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VERSES ABOUT JOY
Think about it: the joy of the Lord doesn't just fill you with strength, it brings us all together. It's a joy that's not meant to be kept to yourself; it needs to be shared. Just like the Israelites were instructed to celebrate and share what they had with each other, you can spread the joy of the Lord with everyone you know.
This joy challenges you to love your neighbor and share the Gospel. When your heart is joyful in God, you are strong and empowered to spread that joy throughout your community. It's a lasting joy, something no one can take away.
Psalm 98:4-6 says, "Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn— shout for joy before the Lord, the King." You can find so many verses like this that talk about the joy of our God.
I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.
The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, said: I promise to set the people of Judah free and to lead them back to their hometowns. And when I do, they will once again say, "We pray that the LORD will bless his home, the sacred hill in Jerusalem where his temple stands."
Israel will join with these two countries. They will be a blessing to everyone on earth,
The LORD will love you and bless you by giving you many children and plenty of food, wine, and olive oil. Your herds of cattle will have many calves, and your flocks of sheep will have many lambs.
Aaron held out his hand and gave the people his blessing, before coming down from the bronze altar where he had offered the sacrifices.
You will live there as a foreigner, but I will be with you and bless you. I will keep my promise to your father Abraham by giving this land to you and your descendants.
Jacob told him that in the future the people of Israel would ask God's blessings on one another by saying, "I pray for God to bless you as much as he blessed Ephraim and Manasseh." Jacob put Ephraim's name first to show that he would be greater than Manasseh.
I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.
Your descendants will be known in every nation. All who see them will realize that they have been blessed, by me, the LORD.
Your help came from the God your father worshiped, from God All-Powerful. God will bless you with rain and streams from the earth; he will bless you with many descendants.
I am commanding you to be loyal to the LORD, to live the way he has told you, and to obey his laws and teachings. You are about to cross the Jordan River and take the land that he is giving you. If you obey him, you will live and become successful and powerful. On the other hand, you might choose to disobey the LORD and reject him. So I'm warning you that if you bow down and worship other gods, you won't have long to live.
Jerusalem, we pray that you will have peace, and that all will go well for those who love you.
Our God has said: "Encourage my people! Give them comfort.
Speak kindly to Jerusalem and announce: Your slavery is past; your punishment is over. I, the LORD, made you pay double for your sins."
People of Judah and Israel, you have been a curse to the nations, but I will save you and make you a blessing to them. So don't be afraid or lose courage.
(A song for worship.) Everyone who trusts the LORD is like Mount Zion that cannot be shaken and will stand forever.
Just as Jerusalem is protected by mountains on every side, the LORD protects his people by holding them in his arms now and forever.
You will no longer suffer with the same horrible diseases that you sometimes had in Egypt. You will be healthy, but the LORD will make your enemies suffer from those diseases.
LORD God of Israel, we praise you. Only you can work miracles.
We will always praise your glorious name. Let your glory be seen everywhere on earth. Amen and amen.
You will call out to nations you have never known. And they have never known you, but they will come running because I am the LORD, the holy God of Israel, and I have honored you.
This is something they really wanted to do. But sharing their money with the Jews was also like paying back a debt, because the Jews had already shared their spiritual blessings with the Gentiles.
Then the glorious LORD All-Powerful ordered me to say to the nations that had raided and robbed Zion: Zion is as precious to the LORD as are his eyes. Whatever you do to Zion, you do to him.
Long ago the Scriptures said that God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. That's why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him.
Jerusalem, if I forget you, let my right hand go limp.
Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth, if I don't think about you above all else.
You didn't have much before I came, but the LORD has blessed everything I have ever done for you. Now it's time for me to start looking out for my own family.
Every mountain and hill may disappear. But I will always be kind and merciful to you; I won't break my agreement to give your nation peace.
The LORD will not forget to give us his blessing; he will bless all of Israel and the family of Aaron.
All who worship the LORD, no matter who they are, will receive his blessing.
You have obeyed me, and so you and your descendants will be a blessing to all nations on earth."
Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.
Then the LORD your God will remove the curses from you and put them on those enemies who hate and attack you.
But you are God's chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say,
No one in Israel should ever be poor. The LORD your God is giving you this land, and he has promised to make you very successful, if you obey his laws and teachings that I'm giving you today. You will lend money to many nations, but you won't have to borrow. You will rule many nations, but they won't rule you.
The LORD God says: "I will soon give a signal for the nations to return your sons and your daughters to the arms of Jerusalem.
You have gladly chosen Zion as your home, our LORD.
You said, "This is my home! I will live here forever.
(A song for worship.) It seemed like a dream when the LORD brought us back to the city of Zion.
We celebrated with laughter and joyful songs. In foreign nations it was said, "The LORD has worked miracles for his people."
and then say: I, the LORD God, will gather the people of Israel and bring them home from the foreign nations where they now live.
I will make them into one nation and let them once again live in the land of Israel. Only one king will rule them, and they will never again be divided into two nations.
Jerusalem, on your walls I have stationed guards, whose duty it is to speak out day and night, without resting. They must remind the LORD
and not let him rest till he makes Jerusalem strong and famous everywhere.
Nations will be your servants and bow down to you. You will rule over your brothers, and they will kneel at your feet. Anyone who curses you will be cursed; anyone who blesses you will be blessed."
I will gather you from the foreign nations and bring you home.
I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you will be clean and acceptable to me. I will wash away everything that makes you unclean, and I will remove your disgusting idols.
I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts,
Make your tents larger! Spread out the tent pegs; fasten them firmly.
You and your descendants will take over the land of other nations. You will settle in towns that are now in ruins.
He will never forget his agreement or his promises, not in thousands of years. *
God made an eternal promise
to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
(A psalm and a song by the people of Korah.) Zion was built by the LORD on the holy mountain,
and he loves that city more than any other place in all of Israel.
Zion, you are the city of God, and wonderful things are told about you.
I, the LORD, will make the descendants of David and the people of Jerusalem feel deep sorrow and pray when they see the one they pierced with a spear. They will mourn and weep for him, as parents weep over the death of their only child or their first-born.
They will live around my holy mountain, and I will bless them by sending more than enough rain
to make their trees produce fruit and their crops to grow. I will set them free from slavery and let them live safely in their own land. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
I pray that the LORD will let your family and your descendants always grow strong.
May the LORD who created the heavens and the earth give you his blessing.
The LORD God says: "I will soon give a signal for the nations to return your sons and your daughters to the arms of Jerusalem.
The kings and queens of those nations where they were raised will come and bow down. They will take care of you just like a slave taking care of a child. Then you will know that I am the LORD. You won't be disappointed if you trust me."
Listen to me, you nations nearby or across the sea. I scattered the people of Israel, but I will gather them again. I will protect them like a shepherd guarding a flock;
(A psalm and a song by David for the music leader.) Do something, God! Scatter your hateful enemies. Make them turn and run.
Scatter them like smoke! When you come near, make them melt like wax in a fire.
From dawn until dusk my name is praised by every nation on this earth, as they burn incense and offer the proper sacrifices to me.
In the future, the mountain with the LORD's temple will be the highest of all. It will reach above the hills; every nation will rush to it.
Many people will come and say, "Let's go to the mountain of the LORD God of Jacob and worship in his temple." The LORD will teach us his Law from Jerusalem, and we will obey him.
In this way all of Israel will be saved, as the Scriptures say, "From Zion someone will come to rescue us. Then Jacob's descendants will stop being evil.
Right now I call the sky and the earth to be witnesses that I am offering you this choice. Will you choose for the LORD to make you prosperous and give you a long life? Or will he put you under a curse and kill you? Choose life!
Be completely faithful to the LORD your God, love him, and do whatever he tells you. The LORD is the only one who can give life, and he will let you live a long time in the land that he promised to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Tell about God's power! He is honored in Israel, and he rules the skies.
The God of Israel is fearsome in his temple, and he makes us strong. Let's praise our God!