October 7 – Rejoice and Don’t Stop

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” -  Philippians 4:4-5 (NASB)

On the matter of rejoicing, Paul the Apostle was unable to say it just once – or even twice. Four times his use of ‘rejoice’ comes in imperative statements – even twice in one which is part of our verse today. Four other times in declarative clauses, Paul testifies to his own rejoicing. But in verse 4 of the 4 chapter in Philippians, Paul is driving home the importance of expressing our joy. But Paul didn’t tell his readers to be happy. He encouraged them to rejoice in the Lord. There are circumstances in which we Christians are not happy. But we can always rejoice in the Lord and delight in Him. Such action is not an emotion but more a state of mind created by our will when we choose to rejoice. Perhaps some will disagree yet it is Paul himself who exemplified inner joy when external circumstances—such as persecution, imprisonment, the threat of death—were against him. Nurturing gentleness means contentment and generosity toward others. It is having mercy or clemency toward the faults and failures of others. Being patient with someone, even submitting to injustice or mistreatment without retaliating. As always, The Lord is near – it’s a promise.

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June 2 – Casting Cares

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”  -1 Peter 5:6-7  (NASB)

We have a comforting promise to consider today. "He (God) cares for you."  Yes, he does and that is why in our verse today we find a way to obey and follow the command given to us.  Humility is a very important state of mind for the Christian.  Matthew 5:5 tells us that God blesses those who are humble.  Humility is also described as being gentle, or meek. Another promise today is that those who do humble themselves will be exalted by God’s mighty power and hand at the proper time.  The humble while on earth are often cast aside and ignored but one day in His kingdom God will lift them up. Humility is one of the ways those entering the Kingdom will live while on earth.  Sometime we hear the term “real humility,” or “authentic humility.”  That is the only kind that ever is.  And this is how we do it - entrusting oneself and one's troubles to God.  He cares for us and He wants us to depend fully on him no matter what our cares are.  Let’s cease from trying to manage and cast them instead on God as he has told us to.  

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October 23 – Easy and Light When Together

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:29-30 (NASB)

Life can become very arduous and difficult.  Our circumstances, situations and happenings can bear down upon us.  Jesus cares about us and this is an invitation extended  by Him to those who are weary and over-loaded.  It was part of His teaching when He was here on earth. The illustration He uses is the common practice of joining two animals together to accomplish needed task.  An inexperienced animal would learn how to pull together with one that knew how. Jesus wants to bring us close to Himself so that we will learn how to accomplish God’s will under His teaching. He wants us to learn how to work with Him for our own good. And as we work closely with Him we learn to trust Him to help us live as we should.  And in trusting Him we will have peace and spiritual rest. Let us respond to Him today for He promises that His yoke is easy and His burden is light because He is with us. 

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January 31 – Side By Side Together

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”   Matthew 11:28-30  (ESV)

God knows very well that His children face times when they are over burdened and tired.  He provides rest and help and encourages us to go to Him for help.  We can be certain that in this day where we live, being a true follower of Jesus Christ is going to cost something.  For some in the world it has always cost a great deal but for others it has been easy to claim to be a Christian.  But that is changing and Jesus knows that for each of us, if we follow Him that we will face challenges and He wants to help us.  He wants us to come along side of Him and He will give us rest.  This is a call to a life of following Jesus Christ who gave His life and died in our place so that we can have eternal life.  If we truly believe and have the faith to receive forgiveness, we will find that the task is not as difficult as it appears.  He is beside us helping us and strengthening us in all things. 

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November 10 – Rejoice, It's How We Roll

“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4

Our promise that is connected to this verse today is actually given to us in the next verse but we have one here as well. It is easy to rejoice when good things happen and when good things come our way, isn't it? It is more different when we are facing challenging circumstances and are filled with confusion over what God is allowing into our lives to test us.  But that is what happens. We are not always shielded from difficulty or pain or suffering or sorrow.  But we are given this command, to REJOICE ALWAYS! That means even in difficulty. And our promise and the reason we can do this?  The Lord is near. He is always near because He has promised to never desert us or leave us. Just the fact that we know that the Lord is near is why, and how, we can rejoice always and that brings peace.

October 3

“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Matthew 11:29 (NIV)

This is an invitation given by our Lord Jesus when He was here on earth. The picture He draws is of the way people in those days joined two animals together to accomplish some needed work. An inexperienced animal would learn how to pull together with one that knew how. Jesus wants to bring us close to Himself so that we will learn how to accomplish God’s will. He wants to teach us how to work with Him for our own good. And as we work closely with Him our souls will be blessed. We will learn to trust Him and to help us live as we should. And in trusting Him we will have peace and spiritual rest. Let us respond to Him today.