The Joy of the Lord

November 3, 2010 Marcus Honeysett

Brief post this morning as I am off to speak to London City Mission. The subject they have given me is "Enjoying God." Oh, yes!

Here is an equation that I often think about:

Effective Christian living for Jesus flows from the joy of the Lord. It is a consequence of it
In turn the joy of the Lord is a consequence of justification, receiving grace and living in grace (Romans 5)
Therefore we will dwell a great deal on justification and God giving us righteous status in Christ if we want to live joyfully and victoriously as Christians

Here is another variant on the same theme:

Receiving and living in grace = Living by the Holy Spirit --------> (leads to) Reigning in life (Rom 5:17) ------> enjoying God

It is all about grace in the end. No grace, no joy in God. No Holy Spirit, no joy. No reigning in life, no joy.

Seek him for grace today, and rejoice in all he has done for you in Christ

Discipleship-Oriented Church

January 12, 2010 Marcus Honeysett

Does your church actively train people individually or in groups to do any or all of the following: pray; read, understand and apply the Bible for themselves; give joyfully; forgive; fast; sacrifice; seek God for grace; worship that involves the whole person, affections as well as mind

Grace Based Discipleship

January 5, 2010 Marcus Honeysett

Talking about grace, rejoicing together in grace and spurring one another on in the Christian life is normal Christian living. Regularly asking "what is God doing in your life at the moment?" is the key discipleship question. Regularly being concerned for the joy of the Lord in each others' lives is the foundational expression of Christian love and community.

Laziness, Super-Spirituality or Legalism

May 19, 2009 Marcus Honeysett

Leaders who are busy but not living in grace - or who use busyness as a substitute for living in grace - need to take a serious rain check

Its All by Grace; Acts 15, Pt 1

May 15, 2009 Marcus Honeysett

There are many issues in church life where it is best to agree to disagree, with a generous spirit. The number of hills on which we should really choose to die is comparatively few. Too many people want to make every minor issue into a primary and divide churches over trivia. But primaries do exist. This is definitely one of those hills to die on.