Tag:

joy

Fill You

by TerryLema

Romans 15:13: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Right now the world isn’t overflowing with joy, peace or hope. That doesn’t mean Christians can’t. After all, while we are “in the world” and to a certain extent vulnerable to the world’s trials and difficulties, we are not “of the world.” We view things from a different perspective. Our view is a heavenly view. We see things through the eyes of the Holy Spirit.

Our buildings are closed, but the church is not. What an amazing time for the church to show this frightened, locked down world, that our God is bigger than our buildings.

If we allow our Father God, He will through the power of His Spirit, fill us with joy and peace – all He asks is that we trust in Him. Once we are filled, we begin to overflow, and our overflow is hope for those who are bound by fear and anxiety amid this present COVID-19 crisis.

Sure, we are “locked down” in our homes, but we have telephones and social media. We can call people, check on them, encourage them, pray with them. We can remind people that our lives are not governed by human officials but by the power of God’s very Spirit through Christ Jesus our LORD. When all is said and done, God will still be on His throne.

So church, be the church today. Share Jesus. Pray for Revival. Encourage the Hopeless. Help Others. This is an amazing time for God to be exalted in our everyday actions and attitudes.

Press on Beloved!

 

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Various Trials

by TerryLema

One of my favorite passages of Scripture is found in the opening verses of James’ letter. It’s a long passage, but it has much to say to us. If you have the time, read it a couple of times.

James 1:2-8: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. [NKJV]

Did you get hung up on those opening words … count it all joy when you fall into various trials. It’s okay if you did, most of us do. Putting “joy” and “trials” in the same sentence seems totally opposite of what occurs normally in this life. “Trials” seem much more at home with words like “fear,” “sorrow,” “confusion,” than it does with “joy.”

But when you understand that as Christians, we are not to respond to things the way we did before we were saved, you understand that God has a purpose, and a promise, to facing trials with joy. James tells us that counting it all joy tests the depths of our faith – that’s the purpose. And the promise is that we will develop a patience that perfects us, making us complete so that we lack nothing.

One reminder though … don’t confuse count it all joy when you fall into various trials with thinking a trial is joyful. Trials are difficult, strenuous and sometimes downright ugly. They often leave scars and wounds that we carry for the rest of our lives. If we can learn to see beyond the actual trial, however, to what can be produced when we face it with the “joy (strength) of the LORD,” it is then that the trial becomes of great value to us. Otherwise, it’s just a trial and all that often produces is scars, wounds, and a load of bitterness.

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Amid the Doom and Gloom

by TerryLema

Amid all the doom and gloom out there lately (impeachments, a new coronavirus, flu season, etc.), I went looking for a little joy and found a lot of joy in the Psalms. (53 occurrences of the English word “joy” in the NIV, 20 in the NKJV)

Some of my favorite “joys” are in Psalm 98, three of them! The song begins with one reason for joy, “Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.”

After expressing the first reason for joy, the psalmist shows how we are to express that joy, “Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music … shout for joy before the LORD, the King.”

He even invites the sea, the rivers and the mountains to “clap their hands” and “sing together for joy.”

But it’s the end of the song that really speaks to me when the psalmist gives his final reason for joy. “Let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.”

 Our LORD, the KING, is coming. And that is the greatest of all reasons for joy. He’s coming to judge the earth and the peoples with righteousness and justice. While that may frighten some who have rejected his salvation and are living outside the marvelous things He has done for us, it brings abundant joy to those who have willingly submitted to His LORD-ship now.

Amen, even so, come quickly KING Jesus.

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