July 9 – With Joy Comes Strength

“Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” – Nehemiah 8:10 (NASB)

These words were spoken by Nehemiah, governor of Judah during the time when the people of Israel rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. It was time for a holy day of remembrance. The people were weeping in much sorrow because of their sins. “For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law.” (v.9) When they heard and understood God’s law, they understood their violations of it. Not tears of joy, but penitent sorrow came forth as they were grieved by conviction. Nehemiah encourages them the same as we can be encouraged when we have grief over our failings before God, our family, friends and others. Strength come from the Joy of the Lord.  How does it come? It comes through the grace and mercy of God who wants more to draw us into repentance and confession than to punish or discipline us harshly – even when we deserve that.  What we do not deserve is the Joy of the Lord but He gives it to us just as he gave it to these children of Israel. That Joy which comes only from the Lord is what infuses strength into our spirit to do the right things. 

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April 3 – Consider and Count

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, …” – James 1:2 (NASB)

This might not make sense to us. Let’s just be honest first. Trials, tests, difficulties and many things we would rather avoid still come into our lives mostly unannounced. They are uninvited and unwelcome but in today’s passage we are instructed by the Holy Spirit in the letter written by James, the half brother of Jesus, to consider their arrival joyfully. ‘Consider’ may also be translated ‘count’ or ‘evaluate’ which means a willful, purposeful, thoughtful, and conscious commitment to face them with and attitude of joy, and actually with all joy. We are not to split our emotion reaction to trials between a natural disgust and some joy.  Only joy, all joy, just as Paul teaches in Philippians to ‘rejoice in the Lord.’ (Philippians 3:1) God brings such tests to prove—and increase—the strength and quality of our faith and to demonstrate its validity.  Every trial in our life becomes a test of faith and is designed to strengthen our faith: if we fail the test by responding with a wrong attitude, that test then becomes a temptation, or a solicitation to evil. It’s best to trust God for all things, even the trials that test.  

 

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November 30 – Hope. Peace. Joy.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” - Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Three words which we use often in our thoughts and conversations. But does our use reflect the power and fullness of these words for us? The first is Joy and this verse should fill our hearts with rejoicing. We fully believe that these blessings are for us today just as they were available to the Christians in Rome to whom these words were written long ago. God desires to fill us with joy. God also offers to us Peace. But the peace God gives is not the peace found in this world. Peace treaties and conferences and summits all mean just one thing – lack of conflict between warring parties. The peace from God is the removal of the hostility that separates us from Him and binds us to His love. If our hearts and minds are disturbed by some crisis or difficulty, God wants to fill us with His peace. If you are wondering about your eternal future God wants to remove the uncertainty and doubt and fill us with His Hope. His joy, peace and hope are our promise today and so we give thanks God for His love.

 

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October 2 – Remember, Pray, Joyfully

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:3-6 (ESV)

Our passage for today comes from the letter sent to members of the body of Christ, believers in Philippi. In the way that all letters from all apostles in the first century, this letter would be shared with churches near to Philippi. Eventually copied and shared to the whole world by being included in the New Testament. At the time Christians who first received this letter lived under Roman government and have very little religious freedoms. Paul’s letter intended to be an encouragement for us. When we experience times of doubt, we might wonder if it is worth it all. So much conflict, aggression, hate, and lies exist in our world. As Christians we too pray for each other just as Paul prayed for the Philippians. What he had heard about them brought Paul much joy. It was a delight for Paul to intercede for fellow believers. Paul had a confidence which is our promise too. It is God who began the work of salvation in our lives and it is God who will complete that job one day, the day of Jesus Christ, which looks to our final salvation, reward, and glorification.

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June 5 – Running With Our Perfecter

“…let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1b-2 (ESV)

We are to look to Jesus as the object of faith and salvation. Why are we to look to Him? Because He is both the Author and Perfecter of our faith. The word “author” is a term that means originator or even the preeminent example; it suggests that Jesus “pioneered” the path of faith Christians should follow. He also “perfected” the way of faith since He reached its end successfully. The term expresses the idea of carrying through to completion. It also might mean ‘maturity’ of the kind that is moral completeness. It is only in Christ that we find a faith that is perfect and it is only through Christ that that perfect faith become a reality for us. For those reasons, we live our lives in His and through Him our faith is perfect. On our own it is nothing more than daydreaming or wishing. We fix our eyes on Jesus and because of what he did, enduring the cross despising the shame He sits at the right hand of the throne of God. We are there too seated with Him (Ephesians 2:4-6) because God gave us a gift of faith which led to our salvation. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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May 13 – Eyes Opened Through Faith

"Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” 1 Peter 1:8-9 (NASB)

Peter, the disciple of Jesus, became one of the foremost apostles who helped spread the news of the early Christian Church. He also was used by the Holy Spirit to write some of the books in the New Testament. Peter walked with Jesus and heard him teach and watched him do miracles and heal all who came to Him with physical or spiritual need. Many times Peter ate meals with Jesus and talked with him face to face while breaking bread together. Peter wrote these words in his first letter to believers in the new Church. In the same way we have never seen Jesus as Peter did but we love Him and we believe in Him. These words are also given to us and can be applied to us personally. We can experience the “inexpressible joy and be filled with glory” because we have believed in Jesus the Christ – even though we have never seen Him.  Our faith has opened the eyes of our hearts and minds to believe in Him as our Savior and Lord.  It is hard to express sometimes but in our hearts we know He is true. It’s a joy to have that assurance.

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April 27 – Do The Task Anyway

“Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy! He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.” – Psalm 126:5-6 (ESV)

Before we leap to the conclusion that our verse is saying the sowing of seeds is a trial or a difficult thing to do, let’s reckon what is being said here. This is a truth that every farmer and gardener know well. To get a harvest, seed must be sown. Seed must be planted for a garden to grow. Sowing, plowing, digging, are all things that must be done even in times when we are crying about other things. Crops will not wait while we process through our grief or solve our dilemmas. If we want to eat next winter, we must sow this spring. When there are necessary straightforward jobs to be done, and we are full of sadness, with tears flowing easily, we must go ahead and do the jobs with tears. The tears may make us want to quit life for a bit. But there is a field to be sown (dishes to be washed, car to be fixed). If we do that, the promise of the psalm is that we will “reap with shouts of joy.” Not because the tears of sowing produce the joy of reaping, but because the sowing produces the reaping.

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February 21 – Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy

“He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”  Psalm 126:6 (ESV) 

After seventy years as captives, the Children of Israel were allowed to return to their homes in Jerusalem and the country surrounding what was, and is called Mount Zion by many.  This psalm is a song of Ascents. It is a song of praise to God by the Hebrew people who had come back from their captivity. We can understand how those who had been away from their homes as exiles were thrilled to be back ascending the mountain to Jerusalem. Their mouths were full of happiness, joy, and praise to God. We may not have been exiled from our earthly homes but we can praise God for the great things he has done for us by bringing us into His family. We were strangers to His family but He has made us His children. Has not He shown us so often how much He loves us and how He will take care of us? We may have been weeping as we tended to the tasks God has given to us.  He promises that the result will be wonderful.  Like those who sow seed with tears of sorrow, God promises we will return with joy at harvest time. 

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January 26 – Joy In All Settings

“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”  John 15:10-11 (ESV)

We are fruit bearers for the Spirit of God. He bears the fruit through our obedient service to Him. The first three mentioned in Galatians 5 are love, joy, peace. In his last Passover meal Jesus emphasized these three with His Apostles. Our promise in our passage today is that keeping the commandments of Jesus as by his own example he kept the Father’s commandments, our lives will bear out joy. The very reason Jesus expounded on so much during this last supper was to produce joy within the hearts of his closest friends. Except for Judas, these were going to bring the Good News to the whole world. Jesus knew the road would be rough for them yet He promises joy as they journey on it. We are promised joy in any and all circumstances of our lives. If our joy is not rooted in our circumstances but in our obedience to God, it will produce more joy.  It promises to be a full joy even when situations are dark. Let’s not fear what might be or is and so lose our joy, instead do what He has called us to do. Love one another and our neighbor too.

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January 24 – A Bundled Package of Fruit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23 (ESV)

It is common that these verses are misread and mistaught on a pretty regular basis. The error comes in the word ‘fruit’ which is read as ‘fruits.’ These nine qualities of character are a bundled package. Together they are the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit in the life of an obedient follower of Jesus. As listed there, this fruit is the evident mark one may expect from a life in which the Spirit of God is living and reigning and Jesus is Lord. Jesus also implied that one’s character of life can be determined. In Matthew 7, the test for false prophets is, among other things, the kind of life they live. Consequently, even though Jesus did prohibit disapproving criticism of others by his followers (Matthew 7:1), He encouraged fruit inspection. The secret to exhibiting spiritual fruit in abundance is described in John 12:24. Using as an illustration a grain of wheat sown in the ground, Jesus encourages death to self and to the desires of the old nature and resurrection to the new life of “much fruit.” Our promise is this fruit produced in our lives if we live according to the Spirit of God.

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December 16 – Joy and Gladness

“Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord.”  Luke 1:13b-15a  (ESV)

We focus this time of the year mostly on the miraculous birth of Jesus the Messiah.  He was the fulfillment of a promise made when only two humans lived on this earth. If we study the whole story, especially as Luke recounted it, we know of another miraculous birth⸺one of another kind that was also a fulfillment of a promise.  The promise of one who would proceed Jesus and prepare the way for him. Zechariah and Elizabeth loved and served the Lord God but had no children. This grieved them both and they prayed earnestly for a child. Elizabeth had been unable to become pregnant and bear a child. Unable that is until God sent His angel messenger to tell Zechariah that his prayer would be answered.  And it was. Difficult for Zechariah to believe. Like us, we might pray and then fail to expect to see the prayer answered⸺even in ways greater than we imagine. But God fulfills his promises and this promise had been made through the prophet Malachi some 430 years before its fulfillment. Malachi 4:5-6. It was not long before Elizabeth conceived the baby to be John the Baptizer. 

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July 5 – Filled and Abounding

“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”  -  Romans 15:13 (NASB)

If we are hoping for peace in our world, we can know that this is the way we can find it. In our verse today the Apostle Paul expresses his desire for God to fill his readers (that would be you and I and all who believe), with all joy and peace. Our Joy relates to the delight of anticipation in seeing our hopes fulfilled.  Our Peace results from the assurance that God will fulfill those hopes as he has promised. This peace is promised in Philippians 4:7 NASB in a way that surpasses our understanding.  This is another key to the promise – recognizing that we do not have to understand everything God does or says He will do. If God says it we have hope through faith believing. Our hope will be fulfilled by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the midst of the storms and turmoil in our lives, it is the power of the Holy Spirit that gives us hope that overflows and will not disappoint us. Through faith in what God has said, we will be filled with joy and peace today. God has promised, and will do what He has promised. 

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June 20 – Sin and Righteousness; Oil and Water

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of joy above Your fellows. -Psalm 45:7  (NASB)

We really have no option to embrace that which is evil.  We are commanded  to hate sin. Wickedness, or sin is prevalent in nearly every form of entertainment, especially on television or at the movie theater.  We’re not suggesting every movie or television program is evil or promotes wickedness because there are those which are intended to combat the forces of evil.  In Hebrews we learn that Jesus is our perfect High Priest because He was tempted in every way just as we are but did not sin.  We, with the power of God through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us are also able to stand firm against the devil’s temptations.  But we need to train ourselves to recognize it wherever it is.  If we compromise this command, we will lose the ability to discern when we are being tempted to accept wickedness in the content of any and all media. Jesus faced temptation three times; from Satan in the wilderness after 40 days of fasting (Matthew 4:1), by Satan through the words of Peter (Matthew 16:23), and in the Garden just before His arrest. We are commanded  to hate sin. If we do not, do we truly love righteousness?

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June 7 – Finding Overflowing Joy Part 1

“Great is my confidence in you; great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction.”  - 2 Corinthians 7:4 (NASB)

We will find our promises not so much in our selected verse but in those which answer our questions today. What is extraordinary about the example the Apostle Paul left us is his durable joy? Even when things were very difficult to live with Paul proclaimed his joy.  Where do we learn this and where did it come from for Paul?  First, directly from Jesus Christ. Jesus said: “Blessed are you when people hate you. . .Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.”Luke 6:22-23 (ESV) Experiencing troubles for Jesus compound our interest in heaven — which lasts a lot longer than earth.  Second, we also learn this from the Holy Spirit, “The fruit of the Spirit is. . .joy” Galatians 5:22 (ESV). “You received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” 1 Thessalonians 1:6 (ESV). A third source is our  belonging to the kingdom of God. “The kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” Romans 14:17 (ESV).  There four are more to look at and rejoice over…Tomorrow.

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Material for this blog was gleaned from Dr John Piper’s Desiring God   

May 30 – The Pursuit of Joy

“You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”  - Psalm 16:11 (NASB)

Whoever said that being a believer in God is a dreary sad life? It is not. In this Psalm King David testifies to the truth that our God makes known to us our life path.  Where God is, we find the fullness of joy - that is our promise.  In God’s right hand is pleasure. But in this life of sin and pain, joy and faith are besieged. Paul says to Timothy, “Fight the good fight of the faith” (1 Timothy 6:12). It is so with joy as well. We must work for it and fight for it. It’s available in abundance but we must press forward to lay hold of it. Paul said to the Corinthians, “We work with you for your joy” (2 Corinthians 1:24). Here are five strategies* for laying hold of joy. 

1. Understand that authentic joy in God is a gift. 
2. Comprehend that joy must be fought for relentlessly. Don’t let the paradox of these first two points distract you.  
3. Attack all known sin in your life, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 
4. Learn the secret of how to fight like a justified sinner repelling piggish guilt. 
5. Realize that the battle is primarily a fight to see God for who He is.

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*Fifteen strategies on How to Fight for Joy

May 12 – Complete Joy Is…

“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”  - Philippians 2:1-2 (NASB)

Let’s right off look at what is promised in these verses.  It is not delivered directly but it is here. It’s a promise of completed joy.  Paul appeals to the Philippians to maintain unity by being of the same mind – that means no division in what they believe in Jesus Christ. And again Paul calls for “the same love” to be maintained in the body.  If they all have the same understanding of their obligation to love one another it would cause a spirit of unity purpose. The first verse establishes the motivation for them to desire and make the effort to have this unity. Paul wants a promise that the joy he has from and for this church to be a complete joy.  Incomplete joy is not really joy, is it?  If we have joy half the time, what do we have the other half.  Do we have a 60/40 split?  If so, it is not a complete joy.  So if our churches have unity, and going the same direction to the same goal and helping all, their success at rejoicing is found in Christ Jesus.  

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March 30 – Exulting in Our Rejoicing

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.”  - Psalm 5:11 (ESV)

The words of the verse we take up for consideration today may well be an instruction as much as it is a promise.  Those who take refuge in the LORD are those who rejoice, sing for joy.  There is really much true joy for those who do not reject God. Singing for joy is the instruction and then the promise is God spreading His protection over them.  Are we among those who take refuge in the LORD?  We think correctly that we are if we have come to God in an attitude of repentance seeking forgiveness and salvation.  That is the refuge we receive when we come to the LORD.  The result of taking this refuge is naturally to rejoice for our hearts and lives are filled with peace and joy and assurance that God has covered us with His protection from evil.  We begin to love His name and grow in that love as we meditate and learn from His word.  It is us, the ones who love the name of the LORD that exult in God.  Exulting is the act of rejoicing – being so joyful that it bubbles out.  

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January 5 – Tested to be Perfect

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  - James 1:2-4  (NASB)

Our selected verse today is one that we might acknowledge as a familiar verse but would rather not sometimes.  Trials in our lives can be petty or pretty severe.  Often we look for a way of avoiding having to put up with the testing a trial brings to us.  How can we consider them to be times of “all joy in our life” when they bring us to tears or frustration? We  might struggle with understanding this command to do so.  Yet, the truth of the promises in these verses give us reason to hope and to obey.  These trials have one purpose, to test our faith and to strengthen our endurance. ‘Steadfastness’ and ‘perseverance’ are also used in this verse.  It is part of the process that God uses to make us 'perfect' – a word when used this way does not mean without fault but means finished, mature, brought to its end.  When we can endure trials and testing joyfully, we have come to understand that in Christ, we are truly lacking in nothing.    

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December 25 – Christmas Day

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.’” Luke 2:10 (ESV)

The good news of the birth of Jesus was promised for everybody. The following verse, which we read three days back, explains that the baby would be a Savoir – a very special Savior for He was Christ the Lord. And this Savior was not just for a small group of shepherds. He had come to be a Savior available to everybody – for all the people. The news from heaven was about a great joy available to all who would believe and accept the Savior as their own.  We should never forget this. And what is it that brings us joy at Christmas?  We should enjoy having time with friends and loved ones. We should enjoy the gifts. But the really greater joy that never ends comes from knowing Jesus as our Savior. So, enjoy the promise of eternal life he gives and the assurance of His presence with us. And, if you do not know Jesus as the Savior, you can right now – believe and receive the gift from God and you will receive forgiveness, have great joy and eternal life.

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How Christmas came to be on December 25.  A look at the history and background on this holiday.  

November 13 – Believe Because It's Worth It

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”  -  James 1:2-3 (NIV)

If there is any promise that is difficult to live with it may well be the promise we have for today.  The promise is that our faith, when it is tested, can produce perseverance.  Our faith will get stronger, larger, and more powerful as we exercise it when facing trying and difficult challenges in our life.  But such growth is not possible without facing the trials and testings which God allows to come into our lives. James, the half brother of Jesus knew what this meant.  He knew about testing and perseverance of faith.  If we then know that the testing we encounter and the trials we endure make our faith stronger, it makes sense to view them with the kind of joy we looked at yesterday.  The joy Jesus had as he went to the cross for us because He knew the result was worth the difficult and awful, but necessary, death He had to go through to get the result.   

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