Joy

Man praying alone in a church.

For Our Father

By / 3 minutes of reading / , , ,

A Messianic Prophecy

I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. 

Isaiah 42:6 NLT

Looking back from the New Testament to the Old Testament, we find in Isaiah 42:6 that Jesus is not only the mediator of this covenant1 but is, Himself, the covenant. Jesus made the covenant through His Spirit and the Flesh. 

The “servant of the Lord” is to be in Himself not only the mediator of the covenant but the covenant, the meeting-point between God and man, just as He is the “peace” as well as the peacemaker (Ephesians 2:14). 

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

Jesus affirmed this covenant in the Lord’s Supper.

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 

Luke 22:19–20 ESV

The “Yes” and “Amen”

Jesus told us that “in that day,” the time of the new covenant2 in which we now live, we are to use His name when we ask God our Father to change times and circumstances. In the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He brought about a confluence of events. Events that were prophecied about Him across millennia. They were fulfilled by Jesus because He is the “yes” and “amen3.”

Good News

So, the next time you get alone in your prayer closet4 and pray to the Father, remember to ask in the name of Jesus. Do this to respect God our Father’s sacrifice of His only begotten Son. Do this to respect the sweat of blood from Jesus when He faced His final decision to obey His Father. Do this to acknowledge the torture, punishment, and death so many prophets endured for thousands of years to proclaim God’s messages that helped to validate Jesus as the Messiah. Do this because you participate in His command to “do this” in remembrance of His death “which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins5. Do this because Jesus commanded you to pray this way6. Do this to receive from God the joy of your salvation7.

Prayer

God our Father, I pray that you will open our hearts to receive Your will concerning how we pray. Help us to please you with our prayers. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

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  1. Jeremiah 31:31. Bible Hub. ↩︎
  2. John 16:23 Bible Hub. ↩︎
  3. 2 Corinthians 1:20 Bible Hub. ↩︎
  4. Matthew 6:5–6 ESV Biblegateway. ↩︎
  5. Matthew 26:26–28 Biblegateway. ↩︎
  6. John 14:13 Bible Hub. ↩︎
  7. John 16:24 Bible Hub. ↩︎
Family, Baby, Crawling image.

For Joy!

By / 4 minutes of reading / , ,

The Commands of Christ – A Book of Joy

From time-to-time, beginning with this post, I will be sharing excerpts from my next book.

GWM

Love God and People

I was drinking a cup of coffee and writing a devotional a while back when I read this verse: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments1.” So, I stopped to think about what Jesus said. The first thought I had was the reply Jesus gave to the “lawyer”:

“And he [Jesus] answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Luke 10:27 ESV

I thought I was “good to go,” but I again stopped and lingered on what Jesus meant by keeping His commands. I remembered that two of the ordinances (special commands) Jesus gave His Church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper-Communion-Eucherist. That’s two specific commands. Hmm.

Jesus Also Gave Us Specific Commands

When we study the New Testament, we find nine of the ten commandments carried over from the Old to the New; nine, not ten. The only commandment not included in Jesus’ New Covenant is the command to observe the Sabbath day2. Concerning the Sabbath, we find:

“So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.”

Colossians 2:16 NLT

So, in Jesus’ reply to the lawyer’s question, He told him (and us) what is needed to show love for Him. But why should we study the many specific commands that Jesus gave if we can fulfill all the commands by loving God and People?

It’s Like a Car

Allow me to use a car as a metaphor. Think back to the time you received or purchased your first car. I’m sure a parent or friend told you, “Be sure to take care of it!” “Take care of it” is the command you received, and it’s true. But how do you take care of it?

Is keeping it clean enough? Is changing its oil regularly enough? Well, the answer is no. You must do many things to fulfill the command “take care of it.” Replacing worn tires, worn breaks, old batteries, and so forth.” The same is true in Christ’s commands to love God and your neighbor. To help us, Jesus told us the specific commands we need to fulfill the two greatest commands.

Christ’s Commands Give Us Joy

“When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy.“

John 15:10–11 NLT

If you are a Christian, you are seated with Jesus in the heavenly realms3. You, too, can bear your cross4 for the full joy that awaits you in your heavenly home. It is God’s good pleasure for us, His children, to enjoy our new life in Him. “In this world, we will have trouble5,” but in Christ, we have peace and His joy. Because the New Testament overflows with good things – joy, peace, love, and so forth. I have written this book to help us to gain more of God’s joy. This book is not about making new laws for us; it certainly is not about burdening our lives more than the “light burden6” Jesus gives each of us.

The Commands of Christ were given for the lost to be saved and the saved to be full of joy7. In these commands, we learn how to break free from worldly lives and prepare to live eternally in the kingdom of God. We are on this adventure because Jesus said that if we love Him, we will obey His commands8.

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[1]: John 14:15
[2]: Are the Ten Commandments repeated in the New Testament? | GotQuestions.org
[3]: Ephesians 2:6
[4]: Matthew 16:24–26 ESV
[5]: John 16:33
[6]: Matthew 11:28–30 NIV
[7]: Romans 15:13 ESV
[8]: John 14:15

Fireworks New Year's Day New Year's Eve

The Wonder of New

By / 2 minutes of reading / , ,

My wife and I had a wonderful gathering at our home the day after Christmas. We had relatives, children, and grandchildren packed into our small house; it was wonderful.

While my sister and brother-in-law conversed about things that I mostly understood, my adult kids spoke some strange language that didn’t seem to be English, and my grandkids, well, their hugs, communicated much more than their talk about games and some Australian cartoon called Bluey.

During the height of the evening’s conversations, the din swept me into a corner of my heart that seldom surfaces in my consciousness. I saw with my heart the wonder of “new” woven by the mixed conversations among the old, the young, and the ‘littles.’ I could see love creating a new, warm tapestry of joy that blanketed all of us. Eventually, as din declined, the tapestry evaporated, but the joy remained, tucked away in each of our hearts.

How staggering it must have been for Mary, the mother of Jesus, when “The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.‘ (Luke 1:35)”

Out of the newness of Christ’s virgin birth, a new thing was done. Jesus, the baby, was born, and He is holy and is called the Son of God, and He is the way to the newness of life for us (Romans 6:4).

God seems to love “new”. One of the last promises He gave us in the Scriptures is that someday, He will make a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21:1). So, as we prepare to face this new year of 2023 – New Year’s Eve is my oldest son’s favorite holiday- let’s receive God’s joy of “new.” We don’t know what is in store for us, but we do know that God’s will shall prevail.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

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Creche

Let Us Celebrate Cristes Maesse

By / 2 minutes of reading / , ,

The word for Christmas in Old English is Cristes Maesse, the Mass of Christ. This phrase was first found in a manuscript written in 1038 AD. A word closer to our word, Christmas, is Cristes-messe, found in an 1131 AD manuscript. In Dutch, the word Christmas is Kerstmis; in Latin, it is Dies Natalis, and from Latin comes the French Noël. In Italian, Christmas is Il natale, and in German, Christmas is Weihnachtsfest which means sacred vigil. 

Controversies 🙁

The celebration of the birth of Jesus has a long and messy past. The first evidence of the feast came from Egypt in 200 AD. Egypt played a vital role during the early Church. Still, there has never been any agreement on the year or day of the birth of Jesus. Christmas has also long been a controversial celebration. In England, Christmas was banned by an Act of Parliament in 1644. People were forced to fast, and shops were ordered to be open1.

Nevertheless, regardless of edicts and theological proclamations, Christians have felt in our souls that we should join together around the birth of Jesus, independent of denominational differences. All of us should thank God for begetting His One and Only Son. So, let us do so. Let us set aside all malice or contempt and corporately humble ourselves, worshiping God and celebrating Jesus for being the pilgrim that made the only way of salvation, for we are all sinners saved by grace.

Rejoice!

This coming Sunday is the day we jointly celebrate the birth of God’s Beloved Son, born in a manger. Let us rejoice in God’s prophecy of Jesus in Isaiah 9:6 (ESV): “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Merry Christmas!

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[1] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03724b.htm

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The Joy of a Good Heart

By / 3 minutes of reading / , ,

10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Psalms 147:10-11

We all know this, but it’s refreshing and encouraging to read in God’s word that He judges us by our hearts and not our physical attributes. Social media platforms and video streaming sites all treat us as people that are “inadequate and uneducated.” We don’t know the secret that they want to share with us. From hair to high-rise condos, these influencers tell us to trust them; they can tell us how to improve our lives. They focus on trying to fix our outward appearance – our bodies, cars, condos, we need them so we can have power like them. But those are deceiving messages.

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

What has actual value is our hearts. In our hearts, God finds our love for Him and our determination to walk on the path of righteousness. Maybe this doesn’t happen to you, but there are times when I’m in a store or on vacation, and I know I have an encouraging word for a stranger, but by the time I think of what I should say, the moment is passed, and then I think of it! I was so close, but I missed the opportunity.

I’ve come to think of these missed opportunities as drawing water from the well of my heart. If I have not replenished my heart, it takes longer to drop my bucket down to the water level and then bring it back up – it takes too long. But if my heart is overflowing with my love for God and trust in His word, then I can quickly retrieve God’s message and pass it along to that stranger.

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

So, God doesn’t consider our physical strength (the legs of man) or what we possess (the strength of the horse). Instead, God looks into our hearts to see upon what our wisdom is built, what is the source of strength, and upon what moral ground we have built our lives. Living for Jesus keeps our hearts overflowing with steadfast hope. Be joyful and let your trust in God be like that of the Psalmist who wrote:

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Psalms 20:7

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The Beam of Light

By / 3 minutes of reading / , ,

“Though you have not seen him [Jesus], 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 

A Sunbeam in a Dark Room

Have you ever noticed how a sunbeam shining past a window curtain dominates a dark room? It usually happens when you are trying to “sleep in.” You’ve got a day off from work and no commitments, so you intend to revel in the ambrosia of sleep without demands. But, then, the sun finds a gap in the only window which sunlight can creep through and glare straight into your eyes.

No matter how you try, you can’t find a way to position your body away from that beam of light. Finally, you look straight into the beam, and when you do, you see the beauty of the day; blue sky, puffy clouds, and the sun dominate your view, filling you with awe and wonder at the beauty you see.

C.S. Lewis wrote a similar but exceedingly better analogy about a beam of light shining through a crack in a wall of an old garage. He made a valuable observation. We can either be the person that contemplates the shaft of light or be the person in the beam of light, immersed in the light and enjoying God.

Marinade in the Holy Spirit

Lewis called observing the beam Contemplation and immersion in the beam Enjoyment. For Christians, we need Contemplation – reading God’s Word, listening to a good sermon, listening to an edifying Christian podcast. Contemplation teaches us the tools we need to be effective in the Body of Christ and often leads us into the beam; into the presence of God.

Nevertheless, acquiring spiritual tools is not an end in itself. The purpose of tools is to use them, so that’s where we need to spend the majority of our time. We need to “marinade” in the Holy Spirit, having the Holy Spirit on us, in us, around us, and shining out of us; being in the Light of God is Enjoyment. That is where we need to spend most of our time – in the beam!

Westminster Shorter Catechism has this Q&A:

Q: What is the chief end of man? 1
A: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Living in the Beam

There is a considerable difference between seeing the beam and being in it. Before salvation, all we could do was see the beam. We could contemplate it. We’d see the beam, occasionally, in someone. We might contemplate the beam on Easter and Christmas and at funerals. The saved and the unsaved can contemplate the beam, but only a child of God can enter the beam. Contemplation is vital, but Enjoyment is where we should live.

Photo by Kaique Rocha, https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-brown-leaf-290617/, accessed on July 2, 2022

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1: Heidelberg Catechism, accessed on July 2, 2022

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Release from Old Memories 

By / 2 minutes of reading / , ,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”  

2 Corinthians 5:17

Perhaps it’s just me, but sometimes, I have flashbacks from my past, memories of things I’ve done that were selfish, socially clumsy, or countless other mistakes I’ve made. These memories only last long enough to send me down mental rabbit trails that are spiritually unfruitful. For a long time, I fought against them, seeing them as a spiritual attack. But recently the Holy Spirit showed me how to deal with them. 

I discovered these flashbacks are a two-fold blessing from God. First, the first time an old memory attacks me, I take it to Jesus. If it was a sin, then I confess it and ask Christ for forgiveness. Then I thank God for His mercy and grace that permeates this memory. Mercy, from my Father, is enough to provide a way for me to be forgiven and grace for His great love to extinguish the power of that flashback. Once it’s dealt with, it no longer has power over me. I am free indeed from that memory’s condemnation. 

The second blessing is that, from God’s grace, each flashback shows me my growth in Jesus. That old memory is not the event itself but only its imprint in our minds. It is not the wave but the imprint of the wave on the sand.  

By God’s mercy, His forgiveness drains the power of old memories. Old memories provide me with “one time” to confess and ask for forgiveness; after that, I simply enjoy my new nature. By God’s grace, I see my growth as a follower of Jesus.

These flashbacks become blessings instead of condemnations through God’s mercy and grace. That’s just how good God is to me. His mercy and grace are equally available to you. Let’s all advance with God instead of wasting His grace by putting ourselves under condemnation.

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Archaeological stone

We Believe

By / 2 minutes of reading / ,

From the Jerusalem Post article titled, “Archaeologists Identify City Gate from the time of King David” by ZACHARY KEYSER included this statement: Even though the “House of David” inscription has confirmed the essential historicity of King David from the Bible, scholars have reached little consensus about the nature and extent of his rule.

As believers, we have committed our lives and our eternities to Jesus. We believe the Bible is the Word of God. We believe Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Yet, as intelligent, socially adept people, we are expected by society to doubt God’s Word and to separate what we believe from how we make decisions and how we act.

We must guard our minds while we stay engaged in the places where God has planted us. Proverbs 18:15 (ESV) reads, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” It’s not God’s will for us to disengage with the world. If we did that there would be no reason for us to remain “in the world.” However, it is God’s will that we do not deny Him. Also, we are not to be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we are to be obedient to God’s will.

So guard your minds but be at peace and be joyful for God, Himself, lives in us. As Psalm 16:11 (ESV) states, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” 

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God’s will for you

By / 4 minutes of reading / , ,
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Many years ago I quit a job where I was vice president. It was a good-sized company of a couple of hundred people, and I did and still do respect to people there. However, during my whole tenure there, I never could get the peace of God in my work. In truth, I was there due to the wrong decision I made, and I knew it.

Finally, I resigned with no employment prospects in site. We ended up having to sell our nice, two-story, four bedrooms, two bath house and rent a mobile home in the backyard of my in-laws. Oh, and in the process, my wife and I found she was pregnant with twins. It was a very challenging time for me.

Actually, it worked out quite well for the family since my mother-in-law’s help with the twins was just a few steps away. One of my sons helped Grandpa roof his garage, and the kids had a great time with cousins and family. I, on the other hand, was not doing so well.

I felt I had failed my employer, failed my employees, failed my family, failed God. And, during this time I couldn’t get hired by anyone. I was even turned down as a Fuller Brush salesman and a telemarketer, really. Nothing I tried worked, except prayer. I began spending hours in prayer each day.

The passage of Scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV), “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” was something I believed and practiced but it was also a struggle. God was tearing down the faith I had in my skills and the person I thought I was. To rebuild me he had to tear my house down to the foundation. Thankfully, Jesus was (and is) my foundation.

God rebuilt me, piece by piece; some I’ve seen and many I just know. God has blessed me beyond anything I could ask or think, but it took a painful refurbishing, one well after I’d received Jesus as my Lord.

I can affirm that I always attempt (key word is attempt) make my first response to any circumstance one of rejoicing, praying, and thanking Jesus to whom I belong. Whether in poverty or prosperity (Philippians 4:10-13) I know I can be content, That’s real peace.

However, during my whole tenure there, I never could get the peace of God in my work. In truth, I was there due to the wrong decision I made, and I knew it.

Finally, I resigned with no employment prospects in site. We ended up having to sell our nice, two-story, four bedrooms, two bath house and rent a mobile home in the backyard of my in-laws. Oh, and in the process, my wife and I found she was pregnant with twines. It was a very challenging time for me.

Actually, it worked out quite well for the family since my mother-in-law’s help with the twins was just a few steps away. One of my sons helped Grandpa roof his garage, and the kids had a great time with cousins and family. I, on the other hand, was not doing so well.

I felt I had failed my employer, failed my employees, failed my family, failed God. And, during this time I couldn’t get hired by anyone. I was even turned down as a Fuller Brush salesman and a telemarketer, really. Nothing I tried worked, except prayer. I began spending hours in prayer each day.

The passage of Scripture 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV), “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” was something I believed and practiced but it was also a struggle. God was tearing down the faith I had in my skills and the person I thought I was. To rebuild me he had to tear my house down to the foundation. Thankfully, Jesus was (and is) my foundation.

God rebuilt me, piece by piece; some I’ve seen and many I just know. God has blessed me beyond anything I could ask or think, but it took a painful refurbishing, one well after I’d received Jesus as my Lord.

I can affirm that I always attempt (key word is attempt) make my first response to any circumstance one of rejoicing, praying, and thanking Jesus to whom I belong. Whether in poverty or prosperity (Philippians 4:10-13) I know I can be content, That’s real peace.

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