“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
Rejoice!
It’s a protest against everything that is coming against you. It’s an act of defiance against everything that makes you want to give up. It breaks the chains.
Rejoice!
It’s an offensive attack against the darkness. It shines a light that cuts through. It overcomes. It is an effective weapon.
Rejoice!
It’s a choice. Succumb to seductive thoughts of discouragement or decide to look beyond yourself and praise.
Rejoice!
It’s the outworking of a heart that trusts. We can rejoice because we know He is good, that despite the circumstances, He is faithful.
Rejoice!
It’s an act of faith when you are waiting for the breakthrough, as you wait for the feelings and the blessings to come. It’s a posture of expected victory.
Rejoice!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The risk of searching and the joy of finding
And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' Luke 15:5-6
Jesus was often accused by the religious of hanging around with the wrong kind of people. One time when He was challenged He shared three similar stories, they all involved loss and they all involved joy.
In the first story a shepherd leaves 99 sheep to search for one. In the second story a woman searches desperately to find one of ten coins. And in the third story a son walks away from his father. In each case the loss is personal, Jesus again made it clear that He preferred to focus on the lost sheep rather than those that thought they had it all together.
Each story ends with joy. The sheep and the coin are found, and the son returns. Those that had lost something become full of joy and it spreads as they invite others to rejoice with them.
Leaving 99 sheep to search for one is a risk. Waiting hopefully for a lost son puts your heart at risk. Jesus identified Himself and His own intentions as He described the shepherd, the woman, and the father. The challenge for us is whether we will cut our losses or risk our heart, time or reputation for others who are lost.
Sounds like a risky and uncomfortable life. Especially for a guy who’d rather go barefoot than look for socks. Imagine always having that look like you’ve lost something. But there’s hope – all three stories ended with a party.
It helps me to remember that I was lost. I have been lost in anger, loneliness, bitterness, self-pity and sin. Without Jesus I would be lost.
What risk are you willing to take?
Jesus was often accused by the religious of hanging around with the wrong kind of people. One time when He was challenged He shared three similar stories, they all involved loss and they all involved joy.
In the first story a shepherd leaves 99 sheep to search for one. In the second story a woman searches desperately to find one of ten coins. And in the third story a son walks away from his father. In each case the loss is personal, Jesus again made it clear that He preferred to focus on the lost sheep rather than those that thought they had it all together.
Each story ends with joy. The sheep and the coin are found, and the son returns. Those that had lost something become full of joy and it spreads as they invite others to rejoice with them.
Leaving 99 sheep to search for one is a risk. Waiting hopefully for a lost son puts your heart at risk. Jesus identified Himself and His own intentions as He described the shepherd, the woman, and the father. The challenge for us is whether we will cut our losses or risk our heart, time or reputation for others who are lost.
Sounds like a risky and uncomfortable life. Especially for a guy who’d rather go barefoot than look for socks. Imagine always having that look like you’ve lost something. But there’s hope – all three stories ended with a party.
It helps me to remember that I was lost. I have been lost in anger, loneliness, bitterness, self-pity and sin. Without Jesus I would be lost.
What risk are you willing to take?
Saturday, October 23, 2010
A Father's Desire
I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11
My little one, Simeon, is now six months old and has had a nasty cough for the last two weeks. At times he has become quite uncomfortable as he struggles through a cough, but I have been impressed that at almost any other point he can manage a huge smile.
In fact, I remember such times with all my kids, as babies, where they would smile through sickness, and I would be impressed and glad. I have noticed though that this changes a little as they get older, becoming more likely to be frustrated and impatient with sickness (like I am).
The ability to smile through pain and discomfort is quite a mature character trait. It takes the ability to see beyond that temporary circumstance. It takes the capacity to see beyond yourself. It takes the faith to believe in someone beyond yourself. As we start to doubt, as we grow in knowledge and experience it can become more difficult to simply believe – and smile.
Just as I desire for my kids to have joy, God the Father wants our joy to be complete. That kind of joy, mature and complete, is beyond temporary happiness. It comes from knowing and trusting in Him. And that kind of faith produces joy.
My son’s simple trust in his parents means that he can express joy even when he’s feeling unwell. God’s faithfulness and love are the reasons that we can smile through difficult times.
God is blessed and impressed by when you have smiled through the hard times. When was the last time you did that? Remember and imagine God smiling back.
My little one, Simeon, is now six months old and has had a nasty cough for the last two weeks. At times he has become quite uncomfortable as he struggles through a cough, but I have been impressed that at almost any other point he can manage a huge smile.
In fact, I remember such times with all my kids, as babies, where they would smile through sickness, and I would be impressed and glad. I have noticed though that this changes a little as they get older, becoming more likely to be frustrated and impatient with sickness (like I am).
The ability to smile through pain and discomfort is quite a mature character trait. It takes the ability to see beyond that temporary circumstance. It takes the capacity to see beyond yourself. It takes the faith to believe in someone beyond yourself. As we start to doubt, as we grow in knowledge and experience it can become more difficult to simply believe – and smile.
Just as I desire for my kids to have joy, God the Father wants our joy to be complete. That kind of joy, mature and complete, is beyond temporary happiness. It comes from knowing and trusting in Him. And that kind of faith produces joy.
My son’s simple trust in his parents means that he can express joy even when he’s feeling unwell. God’s faithfulness and love are the reasons that we can smile through difficult times.
God is blessed and impressed by when you have smiled through the hard times. When was the last time you did that? Remember and imagine God smiling back.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Looking to laugh
“A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.” Proverbs 17:22
Life gives us many opportunities to stir up joy or to sink into despair. Every day we make choices to reinforce the negative or we can look to laugh.
A few evenings ago I needed to hit the supermarket quickly to get some necessary items. One of my speed-shopping strategies is to leave the trolley at the end of an aisle to go and grab a few things. Problem was when I returned I took someone else’s trolley and didn’t realise till I was at least fifty metres away. It could have been very embarrassing. Thankfully the owner, who I found looking aimlessly around the deli section thought it was amusing too.
On another busy day I may have added that to a list of things to be annoyed about. I’m glad I chose to laugh. Life often gives us opportunities to laugh.
Why not look to laugh? What could you do today to laugh more?
Decide to see things the funny way. Be ready to laugh at yourself.
Don’t keep the funny stuff to yourself. Share it with others and spread the joy. My wife loves it when I come home from work and remember all the funny things I said that day (ok, maybe she’s laughing at me).
Choose well. We often choose a comedy because we know it will give us a laugh. You can choose to spend time with funny, light-hearted people.
Don’t take life too seriously. Stir up some laughter in yourself. If there’s an opportunity to make a joke – go for it! It doesn’t matter if it’s lame (truly, I’m a dad – I know this!). Make fun – just don’t make fun of others.
I hope you have a few extra laughs today.
Here’s a link to the funniest thing I’ve seen for a while:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKMkiypIPvc
What makes you laugh?
Life gives us many opportunities to stir up joy or to sink into despair. Every day we make choices to reinforce the negative or we can look to laugh.
A few evenings ago I needed to hit the supermarket quickly to get some necessary items. One of my speed-shopping strategies is to leave the trolley at the end of an aisle to go and grab a few things. Problem was when I returned I took someone else’s trolley and didn’t realise till I was at least fifty metres away. It could have been very embarrassing. Thankfully the owner, who I found looking aimlessly around the deli section thought it was amusing too.
On another busy day I may have added that to a list of things to be annoyed about. I’m glad I chose to laugh. Life often gives us opportunities to laugh.
Why not look to laugh? What could you do today to laugh more?
Decide to see things the funny way. Be ready to laugh at yourself.
Don’t keep the funny stuff to yourself. Share it with others and spread the joy. My wife loves it when I come home from work and remember all the funny things I said that day (ok, maybe she’s laughing at me).
Choose well. We often choose a comedy because we know it will give us a laugh. You can choose to spend time with funny, light-hearted people.
Don’t take life too seriously. Stir up some laughter in yourself. If there’s an opportunity to make a joke – go for it! It doesn’t matter if it’s lame (truly, I’m a dad – I know this!). Make fun – just don’t make fun of others.
I hope you have a few extra laughs today.
Here’s a link to the funniest thing I’ve seen for a while:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKMkiypIPvc
What makes you laugh?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Share the joy
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully”. Romans 12:6-8
There is a park around the block from our house that we enjoy taking the kids to. It’s just a simple park like any of the other well-used, slightly vandalised municipal parks in our suburb. But there is something different about it. A couple who live across from the park have added some love to it, and I think some joy too.
Every part of the park is surrounded by flowerbeds. Around the council’s mundane bushes and park benches colour springs out. The flowers and their routine feeding also attract many birds to the park. I once saw them whistle and a whole flock of rainbow lorikeets came to have a feed.
Today, as I spent time with my daughter at the park I started to really appreciate the work that they have put into the park. They have done something which they are good at, and I presume that they enjoy, and added something to the place. They are using their gift to beautify their world and bless others.
What can you do to share the joy?
Are you good at making music, encouraging others with your words, or baking? Do you excel at making jokes and making others smile? Do you love to give to others or help people?
How can you use your gifts to stir up joy around you?
There is a park around the block from our house that we enjoy taking the kids to. It’s just a simple park like any of the other well-used, slightly vandalised municipal parks in our suburb. But there is something different about it. A couple who live across from the park have added some love to it, and I think some joy too.
Every part of the park is surrounded by flowerbeds. Around the council’s mundane bushes and park benches colour springs out. The flowers and their routine feeding also attract many birds to the park. I once saw them whistle and a whole flock of rainbow lorikeets came to have a feed.
Today, as I spent time with my daughter at the park I started to really appreciate the work that they have put into the park. They have done something which they are good at, and I presume that they enjoy, and added something to the place. They are using their gift to beautify their world and bless others.
What can you do to share the joy?
Are you good at making music, encouraging others with your words, or baking? Do you excel at making jokes and making others smile? Do you love to give to others or help people?
How can you use your gifts to stir up joy around you?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Living Sent
“The seventy-two returned with joy…” Luke 10:17
In what must have been quite a favourable season for the message of Jesus, seventy-two men sent out by Jesus returned full of joy. We don’t actually get a full report of what the seventy-two got up to (we just get Jesus’ instructions and feedback) but I can imagine and relate to why they may have been joyful. Some of my most exciting experiences in life have been when I have been “sent.”
They went out in obedience to Jesus and the purpose that He challenged them with. There’s nothing like knowing that you’re doing what you should be, something of significance. Jesus told them to travel lightly and to follow favour. He told them not to take it personally when people rejected His message. They came back having enjoyed the spiritual authority that came with using Jesus’ Name.
Just as the Father sent Jesus into the world, so He sent out His followers. I have always enjoyed a sense of clarity, challenge and fulfilment when I have felt that sense of being sent out, entrusted to bring Him to others. Inside an established church we can easily become distracted by petty issues and offences, we are loaded up with the tools and resources but they remain largely unused.
My faith makes more sense when the difference between the church and the world is obvious. I know what it’s like to be surrounded by a population of millions who have no idea what Jesus has done for them. It can be overwhelming, but at the same time the call becomes more clear, God’s Word, with issues of salvation, persecution, multiplication, just makes more sense in that context.
CT Studd, famous cricketer and missionary, put it this way, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
This is not so much a matter of geography or demographics but it is a matter of perspective. Anyone who has put their hand up to Christ’s Commission has this opportunity to live on the cutting edge of His Kingdom.
The very first thing Jesus said as He sent the seventy-two out was, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Luke 10:2).
Are you ready to get working? Would you like to have the joy, the satisfaction and the challenge of living ‘sent’?
In what must have been quite a favourable season for the message of Jesus, seventy-two men sent out by Jesus returned full of joy. We don’t actually get a full report of what the seventy-two got up to (we just get Jesus’ instructions and feedback) but I can imagine and relate to why they may have been joyful. Some of my most exciting experiences in life have been when I have been “sent.”
They went out in obedience to Jesus and the purpose that He challenged them with. There’s nothing like knowing that you’re doing what you should be, something of significance. Jesus told them to travel lightly and to follow favour. He told them not to take it personally when people rejected His message. They came back having enjoyed the spiritual authority that came with using Jesus’ Name.
Just as the Father sent Jesus into the world, so He sent out His followers. I have always enjoyed a sense of clarity, challenge and fulfilment when I have felt that sense of being sent out, entrusted to bring Him to others. Inside an established church we can easily become distracted by petty issues and offences, we are loaded up with the tools and resources but they remain largely unused.
My faith makes more sense when the difference between the church and the world is obvious. I know what it’s like to be surrounded by a population of millions who have no idea what Jesus has done for them. It can be overwhelming, but at the same time the call becomes more clear, God’s Word, with issues of salvation, persecution, multiplication, just makes more sense in that context.
CT Studd, famous cricketer and missionary, put it this way, “Some want to live within the sound of church or chapel bell; I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of hell.”
This is not so much a matter of geography or demographics but it is a matter of perspective. Anyone who has put their hand up to Christ’s Commission has this opportunity to live on the cutting edge of His Kingdom.
The very first thing Jesus said as He sent the seventy-two out was, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” (Luke 10:2).
Are you ready to get working? Would you like to have the joy, the satisfaction and the challenge of living ‘sent’?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)