Nothing worthwhile comes easily. To be effective joy-bringers, we’ll need to work at it. And that involves mastering four disciplines. Today is our final reading in Joy to Your World! and it is found on pages 39 and 40:“You’ll need to master four disciplines in order to bring the joy of Jesus to the places and people of your Personal Mission Field.

“First, you’ll have to prepare well. Every day. Start praying for the people in your Personal Mission Field. Ask the Lord to help you live His joy before them, and to create in them a longing for more of what they see in you. 

“Second, make sure that you make the most of every opportunity to demonstrate the joy of the Lord. Be circumspect about every area of your life (Eph. 5.15-17 KJV) – how you comport yourself, how you talk to and treat others, how you respond to difficult situations. Practice rejoicing and giving thanks in all things, so that you demonstrate the reality of the joy in the Lord consistently in every area of your life. 

“Third…[d]evelop a conversational relationship with the people in your Personal Mission Field, and you’ll be more ready to talk about the hope and joy they see in you when the opportunity arises.

“Finally, think and work for transformation – in your own life, in the conditions and circumstances of your places, in your conversation and all your demeanor, and – prayerfully and lovingly – in the lives of those to whom God has sent you to bring His joy.

“Work to master these four disciplines, and you will find your Personal Mission Field to be a field where the joy of the Lord abounds, is noticed and talked about, and multiplies in the lives of those to whom God sends you day by day.”

For reflection or discussion
1. What are the best times to pray for people in your Personal Mission Field?

2. What can you do to improve in each of the four disciplines outlined here?

If we’re going to fulfill our calling as joy-bringers to the world, we’re going to have to be intentional, and we’re going to have to work. Start with these four disciplines. Practice them every day. And watch how your outreach improves as the joy of the Lord spreads through you. Share today’s podcast with a friend, and invite them to talk about it with you. You can order copies of Joy to Your World by going to The Ailbe Bookstore. 

T. M. Moore

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Most Christians don’t realize that, in the Great Commission, Jesus did not say, “Go therefore, and make disciples…” He said, “As you are going, make disciples..” Making disciples is not something we go to do; it’s some we do because of who we are. Today’s excerpt from Joy to Your World! is found on pages 37-39:

“You can think of your Personal Mission Field as the places you go week-in and week-out, and the people you encounter in those places on a regular basis. Jesus taught us to think of our calling to be and make disciples as taking place in the as-you-are-goings of our lives (Matt. 28.18-20). All we have to do is identify those places and people, and begin the work of bringing the joy of the Lord into every area of our lives.“This is your Personal Mission Field, and Jesus the Bringer of Joy has sent you to these places and people to bring the joy of His salvation and the Good News of His Kingdom.

“Now all you need is the make up your mind to take up your mission, and begin working your Personal Mission Field on behalf of the Bringer of Joy.”

For reflection or discussion
1. Do you regard yourself as a disciple of Jesus? How would you explain that to a non-Christian friend?

2. Does making disciples “as you are going” describe your life in Christ? In what ways?

Jesus did not call us be saved or forgiven or to go to heaven. He called us to make disciples. Getting saved and being forgiven is the gateway and provides the resources for making disciples. Going to heaven is the rest after our calling is through and our appointed time is over. Share today’s podcast with a friend. Talk about these matters, because they are of the essence of Christian life. You can order a copy of Joy to Your World! by going to The Ailbe Bookstore.

T. M. Moore

The post As You Are Going appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

What do we expect of our “missionaries”? To proclaim Jesus to the lost? To make disciples? Well, we should be advised that Jesus thinks of each one of us as His missionaries. Yeah, that’s a problem. Today’s reading from Joy to Your World! is found on pages 36 and 37:

“Another problem arises at this point: We have been taught to think of the harvest fields – the mission fields – as over there somewhere, across the seas, in a far country. Anywhere but right where we live. We celebrate the work of missionaries, and we are happy to support the mission outreach of our church by our giving and attendance at missions conferences. But we have no sense of being a people on mission or in mission just because we are those who have entered the joy of Jesus Christ and His Kingdom.

“We acknowledge that Jesus came to earth to bring the joy of the Lord and to make His blessings known far as the curse is found. But we fail to hear Him as He says, “As the Father has sent Me, I also send you” (Jn. 20.21). Jesus the Bringer of Joy sends every-one who has entered His joy as a joy-bringer to the mission field of the world – your world.”

For reflection or discussion
1. Does your church have “missions” program? What is your role in it?

2. How should your being sent by Jesus be like the way He was sent by His Father?

Making disciples is an “as-you-are-going” proposition. It fits into our lives wherever we are and whatever we’re doing. This is our mission and calling from the Lord, and the sooner we embrace it, the more the Good News of Jesus will pervade our world. Send today’s podcast to a friend, then get together to discuss it. You can order Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore. 

T. M. Moore

The post Joy-Bringers All appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

Let’s face it, the Church in our day has lost its cutting edge of mission—local mission. We’re happy to pay for others to go overseas with our blessing, but we  have little zeal for winning our neighbors and community to the Lord. Today’s excerpt from Joy to Your World! is found on pages 35 and 36:

“Many Christians have embraced the idea that salvation is something we are waiting to enjoy once Jesus returns to gather us unto Himself. For now, we are the Lord’s seed in a world overrun by weeds, and only when those weeds are burned away in judgment will we finally be able to bloom and blossom into the joy and Kingdom prepared for us by our Father.

“The curse of sin has taken root far and wide, and the weed field of the world can seem a daunting place.

“Two problems accompany this way of thinking. First, we tend to think there is little we can do to help others know the joy we have in Jesus Christ. We’ve convinced ourselves they aren’t interested, or we aren’t sufficiently persuasive, or sharing the joy of Jesus isn’t really our responsibility. This is why we have pastors, right?

“The other problem is that thinking this way does not line up with Jesus’ instruction to lift up our eyes, and His promise to see that the fields of the world are ripe for the harvest. ‘The harvest is plentiful,’ Jesus insisted (Matt. 9.37).”

For reflection or discussion
1. What about you? Do you see yourself as on a mission for Christ and His Kingdom? In what ways?

2. Do you believe that people you know will be open to receiving the Gospel? Why or why not?

There’s no time like the present to begin recovering the joy of telling others about the joy we have in Jesus. Share today’s podcast with a friend, and talk about the implications of our mission and calling. You can order Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore.

T. M. Moore

The post Salvation and Harvest Now appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

When we feel joyful, we want to express it—shout out, hug somebody, do something good or kind. Joy moves us to share our joy, and that’s how God makes His Good News known in our world. Today’s reading from Joy to Your World! is found on pages 33 and 34:

“When we experience it, joy will come to expression in a variety of ways. That is, joy is not an affection merely to be experienced. For joy to have its full effect, it must be expressed. And we may employ not only our songs, but our whole lives to declare the praises of Him Who brings us such joy.

“Once again, the Scriptures provide numerous suggestions to guide us in expressing the joy we have in the Kingdom of God. We may shout for joy, like a home-town partisan whose favorite player has just scored the winning basket (Pss. 47.1; 66.1). Singing songs of joy is also commended (Ps. 92.4). We may express our joy by giving to or comforting others in the midst of our adversity (2 Cor. 8.1, 2); sharing in the sowing and harvest of the seed of the Kingdom (Ps. 126.5); doing justice (Prov. 21.15); and by increasing in our experience of the Kingdom of God (Matt. 13.44). When at such times joy breaks forth from us, it looks like hope, confidence, peace, and complete overall wellbeing. 

“When, because of our knowledge of God, the joy that fills our souls comes to expression as joy lived, then our lives will make sense, our salvation will be visible to the watching world, and we can offer any who may ask, sound reasons for how that joy can be theirs as well.”

For reflection or discussion
1. When was the last time you experienced real joy? How did you express your joy at that time?

2. Real joy comes from being in the Presence of the Lord (Ps. 16.11). What can you do to increase your experience of joy?

Joy is meant to be lived. And when we live it, it’s God living through us, showing Himself to the world in all the multitude of small ways we glorify and enjoy Him each day. You can share the grace and joy of the Lord by sending today’s podcast to a friend, then getting together to discuss is. Order copies of Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore and pass them around to your friends. 

T. M. Moore

The post Joy Expresed appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

What is joy? And where does it come from? How can we know more of it? We’ll take a look at such questions in today’s reading from Joy to Your World!, which is found on pages 31 and 32:

“Joy is not determined by what we can see in our immediate environment. Instead, joy is a condition that attaches to knowing the Lord and being able to see past or through what is seen to engage what is not seen (Heb. 12.1). This is part of what gives joy its great appeal: it is not attached to changeable circumstances but to fixed realities and eternal verities in which we participate by grace through faith. And joy is always there, always available to tap into in any situation. 

“[T]he ability to know joy – in spite of any untoward circumstances or conditions – is dependent on the extent to which one actually knows the Lord and is intimately engaged in a relationship with Him. Habakkuk declared that he would rejoice in the Lord and in His salvation, which he experienced as strength, security, and safety (v. 19). The chords, melodies, keys, and pace of our lives are ever changing, like a Baroque keyboard composition; but the continuo of joy abides like a solid bass line under and through all the vicissitudes of our lives, and makes them all, regardless of their nature, cohere and make sense…

“True joy – a pervasive sense of wellbeing, strength, security, elation, peace, and safety – comes from the Lord, from being in, with, and near Him. We may know joy in the presence of the Lord and His strength – joy now and joy complete in the days to come.”

For reflection or discussion
1. How would you explain the difference between happiness and joy to a non-Christian friend?

2. What you say to that friend concerning how to know that joy?

While true and lasting joy is a permanent condition of Christian life, it’s not a permanent experience. At least, not in this life. Now we know fleeting but precious encounters with joy, enough to know they’re real and that greater and lasting joy is yet to come. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together and discuss it. You can order your copy of Joy to Your World! at The Ailbe Bookstore. 

T. M. Moore

The post The Nature of Joy appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

We can’t make people believe the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom. At best, we can help them understand the abiding hope and joy that come from knowing Jesus and living before Him by grace through faith. And we must be ever ready to perform this task. Our reading today from Joy to Your World! can be found on page 27:

“The reason why we are different has to do with the way we use our reason and time as human beings – in pursuit of the greater knowledge of Him Who has saved and is making us new. It is not our task to convert those who ask a reason for the hope that is within us. It is our task to make sure, to the best of our ability, that we have explained the Good News of Jesus as clearly as we can, and that they understand the hope, promises, and joy available to them through Jesus the Bringer of Joy, the Savior Who reigns. We must be clear about how they may gain the blessings we make known, and what are the consequences of refusing to prepare room in their hearts to receive Jesus as King.

“So when the opportunity for giving a reason for your hope and joy arises, make sure you are ready with the Gospel, because Jesus Christ alone is the reason for the hope that is within us. He is the Bringer of Joy and of forgiveness and eternal life.”

For reflection or discussion
1. What can we do to help people understand the Gospel of the Kingdom? Is this a one-off event or an ongoing process?

2. What are the keys to developing the kind of relationships that make conversations about the Gospel possible?

Evangelism is not an event; it’s a process. And we should be in the process of evangelism with all the people to whom God sends us, praying, helping, loving, and conversing as often as we can. We don’t know how the Spirit will use us, but we want to be on task when He does. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss it. You can order Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore. 

T. M. Moore

The post Our Task appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

If we are consistent in living the joy and hope we have in Jesus, people will notice. How could they not? And Peter said that some of those who notice will ask a reason for that hope, an explanation for what makes us the way we are (1 Pet. 3.15). And that’s the easiest explanation you’ll ever give anyone. Our reading from Joy to Your World! for today is found on pages 24 and 25:

“We can rather simply explain to any who ask a reason for the hope that is within us that Jesus Christ is the reason. How can we be so full of joy? Why do we treat others with grace and kindness? Why are we able to do our work without carping and complaining? Why are we faithful to our spouses? Interested in the people around us? Gracious, loving, kind, patient, generous, or forgiving – whatever the manifestation of our hope and joy may have caught the attention of those around us? 

“The answer is that Jesus is Christ, the Anointed One of God, the One appointed to bring the joy of God to a world of sadness, disappointment, and despair. Jesus came to rescue us from our sinful, selfish ways, give us a new heart and mind, point us in a new direction, and begin the great reversal of making all things new in our lives. Jesus is our Savior, who delivers us from the helplessness and hopelessness of our sin.”

For reflection or discussion
!. Do you think people today might still be willing to ask a reason for the hope they see in us? Why or why not?

2. How can you prepare each day to make sure the hope you have in Jesus shows through in every aspect of your life?

Jesus was His own best apologetic. He intends that to be the case with us as well. When people see Jesus in us, they’ll be more likely to listen to us talk about Him. Work on being more like Jesus, and you’ll find you have more opportunities to talk with others about Him. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss how you can become more consistent joy-bringers to your world. Order your copy of Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore today. 

T. M. Moore

The post Savior and Deliverer appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

Why are some Christians so generous? So encouraging and positive? Why are they so ready to help a colleague, comfort a friend, listen attentively to someone’s story, or seek excellence in everything they do? Why do they seem so joyful? There’s only one Explanation. Today’s reading from Joy to Your World! is from page 23:

“If we are being faithful to grow in God and Jesus Christ, we may expect to know the blessings and promises of eternal life (Jn. 17.3), chief among these being the blessing of joy. Our lives will be coming together and making sense as visible manifestations of the living Christ, the Word and Reason of God, the Bringer of Joy.

“Increasingly, the glory and joy of God will be refracted through us in even the most ordinary situations (1 Cor. 10.31). The evidence of the indwelling Spirit – His fruit, gifts, and power – will be more and more pronounced in us, especially in the manifestation of God’s love and Christ’s joy (Gal. 5.22, 23; 1 Cor. 13.4-7; Heb. 12.1).

“In short, we will actually be witnesses to the reality of Jesus, risen from the dead, because no other explanation can be given for why we do what we do, are what we are, and talk about the things we talk about (Acts 1.8).”

For reflection or discussion
1. What do people see in your life that refracts Jesus to them?

2. Whom can you encourage today by sharing the joy of Jesus with them?

If people don’t see Jesus in us they won’t be likely to hear about Him from us. Joy is the proof that we’re in touch with the Lord and He is manifesting Himself through us. Spread some joy today, and watch the difference it can make. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss what you’ve heard. You can order Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore.

T. M. Moore

The post No Other Explanation appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.

People like to hear stories, and you and I have a story to tell to the nations. Moreover, within that story is our own story of how the grace of the Gospel impacts us. Today’s excerpt from Joy to Your World! is from pages 21 and 22:

“[W]e need make sure we can explain the Gospel’s impact on our own lives. How has the Gospel brought new hope, new purpose, new direction, and new life to us? In what ways have we discovered the power of Jesus Christ for making all things new? How is the joy of the Lord manifestly triumphant in our lives? If indeed the Lord is working within us to will and do of His good pleasure, and we are experiencing the power of the Gospel as it makes all things new in every area of our lives, then we should be able to explain and give reasons, based on our own experience, for why people asking about the hope within us should find the Gospel to be Good News for their lives as well.

“We are called to be joy-bringers, to be witnesses to the Bringer of Joy. Before we attempt to do any witnessing for our Lord, we must be filled with Him and the blessings of His presence and power, so that these overflow in joy to the people in your world (Jn. 7.37-39). When righteousness, peace, and joy are evident in all our words and deeds, then explaining that this condition is the result of our having entered such a Kingdom by grace through faith in Jesus Christ will make sense. 

“But we also need to make sure we know the Good News of joy, and how to explain it, together with the various ways this Gospel brings joy to us, the joyin Jesus for which we are joy-bringers to our world.”

For reflection or discussion
1. What difference has the Gospel of the Kingdom made in your life?

2. How do others see that something new and powerful is at work in you?

I find Psalm 18 to be a helpful outline of my own coming to faith in Jesus and of how He continues to impact my life today. We should be clear about how the Gospel is changing us, so that we can pray those changes back to the Lord with wonder and thanksgiving. Share today’s podcast with a friend, then get together to discuss the impact of the Gospel on your lives. Order your copy of Joy to Your World! from The Ailbe Bookstore.

The post Our Experience of the Gospel appeared first on The Fellowship of Ailbe.