Can Non-Christians Have Joy?

Posted in Church Chat, Discipleship, Evangelism, Worship2 Comments

In 1971, the group Three Dog Night released a song that was the #1 song on the charts for 6 weeks in a row.  Here are some of the words to the song:

Jeremiah was a bull frog; was a good friend of mine.  I never understood a single word he said, but I helped him drink his wine.   And he always had some mighty fine wine.  Joy to the world; all the boys and girls, now.  Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea; joy to you and me.

It seems to me that this song contains a very misguided view of true joy and where it originates.  In the New Testament, the word “joy” is the word χαρά [khar•ah].  Throughout the Bible, joy is almost always associated with salvation.

In Luke 2:10, the angel told the shepherds, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy….”  What was that great joy?  “Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord”  (Luke 2:11, NASB).  David linked joy and salvation when he prayed, “Restore to me the joy of my salvation” (Psalm 51:12, NASB).

I contend that only Christians can experience Biblical joy because only Christians have experienced salvation.  Non-Christians can certainly experience happiness in life, but happiness can come and go.  Joy is constant — it does not depend on circumstances.  I like to say it this way:

Happiness depends on happenings; Joy depends on Jesus!

If we’re going to choose a song about joy, I think the Isaac Watts version of “Joy to the World” is much better than the Three Dog Night version.  Here are the words:

 Joy to the world,  the Lord is come!  Let earth receive her King.  Let every heart prepare Him room.  And heav’n and nature sing.  And heav’n and nature sing.  And heav’n, and heav’n and nature sing.

What do you think?  Can non-Christians have joy in their lives?

Calling Out the Called

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Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” Luke 10:2 (NKJV)

Early in his tenure as Executive Director-Treasurer of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, Dr. Todd Gray called 120 KBC churches who were searching for a senior pastor at the time. He was reminded that mid-size and large churches usually have no problem finding qualified candidates, but smaller churches often face great difficulty. He heard that some churches were so desperate that they were considering non-Southern Baptist candidates.

Dr. Gray decided to call for a statewide initiative to address the need. He asked me to lead the initiative along with selected members of the CCR Team. We gladly accepted the assignment because of the potential benefits to KBC churches. At this point, I am traveling around the state talking and listening to leaders about this challenge. It will take all of us working together to see positive movement in this area.

I am traveling around the state talking and listening to leaders about this challenge. It will take all of us working together to see positive movement in this area.

As a part of the assignment, Dr. Gray shared four main convictions about the need.

Dr. Gray’s 4 “Calling Out the Called” Convictions

  1. Men sitting in the pews of nearby area churches can best meet these needs.
  2. Many of these men are professionals and deeply committed Christians who have abilities to teach, preach, and lead.
  3. These men need to hear the call of God, answer the call of God, and receive basic skills training them how to begin their ministry.
  4. The KBC needs to lead out in this area to help churches meet the need.

This initiative will be a multi-year project, but we believe there is urgency. As a result, we hope to make immediate strides with a goal of announcing key initiative elements at the 2021 KBC Annual Meeting in Elizabethtown on November 9, 2021.

Please join us in praying for God’s blessing and wisdom. The harvest is indeed great, but more laborers are needed. PRAY that God will send laborers for His work and for His glory!

PRAYER: Dear Father, please send laborers into your churches in Kentucky to reap a harvest that will fulfill your purpose for those churches and bring you glory! And please give us wisdom to know what our part should be in this glorious work. Amen!

New KBC Ministry Job Board

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I’m really excited to announce that we have developed a brand new Kentucky Baptist Convention Ministry Job Board. The site has a fresh new look, but more importantly, it will serve churches and ministers more effectively. Here are a few of the features of the new site:

  • Churches can post positions directly on the site. A church can personalize their listing by adding a video, logo, website, and personal information of various kinds.
  • Ministers can post a resume directly on the site. Along with their resume, they can include a sermon video, social media accounts, along with other personal information.
  • Ministers can search for positions through a variety of filters including location, position, size, and salary.
  • Churches can search for resumes posted on the site and include them in their ministry search.
  • The new site will provide faster service and more precise search results.

Since the Ministry Job Board is brand new, it will take a while to populate the site with ministry positions and resumes. In a sense, the new site cuts out the middle person for faster, more accurate results. Of course, we’re still here to assist with any aspect of the process.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Peggy Berry at peggy.berry@kybaptist.org or at 502-432-6944.

Birthdays Are Awesome

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Today we are celebrating the birthday of my sweet wife. We have been married 39 years and our time together just keeps getting better. She is the best wife I’ve ever had (wink, wink) and she is the best MiMi on the planet according to our grandsons.

Today, I was thinking about her birthday and the celebrations we have experienced through the years on these special occasions. I believe that birthdays should serve as times of celebration, but they should also cause us to reflect, refocus, revision, and regroup.

4 Awesome Things to Do on Your Birthday

  1. Reflect. As we reflect back over our lives, we see God’s hand at work. He protected us and guided us along the way when we often were not aware that He was doing so. He helped us make decisions and connections that led us to where we are today.
  2. Refocus. A few years ago I began to refocus on my physical fitness. I am striving to be disciplined once again in the areas of exercise and eating. I am also striving to be more disciplined spiritually as well. Birthdays are a great time to refocus on the things that matter most.
  3. Revision. Today, as I write, I ask myself, “where I am going?” “What is my vision for the next 5-10 years of my life?” I believe we can all benefit from time-to-time by revisiting the visions God has given us.
  4. Regroup. Have you ever blown it? Although I am a pretty decent golfer, I once scored a “10” on one hole! I was even par on the round before hitting the ball out-of-bounds on hole 7. As a result of additional mistakes on the hole, I recorded a double-digit number on the card. Needless to say, I needed to regroup after that. Life is a lot like that. Invariably, there will be times when we need to stop and regroup. Birthdays can serve as great reminders along those lines.

I once scored a “10” on one hole……life is a lot like that!

Do you have a birthday soon? Eat some cake, blow out some candles, have a blast with your friends and family, but take a few minutes to consider the things I mentioned here on my wife’s 39th (wink, wink) birthday!

5 Keys to Being Like Jesus

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“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)

As believers, our ultimate goal is to become like Christ. He is the bulls-eye. He is the mark. He is the goal! Here are 5 keys I see in this passage to becoming more like Jesus.

5 Keys to Being Like Jesus

1.  Turn over the steering wheel. God doesn’t want to be co-pilot; He wants to be pilot. The Apostle Paul said, “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord….” (Vs. 6). When I ride with someone else, I find myself wanting to grab the wheel, hit the brake, or stomp the accelerator. Similarly, I sometimes do that in my Christian walk, but Jesus deserves to be Lord in my life as well as yours. I must continually turn the wheel of my life over to Him.

2.  Dig in with Christ. There were a number of false teachers in Colossae, so Paul emphasized the need to be “rooted and built up in Him” (Vs. 7). One way to be rooted is to dig into God’s Word. Common sense tells us that we can’t watch television 5 hours a day, then read the Bible 5 minutes a day, and expect to grow spiritually!

3.  Build our lives in Jesus. Paul said that we are “built up in Him” (Vs. 7). Construction takes time. Some building projects take longer than others. The same is true in our Christlikeness. Discipleship is a lifelong, exciting journey.

Discipleship is a lifelong, exciting journey.

4.  Pump up with teaching. Several years ago two famous Saturday Night Live characters regularly said, “we are here to pump you up!” Paul told the Colossian believers they were “strengthened in the faith as [they] were taught” (Vs. 7). Paul connects the teaching of the Word of God with spiritual strength. We should “pump up” regularly with good Biblical teaching.

5.  Spill thankfulness everywhere you go. Paul concludes verse 7 by reminding us that we should be “overflowing with thankfulness.” I remember a couple of times a waitress accidently filled my glass so full that it overflowed. As mature believers, we should intentionally be so full of thankfulness that we overflow for others to see. I believe that genuine thankfulness is a mark of spiritual maturity.

The Lord Jesus is our model and we often fall short. But, always remember that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NIV).