Happy Monday everyone!
This week as we continue our series unpacking the heart behind our Core Values, you’ll be hearing from Chris Houston. Chris is one of our board members and a dear friend of the Toomey/Elliott family. His heart for the Lord and The Impact Collective’s mission is evident, so enjoy hearing more about Contagious Joy from his pen!
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The Impact Collective has Contagious Joy as one of its core values and is a trait of distinction for us. For something to be considered contagious, it must be able to spread from person to person with ease. You did not have to be around Chris Toomey long to know that there was something that infected you with joy when he was around. This joy bomb was the result of Chris partnering with the Holy Spirit inside of him to release the fruit that Paul describes in Galatians 5.
The impact was clear as regularly Chris touched lives in such a way that they wanted to discover the foundation for his joy. It was a magnet pulling people into the things of the Spirit and is just one of the amazing by-products of a relationship with the Lord. In the Galatians 5 passage, Paul identifies other traits of the fruit as “love, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control”. It is important to note that Paul describes 1 fruit with 9 traits not 9 separate pieces of fruit. When we have His Holy Spirit, every facet of His fruit should flow from us into others. Contagious Joy is fueled by the Spirit & impacts others.
One of the greatest gifts that Chris had was how he regularly brought out in people traits that they did not always see in themselves because of his joy. My wife has mentioned quite a few times over the years that Chris had this effect on me and that she loved whenever we were all together as she witnessed a side of me that isn’t always seen. Contagious Joy has that kind of impact by inspiring others.
Chris knew & believed what is written in Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is your strength”. Like Nehemiah, Chris faced things in his life that would have been considered impossible apart from God. Through his relationship with God, Chris gained influence with those around him and intentionally shifted cultures wherever he went. His reliance on God gave Chris the strength to face things with fruit of the Holy Spirit and especially joy being the bedrock. True joy does not depend on circumstances rather it is the overflow of belief on the unchanging character of God. Contagious Joy changes others by believing God’s character.
- Did you know it is impossible to have true joy apart from the Holy Spirit?
- True joy can only be accessed through admitting you need God & accepting that God’s one path to right relationship with Him is through believing in the death & resurrection of His only son, Jesus. On our own we can’t restore relationship with God. By accepting His redemptive path, we have full access to the fruit of His Spirit.
- Did you know it is possible to have joy within us that is untapped just because we choose to not partner with the Holy Spirit to release it?
- God will not force anyone to walk in the fruit of His Spirit rather He invites us to. It saddens me to think that one could go their whole life with access to the Holy Spirit’s fruit BUT never choose to partner with it. Because of His Spirit, believers should be the most joy filled people in the world!
We encourage you to do a deeper dive into Galatians 5 and discover for yourself the fruit that every believer has the capacity to walk in each day when partnering with the Holy Spirit.
May you know & believe today that the “Joy of the Lord is your strength”. May you bring traits out in others that they may not see in themselves. May we each be like Chris and offer Contagious Joy to those around us and thus be culture shifting catalysts in our spheres of influence!
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To learn more about our core values, check out our “About” page on our website, stay up to date with our blog posts and The Ripple, streaming wherever you listen to your podcasts! Thanks so much for your support, and have a great rest of your day!