Joy in the Midst of Trials
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds.” – James 1:2
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” – Psalm 28:7
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
No one enjoys going through trials but ever since sin entered the world, bad things happen, even to good people. Jesus said in Matthew 5 :45 the rain falls on the just and the unjust. So rather than grumble and complain (my go to response) what if we choose to respond in joy?
Joy is not just a reaction to good times. Remember, joy is a fruit of the Spirit The more we are molded into His image, the more we reflect Him in all we do. And do you know what shapes us? Fire. That’s right, the Potter carefully molds the clay and then He places it in an oven where the vessel is hardened into the shape it was supposed to be all along.
Do you think the Hebrew boys emerged from the fiery furnace the same as when they entered? They may have looked the same, but no one has an encounter with the living God and remains the same. Even the king was changed, and he was seemingly just an onlooker.
May I encourage you today to ask God what you are supposed to be learning, and I hope you will allow the joy of the Lord to become your strength. And then, get excited to see what God is doing!
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit Amen
The Light of the World
Proverbs 20:27 27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
Psalms 27:1 1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
John 1:4-5 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 8:12 12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The light of the world—only Jesus fits that description. Sometimes we want the darkness. When we are trying to sleep, darkness serves to shut everything out so we can rest. When we are stargazing, the darker it is the more stars we can see. Did you know there are some areas in the U.S. where there are laws limiting light pollution?
The first time we travelled to the Grand Canyon we had no idea that the night sky would rival the view we had seen during the day. But I stepped outside of the travel trailer and almost fell to the ground in worship and awe. I had never seen so many stars and I immediately proclaimed, “Now I know what Abraham saw.”
The light that emanates from Jesus is brighter than any natural or artificial light. And His light shines in each of us. Isn’t that amazing? When we accept the salvation only Jesus can give, then we are filled with His light and we no longer want anything to do with the darkness.
May we thank God today and every day for the light that is in Jesus, and may we let our light shine before others as we share Him with all we meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Sing praises
(AMP) Psalms 96:1 O SING to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless (affectionately praise) His name; show forth His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be reverently feared and worshiped above all [so-called] gods. [Deut. 6:5; Rev. 14:7.]
Why are we so often told to enter into His courts with praise? There is something about lifting our voices in song to our God that draws us straight into His presence. There is a holiness in focusing on nothing but bowing before Him. Prior to asking anything of God, isn’t it a good thing to acknowledge who He is?
When we can clear our minds of the traffic that so often occupies our thinking and instead turn our thoughts toward Jesus, then a blessed peace inhabits our hearts and our minds. It is then that we can commune with God on a deeper and more intimate level.
May we make a habit of singing whether we feel like praising or not, for God is worthy.
In the name of the Father, And of the Son, And of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Confidence in the Resurrection
1 Corinthians 15:12-19 (NRSV) 12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; 14 and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ—whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. 19 If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
Paul says to consider this—if the dead have not been raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, then we are still dead in our sins. As Paul would say, God forbid.
We pick and choose vegetables and fruits at the grocery store, but not so with the gospel. We either believe all of the gospel, or we believe none of it. If we cannot believe the virgin birth, then how can we believe the resurrection?
We can believe the resurrection because the tomb was empty, Jesus appeared to His disciples along with 500 people following that first Sunday morning, the disciples’ lives were so dramatically changed that eleven of the twelve faced martyrdom rather than deny Jesus, and the church exploded in the number of believers in the first century.
May we allow the gospel to penetrate our very being so that we not only have the hope of eternity, but we can live in His Kingdom promises today. Jesus has risen, He has risen indeed.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Springs of Living Water
Jer 2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Have you ever read Jeremiah or Lamentations? Jeremiah, who wrote both books, was known as the weeping prophet. He was raised to be a priest, but when he was nineteen God called him to be a prophet. Jeremiah often wept over God’s messages to His people. He loved Jerusalem and it broke his heart to know that Jerusalem was going to fall.
What nation can stand if they exchange the one, true and living God for idols made by hands? Who exchanges springs of living waters for wells dug by hands, broken and dry? Yet, look around the world and you will see things have not changed much. What will enable us to turn away from false idols and look at the face of Jesus?
We must have an encounter with the Holy Spirit, and we will need to bow before God’s presence and ask forgiveness for our sins. What are our sins? Whatever separates us from God. When we repent, God will forgive, He will restore us, transform us and we will be reconciled. Then we will receive the living water that gives us life and we will bear much fruit for the kingdom.
May we grow tired of being thirsty and may we drink everyday from the living waters, sharing God’s love with all we meet.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Seeking Holiness 