Joy In the Suffering

In the midst of these difficult days, the question of suffering is ever present in many of our minds. Each of us is enduring through this time of trial, some are even dealing with severe illness and death. The Bible actually does answer the question of why suffering exists. This morning I am continuing to study 1 Peter and in this scripture reading, is both an explanation and a command regarding our troubles.

1 Peter 1:6-9

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 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.

Wow, there is so much here.

First, it says we are to rejoice even though we are grieved by various trials. But it says “In this” we rejoice. In what? Go back to the beginning of 1 Peter and we see that “According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven.”

We should rejoice because God has saved us and given us eternal life.

Peter then tells us that if necessary, God is grieving us by various trials. We don’t all experience the exact same trials and grief, but we can trust in our God, who knows what we need to test the genuineness of our faith. Our faith, because it is results “in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” is more valuable than gold. Why? Gold, like everything else in the life, will perish. But not our salvation; it is eternal and will never pass away.

But we must admit, we have a tendency to lose sight of the eternal life to come. We get too focused on this life. Our money, our comfort, our plans and dreams, and even our loved ones, become what we focus on. Peter reminds us that we don’t see Jesus in person, like we do everything else in this life. But true faith, results in loving Jesus even when we don’t see Him. True faith gains its joy in the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls.

This is what Jesus is talking about when he said this in Luke 14:26,

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”

Jesus isn’t telling us to hate our family, that would contradict everything God calls on us to do in loving others. He is telling us that the focus and center of our entire being, must be upon Him. Then then the overflow of our love will pour out on those around us and they will be cloaked in our love.

In order for us to have joy, which supersedes happiness that is dependent on circumstance, our faith must be proven to be genuine. And in the most difficult of trials, our faith, if real, will result in rejoicing, because real faith has its hope in the eternal life, not this one.

So, take heart, brothers and sisters in Christ. God does not waste anything. This trial you are facing, no matter how painful, will prove the genuineness of your faith. And the result of that is “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ,” which is more valuable than gold.

If in this trial, you don’t have this joy, then you need to humble yourself before God and seek His face. Open up your Bible and find the promises He has to offer. Go to Him in prayer and cry out to Him.

Psalm 34:18  

The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

He wants to bring joy to your heart.

What To Do When Your Faith Is Tested

The world is in a crisis this very day. For the most part, there is nowhere one could go that the threat of sickness and even death, is not real, due to the corona virus situation. People are scared. The world has basically shut down and many people hiding out in their homes.

As a Christian, I am called to be different than the world. No, we Christians are not perfect, we still worry and get anxious, but to be Biblically truthful, we are not supposed to be afraid, nor are we to be anxious. We are all at different levels of spiritual maturity, so each of us will have our own struggles.

This begs the question, what are we to do with the current situation? What does this all mean? Why is this happening?

If you follow me on social media, you may likely know that I am one of those crazy Christians, who has the audacity to sat that this virus is a warning from God. I have always believed that the message of repentance is the correct one that ought to be preached. John the Baptist came out of the wilderness preparing the way for the coming Messiah, with this message saying “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 3:2. We see that Jesus began His public ministry with the same words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” - Matthew 4:17. The call to repent is a serious one and I find no scriptural reason that we shouldn’t believe that we ought to be still preaching the same thing. The world we live in today has for the most part moved further and further from God and is very similar to the one we read of in Genesis 6, where man had become so corrupt, that God decided He would clean out mankind and start anew with Noah. We live in a world today that appears ripe for a cleansing.

No, I don’t believe God is going to wipe out mankind at this time, but I do believe that since we live in an age of grace, since the coming of Christ, and  that because “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.- 2 Peter 3:9, I believe God is showing His mercy in bringing a warning to this lost and godless world. The message to those who reject Him is simple; “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

But we Christians, though we all have things to repent of, are not guilty of the only sin that will lead you to hell, which is the sin of unbelief. We who are Christ’s have repented of that sin and are forgiven and have received the gift of eternal life.

Then what are we to do with this crisis?

The answer is simple and is found clearly in scripture. We are to see this as a trial and a test of our faith. Look at the Book of James and it becomes easy to see what we do.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” -

James 1:2-4  

We are to count it all joy. Clearly this is a trial and James tells us that trials of various kinds test our faith. I don’t know about you, but my faith is being tested. I’ve spent the last several years purposely trying to build my faith, for I know from past experience, difficult times come. But as hard as I’ve worked at it I still struggle. I’ve committed myself to a daily time of Bible study, have attended church regularly, joined a small group where I get encouraged, I’ve prayed and prayed that the Holy Spirit would guide me to greater faith, and made it my goal to believe every word that God has written down in the scriptures. But still as my faith is tested daily, I am struggling and fighting to avoid fear, anxiety, and doubt.

James tells us though that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness. Steadfastness, if we let it have its full effect, will make us perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

These aren’t my words; these are the Words of God.  I know that because it says this in 

2 Timothy 3:16-17, All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The answer to how we count this as joy, in the midst of uncertainty, sickness, and even death, is to lay hold of the truth that God is actually using these times, this pain and sorrow, to make us more like Jesus. James said that trials make us “perfect and complete” which would certainly describe Jesus.

I know this is hard. Some of us will face different levels of testing. I don’t know why God may test your faith differently than mine. Some of us will face tests that will seem impossible to bear and unless you keep your eyes on Jesus and you live in His strength, not your own, it may be impossible. But don’t try to do this alone. Let Jesus take you through it and believe what He has told us in the Bible. Moses had a message for Israel as they prepared to cross into the promised land and his message had a promise that is also ours. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." - Deuteronomy 31:6  

The same promise is echoed in Hebrews 13:5 which says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

I don’t know what the immediate future holds for any of us. I know what the end result will be for all of us who “let steadfastness have its full effect.” We will lack nothing and will one day soon be free from this broken and corrupt world that has sin and sickness beating us down. We will live in eternal bliss with our Lord and Savior for all of eternity.

I hope this encourages you to dig deeper into God’s word and learn even more of the joy and the peace we can live in until he comes back or takes us home. If you have trouble understanding and knowing what to do next, James speaks to that as well.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. - James 1:5-6  

When your faith is weak, turn to Jesus with whatever little faith you can muster up and go to Him in prayer. Believe God. If you do, then you will be able to do as James commands us to.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” - James 1:2-4  

May God richly bless you.

The Elusiveness of Joy.

We are a rebellious people on this earth. That rebellious nature extends into the life of the Christian. Yet, we are called out of rebellion and into slavery when we come to Christ. This is not a forced slavery, but it is instead, an exercise of our free will, motivated by our love for Jesus, that calls us to become bondservants. You see this is one of the great paradoxes of scripture, that Christ has set us free, but He set us free so that we would use our freedom to become slaves to Him. Why? You can find the explanation in what Jesus says in John 14:31, “But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”

The way the world can see we love the Father and His Son, is through our response to His commands.

Jesus went on and said this in John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  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.”

Yesterday in the sermon I heard preached, the pastor made this statement, “Christians ought to be the most joyful people on earth.” Yet, many of us walk around as if the whole world is coming down upon us. Maybe it is. But joy, Christian joy, is not dependent upon circumstances.

Why aren’t we joy-filled? (I’ve read your Facebook posts people, don’t be in denial, joy isn’t characterizing us as it should.) Again, let Jesus explain.

John 15:9-11
 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  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.

Our joy will be full, when our obedience is towards His commandments. It’s that simple. Abide in His love. Let love, not this fake, phony love the world speaks of, but true Christian love, dominate your life. Abide in His love. Again, what did Jesus say? He said this, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.”

These aren’t my words; they are the words of Christ. Abide in them. Abide in Him. Now go, open your Bible and learn what this means.

 

How to Win in the Search For Joy

This morning as I was spending my time in study with God’s Word, the idea of joy was brought to light. I went to bed with feelings of heaviness and depression seeking to overwhelm me. Many of you can relate. For me, it wasn’t as if there was some terrible event lurking at my door, it was just a result of being tired and triggered by a small irritant, too minor to even mention. But life wears on a person. I know that the day to day life of work, kids, and keeping up the house, is for so many, harder than it would seem. So, the battle for the Christian to have and maintain joy, is real and difficult. And we have an enemy, the devil, always lurking around casting little grenades of tensions that will blow up our joy, if we are not careful.

The Christian life is a life of warfare. We are in a battle every day. This is why we are instructed in Ephesians 6:11 to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” One of his schemes, is to be sure we do not live with joy.

But the devil isn’t just running loose and wreaking havoc upon us unfettered. I don’t have time to fully develop the doctrine of God’s sovereignty here, every Christian needs to search and study the scriptures to gain a better grasp on this doctrine and how it applies to suffering. For me personally, it was the Book of Job that illuminated this area in my life. Understanding the doctrines of sovereignty and suffering is the key to our being able to live in joy. Since we know that without faith it is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6, faith is an imperative to the Christian walk. And since joy is different than happiness, which depends on circumstance, joy requires faith. It means that in spite of suffering and pain, we trust in God so much, that we do not turn from Him with anger and bitterness when He allows things to happen that we do not like.

When we look at the life and the death of Jesus, we find something going on that doesn’t fit with our concepts of joy. Listen to author of Hebrews as he shows us an amazing aspect of the death of Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2
 …keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

Jesus endured the cross for the joy that lay before Him. What could possibly lay before Him in the slow and painful death He would face on the cross that would bring joy? The answer is that the result of His death, would be His glorification, as He knew that He would die, be resurrected, and ascend back to the glory He left to sit down at the right hand of God’s throne.

My friends, we have the same hope for our Christian lives. As we live out this life, we will have troubles. Sorrow will come our way. Suffering of one form or another is inevitable. But as we face this life and its end, death will come. But Jesus has overcome death and just like Jesus, we will ascend to be with God. We shall dwell in the presence of the glory of Almighty God. This means we have reason to endure for the joy set before us. It means every day, whatever we face, we have reason to have joy.

Yet, here we are, struggling day to day to have joy. What must we do? The answer is in His Word.

Psalm 119:111
Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.

Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.

Step one is to read His Word. Feast on it. Devour it. It is filled with the hope of our salvation.

John 16:24
Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

Step two is to pray. Ask God in the name of Jesus to make your joy full. We are told to pray without ceasing, so pray without ceasing. Ask God to give you joy, even in the midst of pain and suffering.

Psalm 100:1-2

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!  Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Step three is to serve God and do it with singing. Your church has plenty of opportunities to serve in and the world is filled with needs. Nothing makes you forget your own troubles more than helping someone with theirs.

Philippians 2:17-18
Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all.  Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

Ephesians 5:18-19
 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.

Step four is fellowship. Go to church. Hang out with fellow Christians. Encourage and be encouraged with other believers. We need each other.

James 1:2-4
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Step five may be the hardest step. But it can be accomplished if we walk in the Spirit and we follow the other steps. Count it joy, all joy, even in the trials of life. Even in our worst pain and our darkest night, we can call it joy because we can know it is a test of our faith. God would not test our faith if we had none. Remember that you are a child of God. That is enough to make it all worth bearing.

The Bible has much more to say on joy. Seek it out by seeking out Jesus.

I leave you with one more scripture. It is our prayer for each other.

Romans 15:13
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.

God Bless!

Remebering the Ascension of Christ

We celebrate Christmas and talk of the birth of Jesus. Good Friday comes next and we remember the day He died on the cross. Easter comes, and we rightly celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, for our faith rests upon it. But we rarely speak of the ascension. Yet, it has its place in our hearts as well, for in His ascension comes the very power to live out our Christian lives. Because Christ ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to live within us. Because He ascended and sits at the right hand of the father, He intercedes for us. Because He ascended, we see that His work is complete in securing salvation to all who would receive Him, to those who believe in His name.

I finished my study this morning of the Gospel of Luke. It ends like this.

Luke 24:50-53 

And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, after worshiping Him, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising God.

They worshiped Him. They had great joy. So, they continually went to the temple to praise Him.

Shouldn't we do the same thing? Worship and praise Him with great joy, for He has come as a babe, lived a perfect, sinless life, went to the cross and paid the penalty of our imperfect, sinful lives, died and was resurrected, and then ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.

Tomorrow, I'm on to the Gospel of John. A new beginning.

John 1:1 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 126

The greatest moment in our lives is that day in which the Spirit of God comes upon us and by our faith in Christ, we become born again to new life. If you have ever witnessed a real conversion followed by that person’s baptism, the person comes out of the water with a joyful countenance that is without description. But the truth of our Christian life is that the joy of salvation does not always shine upon us. The Christians life is filled with ups and downs. Our sin nature and the sin nature of not only the world, but of our fellow saints, brings pain and sorrow into our life. Though some commentators disagree, many believe Psalm 126 is a song of joy sung after the Babylonian captivity, which was a time of discipline in the Jewish nation.

Psalm 126:1-4

 When the LORD brought back the captive ones of Zion, We were like those who dream.  Then our mouth was filled with laughter And our tongue with joyful shouting; Then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."  The LORD has done great things for us; We are glad.  Restore our captivity, O LORD, As the streams in the South.

When God has placed us in a season of discipline or we just happen to be caught up in someone else’s season, it can be heart-breaking. There will be tears. I’ve been there many times. You have as well. But God does not waste those tears.

Psalm 126:5-6
Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

The harvest of joy which will come to the Christian one day, is being watered by the tears we shed now. Some of us will reap joy in this life, but it is also possible that this life will never bring earthly joy. But to all who call Jesus Lord, whether it is when God calls us home in physical death or it is when Christ returns, there will be joy. And it will be a joy such as we have never experienced.

What do we do until God restores us? We wait on Him. We watch and pray. And we stay busy doing His work. We also sow in tears. We find our joy in Him. This requires faith. Lots of faith. And where does faith come from?

Romans 10:17-18
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.  But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.”

If we say Jesus is Lord and savior of our lives, then that is enough. Sow with tears, my friends. There is a day coming when you will see the harvest. It will be a day of joy unlike any you have ever known.

Amen. Come soon Lord Jesus.

Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 100

Ecclesiastes chapter three, tells us that there is a time for everything. In our lives, there will be seasons. We will experience highs and lows, good times and bad times. Even in the best Christian’s life, there will be sin and that sin should break our hearts. But at the end of each day, we should finish up by going to our God in prayer and confessing our sins. God’s mercies are new every morning. Thanks be to Jesus, who endured the cross, we can have full restoration with our Father, through the Son. Every day, every night, we have reason to rejoice if we are His. Psalm 100 is a reminder to us. In it we find at least three commandments, all of which are extremely important to follow.

Psalm 100:1-2

Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!  Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

First of all, we are to be joyful. And because we have His mercy and His grace, in our worship and praise must come service. Serve the Lord with gladness.

Psalm 100:3
Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Then we must know that He is our God and our Lord. We are His people; we are His sheep. He made us. If we are His, then we must submit to Him. Are we willing to submit?

Psalm 100:4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Thirdly, we are to be thankful to Him. In all things, we can be thankful, when we understand He is sovereign and everything that happens in this world, He is working out and in, to our good. See Romans 8:28 if you doubt that.

Why should we do these three things in this psalm?

Psalm 100:5
For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

The call is clear; Be joyful, be submissive, and be thankful. For the Lord is Good. His steadfast love endures forever and His faithfulness to all generations.