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CONNIE: Is it an UP day or a DOWN day for you today? Did you wake up feeling GREAT . . . or GRUMPY? Today we continue the topic "The Joy of Jesus," and we hope some of that joy will rub off on you as you listen!

Giving God's trumpet a Certain Sound for more than 70 years, this is the Voice of Prophecy.

CONNIE: Hello, I'm Connie Jeffery,

LONNIE: and I'm Lonnie Melashenko.

LONNIE: Well, Connie, how about it? What's your answer to the question--is it an up day or a down day for you?

CONNIE: Well this morning Lonnie I made a decision that today was going to be an up day, so I feel good this morning.

LONNIE: Ahhh. That's terrific. You know I have a friend who is a doctor in Canada, and whenever you asked him, How are you doing? He would say, "Well I'm still above ground".

CONNIE: Oh that's a great attitude.

LONNIE: It is. I like the Australian sense of humor too, and one particular friend of mine was struggling with diet and calories and he said "Lonnie, you can't be fit as a fiddle if you're shaped like a cello".

CONNIE: You know it's all the way you look at it. I think it all depends on our attitude and perspective. You know whether the glass is half-empty, or half full. And today I think for both us it's half full.

LONNIE: That's absolutely right. Its kind of like what one wag said, two men looked out from their prison bars, and one man saw mud, the other stars.

CONNIE: That's great. It's all in how we look at it.

LONNIE: I guess we all have our ups and downs--some days when we feel better than others do. But as we've been looking at the topic "The Joy of Jesus," you know I've gotten intrigued . . . . How could Jesus face each day with joy?

CONNIE: It doesn't come naturally does it?

LONNIE: Especially when you realize that the Pharisees and scribes were always dogging His footsteps, questioning and criticizing everything He did.

CONNIE: It was enough to make the average person downright crabby.

LONNIE: But not Jesus. Because of His close relationship with His Father, He was able to go out day by day and minister to people and care for the sick and answer people's questions in a kind, gentle, loving, joyful way.

CONNIE: It's hard enough to be joyful when everything's going right. I'm afraid that if I had to face pain and struggles every day . . . well, I'm just not sure how joyful I could be.

LONNIE: I think most of our listeners are familiar with the name Joni Eareckson Tada. Her story was told in the movie Joni, and for the past 30 years she has maintained a positive, joyful, Christian ministry despite the fact that she is a quadriplegic, confined to a wheel chair, totally dependent on others to help her do even simple things. Connie, you had the chance to go and speak with her recently, and she shared the secret that allows her to face each day, each challenge, with joy.

CONNIE: We're here today with Joni Erickson Tada, who needs no introduction to our listeners. We know her story as a young teenager who was involved in a horrible diving accident that left her paralyzed from the shoulders down. Joni is the founder and president of Joni and friends, which is an organization committed to reaching people affected by disability for Jesus Christ. She is the author of twenty-five books including her most recent "O Worship the King" which includes a CD of her favorite hymns, and we're going to hear one of those later. She and her husband Ken live in Calabasas, and we're here today in Agoura at her offices to talk to her about joy. Thanks so much Joni for letting us come and do this.

JONI: Connie it's my pleasure.

CONNIE: Well you told a story in an article called "Joy Hard Won", where you were at a Christian women's conference, you were in the rest room, you were speaking there, you were in the rest room and a lady putting on her makeup turns to you and says "Joni, You look so happy in your wheel chair, you're so filled with joy, you're so put together, how do you do it?"

JONI: Connie you look just like that woman who asked that very question to me, really. Yes! I was speaking at that conference, and I was the bathroom and when that woman, turned and asked me that question, I thought to myself "Oh Boy, how do I in thirty or sixty seconds encapsulate all that God has ingrained in my heart over so many years in this wheelchair" and so my quick answer to her was, "Madame, I don't do it."

CONNIE: Was she shocked?

JONI: A little. Her question was, How do you do it? And I had to reply, I don't do it. I wake up in the morning after my husband heads off to work, at about 6 A.M., and I'm lying there waiting to here the door open. My girlfriend coming to get me up and usually I hear the click of the front door, and I'll hear her in the kitchen running water for coffee. And I am thinking to myself, and this is the honest truth. I think O Lord Jesus, I cannot face another day of somebody coming into this bedroom to give me a bath, to get me dressed, to exercise my legs, to sit me up in a wheelchair, to brush my hair, brush my teeth, blow my nose, Lord, I don't have energy for this. I don't have the strength; I don't have the resources. I'm tired of being paralyzed, but Lord Jesus you have the strength and resources, and you've got the smile that I lack this morning. Please for your sake, and for the sake of this woman, who really could be having Starbucks coffee with her girlfriend right now, but has come to help me. Please for her sake would you give me a smile?

CONNIE: And does He?

JONI: Well she opens the bedroom door, and I turn my head on the pillow, and a miracle happens. I smile. But the smile to me has already been hard fought for, hard won, and it's not a plastic Colgate smile. It is something sent straight from heaven, a smile borrowed from God. And Connie, honest I think the people who are really handicapped, are those for whom when the alarm clock goes off they throw back the covers, they jump out of bed, they take a quick shower, they give God a speedy quiet time with a tip of their hat, and say yes Lord, I 'm on my way Lord, scarf down breakfast, and rush out the front door on automatic cruise control. And when we rush out the door on automatic cruise control, we are going under our own steam. We are heading out into the day under our own resources, and our own strength. But the Bible says God resists Christians like that. In fact I think one translation says He's against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. And the humble are often those who are absolutely, positively decimated, and humiliated by their weaknesses. They wake up in the morning and with sagging shoulders say, I can't do this O God I need you, help me. And He then sends peace that's profound, He gives us settlednness to the soul, He gives joy from out of this world. But we really shouldn't be surprised by that Connie, because the Bible makes it clear that God shares His gladness on His own terms. He's nobody's water boy. He's not going come to at our beck and call with the snap of a finger. He shares gladness on His own terms, and some of those terms call for us to suffer in a least some way as did His Son when He was on earth.

CONNIE: Well Joni, you have been an inspiration to countless thousands of people, and right now we would like to play a song. Tell me a little bit about the song that's on the CD, in the collection "O Worship the King".

JONI: It's one of my favorites that I sang in the hospital to quiet my frayed nerves and my nervous heart. It's called "Man of Sorrows", but as we listen lets remember that this man of sorrows is also the Lord of joy.

CONNIE: Thank you so much Joni.

"Man of Sorrows", Joni Eareckson Tada with The Master's Chorale, from O Worship the King

CONNIE: I have to say that I really admire that woman-Joni has been through a lot more trouble in life than most of us will ever face; yet she keeps a song in her heart. And that was Joni Eareckson Tada, singing Man of Sorrows, along with The Masters Chorale. We invite you to visit our web page at VOP.COM to learn more about the music and musicians heard on our broadcast.

LONNIE: And of course there are a lot more resources there as well. You can stop by anytime and listen to our current broadcasts--both for our daily program and our weekend program, or read transcripts, download them, print them, share them. You'll also find a calendar of upcoming events like Family Reunion concerts--find out if we'll be coming to a city near you soon. Stop by next time your on the worldwide web. The address is VOP.COM.

CONNIE: Finding joy in all of life's circumstances is a real gift.

LONNIE: And as Joni pointed out, it's a gift she receives from Jesus every day.

CONNIE: If you'd like to have more of the joy of Jesus in your life, I know you'll want to take advantage of a gift that we have for you today. It's a book called The Joy of Jesus, and it's free for the asking.

LONNIE: This book is brand new--hot off the press--and it's based on our program series called "The Joy of Jesus," but it contains additional chapters with material we just didn't have time for on the air.

CONNIE: To get your free copy, you can call us or write to us. The toll-free number is 1-800-872-0055. If you're writing to us, use this address: Voice of Prophecy, Box 53055, Los Angeles, 90053. Again: Box 53055, Los Angeles, 90053, or in Canada, Box 2127, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 7V4.

LONNIE: You can call or write anytime. We're always glad to hear from you

CONNIE: Today we continue with our look at the stories in Mark, chapter 2 and 3. We've seen how Jesus brought joy into Matthew the tax collector's life, and how He responded to those who didn't think He should attend the feast Matthew put on to celebrate.

A few days later, Jesus found Himself under attack by the Pharisees once again, because of His joyful--seemingly carefree way of life. But Jesus had a purpose in everything that He did, as Lonnie points out in today's message.


The Joy of Jesus--3

The handicapped man (since we don't know his name, we'll make one up. Let's call him Zach) moved through the crowd gathering at the synagogue, unnoticed. He slipped into his customary seat, waiting for the beginning of prayers. There was nothing remarkable about the event, and no one paid him any mind, for he was not among the wealthy or learned. Just a humble man--half a man in some people's eyes--barely able to work out subsistence with that crippled hand.

It was an ordinary Sabbath day, and he didn't expect anything out of the ordinary to happen. He didn't expect to leave there restored and filled with joy. But he would. Because this was no ordinary day. Extraordinary things were about to happen.

The extraordinary had already begun--outside the synagogue in a wheat field.

The new, young rabbi had been on His way to that same synagogue, walking through the field, when some His followers had reached out and grabbed a few heads of ripened wheat, rubbed them together in their hands, and let the chaff drop to the ground before popping the kernels into their mouths.

Such an act would have passed unnoticed on any other day, but this was not to be an ordinary day. It was to be a day of liberation, a day of joy, a day of healing--an EXTRAordinary day. But before that, it would be a day of confrontation.

The scribes and Pharisees had been following Jesus and His disciples like a pack of paparazzi pursuing a politician, waiting for him to make some little mistake to be written up in the morning's headlines.

These were the same guys who'd criticized Jesus for attending Matthew's celebration two days ago--tried to make it look like He was less holy than they since they were fasting while He was feasting. But, as usual, Jesus had had a ready response for them, and they had left that encounter bested, embarrassed, and all-the-more angry. All the more determined to catch Him in some infraction of the law--something they could use to accuse Him of being a lawbreaker and an unworthy teacher.

They'd gotten their chance when they spotted Jesus' disciples picking and eating grain out in the field on the way to the synagogue. According to the Pharisees, the disciples had broken the Sabbath four ways that morning: Reaping the grain, threshing it, winnowing it, and sorting it.

They were quick with their accusations:

And the Pharisees said to [Jesus], "Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" (Mark 2:24, NKJ).

They wanted to make Jesus out to be a lawbreaker, or a libertine--a radical free-thinker. That way they could discredit Him and turn the people away from Him.

But as usual, Jesus was ready for them. And He was one step ahead of them. He and His disciples stopped at the edge of the field and delayed their trip to the synagogue long enough for Jesus to tell the Pharisees a little story.

Didn't they remember their Bible history? He asked. Hadn't they read about the time that David and his followers were hungry. What had they done? They'd gone to the tabernacle and eaten some of the holy bread that was supposed to be reserved only for the priests. And neither the priests nor God had condemned them for it.

There was a lesson to be learned from that story: Rules and regulations have their place. But God is more interested in meeting people's needs than in rules and regulations.

And, having told the story, Jesus and His disciples continued on their journey. To the synagogue. To where Zach was. To where Zach was about to have a date with destiny. An encounter that would change his life and fill him with joy.

No one else had paid any attention to Zach, the man with the crippled hand, when he came into the synagogue. But Jesus paid attention. And when He did, so did everyone else.

Jesus loved to heal people. He loved to see their lives changed, their bodies restored, their spirits raised to new levels of joy. And He wanted to do that for Zach.

But as He looked around the synagogue, He knew that was not what the Pharisees wanted. They didn't care a thing about Zach or his crippled hand. All they cared about was enforcing rules and regulations--especially if they could use those rules to discredit Jesus--make Him look like a lawbreaker.

All eyes turned to Jesus. What would He do?

Now, our topic today is "The Joy of Jesus," but I want you to notice something here in the middle of this story, in Mark 3:

Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts . . . (Mark 3:4, 5 NIV).

Yes, Jesus got angry. In fact the word translated "anger" here is actually the word for "wrath." Jesus was really upset! Disgusted that people could have such hard hearts.

Not much made Jesus angry. But self-righteous, uncaring, judgmental, holier-than-thou hypocrites really got to Him. Because He really cared about people. And when you really care, you get upset when people are treated as something less than human.

Jesus looked at the Pharisees in anger.

But He looked at Zach with a smile. With loving eyes. With a soft voice, and said four simple words: "Stretch out your hand." And the man "stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored."

Now, the Bible story doesn't tell us how Zach responded. It doesn't tell us about the joy that must have filled his heart. It doesn't tell us how his family responded when they saw him healed.

But there must have been a lot of joy in Capernaum that day.

The Bible doesn't tell us how Jesus responded either--but can't you see Him looking into the eyes of that man who has just had his hand fully restored, and sharing a smile, an exclamation of excitement, a praise to God, an expression of joy?

He loved to spread joy wherever He went.

What the Bible does tell us is how the Pharisees responded. Here it is in Mark 3:6: Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus (NIV).

They wanted to kill Him!

Why?

Just because He had healed a man on the Sabbath?

No. That healing there in the synagogue was just the last straw. It was just one more instance of Jesus refusing to fit within the narrow set of rules that the religious authorities enforced.

You see, the scribes and Pharisees saw religion one way, and Jesus saw it quite another.

Jesus had made the point very clearly out in the wheat field.

When the Pharisees accused the disciples of breaking the Sabbath commandment by popping a few grains of wheat into their mouths, Jesus responded by telling them that "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27 NIV).

Do you catch the significance of that simple statement?

You see, the Pharisees treated the Sabbath commandment, and all of God's commandments, like a list of "don'ts." A compendium of things one shouldn't do.

They made the Sabbath out to be a day God had created for Himself. A day He kept for Himself. A day that He had taken away from mankind. It was a debit from man's account. One day in seven in which people couldn't do what they wanted.

But Jesus reversed that. Notice: The Sabbath was made FOR man," He said. It was not a debit from our account, but a credit--a gift from God!

The Sabbath was God's gift to Adam and Eve. A whole day that God was "taking off" to spend with His kids! A day of joy for all creation, because it was time to spend with their beloved Creator.

For Jesus, the Sabbath was not a solemn day of don'ts. It was a joyful day of "dos." Do good. Help others. Spend time with your heavenly Father, learning to be more like Him.

The Pharisees saw the law as a "Cease and Desist" order. Jesus saw it as a "Do and Delight" privilege.

"Take the Sabbath day," He said. "God has given it to you as a gift. Use it as a time for learning to delight in the things of God and in doing the works of God. Use it to restore, to heal, to bring joy."

And friend, it's not only the Sabbath that Jesus wants us to see that way. Learn to see all of God's laws that way--as His gift to you. They are wonderful words life--to bring joy into your life.