JOYFUL SERVICE
As children of God, there is no greater joy than to worship our Savior by serving Him. While we were at Independent Bible Fellowship Church (Harrington, DE) this past Sunday I had the opportunity to introduce my family to a man I have greatly respected over the years for his joyful service to the Lord. I first met Pastor Guy Simpson about a decade ago through a leadership outing hosted by Lighthouse. From the moment I met him, I could clearly see His love for the Lord, and his infectious joy in serving Christ. Although I have not seen Pastor Simpson for a number of years, he has not changed one bit!
Something that has been important to me while our family has been on this journey of raising support for the work in the Philippines, is for our children to know what joyful service to the Lord looks like, and to experience it for themselves. Children of God should not be marked by a disgruntled or complaining spirit when it comes to serving Christ. Of all people in the world, we should be the ones filled with the greatest joy and excitement. This is why having our children get to know people like Pastor Guy and Susan Simpson is so vital during our travels. I want to make sure our children realize that we can serve God, and have great joy (not to mention fun) at the same time. In fact, I hope they will eventually recognize that the only way to experience true, lasting joy is to serve God. This does not mean we never face struggles, or difficulties, but that we can (like the Thessalonian believers) face those afflictions with joy from the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:6).
As Nehemiah and Ezra encouraged the people in Nehemiah 8:10: May “the joy of the Lord [be our] strength” throughout life’s journey.
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