Inexpressible Joy

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:8-9
Do we have this inexpressible joy that 1 Peter is talking about?  The joy that comes from believing in Jesus...these kids and people we have been with have this joy.  It is so great that you can't help but contain yourself when you are around them.  They laugh, smile, dance, and sing all the time.  They are content with what they have and are eager to learn more about Jesus.  They are excited about memorizing scripture and love singing about baby Jesus, how Jesus loves the little children, how Jesus has the whole world in His hands, Father Abraham, and so many more.  Do we have this joy?  We should be so full of God's love and joy that it is an overflow of everything that we do and say.  Pray that God brings you back to the JOY of your salvation.  Jesus is enough and only he can satisfy our souls of any longings or desires we may have.  Nothing will fill the place where Christ should be.  Perishable things do not last! No material thing will save us.  Trying to fill any emptiness with possessions is an empty way of life.  The precious blood of Christ who was perfect is the only one that can save! (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Praise be to he God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish , spoil or fade --kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  1 Peter 1:3-5

Sorry I havent blogged in a few days! A lot has been going on! Everything has been so good with Winnifred.  I have walked up on her sitting outside of her house many times reading the Bible and trying to memorize John 3:16.  It is very encouraging to see her making the effort and truly wanting to memorize scripture and read the Bible.  One morning this week on the way to Kasubi Central (the school that Winnifred and a lot of the kids go to) I asked Winni if she had memorized the verse.  She had and she recited it to me perfectly.  Her translation said "begotten son" and "perish" so we broke down the verse and I was able to explain to her what it meant.  Everyday we recite John 3:16 together on the way to school so she will always remember it.  I have encouraged her to memorized more scripture and have told her the importance of it.  She is definitely willing to learn which is awesome!
Sunday, who I mentioned in an earlier blog, has been one who has genuinely loved memorizing scripture.  I give him one verse to memorize one day and almost every time, by the next day, he will have it memorized and will recited it to me and then I will give him a new verse for the next day.  We review the old and then recite the new.  Memorizing scripture is such an important thing to do.  Even when we do not have a Bible, if we have memorized verses, we always have God's word in our hearts and minds.