Rejoice always

(Phil 4:4 KJV)  Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

 One of the great dangers we face in difficult times and trials is the loss of our joy. Joy is an absolute essential part of true Christianity.  It is the thrill of knowing God, the absolute thrill of being loved by God. It is the joy of having our sins forgiven.  The joy of the Lord is the deep seated joy of having peace within, knowing all is well with God. Don’t lose your joy!  Don’t lose the joy of your salvation.  Those who lose their joy do not continue to pursue more of God or an active life with God.  It is the joy of the Lord that makes this Christian life enjoyable and satisfying.   Rejoicing is expressing that joy.  We should check our experience with God to make sure we keep the joy alive.  Let your thoughts be turned to His love, care and goodness.  Let His acceptance and assurance restore the joy of salvation.

Give me this mountain

(Josh 14:12 KJV)  Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.  (Josh 14:13 KJV)  And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.

 The setting of this verse is the time of the children of Israel finally entering into the Promised Land.  Caleb requested that he be given the mountain inhabited by giants.  Caleb was one of the two faithful spies sent into the land 40 years earlier.  He had stood when the other ten brought a fearful, faithless report.  Caleb had kept his courage and zeal throughout the 40 disappointing years in the wilderness. Caleb had kept his faith in God throughout those years. Now in his old age, he had the zeal and courage to take on the giants of the land. Notice he still had his faith in God.  He was convinced that God would help him defeat the giants.  We need courage, zeal and faith today.  We may face some giants of opposition today, yet God is still the same, still faithful and still able to help us in every situation.  Pray God restore our zeal, courage and faith.

(2 Pet 1:5 KJV)  And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;  (2 Pet 1:6 KJV)  And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;  (2 Pet 1:7 KJV)  And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. (2 Pet 1:8 KJV)  For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  Faith is the foundation, the beginning point, of true religion.  It is the foundation on which all these other graces and virtues are to be built. Faith is a believing loving trust, a confident trust in God. We need to add some things to our faith to progress, to become mature as Christians. We are to grow in knowledge, in self-control, patience, godliness, kindness and brotherly love.  We need to give attention and effort to these things. We are to give diligence, to make every effort, to be eager in our pursuit of these graces.  If we do these things, we are promised that we will be fruitful, that we will be effective examples of the power of this great salvation to change people.

Save to the uttermost

(Heb 7:25 KJV)  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Jesus is able to save to the uttermost!  Often we use the word “saved” to mean conversion, the initial act of coming to God.  But to be saved, salvation, involves the whole process from our initial conversion to our eternal life.  It is being kept all the way through to heaven, kept all the way to and in eternal life. Jesus is able to save all those who come to God by Him. He is able to preserve and keep us all the way though this life, through judgment, and into our eternal home in the new heaven and new earth.  Jesus Christ not only provided forgiveness for us, He is saving us, preserving us, keeping us.  Jesus is able to save, able to keep, able to preserve us in everything, through everything in this life. He is able to save to the uttermost!!!  No matter the battle, no matter the danger, no matter the impossibility, He is able to save to the uttermost. He is able to save, to keep, to preserve to the greatest degree possible.  He is able to save, to keep, to preserve to the most extreme limit.  There is nothing that we are facing or possibly could ever face that Jesus cannot save us from.  There is nothing that lies ahead that Jesus cannot keep us and preserve us in, through or around. He lives to make intercession for us.  He lives to plead our case.  He is able to save, to keep, to preserve from harm and danger, to the uttermost, to the greatest degree, to the most extreme limit.

God's Word

2 Pe 1:20  Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. 2Pe 1:21  For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

 The Bible, God’s Word, is GOD’S WORDS.  None of the scripture, none of the prophesies originated with the prophets, but were revealed to them by God.  The writers of the scripture were not just wise and godly men imparting their wisdom in scripture.  The writers of the scripture were wise and godly men who wrote that which the Holy Ghost gave them.  It has always been a trick of Satan to reduce God’s Word to just the writings of mere men.  God’s Word is GOD’S WORDS.  As such, it is infallible, complete and accurate.  We can depend on it.  We can trust our very souls to it.  Don’t let the wisdom of the age cause you to doubt God’s Word.  In a time when everything is shifting and changing, God’s Word remains steadfast and sure.  Depend on it.  Trust it. It is God’s Word.

Our light in the darkness

2 Sa 22:29  For thou art my lamp, O LORD: and the LORD will lighten my darkness.

 God is our lamp; He is our light for the darkness, our hope for a brighter day.  God is able to light our path, to brighten our way and give us hope for the future.  When darkness seems to settle in on us, it is the Lord who can dispel the darkness with His light of hope.  When darkness makes the way hard to see, it is the light of the Lord that shows the way forward.  If it seems darkness is creeping in, look to the Lord for light to drive away the gloom.

Restore

Mat 18:15  Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

 There are times when a fellow believer may trespass or sin against us.  If this happens, we are to go to that person alone, one on one, to point out the error.  The purpose of our going is always to resolve the problem and see that one restored.  The goal is not to just expose, to just convict, but rather, as privately as possible, to try to resolve and restore.  If we would follow this commandment of Jesus, rather than go around to everyone else soliciting support, the family of God would be much stronger.  Love demands that we work to rescue and restore our fellow believer when they stumble and fall.

Faithful in the least

Luk_16:10  He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

 Our character shows in the everyday things of life, not just the big crisis events.  Character has been described as who we are and what we do when we think no one is watching.  If we are willing to be dishonest when it is small and we think there are no consequences, then we are really dishonest in our heart.  If we can’t be depended on in the small things of life, we also can’t be depended on to be faithful in the more important things of life.  Character is built in the small decisions of everyday life, as well as the biggies.  Let’s determine to do right in everything, everywhere, all the time. 

Buy the truth

(Prov 23:23 KJV)  Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.

This passage tells us to buy the truth, obtain the truth, and then don’t let it go, hold to it.   Don’t sell it; don’t give it up for something else.  What is truth?  Truth is that which is correct, that which is right.  Truth is reality, the way things really are.  Truth is that which God has revealed to be right, to be correct. The purpose of God’s revelation of Himself was to lead us to know Him, to know about Him. It was also to instruct us how to live in harmony with God and in harmony with one another; how to live as love demands, how to live a holy life.  Hold to the truth you know.  Hold to God’s Word.  Don’t allow this world’s reasoning to cause you to give up the truth.

Near at hand

Jer 23:23  Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Jer 23:24  Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.

 God is not far away in heaven, unaware of what is going on here on earth.  God is present everywhere, all the time.  God fills all the heaven and all the earth.  God knows all and sees all, both good and bad.  As God’s child, your situation has not gone unnoticed by God, nor is He unconcerned.  He hasn’t forgotten or forsaken us.  He knows all about us and has already prepared the way ahead of us.  God also sees the evil that is committed.  Nothing is done in secret that He doesn’t know about, none can hide from God.  We can trust our future to the God who is everywhere, who sees all and who knows all.  Trust Him.

How pleasant is Thy dwelling place

Psa 84:1  How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts! Psa 84:2  My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God. ……...    Psa 84:10  For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

 How pleasant is Thy dwelling place, O Lord!  What a thrill to be where the presence of God is!  My whole being desires to be in the presence of the living God, to experience the joy and assurance of His very presence. It is better to be in His presence for just a day, than to live a thousand elsewhere.  It is better to be at the lowest servant’s place in the Lord’s house than to live large in the tent of the wicked.  How we ought to value and long for the presence of God!  How careful we should be to live in a way that invites His approval and presence!

Teach us Thy ways

Psa 119:68  Thou art good, and doest good; teach me thy statutes.

 God is good, altogether and completely good.  God is good all the time, in everything, all the time.  God is good, He is holy, He is just.  He is pure in every thought, every intention and every action.  Everything He does is good.  Everything He does is right. Everything God does is absolutely the best in every way.  Therefore, we should want to know His ways.  Our heart should desire to know His commandments so that we might do them.  We should seek to be taught His ways in order to incorporate them into our lives, so that we also may then do what is good.

For everyone that is thirsty

.   Isa 55:1  Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

 There are some possessions in this life that are beyond the reach of most of us….some very expensive cars, some mansion-like houses, that most of us can only look at and read about.  However, this verse tells us that the greatest riches of all are available to everyone.  Everyone who is thirsty may take of the water of life.  Anyone who is has a spiritual hunger may come and eat and drink of the very finest for free.  The blessing of salvation is available to all, freely available.  All that is required is a true hunger and thirst, a real desire to know God.  There is no price we must bring, just a humble and willing heart, thirsting after God and His Way.  All of us can be truly rich, truly blessed with the things that make life happy, contented and satisfying. 

Don't grow weary in well doing

(2 Th 3:13 KJV)  But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.

 One of the dangers of this Christian life is that we just get tired, weary, and want to quit.  In times of discouragement, often our greatest danger is the temptation to just quit. When we have been in a long difficulty, or been disappointed, we can begin to think that living this Christian life just isn’t worth the effort.  When it looks like those who have no regard for God are prospering and we are struggling, we are tempted to quit.  Don’t grow weary of doing what is right.  God is just and good.  In due time you will see that His way is best.  Are you tired and weary?  Hold on a little longer, continue to do what you know pleases God.  God is faithful.

God is still right on time, working His plan

(Isa 46:9 KJV)  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,  (Isa 46:10 KJV)  Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

 Our God is indescribable; there is none like Him, nothing that He can be compared to.  Only God knows all there is to know; only God knows the end from the beginning.  Only God knows everything that has happened, everything that is happening and everything that will ever happen.  For that reason, God will accomplish everything He intended to accomplish in this world.  This is our God, our Savior.  Trust Him, He is still working His plan.  

Prepared to worship

(Micah 6:6 KJV)  Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old?(Micah 6:7 KJV)  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?(Micah 6:8 KJV)  He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

       How shall we come to worship God?  What do we bring that will please Him? Our text tells us what God is looking for, what pleases Him.  First of all, it isn’t just about being religious, not just going through the form, the rituals.  It isn’t about doing some great sacrifice, not about self inflicted suffering, pain.  What the Lord requires, what it takes to make heaven our home is still pretty simple:  Our text summarizes it this way:  do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with thy God.  First of all, we are instructed to do justly, do what is right. This is the standard we are to apply to ourselves, this is how we are to judge our own life. We need to cultivate a sincere desire to know what is right and to live that way. We need to give serious attention to doing what is right in every situation, with every one, all the time.  We cannot allow those things that are wrong to continue in our life and expect to be pleasing to God.

Knocked down but not out

Psa 37:24  Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.

 Yesterday, in the previous verse, we saw that God is directing the course of our life.  However, that does not exempt us from difficulty.  “Though he fall”…..It has the idea of falling in the sense of calamity, or falling into loss, being knocked down by an event of life; trouble and adversity coming into our life.  One can have the course of their life directed by God and yet fall, or be knocked down.  The encouragement of this passage is found in this verse: Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down.  Not utterly cast down, not cast headlong, not wiped out.  Calamity is temporary in the life of one who is directed by God.  Mistakes, failures, losses don’t have to dictate our life’s course. Failure is not permanent.  Notice, we are not utterly cast down because of God’s strength:    for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. God is able to lift us back up.  The fall does not remove us from the course of life God is establishing us in.  This is a source of great confidence and strength in our life; this is a source of great joy in our life.  Press forward with confidence in the Lord.

Steps ordered by God

Psa 37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

 What a blessing to know God directs our life!  God establishes the overall course of our life.  God providentially cares for us in the course of our life.  There is a security that comes from our life being under God’s control. The control, care and supervision exercised by God over His children is called the Providence of God. The Providence of God refers to God’s wise planning – in advance.  God knows the beginning from the end.  God sees the future, nothing takes Him by surprise.  Therefore, God is able to successfully plan the course of our life. There is a confidence, a sense of safety and protection knowing that the God who looks out for us is both wise and good.  There is a joy that comes from knowing God is directing our life.  We can delight, or find joy in living our life under His direction. 

Hope

(Psa 27:13 KJV)  I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

 Hope is essential to faith and courage.  If we lose hope, our faith and courage will fail, we will faint, give up.  The foundation of our hope is our confidence that God is good and that, in time, we will experience His goodness.  No matter how difficult the situation we find our self in, we must continue to believe and trust in the goodness of God.  God’s goodness is not reserved for the life to come, we will experience His goodness in this life, in the land of the living.

His riches

(Phil 4:19 KJV)  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 Paul was thanking the church at Phillipi for remembering him and helping supply his needs. Paul was unable to repay them for their love and care, but he was confident that God wouldn’t overlook what they had done.  The promise was that “My God shall supply all your needs”. This isn’t limited to things spiritual. My God shall supply all your needs, ALL our needs. ALL our needs, all those things we are tempted to worry about. God will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. Does God have enough to get the job done?  Enough wealth, enough wisdom, enough love, enough grace? Resist the temptation to worry. Resist the temptation to focus your time and attention on the things of this world. Continue faithful, continue to trust God. My God shall supply all your needs.