Cross-Focused Leadership for Missouri

I don’t like being told to be happy.  As a missionary kid, living in West Africa and attending a missionary boarding school, I heard lots of biblical advice on being joyful.  “God loves a cheerful giver!” and “If you’re sad, it’s because you’re turning your back on God!”  It seemed every time I turned around, “Joy” was a new law I had to follow.  We were told, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  And should we not be getting “the desires of our hearts,” it was certainly proof-positive that we were failing in the “delighting in the Lord” department.

Me and Joy go way back.  I have some “Joy” baggage.  Because of that, I tend to steer clear of admonitions to “be joyful.” whether they come from a book, a fellow Christian, or a computer-animated singing tomato.

But Pastor Matthew Harrison’s “A Little Book On Joy”  is something completely different than those teachings I experienced so many years ago.  He portrays joy as a gift from our heavenly Father.  What an idea!  According to Pastor Harrison, joy isn’t something we gin up from within ourselves to prove to God that we’re worthy of His blessings, as many Christian authors seem to say.  Instead, joy is something graciously bestowed upon us, by Christ, and in Christ.

From the forward, written by Rev. John Nunes, director of Lutheran World Relief,

The trek Harrison takes us on possesses no quick steps, no self-help remedies, no instantaneous quick fixes or superficial solutions.  With practical, substantive prayer suggestions, reflective questions, and ponder-worthy insights, we are offered Scripture’s nurturing that grows the fruit of the spirit.

So what is within the pages of this “little” book?  A treasure trove of devotional help, to start with.  In the second part of the book, you’ll find short texts for each of ninety days to guide your prayer and meditation.  Although designed to begin with Ash Wednesday, they can certainly be used anytime.   Also included is a brief guide to ordering your prayers, based on a little book Martin Luther wrote for his barber.

In the first half of the book, you’ll find chapter after chapter on different expressions of joy within the Christian life – the joy of the Holy Spirit, the joy of a faithful pastor, the joy of repentance, joy in our weakness, the joy of God’s mission and joy in our everyday life, to name but a few.

In a uniquely Lutheran voice, Pastor Harrison has cast a vision of joy not as a matter of obedience or law, but as a wonderful outpouring of the matchless grace of Jesus, our Prophet, Priest, and King.  Praise be to God for the joy He works within us, despite our many weaknesses, sin and sorrow.

Rev. Matthew Harrison’s “A Little Book  On Joy: Living a Good News Life in a Good News World” is published by Lutheran Legacy Press.  Read more and pre-order the book at the Logia online bookstore.