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    Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment
    Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment
    Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment
    Ebook106 pages2 hours

    Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment

    By Lydia Brownback

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    About this ebook

    God's Word tells us of all that is ours through his Son. Our security is guaranteed, our provision is sure. In the face of such abundant life, why is our joy so often stolen from us? Undoubtedly we pass through seasons of difficulty, sorrow, and uncertainty. But real joy isn't conditional on circumstances, is it? How are we to pursue joy in seasons of both plenty and need?
    This newest addition to a series of small devotional books for women teaches that we will only find perpetual joy when we pursue Christ. Brownback helps women understand that their joy is not circumstantial, but built on the promises of God and the work of Jesus. Forty-two short devotionals look to Scripture for words of encouragement, correction, wisdom, and guidance to help women adorn themselves with joy.
    Part of the On-the-Go Devotionals series.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCrossway Books
    Release dateApr 19, 2010
    ISBN9781433524127
    Joy: A Godly Woman's Adornment
    Author

    Lydia Brownback

     Lydia Brownback (MAR, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the author of several books in addition to the Flourish Bible Study series, including the On-the-Go Devotionals for women; Finding God in My Loneliness; and Sing a New Song. She is a regular speaker at conferences and events and is passionate about teaching God's word. 

    Read more from Lydia Brownback

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      Book preview

      Joy - Lydia Brownback

      ]>

      Joy: A Godly Woman’s Adornment

      Copyright © 2010 by Lydia Brownback

      Published by Crossway

                              1300 Crescent Street

                              Wheaton, Illinois 60187

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law.

      Cover illustration: iStock

      First printing 2010

      Printed in the United States of America

      Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission.

      All rights reserved.

      All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the author.

      Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-1301-5

      PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-1302-2

      Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-1303-9

      ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-2412-7

      ___________________________________________________________

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Brownback, Lydia, 1963–

            Joy : a godly woman’s adornment / Lydia Brownback.

                  p. cm. — (On-the-go devotionals)

            ISBN 978-1-4335-1301-5 (tpb)

            1. Christian women—Prayers and devotions. 2. Joy—Biblical teaching—

      Meditations. 3. Suffering—Biblical teaching—Meditations. I. Title. II. Series.

      BV4844.B765          2010

      242'.643—dc22                                                                 2009040510

      ___________________________________________________________

      Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

      VP                     19     18     17     16     15     14     13     12     11     10

      15     14     13     12     11     10     9     8     7     6     5     4     3     2     1

      With gratitude to God

      for

      his gift to the church

      of

      Cora Hogue

      Contents

      Introduction

      The Devotions

      Joy in Going Forward

      Joy in Repentance

      Joy in Rejection

      Joy, No Matter What

      Joy in God’s Place

      Joy in Thanksgiving

      Joy in Letting Go

      Joy in the Present

      Joy in Eternity

      Joy in Discipleship

      Joy in Wisdom

      Joy in Waiting

      Good Joy and Bad Joy

      Joy in the Path of Life

      Persevering for Joy

      Joy in Forgiveness

      Joy in Being Home

      Joy in Drawing Near to God

      Joy in the Blessings of Others

      The Responsibility of Joy

      Counterfeit Joy

      Joy in Vulnerability

      Joy in Knowing Jesus

      Joy in Abiding

      Joy in Eating and Drinking

      The Joy of Wonder

      The Fruit of Joy

      Joy in All God’s Gifts

      Joy in Hard Things

      Joy in Today

      Joy in God’s Providences

      Joy from Failure

      Joy in God’s Care

      Joy in Prayer

      Joy in Discernment

      Joy in Trust

      Joy in Full Provision

      Joy from Rejoicing

      Joy in Christ Alone

      Joy in Submission

      Joy in God’s Love

      Introduction

      Joy. It’s what makes us stand out from the world around us. Along with the gift of Christ himself comes everything we will ever really need. Our security is guaranteed. Our provision is sure. Our path is guided. Undoubtedly we pass through seasons of difficulty and sorrow and uncertainty, but real joy isn’t conditioned upon our circumstances. So why are we gloomy much of the time? We don’t have to be gloomy. We should most certainly not be gloomy! But all too often our thoughts and words are punctuated by grumbling and bad moods. We get caught up in looking at what we lack rather than all we have.

      Most of us are privileged women, not only spiritually but temporally. That is part of our problem. We are over-privileged. Available to us is a pill for every ailment, government aid for financial difficulty, and eighteen permutations of our preferred Starbucks beverage. On top of that we have free access to the Word and the people of God. Because those things are so easily had, we have come to see our privileges as rights, but such an outlook is a joy crusher. Everything we have—health, freedom, friendship, family, job, government protection—is a gift, not a right. Remembering that, when things go wrong, keeps joy alive. Joy is always available to those indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which is why gloominess is a copout.

      The apostle Paul was probably the most joyful man who ever lived, yet he had few privileges. Here is how Paul described his life:

      Far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. (2 Cor. 11:23–28)

      The man who lived those things also wrote, Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice (Phil. 4:4). Despite all he went through on a regular basis, he could rejoice because the Lord is at hand (v. 5). He never lost sight of who controlled his life, and he lived for his Lord: for to me to live is Christ (1:21). Joy and Christ-centeredness go hand-in-hand, so if we lack joy more often than we have it, might the truth be that we aren’t Christ-centered? Surely, for some of us, it is. Even those of us going through a season of darkness can pursue joy, trusting that God designed us for it. Sooner or later, in Christ, we will find it. The trick for some of us is to change our self-oriented, worldly focus to Christ, and for others it is to take fresh hold of God’s promises that no matter how dark life seems, he is going to push you out into the light.

      First and foremost, we have to want joy. Some of us find a perverse satisfaction in our gloom, much like a baby pitching a tantrum to get what she wants. But God doesn’t respond to tantrums. Our moodiness dishonors God and robs us of the happiness that lies right at our fingertips. If we want to change—to live with perpetual joy—we must pursue it, and in Christ we are guaranteed to find it.

      the

      devotions

      Joy in Going Forward

      The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field,

      which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy

      he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

      MATTHEW 1 3 : 4 4

      The man in Jesus’ parable was no fence-sitter. He had found the kingdom of heaven—the rule and reign and love of God through Jesus Christ—and he was overjoyed. The wonders of it made him want more and more, and his whole life became about acquiring it. He gave all he had

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