"Finding Fullness of Joy"
According to the Apostle John the things written in the Bible had a purpose and that purpose was to create fulness of joy in the readers. So, starting today, we will be sending out articles to all people that desire them to create fullness of joy!
1 John 1:4 “ And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”. What an extraordinary statement: especially in view of the multitudes of believers that do not enjoy reading the Bible or they feel bored or frustrated when they are told to read their Bible. Is there something missing in this equation?
What is lacking in life that turns Something that is intended to bring tremendous joy into boredom ?
First of all, I want to suggest several possible reasons why something intended to create great joy becomes heavy, hard or boring. I repeat John said these things we write to you so that your joy may be full! Now, if I have fullness of joy: this implies that I need no more joy because I have no more room to contain it. I am full of joy! If a person was filled with joy- they simply would need nothing else to satisfy them like drugs, money, sex, adventures, to achieve more, counseling etc. This does not mean that they cannot have or do those things- it just means that those other things are not needed for a person that is currently filled with joy. This person is completely satisfied in life and this is why their joy cup is filled to the full!
God says, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.
Matthew 4:4, “ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” NIV.
Is it possible that religions have taken away the life and joy and beauty of the Word of GOD? Is it possible that they have replaced the life from the WORDS of God with laws? Is it possible that religions, including many Christian churches have taken the honey from the WORD and put lemon in its place?
Psalm 81:16 CEB “But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”. Instead of the sweet beautiful taste of honey from the Rock, which is Christ, the Word- people are drinking from the poisoned wells of religion.
Another reason why some people have lost the joy of the Words written in the Bible is because they do not see the promises fulfilled within the Bible.
Another reason is because they do not see the supernatural level of these precious words and they have placed them on a natural level.
Another reason is because people do not experience answers to prayer. Therefore, when they read Jesus saying. Matthew 21:22 “And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”:
John 14:12-14 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
Mark 11:22-23 “And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."
If I have been reading these words for many years and I pray and do not see the answers to my prayer- after a time- I could easily conclude that these words are not accurate. But, the truth could be that there is a problem with me and not the one that spoke the words.
Another possible reason for not finding great joy in reading the words of God in the Bible is because the reader could have stones in their heart. These stones are blocking them from experiencing the life within the words of God. What are the stones? The stones are the hard places due to judgments, hatred and unforgiveness towards other people. These are some possible reasons why people do not experience the tremendous joy that comes from reading the Word of God.
This first article will be a different kind of teaching. In the last week, I have received a lot of questions to answer and I love answering questions. But, in this article, I, Greg Violi will be the reporter and so I will be asking questions to all of my readers. So, lets begin this time of questioning. Please pardon my total lack of professional journalism.
Question 1: Am I as a Founder of a Foundation with a Multi Business Complex supposed to feel guilty or apologize for being a worshipper of the invisible deity that humanity refers to as GOD?
As a part of this question- Since the basic Law of the Republic Of Germany Article #4 states The freedom of faith and conscience, and the freedom of religious and ideological belief are inviolable.
Number 2 under this German Law says, the undisturbed practice of religion is guaranteed. In view of the great freedom within this great nation of Germany: can a Business have many worshippers of God with times of renewing their hearts and NOT be a Christian Church ??
Question 2
Is there any place For God within a Business?
I firmly believe one of our main secrets to the success of The Resting Place has been due to the hearts of the employees. From the beginning of their employment, they are instructed that a good attitude is a major requirement to be employed at The Resting Place.
Question 3
127,000 businesses in Germany have closed down in the first 8 months of this year (2026).
Is it possible that this has a lot to do with the wrong attitudes within the businesses and its employees? After checking the appalling statistics in Germany- is it reasonable to suggest that having God in your business could be a good idea?
Do you have to be a Church to have God in your Business?
Question 4
We at the Resting Place have a great desire to simply bring God back into society. Is this a bad idea? Is the Presence of a living God something that will hurt people. Does God hurt people or has churches hurt people and the people in the Churches?
Question 5
On our website, there are stories of many people that have found healing from depression, suicidal tendencies, sicknesses, marital problems, family problems, Anorexia, Schizophrenia, many different diseases, emotional traumas and many other things, Could it possible that these people found the joy that the apostle John is talking about?
Or should we assume these people are lying? If a person wants to be a blessing in this world- is it possible that the real Presence of a living God would help them to be a blessing? Or is it wrong to assume that God would help a person that wants to be a blessing in this world? Would god replace His immediate Presence with religion.
Does a person have to go to a religious Church to be connected to God?
Question 6
Should The Resting Place be viewed by the City of Lemgo in a negative way because they love, honor and serve their customers in their hotel, Restaurant, Bar & Grill and in their events like funerals, weddings, anniversaries and birthdays. Their service is always attempted to be in the most loving, honorable and kind way.
Question 7
Are things like honor, respect, love and kindness supposed to be in workplaces or only in a church? Who exactly has benefitted from consigning God in a building on a certain day of the week? God told Adam, “ where are you? God almighty has always liked to be with his creation. His main characteristic is Pure love and love cannot seek its own.
It has no selfishness and it can only be satisfied when it reaches out to touch others.
Question 8
This question is for our dear Christian brothers and Sisters: Are you offended because we chose to not be connected to your religion?
Even though we are not a part of your specific group- we still totally love the ONE that you call your Lord. We are very thankful for his blood that was shed for mankind ? We totally love Jesus Christ.
Dear Brother and sister; if this offends you - can you please tell us why? Some religions will kill people that will not confess their religion. Do you know that the name Christian came from some outsiders in the city of Antioch? (Acts 11:26)
Most Christians will claim that a Christian presence in a community will bring about a positive impact. The more Christians there are, the better society will be. A British journalist produced a television documentary to investigate this claim. Regular church attendance was taken as the indicator of a community being “Christianised”.
The journalist selected Dallas, Texas. At the time this city had more people per capita in church than anywhere else. He then looked at the social demographics of the city.
Life in Dallas was examined by considering various statistics and studies across a range of areas. This included crime, public safety, police enforcement, health care, hospitals, contagious diseases, infant mortality rate, education, job and employment, the economy, housing, homelessness, and racism.
These categories were then compared with other cities which had significantly less people attending church on a regular basis. The study concluded that Dallas was one of the worst cities to live in!
The level of crime, the decrepit social systems, the disease, the economic discrepancies, the racial injustice all disqualified this community from having an adequate quality of life. The journalist then presented his findings to the respected leaders of the churches within the city.
After being told about the very bad condition of their city and community, the answer was essentially the same in all of them. “This is not my concern ... I'm a spiritual leader.“ Adapted book extract from Empowered! Discovering Your Place in God's Story by Stuart Simpson, Chapter 2, Faulty Story Paradigms.
The HEBREW WORD shalom refers to peace, prosperity, welfare, well-being, harmony, wholeness . It actually describes coming into fullness and being complete. I think it is a very faulty message that makes people feel that its ok to get someone saved, but to do nothing to train them in living and to help them find wholeness in life!!
I think we can conclusively say that Religions do not change people’s situations. Churches do not change people’s situations. Having another Christian Church in cities around Germany will not change the situation. God alone is the ANSWER to change in a very positive way!!
Now, what is the Name of this God that I keep referring to? It is the one name that Jesus kept using over and over. FATHER!!
John 17:3,” And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
People pray to God and Jesus said when we pray, we should say “Our Father who art in heaven.”
This is the ONE that I try to help people to know. His name is Father!! Why are so many people so touched by employees at The Resting Place? Most of these employees used to be wounded or beaten or abandoned or controlled by an earthly father. Now, they are coming to know the real and true heavenly Father and HE is healing their own father wounds. Why do we see so many people healed of things like depression. Because people get to know God as a perfect father!! The more a person comes to know God as a perfect heavenly Father, the more shalom( peace, wholeness and healing ) they experience.
I could definitely be wrong; but I believe the greatest need in humanity today is the need to be healed on the inside from a father wound! If someone needs a healing from a broken arm, a fractured disc, or an infected organ- these are all visible and can be seen. But, when someone needs healing from a father wound- this is often invisible and cannot be seen.
A major cause of addiction is because a person does not like themselves and often this self-hatred stems from a wound from a parent, especially a father.
Dopamine- the feel good hormone.
Some people try to drown their emotional feelings of pain and rejection with substances like drugs, alcohol, unclean sex, pornography, - all of these things release dopamine - a Hormone that is called by some the feel Good Hormone. So, at the Root of many addictions- is a little child that simply does not Like himself!
Question 9
Are we supposed to feel guilty or evil because we have children and Teenagers that are Full of joy and sing to God?
They have joy and they have fun and they really like to show their feelings? Their attitudes are more and more full of kindness.
Since feelings are something God created : How can they be bad? Does God deserve our excitement over all of the wonderful things He does for us and the amazing death on the Cross to prove His love for us?
Should the Fans of the German Soccer Team NOT Show Emotion After Germany wins the World Cup?
Conclusion
John 4:23,2423 "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
God, the Father is a spirit and He is seeking people to worship him on the inside of their heart in spirit and truth. He is not seeking people to go to Churches to worship Him. He is seeking people whose hearts will manifest honor and love to his creation.
We, at The Resting Place are people from many different walks of life who love people and want to make a positive impact on Lemgo and the surrounding cities. We desire to make God, the Father happy while we honor his creation at the Restaurant, Hotel, Bar & Grill and all events. People can try to make us look bad if they want, they can speak negative about us- but the truth remains- only God knows the truth and our hearts. We really want to worship our heavenly Father from our hearts.
At The Resting Place we want all visitors to discover an atmosphere that is filled with pure love and honor. We want them to feel special and to also feel that their life matters on this planet. They are significant. WE simply just want people to discover a little of the heart of the perfect father that created all mankind.
If you have been to The Resting Place- you have seen a beautiful landscape in the cleanliness, workers, atmosphere, service and food and its overall condition- please do not allow anyone to paint an ugly picture of something that is so lovely!
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