Bible Studies, Friends and Fellowship
I need to give myself a bit of a break today, so I'm just going to share with you what I chatted with the Lord about yesterday concerning this. It was right after I had posted the study and I had to go to an appointment so I took that opportunity to chat with Him on the drive over there.
I was concerned that I wasn't getting across what He wanted me to and I told Him that I felt it was really extra hard for us to understand His Word about certain things, especially for those of us living in America, but others who live in modern countries as well. I've talked to Him about this quite a few times at length, so this wasn't anything new except that this time I wanted to try and get the concept across to others and not just myself.
I have pointed out to him various passages to make my point:
Romans 7:25 Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
2 Thessalonians 3:6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
1 Peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
Matthew 27:11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.
Matthew 18:32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.
Luke 17:9-10 Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”
2 Corinthians 6:4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;
Matthew 20:27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
Here and now, we honestly don't have any real concept of slavery, or masters, or Kings, or dictators etc. At least I don't. Oh I know what the words mean; I know history and what various kings, dictators slaves, servants, and masters have done, both good and bad, but I have no emotional knowledge of what it means to live under a King (a real King, not like the Queen of England is now) or to be a Master, or to be a slave. I think the closest we come to it is when we're children and we have to live (hopefully) by the rules our parents make until we're old enough to move out. I've tried to imagine what it would be like for someone (a Master or a King etc) to give me an order and expect me to obey it--something I didn't want to do; and I honestly can't wrap my mind around it. I think things like, "well, I'd run away, I'd hide, I'd say no" etc. Even knowing from all my reading that would most likely warrant a beating or worse. See, I have the head knowledge, but I don't have the heart knowledge. I can't imagine living with that kind of fear on a daily, hourly basis. Knowing that some other human being had my life in their hands and could quite literally, within the law, do whatever he or she pleased with me.
Just like now, as
So what has this got to do with the study about the cross we are to carry or anything else for that matter? It has to do with it because God, Jesus, is our King. He is our Lord and our Master. (or He should be) We are His slaves, His servants. He is a kind and loving Master and has even gone so far as to say He no longer calls us servants, but friends. We have a tendency to stop reading right there though. Read the rest of what He says then:
John 15:15-17 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.
Are you seeing what I see? Yes, He loves us; yes, He has called us His friends; BUT He still commands us, and He still tells us what He expects from us and does so in no uncertain terms. He doesn't say, "you're now my friend and my father will give you whatever you ask for". He says "Then" meaning when we are bearing fruit that will last. That isn't a request, it's a command, which He makes even clearer with His last statement, where He says "this is my command".
We have a tendency to think of Him on the same level as perhaps the President of the USA, only of course we know He has more power, but we're not afraid of Him at all! He holds our very lives in His hands--every breath we take is by His Grace and His Will. Yet humans mock Him, disdain Him, even totally disregard Him. Why? Because we have no fear of Him. The fact that He holds our lives in His hands isn't REAL to us! I tend to think that at least part of the reason it's not real is because we have no real emotional understanding of the things we just talked about.
So now let's bring this back to the topic of the study:
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
Matthew 10:38 and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Luke 14:27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
I did a quick search in the Bible for the phrase "fear the Lord" and came up with 82 hits in 81 verses in the ESV Bible. (I used that one as it generally gives the most accurate information when looking for specific words) The KJV gave 75 hits in 74 verses. Then I tried the phrase "fear God" and got 34 hits in 34 verses.
Here's a couple of examples:
1 Peter 2:17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
Revelation 14:7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
Luke 12:4-5 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.
Acts 9:31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
2 Corinthians 5:11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience.
This verse from 2 Corinthians is often translated "terror of the Lord".
Today I will just be answering some questions about this subject.
I understand to put God number 1 in my life but will I be judged over not giving up my Job ? I am confused here! Are you trying to say that I have to pay a penalty when I get to heaven for the things that I do in the world that I should give up, when its apart of survival?
Let me answer the second question first. We need to realize first of all that there are two different groups of people that we're talking about. Mainly when I write, I'm talking to people who are really saved and not to those who aren't. Unfortunately though there are a great many people who call themselves Christian and really don't have a clue what it means to be a Christian. I do write for them as well at times because I'm concerned that they discover the Truth and get themselves really saved.
For you personally, you are saved and you know it. Therefore your sins are all covered by Jesus and you will not be judged for any of your sins. Continuing to work at your job is not a sin. The only ways I can imagine it being a sin would be if the Lord specifically told you that He did not want you to work there, or if by working there you were having to act in a way that was not consistent with your faith.
Acts 5:29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!
The above verses show us first that God expects us all to work. Now, before I get blasted by stay at home mom's, let me assure you that staying at home and caring for children and your husband is indeed work! I know, I did it too! God also tells us though that no matter who tells us to do or say something that if it contradicts God's Will for us then we are to obey Him and not the person who gave us the contradictory order regardless of who they are or what position they hold in society or in our lives.
for the things that I do in the world that I should give up, when its apart of survival?
First of all the Lord would not ask you to give up something that you need for survival as you say. Yes, He does ask some of us to give up a job at our place of employment sometimes. He may ask it because the place isn't good for us for some reason, or because He wants us to be someplace else, or for any number or reasons; but when He asks (commands) us to give up our job or leave a place of employment, it is not going to affect our survival. Why? Because He will make sure that we have whatever we need to survive--be it another job, or perhaps even being our provision financially Himself, or whatever. He loves us and His plans for us are good, so why would He ask you to do something that would ultimately hurt you? The trick is that when He does ask us to do something that we think is "bad", like giving up our job, we have to trust Him. We have to know that He will take care of us if we obey Him.
This is probably one of the hardest lessons I had to learn personally when I got hurt and became disabled. I loved my job! I wanted to work! I was horrified when the doctors insisted that I couldn't work any longer. In fact I even accused some of being in on some kind of scam with the insurance companies or something because I just "knew" that I could still work. Guess what? They were right and I was wrong. I begged and pleaded with God to let me work, and He simply kept saying "No". I applied for jobs anyway disobeying Him. Of course I used the excuse that "maybe I wasn't hearing Him correctly" or some drivel like that. I even got one finally. The man hired me on the spot. In that instant, I knew that I had to choose who/what I was going to follow. Would I do what "I wanted", or would I obey the Lord and not take the job? I had to obey the Lord. I felt totally humiliated but I admitted my sin to the gentleman who had just hired me and asked his forgiveness explaining that the Lord had said that I was not to work any more. Amazingly he understood and forgave me and I went back home.
There I confessed to the Lord and repented of my sin. I told Him how terribly scared I was because we needed money. He explained through His Word that I needed to trust Him, because He would be our provision. He reminded me that our pay checks and our jobs, our insurance, all those kinds of things, were not where our provision was really coming from. Instead we had to know that ultimately it came from Him and that the flow wouldn't stop just because my pay check wasn't going to be there anymore.
I didn't really understand, but I did know that I could trust Him. Since that day He has taken care of us just as He said He would. This year has been a reminder to me of that lesson because my husband got laid off work at the end of January and still hasn't found a job. Yet the Lord is still providing for us, and I know He always will. Again, I don't have a clue how He does it, just that whatever He does works and that's enough for me.
So after all that, are you holding on to something the Lord has asked you to give up because you think you need it for survival or did you somehow think that the Lord wanted everyone to give up their jobs for Him?
As far as getting penalties go, no there's no penalties, unless you would consider not getting a reward a penalty. Our sins are paid for so the only "judgment" we have coming is one where we will receive rewards for our work for Him. So if you didn't do something He asked you to do, then you wouldn't get the reward for it is all.
How are we supposed to know what our cross is? Should it be known to us? Is it a single thing or multiple things?
Luke 14:27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
I think maybe it would be helpful here to understand what the disciples understood when Jesus said to them that they had to pick up their cross daily or they couldn't be his disciples. Remember, He said this to them before His own execution so they didn't know at the time that He would be crucified.
It was understood in those days when the Roman Empire had people carry their crosses to the execution site, that it was done as a way of making the person admit that the Roman Empire was correct and right to sentence them to death. It was their way of publicly showing that Rome was right and they were wrong. Now, obviously Jesus was not saying that his disciples had to confess that Rome was right and they were wrong. Instead, He included the "and follow me" to show that they were to make a public admittance that He is right; that He is the way the truth and the life.
A cross in those days meant death period. People did not generally survive that experience. For Jesus to say to them to pick up their cross it meant that following Him could be very dangerous to their health for one thing. It also was a public display so Jesus was saying that they needed to be willing to let the world know who was first in their lives. It was a public admission and acknowledgment that you would follow Jesus wherever He led you, even to death if it was His Will.
For us, carrying our cross means daily identifying ourselves with Him, with all He did for us, and a total surrender to His Will for us. It means always remembering that we are not our own, we belong to Christ because He bought us with the precious price of His blood, His life, and because of that we totally submit to His authority and Lordship over our lives. We don't do what we want each day. We do what He wants. Our cross is giving up our lives and living only for Him.
We do often use the expression of carrying our cross and by that are usually referring to something specific the Lord has asked of us and usually that thing is perceived by the world to be "bad".
For example, you could say that one of my crosses to bear is living with chronic pain. Most people would agree that this isn't pleasant and they're right it's not. However, for those of us who do bear this cross, (or any other one) there is much joy in it too and I have to say that the joy far outweighs the physical pain.
So does that mean that all bad things in our lives are our crosses to bear. No, not really. Bad things happen all the time because of sin in the world and they're just that, bad things. A cross however is something specifically happening for or due to the Lord or our faith.
I think that one of the crosses we bear is the one of knowing just how vile we are and what the Lord had to go through for us. It's when we learn there is much more to "sin" then simply not breaking the 10 commandments. As we become more intimately involved with the Lord personally, as we get to know Him better, we see ourselves more clearly and it's usually not a very pleasant experience. When you read all the things Paul wrote, you can clearly see his experience of this.
1 Corinthians 15:9-10 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
and
1 Timothy 1:13-17 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Sometimes our cross can be our pride; pride in ourselves, our accomplishments, our knowledge, or even our pride in our Christian walk. It could be knowing that people are making fun of you for your faith or even lying about you. It might be having to give up getting or doing something that you really want because the Lord has said "no". It might be moving away from a home that you thought would always be yours because the Lord has told you to go elsewhere. The cross or crosses we bear can be multiple or single and we can know what they are. Obviously, if we are not in constant communion with Him, always talking to Him and listening to Him, then we won't even know when He has said "no" to something because we haven't asked. If we haven't asked, then how can we be living for Him? If anyone isn't aware of what their cross is, they need only to ask the Lord and He will explain it much better then I ever could.
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
Colossians 1:9-11 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
Ephesians 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
I hope I answered your questions Brad. If I misunderstood please feel free to let me know and I'll give it another try!
God promises you a cross.
Luke 14:26-35 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’ “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Matthew 10:37-39 “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
As we see here, the Lord is telling us that we can have nothing and no one in our lives that is more important then He is. He must be first, all the time, everywhere. He must be more important to us then our comfortable homes, then our health, then our families, and more important then our jobs, money, or status. Anything less then that, and we are not His disciples. This is part of the cross we must carry here at times. We must be willing to give up everything for Him. This was not at all what the people were expecting Jesus to say, and it’s not normally what people today expect either. Many people would have you believe the total opposite—that you should follow Jesus so that you can be healthy and wealthy. Unfortunately that is not what Jesus said.
No, Jesus is not calling all of us to live lives of poverty, nor is He calling all of us to die horrible deaths like He did and like many of the early followers did. He is telling us though that we will have a cross to bear and that life will not be easy for us. We will be judged and found wanting by the world, but we will be building up treasure in heaven. Nowhere do I find in the Bible that we should attempt to avoid our cross.
What this unpopular teaching of our Lord was saying is that things won’t be easy for those who follow Him and that they should seriously consider the cost of being His follower before jumping in. Sadly this is something most churches don’t bother telling people about. Instead they allow people to think that life is going to be a picnic after they accept Christ when in reality they’re signing up to be a soldier in a war. Many churches insinuate that all a person needs to do is to accept Christ and that is the extent of their “duty”. That doesn’t sound anything like what the Lord says here or elsewhere does it? No, the Lord tells us that:
· we must be willing to serve Him before all others;
· we must be willing to put His interests above our own;
· we must be willing to put His plans above our own;
· we must be willing to plan and sacrifice;
· we must be willing to persevere even during hardship;
Obviously the only way someone could be willing to do these things for the Lord is if they truly love Him and truly realize that He is their only hope for a future, and because they realize how totally incapable they are of helping themselves. These are the ones that tearfully get on their knees and ask our Lord to save them. These are the ones who become Christians, ready and willing to joyfully do whatever He asks, realizing how very much He has already done for them. This is you and me.
This is our duty, our part; and we do it by reading our bibles, studying His Word and reflecting on it daily and of course through daily prayer and obedience to His Word. Have you noticed that I always try to include the words “study and reflect” whenever I say we need to read our bibles daily? I do that because to often people will quickly read a chapter and feel like they’ve done their duty for the day. That’s not what the Lord is looking for. He wants us to immerse ourselves in His Word, to really get to know it and through it, to know Him. So dutifully doing a quick reading of a few verses or a chapter, closing your bible and not thinking about what it said for the rest of the day is not what He’s looking for. However, I don’t want to get caught up in quantity either. It’s not as important how much you read as it is important that what you read stays with you—that you reflect on it during the day.
Before we close for today, I want to share one other thing with you. Although Jesus asks us to realize the cost of being His follower and asks that we be willing to pay it, He tells us too that He will help us do our part. He doesn’t expect us to do it in our own strength, but rather expects us to allow Him to help us.
Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1 Timothy 1:12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service.
For those who read these devotionals, I thought I should let you know a little about me. My name is Cindy. I am 53 years old, married, mother of 5 adult children and 9 grandchildren. I first learned about the Lord as a child, although my parents were not Christians. Although I took my children to church every Sunday, it took until I was 40 before I was finally saved. I couldn’t get enough of the Lord from that point on and read my Bible and prayed for His enlightenment daily.
Four years later I was hurt at work and became disabled. Since I was unable to do anything at all physically except lay on the couch, my husband would turn on our stereo before he left for work. It was programmed to play 60 praise and worship CD’s, and that is what I listened to day after day. The only thing I was capable of doing was reading and praying, so I spent the 8 hours a day while my husband was gone, reading my bible, studying it and praying. I grew more in those months then I had ever grown before! It was amazing!
As I healed physically, to where I could sit up and move around some, I felt the Lord wanted me to start a web site. He told me that the name was to be Fresh-Hope, but I didn’t like that name and argued against it. Guess what? He won! So I began the ministry the Lord gave me, opening Fresh-Hope.com on March 11, 2003.
If you would like to know more about Fresh-Hope, you can read about that here:
I wanted to share my heart with you
I still spend about 5 hours a day reading, studying and reflecting on God’s Word. Each week, after talking to the Lord, I pick a subject and then each day write a devotional about that subject. For example, if the subject is about how God has set us apart, The title might be God promises to set you apart, and each day that week I write something new about it.
I call these devotionals, mainly because I’m not sure what else to call them. Mainly I’m just writing what the Lord has shown me about the subject and sharing it with you all. I do try and keep it fairly short for your sakes. I realize that I have a tendency to get very long winded and could usually write 10 times as much about a subject as I wind up posting. For me, condensing things is the hardest part, because I so thoroughly enjoy digging in God’s Word, searching it with His help to discover what He has to say, that I hate to leave out a single step or a single word of the journey. I have to count heavily on Him to keep myself focused so that I don’t get too long winded. I realize that most of you don’t have the time to read and study that I do, so my goal is to share what I’ve learned and hopefully whet your appetite so that you’ll want to go check out what He says for yourself as well.
I would ask one thing of you. Please, never take anything I say as “gospel truth”. God’s Word is the only thing you can and should trust to always be right, not me, not your pastor, not your church. I can promise you that I will always do my very best to never teach anything that is not exactly what God’s Word says, but being human, I can make mistakes. So I ask that you always check what I say with God’s Word. If at anytime you feel that I have made a mistake, please don’t hesitate to come to Fresh Hope and let me know about it. I will most eagerly check what you tell me against God’s Word and if I am mistaken, I will admit it and post a correction as quickly as possible.
Let us then study together to present our approved, as those who correctly handle the Word of Truth, searching it daily to see what the Lord would say to us.
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.
This weeks promise. God promises to fill you with joy
Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
1 Thessalonians 1:6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.
1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
When we are born again, we are filled with God’s joy for He has just poured out His love into our hearts. I know for me that it felt so overwhelming that I wasn’t sure I could contain it all! Different people experience this differently and at different times. Again, although we usually consider this joy an emotion, it’s really much more then that. It’s an attribute of God and a fruit of the spirit that is given us by Him for our encouragement and to strengthen us. Once saved, we tend to crave more of God, like we can’t get enough of Him. This is also from the Lord. He uses this joy to cause this craving so that we will open that Bible and learn more of Him! He uses this to draw us closer to Himself so that we can grow in our faith, becoming mature and not lacking anything. However, being human, we tend to grow closer to Him during adversity. We often forget all about one of our strongest weapons during these hard times, which is God’s love and joy. Instead we tend to wallow in what’s going on in our lives. Let’s try today to remember that the Lord has not left us alone to face the world and our trials in it. He is right here with us, both standing beside us strengthening us and dwelling within us, always ready to fill us with His joy and love! All we need to do is to focus on Him instead of on ourselves, our circumstances and the world. Let the Lord fill you with His joy today, and we will praise Him together!
John 14:18-20 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.
Come and join us on Fresh-Hope.com!
This weeks promise. God promises to fill you with joy!
1 Peter 1:3-6 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
1 Corinthians 2:9 However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”—
Does your heart swell within you when you read these verses? I know mine does! In the passage above, toward the end where it says “In this you greatly rejoice”, the Lord is telling us again all that we have that others don’t and it should fill us with joy. We have Salvation right here and right now; which means also that we are shielded from the worst by God’s power, and we have a future inheritance that is so fantastic that it is impossible for us to even begin to imagine it! Not only do we have this fantastic inheritance guaranteed each one of us, but it will not be a fleeting one that is here today and gone tomorrow. Our inheritances will last throughout eternity! He tells us to remember this when we’re going through difficult times so that we will be encouraged. Remembering this will bring our focus right back to where it should be—on God!
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.
This weeks promise. God promises to fill you with joy!
John 17:13 "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
Remember how I suggested on Sunday that I think He is letting us partake in a small measure of the joy He feels because we have come home to Him? This verse is what makes me think that. Jesus was praying when He said this...talking to our Father. We are His joy! In return, as well as saving us, He gives us a measure of this joy! Isn't that wonderful? It's hard to imagine someone loving us that much. It's amazing, and I often find myself wondering how he could possibly love me at all, much less with a love and joy so deep that I can barely understand it. The Lord then showed me another verse which shows again how much He loves us and again shows that He is filled with joy over our salvation and desires to share that joy with us:
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, He will rejoice over you with singing!
Can you imagine a God who loves you so much that He rejoices over you with singing? That's what our God does! The next time you're feeling alone or unwanted, remember this verse which shows how very precious you are to the Lord of all creation!
I wanted to share some other verses with you that also show that our Joy in Christ comes from Him and is a result of our salvation and our blessed hope. Our blessed hope is when our salvation will be complete, because at that point we will have our new bodies and be with Him forever. The following verses show that the completion of our salvation brings joy to our Lord and that He also can’t wait for that day!
Psalm 132:16 I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints will ever sing for joy.
Isaiah 35:10 and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.
Isaiah 55:12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Just as the Lord gives us salvation here and now but will complete it at the rapture when we are given our new bodies, so He also gives us His joy now and will complete that too when He comes for us. What a marvelous and wonderful God we have that cares for us so very much!
This weeks promise. God promises to fill you with joy!
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
I’d like to revisit this verse today. People often miss the true meaning of joy because they always see joy as some over flowing happiness. Joy is much more than just happiness, it is something that caused Jesus to walk to the cross and endure the shame and the suffering that came with that cross. God wants to teach us a joy that can sustain you through the worst trials and sufferings that we could go through. A joy that isn't measured by how happy we are but how deeply moved and in love with God we are. The bottom line of the joy we have is in the understanding of God's love. It isn’t just an emotion but a quality that is given to us by God Himself and is derived from Him.
Isaiah 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
The above verse is of course speaking of Jesus and shows that it is He that gives us this joy. All through both the Old and New Testaments, believers are shown experiencing this joy of the Lord. The following verse not only shows this but also explains why the person has this joy:
Acts 16:34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.
So we know that this joy the Lord gives us is only given to true believers. Others might be able to fake it for a time, but they will never truly experience it because they don’t have the experience of Jesus living within them. The psalmist then explains that it is Jesus, who is the Path of Life and His presence in us that gives us Joy and eventually eternal pleasures with Him in heaven. How can we not be filled with joy when we have His presence living within us??? Unfortunately that happens when our focus is no longer on Him, but is instead on ourselves or our circumstances. The good news is that it is quite easy to fix! We simply have to keep our eyes on Jesus!
Psalm 16:11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
This weeks promise: God promises to fill you with joy!
1 Thessalonians 1:6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit,
This verse shows us that we can and often do feel this joy even when we're enduring much affliction. How can this be? As seems to be often in the case of God, He turns the world upside down on us! The joy He sends us actually helps us to endure hard times better then we could without it. His Joy is our secret weapon! How can the enemy possibly win when we're filled with that Holy Joy? He can't! God wins every time!
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23. gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Note that this joy is also part of the fruit of the Spirit. The more centered and focused on the Lord we are, the more we will experience this Joy. These fruits, including joy, are things we should strive to have more of in our lives. Be aware that we can't make them happen. Only God can do that in us. When I say we should strive for more of them, I mean only that we should strive to be ever closer to the Lord. Then in turn we will experience more of this joy and the other fruits.
This weeks promise: God promises to fill you with joy!
Romans 14:17-18 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
You see the joy God gives us is not based on our physical circumstances. They have nothing to do with it. Our joy comes directly from the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Our joy comes from the fact that we've been saved and the realization that God loves us. Do you remember the first time you were filled with this joy? For many it occurs the day of their salvation. What a wonderful experience! It's just a taste of what we'll experience in heaven with Him!
This joy is something non believers see in us and they wonder what it is that makes us so happy. This is especially true when our circumstances don't warrent the joy they see in our eyes. This joy can be a great witnessing tool because of that. It's unlike a human joyful feeling...it's deeper and more meaningful...almost personal. It's very hard to explain isn't it?
Acts 2:46-47 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Zechariah 2:10 “Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,” declares the Lord.
The reason I bring all this up is because this is why many are not experiencing the joy of the Lord. They have relagated the Lord to a specific corner of their lives rather then making Him the head of all of it. Instead of hanging out with fellow believers, they’re just as content to hang out with unbelievers, even though they should have nothing in common with them anymore. So instead of growing spiritually and being renewed daily with fresh joy, they are just ploding along life’s path wondering what’s wrong. Often they will look into the heresy of the false teachers and prophets because they know they are missing something and hope that will fill the hole. Sadly for them, it only fills them with Satan’s lies and leads them further from the Truth they so badly need: God’s word, rightly divided.
The bottom line is that these verses show us two things: that the Lord fills us with the joy of the Holy Spirit and that in order to keep that joy, we must stay in tune with the Holy Spirit. We stay in tune with Him by always remembering our first love, Jesus and what He did for us. Secondly that we keep in mind our blessed hope, that He will be back soon!
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.
This weeks promise: God promises to fill you with joy!
Acts 13:52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
This is something that many people just don't understand. A believer is filled with JOY no matter what their circumstances at the time are. I have often felt that I was so full of joy that I was going to burst! It's God's gift to us. I think He is letting us partake in a small measure of the joy He feels because we have come home to Him.
So what if you're not feeling this joy? Does that mean you're not saved? No, it means that you're going through a dry spell most likely. There are "seasons" in this joy simply because we're human and dealing with our flesh. It can come over you at the most unexpected times and places. Often it does if we are thinking about the Lord or some aspect of Him and then the Holy Spirit just fills us up all over again. When it does dissipate and even seem to leave at times, it is our flesh getting in the way.
Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
God doesn't take the joy away. This joy is always available but we must be focused on Him and not on ourselves to feel it. If you aren’t feeling this joy, all you need to do is focus on Jesus as the above verse says. Focus on Him and what He’s done for you personally. Usually when we’re not feeling this joy it’s because we’ve allowed ourselves to get all wrapped up in our every day circumstances, or all the things that we see as “going wrong” or being “bad”, that need to be fixed so we can be “happy”. What we’re doing is not only focusing on the negative, but we are focusing on ourselves rather then on our Savior. Shift your focus back to Him, to all that He’s done for you; starting with your salvation and the joy comes rushing right back in.
So enjoy this special gift to you from the Lord.
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| Proverbs 27:1 “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved. |
| 1 Peter 1:3 “Praise to God for a Living Hope] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved. |
God promises you will hear His voice!
2 Kings 19:14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15. Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord,.........20. Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel: `That which you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.'
Here we have an example of the lengths God will go to to speak to us and make sure we hear Him. Hezekiah did the right thing in going to the Lord and taking his problems to Him. For whatever reason though, he didn't think the Lord would speak directly to him, so the Lord spoke to Isaiah and told Isaiah to give Hezekiah His answer.
God still does this today as well. He will often use other people who are more accustomed to His voice to get an answer to someone who is just not believing that He will speak to them. Or perhaps they have heard His voice but doubt that it was Him and need the confirmation.
One thing is certain though, God prefers to speak to us directly. He wants to deepen His relationship with you and converse with you. That's really what it's all about. That’s what God is telling us from the Old Testament through the New Testament. God already knows what you want, and what you need. He doesn't "need" to hear from you... He WANTS to!
Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
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| Proverbs 29:25 “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved. |
| Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved. |
| Philippians 1:9-10 “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved. |
| John 3:20-21“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” Brought to you by BibleGateway.com. Copyright (C) . All Rights Reserved. |
God promises you will hear His voice!
Exodus 19:9 And the Lord said to Moses, "Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.'' So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord. .......
Exodus 20:19 Then they said to Moses, "You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.''
Please take the time to read Exodus chapters 19 and 20 so you can get the full picture of what happened here...it's so much like us! Here God tells Moses that He will speak to the people personally, and it scares them to death!!! They don't want any part of this! God has been trying since the very beginning to have a personal relationship with each of us. He doesn't want to go through priests, pastors or prophets. He wants to talk to you. Read how it was in the garden:
Genesis 3:8-10 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Although this talks about after Adam sinned you can see by this that it was God's habit to walk in the garden and talk with them. They were very comfortable with each other. This is how God planned it to be. He has always wanted a personal relationship with each one of us. Since the fall however, the very idea of it seems to terrify people. Only through the Holy Spirit dwelling in us are we able to overcome the fear and have this relationship now.
Unfortunately society and "science" have also taught us not to trust this. Anything to do with God is brought into question. People become afraid that if they "hear a voice" or feel a leading in their heart that they are being psychotic or something. Nothing could be further from the truth. We have to remember though that Satan loves to mimic God so some of those "psychotic" episodes some people have may even stem from that. It's how Satan twists our relationship with God. He brings fear into the picture.
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear
The Holy Spirit dwelling within us combats Satan's deceptions with love. For God IS perfect love and in Him can be no fear! So take some time today to tell your Father that you want to have an even closer relationship with Him as He intended. Then be ready for an awesome adventure!
God promises you will hear His voice!
John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
Notice that in this verse there is no mincing of words. Jesus Himself is saying this and He says that we hear His voice. He doesn't say maybe, or if, or but, or that we'll try to, or that we'll work at it. He says we WILL! It is His Will that you hear Him. Nothing can get in the way of that. However, Satan will try to convince you that you're nuts, or that it's just your imagination, etc and ruin things for you. Satan loves to make us doubt our God. So the next time this happens, take authority over Satan, which Jesus gave you, and don't allow him to take this wonderful experience away from you!
Now for the million dollar question! Does God speak aloud to us? Yes, He can and sometimes does, but usually He simply speaks to our hearts.
John 5:25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.
This verse is speaking of how He speaks to our hearts. Before we were saved, we were all dead in sin. It was through hearing Him in our hearts that we came to salvation. Our Father called to us and our hearts, spirits and souls answered Him and we were saved. This verse, like many, has more then one meaning and is also referring to the power of God who will literally raise the dead with His voice at the rapture, but for the purpose of our study, we’re going to be concentrating on it’s first meaning.
The Lord will often speak this way to us. He often also speaks to us through His Word, the Bible. This is yet another reason it's so very important to read our Bibles daily and get to know them well. Some Christians only read the New Testament, but if you do that, you're missing out on so much that is truly wonderful. You're missing out on many, many things the Lord could be speaking to you about. If the Lord hadn’t intended us to read the entire bible, then He wouldn’t have given it all to us. When the Bereans were praised for searching the scriptures to determine the truth about Jesus, they weren’t searching the New Testament, they were searching the Old Testament. So please, take my advice and read the entire Bible. You'll be very glad you did!
Now as we get to know Him, He will speak to us more and more, especially if we invite Him to do so. He loves to speak to us and rejoices when we take the time to actually listen to Him! So take some time today. Find a quiet place and have a little talk with Him. Only this time, allow it to be a two way conversation! Enjoy!
