Acts 13:52 – “And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”  LSB

The word today is “Continually.”  The disciples were continually unceasingly filled.  This speaks of a state of mind and condition.

The order of how these are listed is interesting.  Joy is listed first.  They were continually filled with Joy!  Joy is an emotion and contains the expectation and anticipation of gaining an earthly possession or experiencing something.

It is a condition void of despair, doubt, fear, or hopelessness. It is infectious and becomes a doorway for entrance into God’s presence. We enter His gates with Thanksgiving and His courts with praise. The Joy of the LORD is our strength.

Being continually full of joy, their hearts and heads were prime receptors for the continual flow of the Holy Spirit. Some have occasional moments of Joy but not continual Joy. Many have occasional infillings of the Holy Spirit but are not continually filled.

We seem to marvel and almost fictionalize the New Testament Book of Acts Church with zero expectation that we, too, can have that presence, power, and result. We can have what that had IF...The “If” is the clincher. If we become as they were, we will see what they saw. 

• Their focus was continually on God.
• They continually meditated on God’s word.
• They were in a continual mindset of prayer.
• They were 100% committed to Him and His purposes.

They knew persecution, difficulty, and tests would come, but they were continuously filled with Joy and the Holy Spirit. Part-time Christianity held no appeal for them. They had jobs, duties, families, and obligations, but God was their First and Primary focus. The result—they lived in a state of overflowing Joy and the overflowing presence of the Holy Spirit.

They feared nothing, expected God to fulfill His Word, and knew they were More than Conquerors through and in Jesus. Their key to victory is embodied in the word “Continually.” They continually sought God, rejoiced, received, and expected to hear and see God daily. Too often, we are okay with part-time Christianity, occasional JOY, and infrequent outpourings of the Holy Spirit.

Let us decide to go All-In for Jesus.  When we do that, we will begin to see what they saw, experience what they experienced, and do what they did.  Today, make the decision that you are All In and watch the flow of Joy and the Holy Spirit completely change your world.

May the Grace of God guard you and the Peace of God lead you from victory to victory!