What kind of amusement is good and healthy? - Amusement - TouchPoints

Genesis 31:54Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and invited everyone to a covenant feast. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain.

Exodus 15:20-21Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and led all the women as they played their tambourines and danced. And Miriam sang this song: “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea.”

Deuteronomy 16:14-15“This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.”

2 Samuel 6:14David danced before the Lord with all his might, wearing a priestly garment.

Nehemiah 8:10, 12Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!” . . . So the people went away to eat and drink at a festive meal, to share gifts of food, and to celebrate with great joy because they had heard God’s words and understood them.

Psalm 68:3Let the godly rejoice. Let them be glad in God’s presence. Let them be filled with joy.

Psalm 149:3Praise his name with dancing, accompanied by tambourine and harp.

Psalm 150:4Praise him with the tambourine and dancing; praise him with strings and flutes!

Celebrations that highlight God’s goodness and praise him are healthy.

Psalm 1:2They delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.

Psalm 112:1Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands.

Psalm 119:16, 47, 77, 111, 174I will delight in your decrees and not forget your word . . . How I delight in your commands! How I love them! . . . Surround me with your tender mercies so I may live, for your instructions are my delight. . . . Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. . . . O Lord, I have longed for your rescue, and your instructions are my delight.

Isaiah 26:8Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name.

Jeremiah 15:16“When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.”

Finding delight in reading and obeying God’s Word is always healthy.

Ecclesiastes 2:24So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God.

Ecclesiastes 9:7So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!

Enjoying God’s provisions for us is good and healthy amusement.

Genesis 5:24Enoch lived 365 years, walking in close fellowship with God. Then one day he disappeared, because God took him.

Genesis 6:9This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.

Psalm 16:3The godly people in the land are my true heroes! I take pleasure in them!

Psalm 27:4The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.

Psalm 37:4Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Psalm 55:14What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.

Psalm 128:3-4, 6Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine, flourishing within your home. Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees as they sit around your table. That is the Lord’s blessing for those who fear him . . . May you live to enjoy your grandchildren. May Israel have peace!

Proverbs 23:24The father of godly children has cause for joy. What a pleasure to have children who are wise.

Ecclesiastes 9:9Live happily with the woman you love through all the meaningless days of life that God has given you under the sun. The wife God gives you is your reward for all your earthly toil.

Song of Songs 1:2Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.

Song of Songs 4:10Your love delights me, my treasure, my bride. Your love is better than wine, your perfume more fragrant than spices.

Song of Songs 7:6, 9-10Oh, how beautiful you are! How pleasing, my love, how full of delights! . . . May your kisses be as exciting as the best wine. . . . Yes, wine that goes down smoothly for my lover, flowing gently over lips and teeth. I am my lover’s, and he claims me as his own.

Romans 12:10, 16Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other . . . Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!

Romans 15:24I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.

1 Corinthians 7:2Because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

2 Timothy 2:22Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.

Our relationships with God, family, and friends are the greatest delights if we cultivate them well.

Genesis 21:8When Isaac grew up and was about to be weaned, Abraham prepared a huge feast to celebrate the occasion.

Genesis 29:22So Laban invited everyone in the neighborhood and prepared a wedding feast.

Job 1:4Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them.

Luke 15:23-24, 27“And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began. . . . ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’”

John 2:1-2The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration.

Celebrating family is delightful; such celebrations are always good and healthy.

Acts 16:15She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed.

Romans 12:13When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

1 Timothy 3:2So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.

Titus 1:8Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life.

Hebrews 13:2Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!

1 Peter 4:9Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.

3 John 1:5-8Dear friend, you are being faithful to God when you care for the traveling teachers who pass through, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church here of your loving friendship. Please continue providing for such teachers in a manner that pleases God. For they are traveling for the Lord, and they accept nothing from people who are not believers. So we ourselves should support them so that we can be their partners as they teach the truth.

We can provide healthy amusement for ourselves and others as we offer hospitality.