1. Ecclesiastes 5:18
Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and
find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the
few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.
In Ecclesiastes we discover that yes, God really does want us to enjoy life! He tells us to eat and drink and find enjoyment. We toil for a certain amount of years under the sun and then we move on to the next life. A lot of people assume a Christian life is all service, and that's certainly an aspect of it. But that's not all of it. We are to enjoy our lives. We are to also serve God, and love Christ.
2. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
In this passage we learn that in our youth, which isn't limited to under 10 years old we are to rejoice! Isn't youth fun? I think it is most of the time until you start to discover the truth of our culture. Interestingly it says walk in the ways of your heart. Is that an invitation to sin? Absolutely not. It's an invitation to allow ourselves to be youthful. That doesn't end at any point. It's advice for a lifetime. We are warned however, that God will you into judgement for these things. He will watch us, and judge us on what we do. Maybe it's just a reminder to let ourselves be a bit more free when we're younger, because when we get older we will be loaded down with responsibilities.
3. John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
We are told in this passage by Jesus, that from now on we should pray in Jesus name and we will receive what we want. This is a fascinating passage because it's written very open ended. We are told in this passage that our joy will be full. It's a wonderful thing. We are often taught in Christianity that we will be persecuted, we will have troubles, and it won't be fun. This isn't the case! We can have joy. We can have a lot of joy. There will be hard times, but there will also be peace. We can enjoy life.
4. 1 Peter 3:10 For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit"
So how do we obtain good days? How do we go about seeing good days? Well, we should keep away from evil. How do we identify evil? Look to God. Look to scripture for the truth. It's there, and as you absorb it every day it will make more and more sense. You'll start to get a warning in your head when evil appears. The holy spirit will alert you. If you're confused then pray. God will reveal the truth to you. We are also told that his lips should not speak deceit. Talking evil is worse than simply thinking evil because it spreads it to others. I have been guilty of this very sin. One of the tricks of it is assuming it's funny to talk about. It can be funny, but that kind of talk can lead into open sin. It influences our minds negatively.
5. Luke 1:47 And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
We are told to rejoice in God. Rejoice implies happiness doesn't it? I think it really does. We live a lot of luke warm lives on this Earth. It can be extremely dull for me. I have to remember to mix things up, and live a little. Living is important, it's important to live through scripture. It's important to reach out for some happiness in this world. We don't want to sick back miserable and simply wait for the return of Christ. Of course I am excited beyond belief for the return of Christ. I pray for it even, that it might come sooner. But I also try to build a life on this planet. A few years ago I had a very different attitude. I felt it would be over soon, so I simply waited. This is a mistake. We ought to live good true lives.
In Ecclesiastes we discover that yes, God really does want us to enjoy life! He tells us to eat and drink and find enjoyment. We toil for a certain amount of years under the sun and then we move on to the next life. A lot of people assume a Christian life is all service, and that's certainly an aspect of it. But that's not all of it. We are to enjoy our lives. We are to also serve God, and love Christ.
2. Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
In this passage we learn that in our youth, which isn't limited to under 10 years old we are to rejoice! Isn't youth fun? I think it is most of the time until you start to discover the truth of our culture. Interestingly it says walk in the ways of your heart. Is that an invitation to sin? Absolutely not. It's an invitation to allow ourselves to be youthful. That doesn't end at any point. It's advice for a lifetime. We are warned however, that God will you into judgement for these things. He will watch us, and judge us on what we do. Maybe it's just a reminder to let ourselves be a bit more free when we're younger, because when we get older we will be loaded down with responsibilities.
3. John 16:24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
We are told in this passage by Jesus, that from now on we should pray in Jesus name and we will receive what we want. This is a fascinating passage because it's written very open ended. We are told in this passage that our joy will be full. It's a wonderful thing. We are often taught in Christianity that we will be persecuted, we will have troubles, and it won't be fun. This isn't the case! We can have joy. We can have a lot of joy. There will be hard times, but there will also be peace. We can enjoy life.
4. 1 Peter 3:10 For "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit"
So how do we obtain good days? How do we go about seeing good days? Well, we should keep away from evil. How do we identify evil? Look to God. Look to scripture for the truth. It's there, and as you absorb it every day it will make more and more sense. You'll start to get a warning in your head when evil appears. The holy spirit will alert you. If you're confused then pray. God will reveal the truth to you. We are also told that his lips should not speak deceit. Talking evil is worse than simply thinking evil because it spreads it to others. I have been guilty of this very sin. One of the tricks of it is assuming it's funny to talk about. It can be funny, but that kind of talk can lead into open sin. It influences our minds negatively.
5. Luke 1:47 And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
We are told to rejoice in God. Rejoice implies happiness doesn't it? I think it really does. We live a lot of luke warm lives on this Earth. It can be extremely dull for me. I have to remember to mix things up, and live a little. Living is important, it's important to live through scripture. It's important to reach out for some happiness in this world. We don't want to sick back miserable and simply wait for the return of Christ. Of course I am excited beyond belief for the return of Christ. I pray for it even, that it might come sooner. But I also try to build a life on this planet. A few years ago I had a very different attitude. I felt it would be over soon, so I simply waited. This is a mistake. We ought to live good true lives.