Episode 44

TODAY’S READING:

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

John 15:11

 

Today is World Day against Trafficking in Persons. This has been an observed “World Day” for seven years now. Some of you know this, and others of you would have no idea there was even a day of observation around this. 

 

We are to love our neighbor, and that means standing up for the injustice that is happening all over the world. Every day children go missing. If there is anything 2020 gave us, it was more time to spend researching as a collective group. With more hours inside the house comes more time to become knowledgeable on things that do not directly affect us. 

 

I think the world will become a much better place when this is all said and done, but the fight will never stop. We will continue to fight for what is unjust. 

 

Today is not only World Day against Trafficking Persons, but it is also episode 44 of the podcast, and I have honestly read more of this bible since I started writing these emails in October than I have in my entire life. And do you know what’s changed? Everything. 

 

I still have my days, and because I am human, I am still going to have many more bad days. But even on the worst days, I make sure to surround myself with people who remind me of the Glory of God. Maybe you had a day yesterday, or maybe you are having a day today. Let me remind you of the joy the bible gives us. 

 

There are answers to all of our questions. I know the news is overwhelming. I know every day it’s something new. I know this year has been tough, and sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh. But we have a response to every tear, every question, and everything going on around us. We need to crack open the book and read for ourselves. 

 

If you read John 15:1 – 11, Jesus talks about how important it is for us to remain in Him. He is the vine, and God is the gardener, and we? We are the branches. We cannot bear fruit in this life without a lifeline, without the vine – and that is Jesus, that is the word of God. 

 

The fruit I want to talk about is not the nice house, perfect job kind of fruit. I am talking about the kind of fruit that sparks ripple effects. The kind of fruit that changes the world through love and commitment to seeing a passion of yours completed. 

 

The bible is much more than a series of books or a record of history. The bible is a love letter from God the Father written for you and I both. The bible is life-giving. 

 

So let’s go back to the verse, which says, “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” 

 

If you are looking to the world to fill anything in your life, you’ll search your whole life and come out empty-handed. What you need and what your soul craves isn’t going to be found in the clothes you wear and the house you buy. More-so on a smaller scale, people love to turn to food, social media, relationships, looking for something to fill them with everlasting joy, and we wonder why we can’t stop eating, can’t stop scrolling, and can’t stop hoping from person to person and feel emptier than we did 3 years ago. 

 

Jesus is promising us that if we remain in him, His joy will be in us, and that joy will complete us. Stop turning to food. Stop scrolling on social media. Open the bible and read the love letter God wrote you. If we are filled with joy and love, there could only be one outcome; we will bear a life-changing, world-impacting kind of fruit. 

 

PRAYER

Jesus, with every passing day, you become more and more special to me. My prayer is the same for the people reading this text. May we all turn to you, father. May that spark a chain reaction, and may we spread love faster than anything else spreads in this world. We are tired of “fake news,” “fake science,” and “fake anything” instead, we turn to you to find answers. Answers for the emotions we’ve been experiencing this year, answers for the pain, some walkthrough, answers for the injustice, and how to fight it. We turn to you. We surrender to you. Guide us, help us. We need you today and every day. Amen!