Releasing joy into the life of the believer requires releasing our infatuation with and dependency on the brokeness of this world. As I said this last Sunday the first step to releasing Godly joy into your life is to stop believing that broken vessels can contain your joy. We no longer live in Eden and when sin entered the garden the world became a broken place, full of broken systems, populated by broken people. The more we turn to those broken vessels for our joy the more we will discover frustration and anger robbing us of Godly joy.

One of the "broken systems" I mentioned, to which we often turn, is the arena of politics. In this political season I wanted to share a quote from this week's message that I feel will be helpful to carry with us into this fall and beyond:

I love this country and even knowing it’s imperfect past, still believe it is the most perfect exercise in freedom this broken world has ever produced, but my true freedom was not written in any constitution, was not won by any nations army, was not secured by any court and is not maintained by any legislative body. My freedom was written by the hand of God since before the dawn of time, was won by Christ at the cross, secured by his resurrection and is maintained by God’s Spirit. Whether in a theocracy, democracy, dictatorship or socialist state the joy of my freedom can not be eradicated here in this world because the joy of my freedom is not from this world.

My prayer for all believers is that when we face defeat in the political word we don't become desperate and when we secure victory we don't cling to a false hope. May our joy always be rooted and grounded in the eternal victory Christ won on the cross.