“And (Jesus) said unto them (disciples), Why are you troubled? And why do thoughts arise in your hearts?”
The context of this verse is Jesus’ appearance to His disciples after his resurrection. Verse 37 tells us: “But they were terrified and afraid, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. ”The tone of verse 38 is that Jesus was aggravated with His disciples because of their fear and their doubts. “And why do thoughts arise in your hearts” is otherwise translated as: “Why do doubts arise in your hearts.” They had been with Jesus three years and heard Him say on several occasions that He would be tried, crucified and that He would rise again. With the evidence that Jesus had given them, He wanted to know why they were troubled. This is a good question for us to ask ourselves if we are troubled. It is certain that all of us are troubled at some time or other, but we need to remember that we do not need to constantly be troubled, or let our troubles make us afraid and doubtful. I want to reveal some reasons why we might be troubled, and what we can do to rise above our troubles. I do not mean to be overly negative here, for I understand that the Christian life is not always lived victoriously, but we need to be aware of things that can keep us from being overrun by our troubles. I think that we sometimes let our troubles get the best of us because we fail to believe, or remember, the promises of God. In John 14:1, Jesus said: “Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me.” That was a promise that because of our faith, we do not have to be overcome by our troubles, or wallow in them. The Bible is alive with promises that God will be with us in everything that we go through in life. Jesus took the time to tell His disciples, and through scripture, us, that He would always be with us. He promised in John’s gospel more than one time that He would send the Holy Spirit to lead and guide His followers. Jesus’ last promise to his disciples was that He would send them the Holy Spirit to empower them for witnessing to the world. The promise still holds true today. There might be some reasons that we can convince ourselves that our troubles should constantly overcome us, but biblical promises of God’s love, care and presence with us through all of the things that we face in life is a good reason not to be overcome by our troubles. I think that we sometimes let our troubles get the best of us because we fail to realize the blessings of God. If we believe in Jesus, and if we believe what we read and hear about Jesus, just knowing Him is a blessing. Having Him alive in us through the Holy Spirit, and having Him intercede for us from the right hand of the Father is a blessing. We don’t have to look far for the blessings of God. When we feel that we are not blessed, it is because we are not thinking in faith but in doubt. Like the disciples, we are troubled and doubtful because we have been overcome by some situation. Just being forgiven for our sins is a blessing from God. When we are going through troubles in our lives, we have to remember that everyone has troubles. No human being has smooth sailing every day. No human being wins all of the time, nor do they realize all of their plans and dreams. We are often troubled because we think that we are not blessed anymore. I have seen people blame God because life didn’t go like they wanted it to. They are either not Christians, or they are in a terrible backslidden condition. Our troubles should not cause us to forget the blessings of God. Why are you letting your troubles overcome your victory in Jesus? It might be that you have forgotten the promises and blessings of God. At least think about it. Bro. Joe
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“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12. I know how to be abased (have little), and I know how to abound (have a lot): everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheth me.”
The Philippian Church sent Paul a monetary gift to help with his expenses. In the passage from which the text is taken, Paul thanks them profusely for their generosity, but he wants them to know that he is not needy. Paul had learned to live in all kinds of circumstances. There were times that he had plenty, and he was content. There were times that he had very little, and he was content. The point was that Paul was never “under the circumstances,” i.e., circumstances, good or bad, did not control Paul’s life. This required great faith in the Lord, for Paul faced all kinds of difficult circumstances. After he was saved on the Damascus Road and began to preach the gospel, there were people who swore to kill him. They declared that they would not eat until Paul was dead. (They must have been awfully hungry thirty years later.) I don’t think that it would be a comfortable thought that somebody had pledged to kill me. It would take great faith on Paul’s part to go on living and witnessing in spite of the fact that someone wanted to kill him. (Put yourself in that position.) Paul faced all kinds of trials as he traveled about witnessing and ministering for Jesus. He wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9. Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” Now look at a list of circumstances that Paul encountered in his ministry: “Of the Jews five times I received forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren….” (2 Corinthians 11:24-26) There is more, but these verses should prove the point that Paul’s life and his effectiveness in what he was doing were not controlled by negative circumstances. Paul was not a super-human hero who could not be harmed by the contingencies of life. He was a flesh and blood man, who had learned to not be controlled by the circumstances of his life. You and I do not have to live “under the circumstances,” because we have the same resources at our disposal that Paul had. Philippians 4:13 gives the secret: “I can do all through Christ (Who) strengthens me.” In everything that he did, Paul knew that Jesus was with him. This meant that he had the Holy Spirit working in his life to enable him to be effective. This meant that he had faith that Jesus could take care of him in all circumstances. Paul could withstand all that he suffered because he had Jesus in his life. If we have Jesus in our lives we can also do all things in His strength, just as Paul did. I don’t know what circumstances you are facing in your life today, but I do know that you do not have to live “under them.” I know from experience that you can face whatever you have to face with poise, grace and courage, if you believe that Jesus is with you and giving you His strength. If you do not know that, give Him your life today. Confess your sins, and, by faith, invite Jesus into your life. If you do know that, give your circumstances to Jesus today, and let Him handle them for you. Bro. Joe “Now when (Jesus) had left speaking, He said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your net for a draught (catch).”
The background for this text is the occasion when, because of the crowd of people pressing Him, Jesus got into Simon Peter’s boat and began to teach the people, probably from the stern of the boat. When He had finished teaching the people, Jesus told Peter to go into deeper waters and let down his nets for a catch. Peter told Jesus that they had fished all night but had caught nothing, and then he added: “Nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net.” Peter did let down the nets, and they caught so many fish that the nets broke. As I read this, I thought: What if Peter had not let down the net? The answer, of course, is that Peter and his companions would not have caught as many fish as they did. That made me think of how we need to heed the voice of Jesus when He tells us to “let down our nets.” This means that He has a greater task for us and if we obey Him we will see great things happen. It occurs to me that some churches do not see great things happen because they do not “let down their nets” when Jesus tells them to do so. He tells them to go into deeper waters, where the “fish” are, and they decide to stay within the four walls of their church buildings and be satisfied with empty nets. The churches that do “launch out into the deep and let down their nets” see the rewards that come with it. It also occurs to me that individual Christians do not see great things happen because they do not “launch out into the deep and let down their nets.” When we refuse to obey Jesus to go deeper and “let down our nets” we miss out on a lot that Jesus has for us. Let’s think of some things that we might miss out on if we do not obey Jesus in this matter. Let’s think of the victories that we might not have because we have decided to stay right where we are spiritually. Of course, the metaphor lends itself to winning people to Jesus, but there are other results when we go deeper and cast our nets. “Going deeper” means that we are going deeper into our faith, and this comes about by much prayer and Bible reading. For example, it might be that you cannot have victory over some habit that you know is stunting your Christian growth, but you just cannot give it up. Believe me; I know how this can be. You will not have the victory that you can have if you will overcome the habit in the power of Jesus. That is just one example of what it could mean in your life if you would just cut loose, “launch out into the deep and let down your nets.” I’m sure that you can think of other areas of your life that need the powerful touch of Jesus. Like everything else, we overcome by faith in Jesus and by obedience to Him. Let’s think of the blessings that we might not experience because we have decided not to obey Jesus. When we “let down our nets” in the world by witnessing to people, we have the blessing of seeing them saved and their lives changed. We will not have such a blessing if we do not obey Jesus' command to “let down our nets.” We might also miss the blessing of deeper and more meaningful fellowship with Jesus and with our fellow Christians if we stay in the shallow waters. Think of the joy that Peter, Andrew, James and John had when their nets were full. They were blessed because they obeyed Jesus. If you want to experience the greater blessings that Jesus has for you, you need to get out of the shallow waters, go deeper with Him and “let down your nets.” There is no time like the present to do it. Bro. Joe "Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, we would see a sign from thee. 39. But He (Jesus) answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: 40. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
"If we could just see more miracles, we would believe." This was basically said by the scribes and Pharisees, and by many people today. I find myself sometimes asking God to do some miracle so people will believe. I have found, however, that miracles do not necessarily result in faith. I am certainly not against miracles. I've had some in my life and have seen them in the lives of others. I seek miracles from the Lord and pray that Jesus will be praised and thanked. Miracles are wonderful and real, but they do not necessarily make a person turn to Jesus. Besides that, what other sign, or miracle, did the scribes and Pharisees need? They had seen Jesus' miracles, and surmised that His power was from Satan. Which proves my point that miracles do not necessarily make people focus on Jesus. The problem is that, as wonderful as they are, miracles sometimes tend to call attention to themselves, not to Jesus. Jesus said that the number one sign, or miracle, would be His resurrection. The fact that Jesus defeated death, hell and the grave is what should draw us to Him. Our faith is to be in a person named Jesus, not only in what we have seen Him do. Jesus did not have to prove Himself to the scribes and Pharisees, and He does not have to prove Himself to us. The fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was raised three days later, and ascended to the Father forty days later, is really all that we need to believe. It is possible to rejoice in a miracle and miss Jesus. Our focus should be on Jesus, first, second and always. He is the source of our salvation. This is what Jesus wanted the scribes and Pharisees, as well as ourselves, to see. He is enough! We need to put our faith in Jesus, for He is the only way to the Father. Bro. Joe “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.”
Faith is a powerful force in our lives, but that power does not lie in faith as much as it does the object of faith – Jesus Christ. We are not just saved by faith; we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. We are not just sustained by faith; we are sustained by faith in Jesus Christ. We do not have faith in faith; we have faith in Jesus Christ. (I think I’ve proved my point.) With this in mind, let’s look at the power of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is by the power of faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved - that we become Christians. Ephesians 2:8 records: “For by grace through faith are you saved.” It is faith in Jesus that unlocks the door to our hearts. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that the only way that we can please God is by faith. Anything that we do for God must be done by faith. Any request that we make of God must be by faith. If we want the salvation that God offers us in Jesus, we must come to Him by faith. There is no way that we can save ourselves. It is by the power of faith in Jesus Christ that we are sustained. We are not saved by faith then kept by our own initiative, our own works. The faith that saves us is the same faith that sustains us in all of the ups and downs of life on a daily basis and keeps us going. In 1Corinthians 15:13b we are encouraged to “stand fast (firm) in the faith.” We are not told to stand fast in our “inner core,” as new-agers would put it. Without Jesus, we have no “inner core” that will sustain us in life when the going gets tough and take us to heaven when we die. “Stand fast in the faith” means to keep on believing in Jesus and to keep on trusting through all of the twists and turns of life. Faith in Jesus can keep us from life’s dark moments, but even if we have to pass through some dark moments, our faith in Christ will sustain us through them. Remember that it is not faith in faith that sustains us, but faith in Jesus Christ – period. It is by the power of faith in Jesus that that we can live for Him and do His will. In Luke 17:1-5, Jesus told His disciples to forgive anyone who trespassed against them seven times in a day if they had to. This was a difficult commandment for them, and it is a difficult commandment for us as well. I think that the disciples had the right idea though when they responded to Jesus by asking Him “to increase our faith.” They knew that this kind of forgiveness can only come by faith. This is true of obeying God in all of life. Doing God’s will is sometimes hard to do, because it might go against our pride, or it might go against what we might call common sense. It is at these times that we must remember that living the Christian life is not all about us, but it is about pleasing our Savior by living the quality of life that He would have us live. It sometimes seems that the world is designed to defeat us. It is true that the world system under the control of Satan is trying to defat us. How in the world can we overcome it? Take a look at 1John 5:4-5: “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith. 5. Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” We overcome the world by the power of the same faith that saves and sustains us. It is important for us to remember this when the master accuser, Satan, tries to convince us that we are failing in our faith. We must not succumb to the temptation to give in to discouragement and defeat. That is where Satan wants us and where he will keep us – except for faith in Jesus Christ. Exercise your faith in Christ and it will grow, and the more it grows, the better your life will be. Bro. Joe “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near. 7. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.”
We need to be careful not to take a text out of its historical context, for it might distort the meaning of the text. The text that I have printed above has a historical context, for it is a call for Israel to turn to the Lord before it is too late. But at the same time, the text has eternal significance because it can be followed successfully by anyone at any time. It is what I have called “The Way to the Lord.” Seek We are called upon to seek the Lord. We seek a lot of things in the course of our lives. Some of the things we seek are unworthy of our time and effort and some can be rewarding. In all things, however, we are to seek the Lord. At the time this text was written, Judah was going over to idol worship and doing about everything that God told them not to do. It is a call for them to stop seeking idols and seek the Lord. We do not worship idols today, per se, but we do have things that we seek instead of the Lord, and this is just as bad as what Israel was doing. We need to ask ourselves just what it is we are seeking in this life. Sometimes we can even seek things that could be worthy goals, but if they lead us away from our commitment to the Lord, they can serve as stumbling blocks in our lives. For example, we can make an idol out of education. Getting an education is an important thing and is a worthy goal for anyone, but it cannot take the place of the Lord and His will in our lives. Perhaps you need to ask yourself what it is that you are seeking in your life today. Does what you are seeking have anything to do with the Lord. He is near you wanting to lead and guide you in all of your life’s endeavors, but sometimes what we seek can lead us away from Him. This is why Isaiah admonished the Jews to “call ye upon Him while He is near.” Forsake If we discover that we are seeking the wrong things, we should forsake that way and turn to the Lord. I think that most people realize when they are getting away from the Lord, and that they know that the way they are taking is the wrong way. I can look back on my life and see where I have done that, and my life did not get straightened out until I forsook the wrong way and went the right way. It is possible that you are going through a difficult time in your life now because you are going in the wrong direction and seeking the wrong things. It is possible that there are some things that you need to forsake in order to get your life in line with the Lord. We are told to forsake two things: “his way” and “his thoughts.” We need to let the Lord have control of our thoughts, because our thoughts are the fathers of our deeds. What we think about will control what we do. Maybe there are some thoughts and ways that you need to forsake. Do it today. Return It is not enough to just forsake the wrong way; we must choose the right way. Isaiah’s admonition here is to “return unto the Lord.” This means to put our thoughts on the Lord so that He can control our ways. We will not seek what is right until we return to what is right, and it is always right to seek God’s guidance through scripture and prayer. It might even mean a return to your church, or to change your attitude about your church. Whatever it means for you, it is important that you seek the Lord, forsake the wrong way and return to the right way. God is more than willing and able to give you His great mercy and to give you His "abundant pardon." It sure beats running from God's mercy and pardon. Think about it! Bro. Joe The story of Jacob proves that God's purpose goes on, no matter how imperfect we might be. I don't mean that Jacob was a sorry person in the sense of work, but that he did some awfully deceitful things in his life. Poor old Esau got the brunt of most of it when they were young - like stealing the birthright and the blessing that went along with it. But the fact is that in spite of his shortcomings, God's purpose was realized through Jacob.
This should be good news to us. We are also not perfect. If we knew as much about each other's private lives as we know about Jacob's we would fully understand why God used Jacob. Throughout the Bible we read of imperfect people who were used of God to carry out His purpose. Moses, the murderer, is a good example. He quibbled with God about leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, before he finally succumbed to the will of God. God used Moses in a mighty way in spite of his shortcomings. We are imperfect human beings, but we serve an almighty, perfect God. We make mistakes, but He does not make mistakes. We fail at times, but God never fails. Knowing this should help us understand that God's purpose is still being carried out, no matter how bad the situation gets in our world. The world has always been in turmoil, as it is today, but God works through, over and beyond the turmoil. We fret and worry about what is going to happen between the Jews and Arabs. Good heavens, those people have been fussing for thousands of years, and the only thing that will solve that problem is the coming of Jesus. I am a history buff (notice that I did not write historian) and from what I read, God has always been in control, no matter how sorry the world situation. Read the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible promise a trouble-free world until He makes all things new in the New Jerusalem. So God will go on using imperfect people until He brings everything to an end. Let us be grateful, that as imperfect as we are, God still uses us. I want to thank Jacob for reassuring me today that God can use me, as imperfect as I am. (No surprise there.) Bro. Joe “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (CSB)
Have you ever sung this hymn: “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong. Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, for the Bible tells me so.” When you sang that hymn as a youngster, you had no idea of the profundity and the eternality of that love. Romans 8:38-39 gives us the full scope of the love that God, through Christ, has for us. I want to point out some things about this profound love for you to ponder today. First, the tone of Romans 8:38-39 tells us that Christ’s love for us is inescapable. You might disdain the whole idea about Jesus, being saved, going to church and all of that, but you can’t escape the fact that Jesus loves you. You can make fun of it, make light of it, preach against it, etc. but you can’t escape the fact that Jesus loves you. He loves you because the Bible tells us so, but beyond that He loves you because you are in this world, and He loves the people of the world. If you are running from that love– stop it. Second, the love of Christ for us is personal: “Jesus loves me." His love for you won’t mean anything to you until you take it personally. You won’t know the meaning of His love for you until you take it personally. I have discovered in my own life that no matter what I am going through, Christ's love is present, and helping me to keep going. We might think that because Jesus loves us, He would never let us go through difficult times, but that’s just not the way life works. It is comforting to know when things are hard, that Jesus loves me. He is not indifferent about anything in my life. When I feel close to Him, He loves me. When I feel that there is some distance between us, He still loves me. Reach out and take that personal love that Jesus has for you. Third, Christ’s love for us is sacrificial. We need to let this truth burn into our souls: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We need to stop and meditate deeply about what this means. Among other things, it means that our salvation was dearer to Jesus than His own life. He said, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This is exactly the kind of love that He has for us. Let’s just pause here and praise Him for His sacrificial love. Without it we would be hopelessly lost in sin. Jesus loves you. Rejoice!! Bro. Joe “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
I hear people talk about how Christ came to bring peace on earth. Please don't misunderstand me, because I don't believe that Jesus ever failed, but if that was the case He failed. In fact, He told us that we would hear of wars and rumors of wars until He comes again. He even declared at one point that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. What He meant was that people would have to make a choice about who they were going to obey - Jesus or someone, or something, else. But Jesus did come to bring peace to people. He came, lived a perfect life, was crucified, arose and ascended in order for us to have peace in our hearts. John 15:27 gives one of the greatest promises of peace from Jesus. Jesus told His disciples, and us: “My peace I give unto you.” Remember, the peace of Jesus is the peace of God. We personally have God’s peace, we just need to claim it. How can we claim it? Philippians 4:6-7 illustrates this for us: "Be careful for nothing ("do not be anxious about anything"), but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Now, this is the peace that the New Testament is all about. It is peace that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and from a prayer relationship with Him. Paul simply declared that if we want peace, we just need to pray. He didn't mean that we should utter a few words in the direction of Jesus, but to really get in touch with Him personally. In James 5:16b James wrote that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” This was in reference to healing, but it would certainly be true of a prayer for peace as well. If we want the peace that Jesus gives, we really need to touch His throne with great fervor. I’m referring here to prayer that comes from a heart that really craves His peace. Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" because He offers great personal peace to us in our daily relationship with Him. People who don't have that relationship will not have that peace. Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27) He also promised: "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) It is true that we will have trouble in this life, and this is as true of Christians as it is of anyone else. Do you remember Lynn Anderson’s song: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden”? Please notice that Jesus promised us his peace in the midst of trouble, not a trouble-free life. Often we think that our troubles are because of something bad that we have done. That could be true, because our sins can cause us problems, but we will inevitably confront troubles in this life because we live in a fallen world. Adam and Eve gave up “paradise on earth” for us when they sinned. We can’t go back to Eden, but we can run to Jesus and have peace in spite of the troubles that we encounter. Whatever your troubles are right now do not have to defeat you unless you want them to. You have the promise of personal peace planted deeply in your heart from Jesus. Do you realize that from the texts used here and the things that I have written that Jesus really wants to give you His peace? It is true, and you can have His peace at this very moment. How? Go back to the second paragraph and read Philippians 4:6-7. That is your ticket to Christ’s peace – get your ticket punched. Bro. Joe “I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all your marvelous works. 2. I will be glad and rejoice in you: I will sing praise to your name, O thou most high.”
We occasionally need to ask ourselves how much we appreciate the Lord. It is good manners to offer appreciation for what people do for us, how much more should we appreciate the Lord? It is not that God needs our appreciation; rather we need to appreciate Him. The Lord doesn’t need anything from us, but He knows that we need to give to Him. This includes our appreciation as much as it does, for example, our tithes. These two verses from Psalm 92 show us how to show appreciation to the Lord. First, we show our appreciation to the Lord by giving Him wholehearted praise. David wrote: “I will praise you, O Lord, with my whole heart.” We seem to think that praise and noise are related. Some people seem to think the Louder the noise, the greater the praise. That’s not to say that loud praise is wrong, it is to say that real praise does not come from the mouth, but from the heart. David wrote that He would praise God with His whole heart. Heartfelt praise can be loud or silent. On the other hand, there are people who seem to equate praise with deadness. There is a great difference between silent praise and just plain silence. Silence can sometimes mean boredom. I think that is often what we have in churches. What we need to do is to look into our hearts and be honest about whether or not we are really praising God from there instead of just for show. Second, we show our appreciation to the Lord by “showing forth (His) marvelous works.” We should not keep what the Lord has done for us to ourselves. I know that I enjoy it when someone shows their appreciation to me for something I might have done for them. I also want to be careful to offer appreciation to people who do things for me. The Lord has certainly done great things for us. The Lord gives His great love to us. Throughout the Bible, we are reminded of the love that God has for us. Some people who do not believe think that the Bible shows a terrible God, but those of us who have experienced Him personally know better. John wrote: “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19) John also wrote in 1 John 4:10:“Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” “Propitiation” means that, out of love for us, God’s wrath was poured out on Jesus for us. I certainly can’t explain why that had to be, but I know that it is biblical. I don’t know what “marvelous works” the Lord has done in your life, but if you believe in Him, I know that He has done marvelous things for you. I can’t even begin to enumerate all of the “marvelous works” God has done for me, let alone what He has done for you. The point is that the Lord wants us to tell others about what He has done for us. Out of appreciation for Him, we should do it. Third, we show our appreciation to the Lord by being glad for who and what the Lord is, rejoicing in Him and singing praise to His name. We need to pause each day and think about the greatness of the Lord. We need to ask ourselves whether or not we are really glad that the Lord is in our lives, and that our lives are better because He is in our lives. Some people refuse to believe because they are afraid that God will take something away from them. Believe me; whatever He takes away will be replaced by something much better. Because of the gladness in our hearts, and because of all of the “marvelous works” that God has done in our lives, we sing praises to Him. Does this describe your appreciation for the Lord? Bro. Joe |
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