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Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to

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Speaker 1: have you listening. Today's topic is about being full of

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Speaker 1: the joy of the Lord. We'll return with the devotional

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Speaker 1: after a brief message from one of our sponsors. Learning

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Speaker 1: to Rejoice in the Lord britten and read by Emily

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Speaker 1: Rose Massey. Now may the God of Hope fill you

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Speaker 1: with all joy and peace and believing, so that you

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Speaker 1: will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit,

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Speaker 1: Romans fifteen, verse thirteen. As a mother, I'm reminded quickly

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Speaker 1: how much I need God's grace to make it through

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Speaker 1: each day. Even though I thrive on tackling tasks ahead

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Speaker 1: of me so I can check them off my to

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Speaker 1: do list, I wrestle with the monotony of it and

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Speaker 1: keeping a good attitude in front of my children. I

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Speaker 1: have found myself starting my day with a pretty sour

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Speaker 1: mood and dreading another day of the same routine, realizing

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Speaker 1: that is not Christ honoring at all. I told my

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Speaker 1: husband the other day that one thing I want my

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Speaker 1: children to remember about me is how much I laughed,

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Speaker 1: how joyful I was. No matter what, that isn't my

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Speaker 1: natural bent. I am more introspective and melancholy most of

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Speaker 1: the time, even though I am incredibly thankful to be

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Speaker 1: a mother. The fruit of the spirit that seems to

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Speaker 1: be a struggle for me to hang on to in

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Speaker 1: this season of my life is the fruit of joy.

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Speaker 1: Instead of allowing my circumstances and personality to become excuses

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Speaker 1: for my lack of joyful outlook and demeanor, I must

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Speaker 1: look to Christ and trust that He will fill me

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Speaker 1: with joy and hope even in the boring and monotonous

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Speaker 1: routines of life. For me, that is finding joy in

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Speaker 1: serving my family. In his letter to the Romans in

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Speaker 1: chapter fifteen, the apostle Paul is speaking of self denial

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Speaker 1: on behalf of others, reminding them and us that Christ

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Speaker 1: was a servant to his people and to the gentiles.

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Speaker 1: This truth should cause us to glorify God and rejoice

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Speaker 1: no matter what, as we seek to serve others and

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Speaker 1: share the Gospel with hope and joy. Paul Praise and Romans,

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Speaker 1: Chapter fifteen, verse thirteen. Now, may the God of Hope

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Speaker 1: fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so

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Speaker 1: that you will abound and hope by the power of

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Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. Romans, Chapter fifteen, verse thirteen. Intersecting faith

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Speaker 1: and life, The scriptures encourage us and give us strength

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Speaker 1: to persevere when we find ourselves discouraged, bored, or tempted

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Speaker 1: to complain and grumble. As God's children, we are not

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Speaker 1: to grumble. We must remember that ultimately, grumbling is complaining

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Speaker 1: against the sovereign God of the universe and saying he

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Speaker 1: isn't good, which is sinful. When we complain or have

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Speaker 1: a sour, ungrateful attitude, we should repent, reset our minds

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Speaker 1: by thinking on things above, and rejoice and give thanks

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Speaker 1: to God for his graciousness and goodness towards us. There

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Speaker 1: are numeracies available to us every single morning. Perhaps it

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Speaker 1: would be beneficial to create a daily list of things

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Speaker 1: you're grateful for to help cultivate a heart of contentment

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Speaker 1: and joy. Despite hardships and inconveniences in our lives and relationships,

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Speaker 1: we are called to rejoice and find our joy in

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Speaker 1: Christ alone, in all that He has done for us us.

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Speaker 1: It all comes down to the attitude and posture of

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Speaker 1: our heart, which God is shaping to look more like

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Speaker 1: Jesus every day. The God of Hope has given us

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Speaker 1: himself through the Holy Spirit and the fruit of the

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Speaker 1: Spirit are all available to us. The more we yield

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Speaker 1: to the Spirit instead of giving into our flesh that

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Speaker 1: wars against the Spirit Daily Galatious, Chapter five, verse seventeen.

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Speaker 1: We can call upon the name of the Lord to

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Speaker 1: cry out for help when we are attempted to complain

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Speaker 1: and walk in ungratefulness, and he will empower us with

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Speaker 1: his spirit. He is our ever present help in times

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Speaker 1: of need, and is faithful to strengthen us with his

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Speaker 1: grace and fill us up with his peace, hope, and joy,

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Speaker 1: even in the mundane. Although it is easy to find

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Speaker 1: excuses for the reasons of our behavior and mood, we

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Speaker 1: must trust that God's word is very clear about the

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Speaker 1: posture of our heart and attitude, especially when it comes

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Speaker 1: to the circumstances that are difficult, stressful, or even mundane

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Speaker 1: and boring. The Lord cares about the condition of our

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Speaker 1: hearts and the attitude that we exude, because as Christ followers,

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Speaker 1: we are to look and behave differently from the world.

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Speaker 1: People are watching all the time how we react when

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Speaker 1: we are struggling under the weight of the cares of

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Speaker 1: this life. Do you need to ask the Lord to

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Speaker 1: give you a hunger for more of His word. It

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Speaker 1: is so important because this is where your mind is renewed.

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Speaker 1: It helps us cultivate the fruit of the spirit and

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Speaker 1: walk in obedience with abundant joy and hope as you

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Speaker 1: seek to serve Him and others. If you struggle with

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Speaker 1: complaining about your mundane daily tasks, ask the Lord to

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Speaker 1: help you guard your heart and avoid grumbling. He can

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Speaker 1: help you find joy in all circumstances, even in your

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Speaker 1: monotonous routine. May the joy of the Lord be your

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Speaker 1: strength today. Further reading Ecclesiastes chapter three, verses twelve through thirteen,

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Speaker 1: James Chapter one, verses two through four.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If you liked what

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Speaker 2: you heard today, we want to make sure you know

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