Growing in Relationship With God
Introduction
Love
Joy
If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.—Billy Sunday
Happiness is an emotion, and joy is an attitude. Emotions come and go, but attitudes come and grow.*
If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.—Billy Sunday
Many people have heard that JOY means Jesus first, Others next, and Yourself last. But in a Christmas sermon in 1998, Pastor Phil Toole of Mountain Valley Community Church of Scottsdale, Arizona, put it different.
Jesus
O
You
“The ‘J’ stands for Jesus,” said Pastor Toole. “The ‘Y’ stands for you. Do you know what the ‘O’ stands for? It stands for zero. Just what it says—nothing. What I am saying here is the way to stay close to Jesus and keep joy in your heart is let nothing between Jesus and you.
If you have no joy in your religion, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.—Billy Sunday
Peace
Longsuffering
Kindness
Kindness: Love in Action.—Charles Allen*
The nicest thing we can do for our Heavenly Father is to be kind to one of his children.—St. Teresa of Avila*
Goodness
Faithfulness
Dependability: Fulfilling what I agreed to do even though it requires unexpected sacrifices. (Proverbs 15:4)—Bill Gothard
Gentleness
The Greek word praus means power under control. A three-year-old girl called to her mother to come and see a doggie. Her mother thought it was another imaginary dog, but she went out anyway. To her surprise she saw the girl petting an injured Mexican wolf. The mother told the girl to back off from the dog slowly, and she did. The mother called a vet, who gave the animal a shot. The wolf recovered and stayed in the girl’s backyard. She played with the wolf as a pet for twelve years. The wolf had power under control. That was “gentleness.”
Self-control
The Christian philosophy is a philosophy of self-denial, self-control, and self-restraint.
The satanic philosophy is a philosophy of “live as you please,” “have what you want,” “don’t let anyone tell you what to do,” and “it’s your life, you have a right to live it.”
—Bob Jones
The man who masters himself is free.
—Epictetus
Most powerful is he who has himself in his own power.
—Seneca
Choose rather to punish your appetites than be punished by them.
—Magnus Maximus