10/20 - Rejoice!

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4:4). Today is an encouragement for us to do just that. I know we can get bogged down with the pressures of life but this verse doesn't seem to offer us any exemption in these times. It says to rejoice always. The ability to rejoice requires a little faith & a little trust in God.

There are certain people who, if I loan something of value to, I can be confident that I'll receive my stuff back. Then there are those other ones. Though they say things like "I'll get it to you next week," I have little confidence in it actually happening. I may even have to check up on them every once in a while just to make sure they don't forget because I'm concerned that they won't keep their word. When we worry about all the stuff in our life, aren't we treating God like I treat these people? We're worried He won't keep His word so we stress out trying to do it on our own.

God has made promises like Philippians 4:4 and here in John 14:27, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." So what does it say about us when we worry? Francis Chan described worry and stress this way:

Worry implies that we don't quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of whats happening in our lives.

Stress says the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

One of the things that Christians ought to be wary of is justifying our stress. We can fool ourselves into thinking that our anxieties are OK because they're ministry related. Again, God's promises make no provision for "how important" the issue we stress about are. If we believe 1 Corinthians 10:13, "...God is faithful; he will not tempt you beyond what you can bear" - then our only adequate response is to trust Him and carry on with life, rejoicing.

9/12 - 1 Thessalonians 5, Part 2

Short post today. Just wanted to admonish you as Paul did the Thessalonians in this chapter,

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

There's a reason we need to be told these seemingly obvious things - they're not easy. Many mornings (this morning) I struggle to rejoice in spite of what I go through and offer a meaningful prayer. Sometimes I allow my mind to wander and lose focus.

I won't be discouraged & will continue to pray even though its hard to do at times. When I say hard to do, I suppose I should say its hard to want to pray. My flesh desires so many of life's other distractions over quiet time with the Lord. Man, that was even tough to admit just now...

Anyway, if anyone else feels this way let's pray for each other. If i'm alone, then just pray for me! I don't believe it will always be like this because I'm confident in the word of God to change me, that a greater desire for Him will develop in me and that this growth process will draw me nearer to Him. Verse 18 even says its the will of God for us to do these things.

Let's stay in prayer for each other. God bless u all