Recently the struggle for joy has been appearing in different ways in different parts of different communities that I am involved with. The struggle for a passionate connection to Christ often fills the hearts and minds of Christians as they compare where they are to where they were and where they are going. If I am a Christian and I know that I felt close to Christ and now don’t of course I want to go to a place where I can feel close to him. Oftentimes our reaction to losing joy is to say, “I want to go back to that place.” The struggle for joy should be centered around contending for our joy and defending our joy from the natural degeneration and sinfulness of this world.

The following few articles on joy have been percolating for some time in my mind and have just now steamed into publishable material. Thank the Lord for community, where ideas are put into practice and can be sharpened by both the bible and experience to the glory of God and the joy of men.