: Native Americans and Christians, the Pluralism Project, Harvard University. Native Americans and Christianity, encyclopedia.com.

Bonus2

Amen and Emunah

The word Amen first appears in the Torah in Numbers 5:22, "And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen." It's in the midst of a rather clever process for saving marriages when threatened by jealous husbands. But we'll talk about that at a later time.

For now, it's interesting to note what's going on with the two words amen and emunah. Amen (aw-mane, אָמֵן) means true or correct. Emunah (אֱמוּנָה֙) means faith. The interesting thing is that they are both from the same root (AMN) meaning straight. When emunah first appears (for example, Exodus 17:12), it means specifically straight or steady. Only later does it come to mean faith.

It's from this notion that we get "straight and narrow" or "make your paths straight" meaning a true or correct course based on a true or correct faith.

Bonus3

Meet Me at the Christmas Train Parade

Rarely does a movie touch so many of my interests. This one hit: Christmas, teaching (Lynn made a career of primary teaching and I dabbled in upper grades), trains (I was a conductor and trainmaster for a shortline railroad in California for nearly five years), and small town politics (I was a Mayor and a Councilman in two previous lives).

Meet Me at the Christmas Train Parade (2023). Don't get too excited; it's an average predictably absurd Christmas movie.


The movie makers did virtually nothing to hide the real identity of the train despite the fictional town names in their story. (Photo from Matt Olan on YouTube)

The details around getting an old steam train up and running were ridiculous. Total fantasy compared to what it takes to restore and operate in reality. But, it was still fun to see an operating steam locomotive (even if quite infrequent). Most promo posters/photos for the movie show a BNSF diesel loco in the background; nope, it's all steam in the movie.

Here's a trailer - with a couple nice train shots.


And here's a much better Christmas/train movie, particularly if you like train travel (as I do): The Christmas Train (full movie on YouTube, HD). Three thousand miles across America over four days on a relatively modern train with all the ins and outs of a Hallmark Christmas movie. And something of a surprise ending.


As I was writing this Bonus piece, it dawned on me to wonder if there was such a thing as Hannukah movies. Turns out the answer is yes. I watched the first one I came upon, Menorah in the Middle. It was pretty good. That is to say, it fell right in line with the Christmas movie genre except that it was a Jewish holiday movie. And it did feel quite Jewish, at least to me. Here's a Wikipedia article about Hannukah (which occurs sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas each year). And it got me intrigued about making rugelach (we're already making challah bread now and then). Rugelach (roo-ga-la) looks much like our "Grandma's Rolls" but with a sweet or savory filling that comes in many flavors.