Hopefully you enjoy reading this article. The verse is a short verse that should promote a long laugh to your soul.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 - "Rejoice Evermore."
C.S. Lewis once noted: "Joy is the serious business of heaven." Billy Graham correctly observed, "When Jesus Christ is the source of our joy, no words can describe it."
There are many verses in the Bible that describe joy. Over 300 verses....
Deuteronomy 28:47-48 -- If you do not serve the Lord your God with joy and enthusiasm for the abundant benefits you have received, 48 you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. You will be left hungry, thirsty, naked, and lacking in everything. The Lord will put an iron yoke on your neck, oppressing you harshly until he has destroyed you.
1 Chronicles 16:27 -- Honor and majesty surround him; strength and joy fill his dwelling.
1 Chronicles 16:32 32 -- Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise! Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy!
Psalms 4:7 7 -- You have given me greater joy than those who have abundant harvests of grain and new wine.
Psalms 32:11 -- So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!
Psalms 34:5 -- Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
With over 60 additional verses in the Psalms alone....
Proverbs 2:10 -- For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.
John 15:11 -- I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!
Acts 13:52 -- And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Philippians 4:4 -- Always be full of joy in the Lord, I say it again, rejoice.
I remember having to memorize scripture to board the bus. As a youth we were encouraged to memorize verses of the Bible. My favorite was John 11:35, "Then Jesus wept."
The shortest verse is often thought to be the words that describe Jesus, "Jesus wept". John 11:35 "Then Jesus wept."
Yet when we look to Greek we can actually find a shorter expression.
There are only two words that make up the passage today. We can translate the passage in several ways: Always be joyful forever. Be joyful always. Joy without ceasing.
The Message: "Be joyful, no matter what, rejoice evermore."
John Wesley translated it: "Uninterrupted happiness."
In the People's Bible - "Rejoice evermore".
"Religion is not sullen and sour, but full of joy; so full that the saint can even be joyous when all the world seems to frown. He has a hidden source of joy, a present Savior, a blessed hope." -- "The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Thessalonians," in Ellicott's Commentary on the Whole Bible, vol. 8, p. 145).
These two words "hpantote chairete" constitute the shortest verse in the Greek New Testament.
HPANTOTE - Pronounced pantote which means, "Always. All the time." or "At each time" CHAIRETE - Pronounced Chaireet which means, simply "Rejoice"
THE FIRST WORD:
1. Rejoice (Chairete)
This is perhaps described as circumstantial happiness. This is in part happiness based on what happens to us. We get HAPPINESS - which is what HAPPENS.
You may have seen how poorly some people act if they aren’t happy. https://youtu.be/-JvtlB_NzI8 (I wanted a blue one not a red one!)
Other examples: The birth of a baby. Winning a contest. A birthday. A TV show.
You may have heard about the naughty parrot. An owner of a parrot is bothered by the bad behaviors of her pet. Her pet says bad words. Might have been the previous owner but her concern is that it says bad things when she has company. She hears about a cure that may solve this problem. She hears the if you place the parrot in a cold environment every time the parrot is bad, that this could cure it. Once the problem was so bad that she place it in the freezer. Exasperated she left it in for a rather long time and even forgot. When she remembered she quickly got the parrot out of the cold. ** As she removed it the parrot said; "What bad word did the turkey say?"
Speaking of Turkeys, why can’t you take a turkey to church? Because he has a "fowl" mouth!
Have you ever written down your "I Believe Statements"? I believe statements are how we can go from circumstantial happiness to the ability to rejoice.
We all have beliefs. They control who we are and what be think. They may be pessimistic or optimistic. Whatever they are, they dictate our feelings, attitudes, reactions, and the way we view what happens to us.
Write out your "I Believe" statement. (... give testimony statement.)
To rejoice is a choice! The word tells us to; "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus." --1 Thessalonians 5:18
Take time right now to list one "I believe statement". I believe that God is with me. I believe that I am His child. I believe that God will give me the strength necessary to face life's challenges. ** Daily write your "I believe statements".... Make them Biblical and you have the recipe to find a joy unspeakable and full of glory. A joy that will carry you through life's challenges.
Ever think about the importance of the word: YET? It is an adjective that is defined in the context of the circumstances.
David said it best when he said in Psalm 27:13 – "Yet will I trust in the Lord!"
As if to say;
.... never-the-less.
.... in spite of.
He knows God to be good at all times; even in difficulties and pain!
Psalms 27:13: "Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living."
THE SECOND WORD:
2. Evermore (Pantote)
It means that joy is as a constant!
Ever seen someone you may call, supernaturally joyful. *George Mueller would not preach until his heart was happy in the grace of God. *Jan Ruybroeck would not write while his feelings were low., but would go to a quiet place and wait on God till he felt the spirit inspiration. *John Wesley learned true joy from the Moravians who demonstrated their confidence during a stormy sea carriage. The Christian owes it to the world to be supernaturally joyful." - A. W. Tozer
IN OUR PASSAGE, we learn that this simple verse teaches us many lessons on joy. It is the shortest verse but it does provide the longest laugh!
I heard a story once about the longest smile. A 12-year-old girl in Winnipeg, Canada held a smile on her face for 10 hours and 5 minutes, establishing the new world record. Lisa Lester's exploit won the smiling marathon of the Manitaba Providence Dental Association. Before that, the longest smile was recorded at only 7 hours and 32 minutes.
My friend, Pastor Bruce Howell (my first real church boss), wrote a book "Pushing the Pause Button On Your Life". He has a chapter dealing with joy. He writes:
"...joy is not the same as happiness. Happenings can lead to happiness. Joy is birthed as a result of a loving relationship. Sad is that people who bases his joy strictly on beneficial circumstances. The events of life are like waves on the sea. They come and they go, depending on the direction and force of the wind (and currents)."
He is right! In order to have an "evermore" to your joy, you will need a deeper experience. Bruce says that "Joy is a state of mind into which four ingredients enter:
1. A sense of being loved.
2. Ability to accept our situation in life.
3. Sense that you have something worth having (family, career, children, hobby...)
4. Giving away something worth giving. "Giving is a great source of joy. Giving oneself to others is tremendously rewarding."
Isaiah 43:19 is a reminder that each new day brings blessings!
"For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will make rivers in the dry wasteland."
Recently I read the story of John Pierpont. Robert Fulghum, wrote a book entitled "It Was On Fire When I Lay Down On It". There’s a very good story in that book that touched my life and lingers up to now.
In 1866, at the age of 81, John Pierpont came to the end of his days as a government clerk in Washington, D.C., with a long string of personal defeats.
He began well - a Yale graduate of which his grandfather had helped found. He chose education as his profession; filled with enthusiasm.
His failing begin. He failed as a teacher because he was criticized for being to easy on his students. He entered the legal professions but there too, he failed. He was too generous to his clients and didn't charge enough.
Next his career was in business. There too he failed because as a merchant he did not charge enough for his dry goods and was too liberal with credit.
He wrote poetry; although much was published, he did not collect enough royalties. He was ordained (Harvard Divinity School) and pastored in Boston but his position in slavery angered his congregation. He was against slavery. He was forced to resign.
In politics he was nominated to the Abolition Party of Massachusetts but was defeated. He ran for Congress under the banner of the Free Soil Party. He lost again.
During the civil war he volunteered as a chaplain for the 22nd Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers. Two weeks later he was encouraged to quit; at 72-years old he was not able to keep up.
Eventually he found an obscure job in the back offices of the Treasury Department in Washington, and he finished the last five years of his life as a menial clerk.
*He died and many considered him a failure. There was a small memorial stone marking his grace in the Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The stone was engraved; "POET, PREACHER, PHILOSOPHER, PHILANTHROPIST."
You see, in the eyes of the world, his success was to his discredit. He was a fool to have gained so much and given it all away. Many of his works were eventually credited to him as successes. **He demonstrated a life of joy in all he did! He gave generously - unending - a joy evermore! ** He forever made an impact on his children!
We are aware of him through the popularity of his son--JAMES! It is because he authored a famous Christmas tune, once written in poetry to his mother & father. It was one of his fondest memories of a happy home. It was once one of the top 25 songs of all time! He dedicated it as a fond memory of his early days....riding in a "One Horse Open Sleigh."
We know it today as, "Jingle Bells".
As I wrap up the article, consider the following.
We should have a thankful spirit. Just as the video depicts joy and Christmas Gifts: http://youtu.be/BSxPWpLPN7A
We are encouraged in this verse to laugh. To really laugh! It is God's gift to us - to laugh evermore!
"A happy heart makes the face cheerful..." Proverbs 15:13
First Thing Everyday devotional on Day 29, tells us that of the blessings from God. The author says, "After all, God created laughter for a reason...to use it. So laugh!"
Dennis Swanberg says; "Life goes on. Keep on smiling and the whole world smiles with you."
We need to be transformed; to change from the inside out! Let His Joy become our Happiness - EVERMORE!
Wesley's Commentary makes the connection for us. The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. Wesley writes; "Prayer may be said to the the breath of our spiritual life. He that lives cannot possible cease breathing. This shows the way to 'rejoice always.' Our Lord has purchased joy, as well as righteousness, for us."
A few years ago I heard a devotional I call the Metamorphosis. Joan Bardsley shared a story from her personal experience. Teacher at a private Christian school - kindergarten.
One girl was in class who was physically abuse. Big bright eyes and long blond messy hair. Jessica had deep pain. She seldom smiled. She seldom talked. The kids didn't understand her.
Joan had a moth cocoon in a glass container. The year was nearly passed when one suggested that they wanted to see the cocoon. Joan shook it...sounded like it dried up. Open it! She partially cut into it and discovered that the small creature was still alive...moving slightly. They repaired the cocoon. Summer passed. At the beginning of the school year she went to her new Kindergarten class, discovering that the moth had hatched. It was a beautifully colored moth. She showed it to her prior class and they want outside to let it go free.
When the moth flew it circled the group of students then landed gently on Jessica's shoulder...Jessica smiled! The children laughed. They began to call Jessica the Butterfly princes.
God can change our weeping to joy!
**The Christian's joy flows from sympathy and grace of our savior. Jesus wept - so we can rejoice evermore.**
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kuo3lg-LBU | (The Cathedrals)
