Rejoice in the Lord always (1)

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Phil 4:4, *2 Thess 5:16 (NKJV)
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! *Rejoice always

Apostle Paul begins the third chapter of his letter to the church in Philippi by saying, "Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe". One of the things he repeated severally to them was "rejoice" (it is mentioned at least once in every chapter of the book of Philippians). Indeed, it is for our safety that the bible advises us to rejoice. This is because of the enormous medical, emotional and psychological benefits that joy imparts on life.

To rejoice means to be joyful. That is, to be full of joy. The command "rejoice" is one of the most important commands in the bible. It is so important that out of everything Jesus could have said when He resurrected, He chose to say "rejoice" first, according to Matthew's account (Matt 28:9, NKJV). I am sure there are lots of things He would have been eager to tell His disciples after He resurrected - He stayed 40 days with them after His resurrection and said many things to them - but He chose to start with "rejoice". It must have been pretty important, don't you think so? Besides, in the gospels, it seemed that when there was a visitation from heaven, God was eager to tell men to rejoice (there was always a message about "joy" when angels visited men). For instance, when Zechariah had a vision about the birth of his son John, the angel spoke about "joy" (Luke 1:14, NKJV). Again, when angel Gabriel visited Mary, the first thing he said was "rejoice" (Luke 1:28, NKJV). In addition, the night Jesus was born, when an angel appeared to shepherds who were keeping watch at night, he brought news that will cause "great joy" (Luke 2:10). This reveals that God wants us to be joyful. He wants us to be glad. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to smile. He wants us to laugh, sing and dance as an expression of joy. So, friends, rejoice.

Finally, it is God's desire for you to be joyful always. So, rejoice in the Lord always. In the good times, rejoice. In the bad times, rejoice also. When you have a reason to, rejoice. When you don't, rejoice also. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice. God bless you.

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