Dear Friends,

I hope this finds you in health and prospering in all God has called you to do. You have been called by God to be filled to overflowing with joy, peace, and love.

The overflowing part is how things get from God, to you, to those in your world. In the book of John, chapter fifteen, verse eleven, Jesus is speaking and He says, "I have told these things that My joy and delight may be in you and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing." It is the will of God that you would be filled with joy and gladness. That is our attitude; our way of life; our state of mind. It is how and what we think. It determines how we feel and it is the response we give. Our joy is not determined by circumstances, people, things, or even our own mind. Jesus is the source of our joy for He left us HIS joy. He said He wants "MY joy to be in you." It comes straight from the source; straight from Jesus.

But it has a price.

This is one of those promises with a condition. As I have said before and I'll say again, when God puts a condition on a promise, it is to enable you to have the promise, not to keep the promise from you! You may have to give up a few things to make a place for the joy that Jesus has for you. Things like fear and thoughts that are contrary to this word of joy, thoughts of lack and depressing thoughts that are mearly weeds in the garden of our heart anyway. How do you do this? Like the word of God says, you take every thought captive. With the word you re-program your computer which is your mind. You replace the fear thought with faith; the lack thoughts with abundance. Ephesians chapter three, verse twenty says "God will do abundantly above and beyond what we dare to ask or think." Let us not limit what God can do by what we think or ask. Let's go beyond belief to God's ability. Even if you don't have the faith to be free, put your faith in this scripture and plant this seed in your heart and let it bear the fruit in your life.

Jesus said, "I have told you these things that MY joy and delight may be in you..." What things? What things did HE tell us? The things that He tells us are the CONDITIONS OF THE PROMISE; the very things that we can do to receive the "joy." Jesus said to obey His instructions and abide, or live, in Him just as He did what His Father told Him to do and just as He lives on in His love. If you read the fifteenth chapter of the book of John, Jesus tells the story of "I am the vine you are the branches", the point being that to have the joy which is a fruit of the tree (Jesus), you merely need to be a branch and to stay on the tree. His joy is yours, beyond belief, to the point of overflowing. That is when it gets noticeable and gets on others. No one can steal your joy. How can someone steal that which you freely give? Let them take it all and go get more and give that away and then go get more!

In Bridge City, Texas, I ministered the life of Jesus to every student in the entire school district; high school, junior high, two middle schools, and the elementary school. Three days before I got there, two eleven year old girls were run down and killed. The entire town was devastated. God's timing is impeccable.

I was able to bring the joy of the Lord to these heart broken young people. I was able to impart the comfort of the Holy Spirit to every boy and girl in town. We sang and danced, we yelled and we cried. But we moved past the tears and the joy of the Lord filled every heart. One ten year old girl asked her teacher if they had brought me there to help them with their sorrow, and the teacher replied, "No honey. Mike Deasy was scheduled months ago before anyone knew this would happen." But God knows and hears every prayer and counts every tear and heals every heart!

I just got off the road and am home producing a CD for Tracy Jackson and the worship team from Rock Church Norhtwest (pastors Joe and Linda Knight). Then I head for India.

When I got home, I received a report of violence from the people we will be working with in India. The devil has stirred up the Muslims and the Hindus and they are burning churches, some while they are filled with Christians. A pastor and his wife brutally murdered; families with little children burned alive in their cars. Pray. Our joy comes from Jesus not from what happens before our eyes. It is a demonic deception that Jesus warns us about in the book of John, chapter sixteen, verse two, that people will kill Christians and think they have done a service for God. In the next verse, He says that it is because they do not know Him. I must go tell them about Jesus and His love. I must go and do spiritual warfare for the body of Christ in that country. God knows ahead of time that our presence would be necessary just as He knew ahead of time to send me to Russia to tear down the walls and to Bridge City, Texas, to comfort the afflicted and now to India. Pray for this trip and if the Lord leads, send the best offering you can. By giving, you not only can send me but you too can go in the Spirit.

Here is our prayer:

Thank you Jesus for your joy that fills me to overflowing. I receive it with joy and gladness and I willingly give up anything within me that interferes with that wonderful gift of joy. I thank you Jesus for your life in me. Help me to reach beyond belief to receive your abundant provision for my life. Amen.