Thank You For Joy

"You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fulness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever." Psalm 16:11

"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10b

Abba Father,

Thank you for taking joy in us and giving us the gift of Your joy. It isn't something we can conjure up for ourselves. It stems from the cross, from what You have done for us through Jesus. In the midst of pain and suffering, in the midst of doubt and fear, our eyes can behold You. We can choose You because You first chose us. You are mighty to save us. You joy over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). When we choose to believe You and stand on Your promises, You fill us with joy. Praise Your Holy Name.

"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 24-25

 

Steadfast Love

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases. His mercies never end. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning." Lamentations 3:22-23

Thank You, LORD, for Your steadfast, faithful love. Your love encompasses all that you are - Your compassion, goodness, grace, mercy, forgiveness. Your holiness - Your righteousness -  demands judgment for sin. I deserve nothing less than destruction. I was a prisoner of sin. I had no choice but to do selfishly. But You, God, intervened. Jesus came. His perfect life and sacrifice broke my chains of sin and gave me a choice. Thank You for the move of Your Holy Spirit on my heart, offering me your steadfast love and forgiveness. Change me into Your unchangeableness, that others may see Jesus and know that You are real. 

"The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all, And His mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You." Psalm 145:8-10

God Is Our Banner

"And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovah-nissi." Exodus 17:15

Jehovah-nissi. The self-sustaining, ever existing God is the banner over His children. Do we realize what that means? 

In ancient times banners announced the coming of an important person. In times of battle the banner announced the identity of the combatants, who they belonged to and who they fought for.

In the Revolutionary War, dawn's first light revealed a battered and torn star spangled banner still fluttering over Fort McHenry. The onlookers saw and knew the outnumbered still prevailed against the mighty power of the oppressor.

During the Civil War major advances into battle were accompanied by the flag under which the soldiers would fight. Additionally they carried the flags of their regiments to indicate who they were and where they were from.

In World War II units continued the tradition of carrying the country's flag and their unit flag. It not only identified who was fighting, but their leader (think Patton's Third Army Tank Corps). Depending on the reputation of the leader and unit, the appearance of those flags would put fear into the hearts of the opposing forces.

When God revealed Himself to Moses and the children of Israel as "Jehovah-nissi" they were facing the fierce army of the Amalekites. It was the first recorded time when they were facing an army instead of fleeing (Pharaoh). Prior to this impending battle, God had answered their grumbling and complaining and lack of faith with the miraculous provision of food and water. Now He would show them victory in the first real physical battle of their lives. No longer were they slaves fleeing a harsh master. They could now fight and win because of Him who they served.

So it is with us as we stand under the banner of Jesus.

"He has brought me to His banquet hall, And His banner over me is love."                          Song of Solomon 2:4

Nothing can withstand the power of God's love, not even death itself. Under His banner we march from victory (though the battle may be bloody) to victory and glory unto glory.

Abba Father, thank you for unfurling the banner of Your Name over us. The children of Israel never lost a battle when they sought You first and marched forward at Your direction. Neither will we. We are Yours and the fierce power of Your reputation lifts us to victory over the enemies in our lives. You go before us and come behind us to protect our weak sides. Oh, Father, give us vision to see You in the midst of our trials. You give strength, You give rest, You give nourishment, You give power, You give protection, You give direction. You alone give the victory. Thank You.

"But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the LORD will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard." Isaiah 52:12

 

Thank God For Trials

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him." James 1:12

Trials are blessings for the Christian.

This makes no sense to those whose focus is on the here and now, namely, earthly reign. Our pride and desperation to hold on to our selves, our rights, our desires, our lives drive us to fight hard against adversity. 

This is natural. And good. God is the great preserver, and He has certainly imparted to us a strong desire to preserve life; and He blesses us with a will that fights to live. However, there is, even in our human nature, a physical and emotional life which shrinks from self-sacrifice, suffering, and surrender.  

I think what affects the glorious establishing of God's creation is the constant temptation to focus on the wrong thing. Living for this life is vital, but living now for the" life after" must be our ultimate purpose and end. 

Jesus said:

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it." Mark 8:35

"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal." John 12:25

This hard principle is revealed in all four of the gospels. But, what is Jesus talking about? It's simple if we will look to His life - before, during, and after His earthly occupation - and focus on what and who is gained. 

Did He not sacrifice Himself for love? 

Did He not give up His place in heaven knowing the hate, the ridicule, the rejection, and the utter brutality He would endure by those whom He came to love? 

Why? 

Because He was willing to lose to win.  Not only victory over sin and death, but us. Jesus has won us! We are His. Because of love. Because of mercy. Because of grace. By the power of God, He fixed His focus on His Father, His mission, and His prize. We are His prize! And He is ours! 

Isn't it obvious then, that the foundation of our glory be laid in suffering like Him? 

Trials usher in afflictions of various degrees. They aim to break us, teach us, protect us, even tempt us to forsake the One we love. Let us remember that trials, in God's economy, are meant to shape our desires, test and strengthen our faith, transform our worldview, work into us a greater weight of glory, and bless us with deeper intimacy with Grace.  

Abba Father, 
Thank You for trials. Without the trials You have prescribed for me, I would be quite ill-equipped for the call as Your disciple. Rutherford once wrote, "Grace withers without adversity and the devil is but God's master-fencer, to teach us to handle our weapons." I realize I must embrace hardship as a gateway to Your grace. Please teach me  to be humble and courageous, to give up my life to gain Jesus; just as He gave up His life to gain me. Thank You, Father, for this strange and mysterious gift. Thank You for trials that cause me to want more of Your grace, more of Your Son, and less of this world, less of myself. 
Amen. 

There Is No Other God

"I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me; That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no-one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other, The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these. 'Drip down, O heavens, from above, and let the clouds pour down righteousness; Let the earth open up and salvation bear fruit, And righteousness spring up with it.' I, the LORD, have created it....It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. I stretched out the heavens with My hands and I ordained all their host." Isaiah 45:5-8, 12

Thank You, God, for so clearly telling us there is no other God. Five times in the forty-fifth chapter of Isaiah you declare You are God and there is no other. You made this statement when you named Cyrus 200 years before he was born, when you foretold of the establishment of his reign for the sake of Jacob, Your servant, and Israel, Your chosen one. Cyrus would give permission for Your chosen ones to return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian Captivity.

You named another deliverer, Your Son, Jesus. This deliverer would not just give Your people permission to leave captivity for freedom, He would take them Himself. He handed us the ticket, His shed blood, His pure sacrifice. No other. One Holy sacrifice. One Holy God. Thank You.

"Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance." Isaiah 45:22-23