Dr Paul Allen

The word joy appears over and over again in the Scriptures. For instance, the Psalms are filled with references to joy. The psalmists write, "Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning" (Ps. 30:5b) and "Shout for joy to God, all the earth" (Ps. 66:1). Likewise, in the New Testament , we read that joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22), which means that it is a Christian virtue . Given this biblical emphasis, we need to understand what joy is and pursue it. Sometimes we struggle to grasp the biblical view of joy because of the way it is defined and described in Western culture today. In particular, we often confuse joy with happiness. In the Beatitudes (Matt. 5:3–11), according to the traditional translations, Jesus said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit.… Blessed are those who mourn.… Blessed are the meek …" (vv. 3–5, emphasis added), and so on. Sometimes, however, translators adopt the modern vernacular and tell us Jesus sai...

When writing to Christians in the city of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul instructs them, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” ( 1 Thess. 5:16–18). These words are instruction to a church newly founded by Paul, composed of people who left Greco-Roman paganism to embrace Jesus Christ by faith.  Rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks in all circumstances should characterize the lives of these new Christians in the face of heated opposition from those who do not understand why people would worship a Jewish rabbi from far-away Palestine who claimed to be the Son of God but was put to death by the Romans. To command Christians to rejoice under difficult circumstances is hard to understand without a context. We can understand why people who are facing opposition would need to pray—they must seek the grace of God to sustain them during their trials. We can understand why they should give co...

At our church , everyone shows up ready to sing with full hearts each Sunday morning. Nobody arrives after a tense car ride to church, or a difficult morning with children, or a late night of studying, or a long week of work. Everyone is well-rested and eager to make melody to God . Except, not really. Each Sunday, a good portion of our churches gather for worship with genuine anticipation for singing , praying, and hearing the word. But not everyone. Life is too real, and the ancient fall of Genesis 3 is still too valid, to think nobody walks into church with scars, shame, or even cold apathy. But let’s be honest. Even the most stably enthusiastic in our gatherings have had Sundays when we wished our hearts burned more brightly. We experience an inner struggle in these moments. On the one hand, we know that we should sing because we’re at church. On the other, it’s good to be authentic and real, so it feels like a lie to sing when we don’t feel like it. Is it better to...