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Celebrate! May 9, 2025 Devotional

by David Joynt on May 09, 2025


ROMANS 5:3-5 | 3 What if some were unfaithful? Will their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! Although every human is a liar, let God be proved true, as it is written, “So that you may be justified in your words and you will prevail when you go to trial.” 5 But if our injustice serves to confirm the justice of God, what should we say? That God is unjust to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)

Keeping the immense joy of heaven in sight helps us understand the vagaries and trials of life now. One of the chief deficiencies of ordinary happiness is that it doesn’t change us. Our souls and characters shift as we obey and serve, embracing others in their struggles and stepping into the world's problems in Jesus’ name. Then our lives move on from being a series of elated moments, and they become rooted in deeper virtues of love and goodness. As we evolve, our hearts open more and more to God, the only true source of joy.

 

How is your character and your soul developing?

 

 

Gracious God,

Prepare me for life in the kingdom, forge my character, and shape my soul for Your glory.

Amen.

 

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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