Cheerfulness is infectious! I love to spread the joy of the Lord everywhere I go. No matter where I am, or what I’m doing, I make it a point to infect others with good cheer. Of course, I wasn’t always this way. I’ve had to learn through the Word just how to keep the joy of the Lord flowing in my life….
I pray that as you read, you will be challenged to incorporate the joy of the Lord in your own life. It is the only way to go!
I guarantee you that if you’ll listen to and stick with the things of God, you will live an overcoming life.
You will infect everyone around you with the precious, healing joy of the Lord. Your ministry can and will be one of cheerfulness.
I acquired a pencil sketch of Jesus, laughing and full of joy, years ago while ministering during a session at a well-known Bible school. A student, whom I know only as Suzanne, blessed my wife and me with a drawing of what she described as “the Jesus you preach about. “As she gave it, she told us that after hearing me minister she was inspired to draw Him in a different way, full of joy and laughter.
To her, I shared a side of Jesus that she had never heard about. I had to admit after seeing the picture that, although I knew Jesus to be the author of my joy, I had never seen a picture of Him laughing.
My wife and I loved it so much that we had it framed and hung it in our foyer. We wanted the joyful face of Jesus to be the very first thing that visitors to our home would see.
Now, that picture has gotten mixed reactions. Some people can never picture Jesus in a cheerful way. His eyes shining with love and squinting from laughter are just too much for them to handle. They think that Jesus lived every moment of His life solemn and serious.
But I believe that He had many joyful times in His life here on earth. If He hadn’t, the children would have never come to Him so readily while they were playing. They were laughing and probably tumbling all over the grass, just horseplaying like kids do. I imagine Jesus was smiling ear to ear as He watched them play. I believe it was His joy that put those kids at ease and caused them all to want to be near Him.
Both adults and children alike were drawn to Jesus because He was a man with a ministry of cheerfulness. Jesus ministered joy, peace and hope while He was here on earth, and He continues to do it today through His Spirit and His Word.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
Jesse Duplantis, minister of the Gospel, motivational speaker, television personality, and best-selling author, has been in full-time ministry since 1976 and is the founder of Jesse Duplantis Ministries, located in the Greater New Orleans area of south Louisiana in the United States of America. With over four decades of sharing his unique blend of humor and faith around the world, generations of believers have been inspired by his messages and countless numbers have come to know Jesus Christ as Savior through his ministry.
Known for his unflinching, status-quo-breaking messages and humorous take on experiences in the life of the believer, Jesse continues to draw large audiences of believers through social media, television, and meetings held around the world. With speaking engagements booked years in advance, Jesse Duplantis continues to keep an intense traveling schedule, flying throughout the United States and the world preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With no booking agents pursuing meetings for him and no set fees imposed upon churches for speaking engagements, Jesse chooses his outreach meetings based on the same two criteria he always has: invitations that come in and prayer over each one. This uncommon way of scheduling in today’s world means Jesse’s many followers may find him speaking in some of the largest churches and venues in America and the world, as well as a great many small and growing congregations, too. No church is too big or small for the Holy Spirit, as he says.
Side by side with his wife Cathy Duplantis, the co-founder and chief of staff of Jesse Duplantis Ministries and the senior pastor of Covenant Church in Destrehan, Louisiana, Jesse continues to fulfill his life’s calling by daily taking up the Great Commission of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). Through social media, television broadcasts, books, and other ministry products, as well as through many evangelistic meetings, the JDM website, the JDM app, and Voice of the Covenant magazine, Jesse Duplantis continues to see growth in his ministry and expand each year while maintaining his roots. Jesus is the center of his life. The salvation of lost people and the growth of believers is the purpose of his ministry. And for both he and his wife, every day is another day to “Reach People and Change Lives, One Soul at a Time.”