Acts 16:23-24

BECOMING A POWERFUL PRAYER WARRIOR- LIVING IN THE JOY OF THE LORD (ACTS 16:25-26)

8:30 PM

 

In today’s verses we find Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns of praise while they were in prison, and what is most amazing is what the previous verse describe:

“23 After striking them many times [with the rods], they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to guard them securely. 24 He, having received such a [strict] command, threw them into the inner prison (dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks [in an agonizing position].” (16:23-24)

Can you imagine how terribly hurt they were? And in spite of this, they: “were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;” (16:25). They had the strength to praise God!  (Nehemiah 8:10) They had joy in their hearts and they wanted everyone else to know!! There was a Godly purpose for their suffering and all the circumstances they faced. (You can read the rest of the chapter)

Let me ask you: when you have been in a painful situation, “imprisoned” in distress and difficulties, did you immediately praise God for this? Did you feel there was a Godly purpose in all this? I believe this is very difficult for us to do. Only through the Power of His Holy Spirit this can be done. On our own strength this is humanly impossible!

Joy is an attribute of the Fruit of the Holy Spirit, and it is available to each one of us, but we must ask in prayer for this to be a continual reality in us!

“16 But I say, walk habitually in the [Holy] Spirit [seek Him and be responsive to His guidance]…” (Galatians 5:16)

“22 But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the [l]sinful nature together with its passions and appetites.

25 If we [claim to] live by the [Holy] Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit [with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage—our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit]. 26 We must not become conceited, challenging or provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:22-26)

David also experienced the joy of the Lord and encourages us following his steps:

15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship, for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord. 16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation. They exult in your righteousness. 17 You are their glorious strength. It pleases you to make us strong.
18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord, and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king. (Psalm 89:15-18 NIV)

I pray that each one of us can experience the same joy that Paul and Silas treasured in their hearts: the joy of His Salvation!  And may we be able to sing in joy for everyone to witness what He has done in our lives:

“12 I will give thanks and praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; And will glorify Your name forevermore. 13 For great is Your loving kindness and graciousness toward me;
And You have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol [from death]. (Psalm 86:12-13 AMP)

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalms 16:11 AMP, emphasis mine)

Blessings,

Mari


Ephesians 1:17-19

Jesus Christ our Song- Psalms 13

12:00 AM



Please read Psalm 13

As we read this Psalm we find in the first verse a desperate cry from David. He was going through a very difficult situation and his feelings were of despair and hopelessness! Have you been in this situation? I have… many times, to a point when I’ve cried like the Psalmist:

“Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?”  (Psalm13:1)

Of course, God did not forget David. God did not hide His face from David -or any of us- but David felt like it. When we have such strong feelings then the feelings create their own reality, which can in a way distort the truth. David felt God had forgotten him, and felt God was hiding. So, in a sense, it was true for David, but true according to what he was feeling at the moment, and not according to fact.

It is so important to remember we are not to rely on our emotions, on our feelings because:

“9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

We can't live by our feelings because of this. In this sense, it was all right for David to feel these emotions, and good to take them to God, but he should never accept the reality of feelings as a definite reality.

But we should:” 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh”. Romans 13:14

I praise our Father for His Word, for those amazing Psalms we can run to whenever we are under trials and as soon as His Word starts to sink into our souls, as the rain sinks into the dry land… then we feel renewed, and our lament turns into praise though His Holy Spirit in us! (Psalms 30:11)

“When I am weak then am I strong, Grace is my shield and Christ my Song.” (C.Spurgeon)
Yes, as we continue to focus on God then our burden seems lighter and then we can pray like David did on verse 3:

“Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,” (AMP)

“Give light (life) to my eyes”… in the NIV we also read “lighten mine eyes”. This is what Paul prayed for the Christians in Ephesus:

”... that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.(Ephesians 1:17-19)

Right after praying this way, he actually received God’s light into his spiritual eyes so he could clearly see and recognize WHO he was trusting, -right at that moment and many other times before- just as if a fog had cleared away from his eyes!

“But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness; My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.” (13:5)

Finally his hope was renewed and he recognized he could always trust in God's mercy. Yes, when we can't trust anything else, we should always trust in His abundant mercy!


“I will sing to the Lord, Because He has dealt bountifully with me.” (13:6)


With enlightened eyes, David then is able to bring to his memory “who” he is in God, and joyfully can declare God's goodness, and so can we!


Yes, let us rejoice in Him because of His unfailing Love, He IS and always has been so GOOD to us, even when we deserve nothing from Him!! To Him be the Glory and the Honor Forever!!

Mari



Ezra 6

Finding Joy {Ezra 4:1 - 6:22}

12:30 AM


April 17, 2018

Real worship can be a challenge and when we get out of sorts due to an illness or being on vacation; we realize just what gets in our way.  And as I prepared for this post, I kept returning to the foundation being laid.  The foundation was already laid and the walls were going to be built, but the enemy was working very hard at stopping the temple from going up.  

That’s exactly what the enemy does in a lot of people’s lives.  We are brought up in Christian homes and our parents teach us as much as they know about Christianity.   They lay the foundation of Christ in our lives, but it’s up to us to complete the temple in our hearts. 

What keeps us going though?  Are we primarily concerned with our obedience with the Lord?  Or do we view joy and gladness and delight in God as a primary concern? 

Did you know that the Puritans said, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and ENJOY Him forever”?  And John Piper said, “The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever.”  He also said, “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”

We need to make glorifying God our highest aim, and finding joy and satisfaction in God must be a lifelong pursuit.  It seems we fall short of the fullness of God and we fail to glorify Him as He deserves. 

In Ezra chapter 6, the work of rebuilding the Temple had stopped for 16 years due to opposition from the people in the land.  Then the prophets Haggai and Zechariah began ministering to the people until Tattenai confronted the Jews about having permission to rebuild the temple.  

How often have you begun to return to the Lord, only to be sidetracked by something?  Perhaps it’s a job or a child, or even a hobby.  And before you know it, you’ve walked away from your studies and you are abiding in the world’s affairs. 

I personally can see how I have struggled with my relationship with God throughout my lifetime.  Just like in the biblical times, there were people in my life who were full of love and obedience in the Lord, and then something or someone comes along and I was taken captive and off to Babylon I went.  But God never forgets His people.  God uses believers and non-believers to shape our lives.  And just like Lisa Moore mentioned yesterday, “God’s not looking for perfect people to accomplish His goals. In fact, He doesn’t need our help at all.  Instead He gives us the privilege of being used by Him.”

I think we can get so caught up in not believing God is happy.  It’s not that we don’t want God to be happy, it’s just that we don’t understand theology that God is always, essentially and completely happy. 

 Image result for the joy of the lord

  • Your joy rests on God’s joy.  We seem to believe that God will finally be happy when X, Y and Z all go His way.  We think God is merely happy by participation – just like us.

 But God IS happiness.  Joy is fundamental to His triune nature.  To find God is to find the fountain of all joy.  St. Augustine said, “Following after God is the desire of happiness; to reach God is happiness itself.”  We participate in joy when we reach the essence of all joy:  God Himself.

  • God really does delight in you.  When we assume that God is fundamentally angry, and simultaneously know that we are nothing special – not unique or extraordinary in our service – we cannot believe how on earth (or heaven) the God of the universe would sing over us His song of delight (Zephaniah 3:17).


Think about it – God’s song of joy over His justified children is not merely the sum of the joy we attract from Him; it’s also the multiplication of His abundant joy exponentially expressing itself out over us.  Joyful people more easily express joy, just as God delights to rejoice over His children, because He is essentially joyful.

  • The happiness of God is the strength you need.  “The joy of the Lord is your strength.”  Nehemiah 8:10.  God does not give us any joy outside of the joy He has in Himself already.  That means, God’s happiness IS our strength!


As we go through life, the pain, the trials, the triumphs, in our marriage, our children, our missions – this is where we find our strength – the essential joy of God.

When we truly put God first in all areas our lives, we discover just how joyful life truly is.