Three needs.

"Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift that I possess. I thank the Lord that I've been blessed with more than my share of happiness." sung the late Ken Dodd.

Someone has claimed that there are three things that a person needs in order to be happy! These are:

1. Something to do - some meaningful work, or some way of helping others;

2. Someone to love - someone to whom we may give of ourselves, such as a spouse, a child, a friend;

3. Something to which we may look forward - perhaps a holiday, a visit from a loved one, improved health, the realisation of a dream.

It is probably true that these things may provide at least a temporary happiness. However, as we get older, and physically weaker, we may find it more difficult to do the things that we were able to do so easily when we were younger. As we get older, some family members and friends are no longer there. I know that more and more of the deaths of which I learn are of those who fit into those categories. As we get older, it can become more difficult to go on holiday; loved ones are no longer able to visit; our health tends to deteriorate; it is too late to realise any dream that has never been fulfilled.

However, lasting fulfilment may be found - in a relationship with the Lord Jesus, the Christ.

1. Something to do - if you are a disciple of Jesus, you have been been gifted through God the Holy Spirit to serve the Saviour by serving others in His Name. "... love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honour." (Rom 12:10).  We are also commanded to spread the Gospel message around the world. "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt 28:19-20).

2. Someone to love - We love God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit* - because He first loved us (I Jn.4:19). And, of course, we love others: "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God." (I John 4:7).

3. Something to which we may look forward - one day (perhaps sooner than many realise!) we who are His will be welcomed into the nearer presence of Father God, where we will enjoy eternity* with Him, in a place that has been especially prepared for us (John 14:2-3; Rev.21:3-4). We shall see the Lord Jesus and - wonder of wonders - we shall be like Him! (I John 3:2). Now all of that (and there is more!) is certainly something to which we may look forward!

For joy (which is,in fact, much better than mere happiness!) that does not depend on age or circumstances, Jesus, the Christ, is all that we need. I warmly commend Him to you.

* the Trinity, and eternity, are both dealt with in "Great Words of the Faith" (link above. Remember that ALL royalties now go directly to the bank account of Release International, in support of the Persecuted Church - as do those on my other two books.

Fulness of joy.

Dr. Victor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, was imprisoned by the Nazis in World War II because he was a Jew. His wife, his children, and his parents were all killed in the Holocaust. The Gestapo stripped him of his clothes. He stood totally naked before them. As they cut off his wedding band, Viktor said to himself, "You can take away my wife, you can take away my children, you can strip me of my clothes and my freedom, but there is one thing no person can ever take away from me - and that is my freedom to choose how I will react to what happens to me!"  Even under the most difficult of circumstances, joy is a choice which transforms our tragedies into triumph.

Let's face it, not everything goes our way. Things don't always work out as we planned. Some days are disasters. Other days are even worse!

Happiness comes easily when things go our way. Joy is different. It's deeper. Joy is an attitude we select. Happiness is external and subject to what happens. Joy is an inside job in which we determine to rejoice, regardless of the circumstances.

Don't confuse happiness with joy. Happiness is a buoyant emotion that results from the momentary plateaus of well-being. Joy is bedrock stuff. Joy is a confidence that operates irrespective of our moods. Joy is the certainty that all is well, however we feel.

Writing to the early disciples of Jesus in the city of Philippi, the apostle Paul - himself in prison - encourages them to, "Always be full of joy in the Lord.  I say it again, Rejoice!" (4:4; NLT).  

Joy is a divine dimension of living that is not shackled by circumstances simply because we have chosen to respond in a positive manner.  Paul is saying that joy is not something that happens to me but rather something I deliberately and consciously select!  Circumstances seldom generate lasting smiles and laughter.  Joy comes to those who determine to choose it, in spite of their circumstances.

At the Cross

A reminder, from my favourite vocal group, that it is at the Cross of Jesus - and there alone - that salvation, and true happiness, are found.

Happiness, and Joy.

Okay, I confess.  Having caught part of an episode of the TV series Spooks, while waiting in the A&E Department of Glasgow's Western Infirmary (my mother-in-law was the patient), I started watching it, from the beginning, online.  It's my kind of programme - and I was as up-to-date with N.C.I.S. (and N.C.I.S. - Los Angeles) as I could be!

In the episode I watched last night, I heard one character make a statement that I thought was worth writing down.  She said, "Happiness isn't about getting what we want; it's about appreciating what we have."   That's worth reading over again - slowly (if I was preaching, I would certainly repeat it, very deliberately!).

This morning's Today programme, on BBC Radio 4, informed listeners that a survey by the Children's Society of the Church of England had concluded that a stable family relationship is more important than material possessions for the 10 out of 11 children who claimed that they are happy!

I found that to be very interesting.  Marriage, of course, is what the Archbishop of York, Rev Dr John Sentamu, who launched the Report, referred to as "the bedrock of society".  I was disappointed that such a leading evangelical preacher seemed to be equating "non-traditional relationships" with the traditional, Biblical concept of one man and one woman, for life, to the exclusion of all others.  However, in what many - myself included - have termed "the consumerist society" with its apparent emphasis on materialism, it is good to see that appreciation of the stable family that I have is more important than getting the material possessions that I want!

The Bible doesn't speak a great deal about happiness.  Indeed, there is only one reference to that word - in Lamentations 3:17.  Even 'happy' is not all that common - and it only occurs twice in the new Testament (although the word "Blessèd" may also be translated as "Happy").

What the Bible does major on is a related, but different, concept - that of 'Joy'.  Joy is something that is totally independent of situation and/or circumstances.  Shortly before His arrest, passion, and crucifixion,Jesus said to His disciples: "So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." (John 16:22).  This was Paul's prayer for the infant church in the great metropolis of Rome: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, ..." (Rom 15:13).  Somewhat starngely, to most "western" minds, James encourages his readers to "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4).

This is the joy of which some of us used to sing: "I've got that joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart."  It's the joy that helps to sustain my brothers and sisters in the persecuted church who look "... to Jesus the Pioneer and Perfecter of our faith, Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." (Heb 12:2).

Happiness is a great thing to have, and appreciate.  But the bottom line is that it doesn't hold a candle to real, God-given, Holy Spirit inspired, Jesus honouring JOY!   By the way, that's also an acronym for how we may know real joy.  It's by putting Jesus first; Others second; and Yourself last!

What a difference it would make, to society as a whole, if every disciple of Jesus was to do just that!

Going to the Rock!

It's not that I'm one for name-dropping, but I have met my share of celebrities in my day - and been no further than about 7' (2 m) from HM the Queen on occasion!

I recall, one Saturday evening in Glasgow, spending about an hour and a half with a still young Cliff Richard. I've chatted with Graham Kendrick; shared a few thoughts with Jack Hayford (composer of 'Majesty' among other songs); and sat (almost literally!) at the feet of Billy Graham - to name but a few!

What made my thoughts start to travel in that direction was, earlier this evening, listening to Helen Shapiro sing "I go to the Rock". I had the pleasure, many years ago now, of meeting Helen as well, and spending some 20 minutes with her. She made her name, of course, on the secular scene when as a young teenager, she shot to fame with "Walking back to happiness". However, like so many, she discovered that true happiness can be extremely elusive. It was in 1987 that this Jewish-background young woman discovered, after several months of searching the Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament of the Christian Bible) that they had been fulfilled in the Person of Yeshua (Hebrew for 'Jesus'), and that only in Him is real happiness, that doesn't depend on physical circumstances and material possessions.

Of course, throughout the last two millennia, and in spite of scepticism, mockery, persecution, and death, millions of others have found the same truth - that when Jesus said "My purpose is to give ... a rich and satisfying life." (John 10:10; NLT), He really meant it!

So, where do you go when there's nobody else to turn to? Who do you talk to, when nobody wants to listen? Who do you lean on when all around is sinking sand, and there's no stable foundation? May I recommend my Friend, Helen Shapiro's Friend, and the Friend of countless numbers in every place, and in every age - the One Who truly is "the Rock of our salvation"?

"YHWH is my Rock , my Fortress, and my Saviour;
my God is my Rock , in Whom I find protection.
He is my Shield, the power that saves me,
and my place of safety." (Ps 18:2; NLT).

"... and that Rock was Christ." (I Cor. 10:4-5; NLT).

Quotable Quotes

Well, that's the 10,000 barrier well and truly broken! A few random quotations - just to celebrate!

If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things that you have that money can't buy. - Anon.

In about the same degree as you are helpful, you will be happy. - Karl Reiland

Happiness is a direction, not a place! - Anon.

A real friend is one who walks in, when the rest of the world walks out. - Walter Winchell

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. - Winston Churchill.

I count him braver who conquers his desires, than him who conquers his enemies; for the hardest victory is the victory over self. - Aristotle

God, without man, is still God; man, without God, is lost. - Anon

The proof of spiritual maturity is not how 'pure' you are, but your awareness of your impurity. That very awareness opens the door to God's grace. - Philip Yancey

Bible study is not merely to inform us; it's meant to transform us! - Anon.