Searching for JOY - Part 5

Thursday, June 29, 2023

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart . You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News.  Philippians 1:6-7

Being assured of some things in life is a necessity.  Without a certain amount of confidence you cannot function like God intended.  What are you absolutely certain about?  Death and taxes?  Government corruption?  Long Sunday sermons? 

What really important things are you certain about?  You know, stuff that will still matter a hundred years from now.  Paul was convinced about salvation.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 8:38-39

Are you that certain of heaven?  If you are, let me remind you that heaven is a place better than any other – and it's yours!  Listen, if that doesn't produce genuine joy in your soul, your joy bone is broken!

There's a certain joy about participating together in kingdom work.  There is a camaraderie that develops when people work together.  Now, there’s no doubt that you can certainly experience cooperative spirit and a family atmosphere in your job, civic work, or helping a neighbor.  But, there is nothing better than kingdom work, sharing in God's vineyard.  The reason is that we not only participate together, we participate together in the grace of God.

This letter to the Philippians:

·       is a call to the community of faith (away from our isolation);

·       it is a call to self-denying serving (away from our selfish ways);

·       it is a call to standing for Christ-likeness and Godly living (despite today's pluralistic trends)…

·       it is a call to respect and cooperation between men and women of God, and all persons – a partnership in the gospel. 

·       and it is, thankfully, a call away from Mudville – a place of no joy, into the matchless joy of the Kingdom of God. 

And there we would find our purpose, our peace, our prayers in partnership, our persuasion, our participation in the gospel, and our joy ...real joy!

For You Today 

Let’s end our time today with a prayer:

Father, often we are so flat and joyless.  That’s so different than what Jesus told his first disciples…that he had come and shared with them so that his joy would be in them, and their joy would be complete. 

Jesus, talk to us like that; place your joy in us – fill us so that it’s bubbling-up from within, and running all over anybody we meet. 

We pray in the Name of the Father, Because of the Son, Cooperating with the Spirit…Amen!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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There are about 2,500 devotional posts and 400 sermons in the Rocky Road Devotions library.  

 

Title Image:  via Pixabay.com   Images without citation are in public domain.   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from NLT^©   

Trials Stink!

 

Wednesday, January 27, 2021

“For I am persuaded that neither life nor death, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39

Note:  our guest columnist today is our beautiful daughter, Jennifer.  She and husband Ken have three children, two grandchildren, and a lock on my heart.  As a vibrant Christian with more than a little experience facing life’s difficult side, she writes from walking with God during the trials that inhabit the Rocky Road.

Trials stink. 

It is so hard to change mindset when being hurt, or struggling financially or emotionally or relationally. 

But, trials can be a purifying fire and a cleansing water.  Although we don’t want to get burned or drown, we do want to be refined and renewed through the Lord.  God uses trials for His purpose. 

If you are struggling through all the turmoil in our country right now and the depressing nature of social media and mainstream media, be encouraged - God is with you through all these things!  He is always there in our midst, working through things. Carry it in prayer, but do not carry the burden!  Stay out of God’s way and let Him do the heavy work.  If you feel crushed, fearful, strain in your relationships, or been through any kind of personal disaster, invite the Holy Spirit into these circumstances because only God can transform them!  Our suffering will seem like nothing compared to the glory of God worked in us.  And know that nothing can separate you from the ENDURING LOVE of God![1]

For You Today

Thank you, Jen, for a great reminder that we are not designed to do it all.  God’s way is for us to join Him in the next great adventure; our job is to listen, be ready, and always give thanks. 

Even though trials do stink, some suffering in this life, even great suffering, is for a short time compared to an eternity with our Lord and His family. 

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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[1] Title Image: Courtesy of Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For other posts on Romans 8:38-39 see Afraid to Die? and The Confident Hope of All Saints      

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[1] Jennifer Brownworth Klim, Facebook.com post, January 15, 2021

 

The Confident Hope of All Saints

[i]

ALL SAINTS DAY, Tuesday, November 1, 2016

I have not stopped thanking God for you.  I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.  I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.  Ephesians 1:16-18^(NLT)

People are at all stages of development.  Some mature more quickly than others, but the process of growing up is always upon us, always confronting us with the need to grow and change.  This includes spiritual maturity as well as physical.

The apostle Paul wanted this for his children in the faith, the believers at Ephesus.  He constantly prayed that the bud of faith would blossom fully into the reality flower of a confident hope in Christ Jesus.  Most pastors I’ve known have expressed something of this concerning the church they serve; there is a desire to see spiritual growth in the people of Christ, the light of understanding switched-on to a deeper knowledge of God and His ways which turns our attention to focus wholeheartedly on serving the King.

Part of that understanding is a deep appreciation for All Saints Day, a reminder that in eternity’s calendar there is no division of days, nights and years, nor is there any true separation of fellowship; all the saints are united in Christ all the time.  It is true that for now, because of our human frailty, stuck as we are in time and space, there is a gulf between the church here on earth and the church triumphant in glory. 

But that is merely due to our poor sight; our confident hope is in the promise of God we cannot see, that, as Paul wrote to the believers at Rome:

…I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.      Romans 8:38-39^(NLT)

The reality of our confident hope is that, since nothing can separate us from Jesus Christ, we are always, at all times, whether gathered or scattered to the four corners of the earth, whether in the flesh on planet earth or absent from this body and present with the Lord…we are, all the saints, always, and everywhere, we are one; we are the body of Christ, unseparated, fully joined.

All of my grandparents, my Mom and Dad, and their siblings have passed from this life.  But because of the guarantee of the certain hope of Jesus Christ, we are still together, and one day the saints will all be gathered at our Lord’s command, never again to suffer the loss of being separated; our sight will then be perfect!

As has been often said, this is not a hope-so kind of faith – this is a confident and sure hope; we have a promise from the Lord, grounded in the power of Easter’s resurrection.

For You Today

In what or whom do you place your trust, your hope?

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

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NOTES

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[i] Title Images: By BloodIce (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

Afraid to Die?

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.  Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.       Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)

Many people say they’re not afraid of death – but they are misinformed.  Death should be feared, because death is to be separated from God for eternity.  Death isn’t just when you stop breathing, and you therefore think you don’t have the struggles and worries anymore.  Your soul and your consciousness are never going to die.  And even your body is going to be resurrected.

The Bible talks of two resurrections.  One is a resurrection to life; the other, resurrection to eternal death – separation from God.  Jesus came to buy you out of that.  He died for your sins, gave his life on the cross in your place, so that you can have an eternal life, not eternal death! 

There is only one intelligent way to not be afraid of death – and that is when you have eternal life.

When you are in the Master’s hand, you can look at death and truly not be afraid, because the hand of death can never touch you – you will never be separated from the One who loves you more than is humanly possible. 

You will be able to talk to death like 16^th century poet and priest, John Donne did in a poem[1]:

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee                                            

Mighty and dreadfull, for, thou art not so,   

For, those, whom thou think'st, thou dost overthrow,                                                     

Die not, poore death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleepe, which but thy pictures bee,

   Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,            

And soonest our best men with thee doe goe,       

   Rest of their bones, and soules deliverie.             

Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,           

    And dost with poyson, warre, and sicknesse dwell,        

    And poppie, or charmes can make us sleepe as well,    

    And better than thy stroake; why swell'st thou then;   

One short sleepe past, wee wake eternally,           

    And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.     

For the believer who truly rests it all on Christ, death holds no fear.

For You, Today…

To give your life to Christ is to celebrate the death of your death!

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[1] Divine Sonnet X