Message summary: Those who follow Christ we can have a great and lasting joy as we consider the present and future reign of Christ.

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"And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel" (1 Chronicles 12:40).

In a footnote last Friday we shared about a traditional Thanksgiving meal delicacy here in the US. Cranberry sauce was surely served as a side dish on most dinner tables here in the U.S. About 25 years ago we lived in southeast Massachusetts near where Ocean Spray is headquartered and where there are many cranberry bogs. The visitor's center in Plymouth and an annual cranberry festival hosted each fall by local growers is where we learned a lot about the growing and harvesting process.

In the nineties Ocean Spray wanted to expand their business and hired a marketing firm. They introduced the Craisin in 1995. The Craisin is a dried cranberry similar to a raisin (which is a dried grape). I recall talking to man on a plane to Providence who was on this marketing team who told me about the new product when it was being introduced. Over 25 years later I am sure he is very pleased at the outcome!

Cranberries thrive best in beds within the bog, which consists of alternating layers of sand, peat, gravel and clay. Cranberry vines produce horizontal stems called runners that may grow up to six feet long and can spread profusely over the bog's floor. When harvested and appear atop a big pond you may wonder how deep they are but they're only a few feet deep. They grow when the bog is dry and later it is flooded to harvest the berries. It is one the many interesting food industries in that area of the country such as lobstering.

Well, neither cranberries or craisins are mentioned in the Bible but today we consider a verse that does mention raisins. Of course the word craisin come from raisin which initially prompted a lawsuit from the raisin industry!

"History indicates that raisins were discovered for the first time by accident when they were found in the dried form on vines as early as 2000 BC. Wall paintings from ancient times show that dried fruits were consumed and used as decorations in the Mediterranean regions of Europe". (The California Raisin Marketing Board)

Many of us have enjoyed raisins since we were children whether eating them outright or in a raisin filled cookie or pie. We often took them in our school lunch or ate them as an after school snack.

Raisins are mentioned numerous times in the Bible. Today's text is in chapter headlined "The Mighty Men Join David". It describes the time Saul died and David was made king. It was a time of great unity, feasting and joy.

Our daily text concludes the chapter and may tend to be overlooked when we read the Bible. "And also their relatives, from as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, came bringing food on donkeys and on camels and on mules and on oxen, abundant provisions of flour, cakes of figs, clusters of raisins, and wine and oil, oxen and sheep, for there was joy in Israel".

"Came bringing food". This verse may be the Biblical basis for the modern day potluck dinner!

But our spiritual focus today are the six words that end the chapter: "For there was joy in Israel". What a celebrative time this must have been as the people looked forward with great anticipation to David's reign over the people of Israel.

As those who follow Christ we can have a much greater and lasting joy as we consider the present and future reign of Christ. Several times we have begun our church service with a song that proclaims this.

Be encouraged today, (Hebrews 3:13)