| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Laugh Again” Our Bible verse for today: “And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” Philippians 4:19-20 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Laugh Again” As we conclude our month-long study about learning to laugh again, I want to revisit a few of the key themes we’ve considered. One is that concern about physical needs and financial issues is one of the big joy-stealers in life. In Philippians 4:19-20 the Apostle Paul made a pretty bold statement about the provision of God in our lives. Please note that he wrote about God providing for “all” of your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. That’s a pretty all-inclusive statement. It’s similar to that great passage in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-34 where Jesus taught us about the sovereignty of God. He said that your Father in heaven is aware of your every need. He has the power to provide for you, and He is committed to doing exactly that. That understanding should relieve us of a lot of stress and anxiety. Another lesson we learned is that laughter is good medicine, but a heavy spirit dries up the bones (Proverbs 17:22). A heavy spirit makes you sour and grumpy. Laughter lightens things up and makes you feel better. Happy people are healthy people. Even if your body is sick, your spirit is healthy. Laughter is good medicine. Many of our devotional messages this month were about the importance of being intentional about being happy (Psalm 118:24). You can’t always choose your circumstances but you can always choose your attitude about your circumstances. I encourage you to go back and review some of the strategies we discussed for being intentionally joyful in your outlook and attitude. We also considered the brevity of life (Psalm 39:4-5) and the value of time (2 Corinthians 7:2). Life is too short and our time is too valuable to waste it in trivial pursuits or with a negative attitude. Life is also too short to live small or to whine about getting old. A great question once asked by Pastor Chuck Swindoll is “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” In other words, you’re as young as you feel. Laughter and a light-hearted spirit keep you feeling young. Finally, this month I’m reminded of how much joy I personally receive from my little sissy dogs that I told you about in a previous devotional. But not everyone has that kind of a positive experience with their pets. I remember a story told the comedian Rodney Dangerfield. His childhood experiences with his dog were not happy. The dog’s favorite bone was Rodney’s arm. The dog was also evidently an Egyptian breed because he left little pyramids everywhere he went. And perhaps worst of all, Rodney’s parents had to tie a pork chop around his neck just to get the dog to play with him! That’s sad! My prayer for you is that you have more to laugh about in your life than poor Rodney had in his. As the song says, “Don’t worry, be happy!” You bring glory to God when you live with joy. God bless, Pastor Jim |
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