“Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. 5. For His anger endures for a moment: in His favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
In these two verses, David calls upon God’s saints to “sing unto the Lord" a glad song. Singing is one way throughout history that we have been able to express ourselves in joy or sorrow. Singing (music), is one of the great blessings of God to us. Our devotion to God needs to be expressed and one of the main ways that we do it is through singing. Why should we sing unto the Lord? We should sing unto the Lord because we are “saints of his.” In the Bible, a saint is not a person who has been set aside as being a special person; rather a saint is anyone who belongs to the Lord. In the Old Testament the Israelites are referred to as “saints.” In the New Testament, all believers in Jesus Christ are referred to as “saints.” Today, being a saint means that one belongs to God through faith in Jesus Christ. This is, perhaps, our greatest reason for singing songs of joy, because we belong to God. We belong to God by His grace, not because we deserve it. God’s grace bestowed upon us is a reason for us to sing unto the Lord. We should sing unto God because He is holy: “and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.” The fact that there is a holy God overseeing this seemingly erratic universe should give us a song in our hearts. God’s holiness does not just mean that He is good and above reproach. It also means that He is holy in all of His dealings with us. In other words, we can trust God because He is holy. Whatever happens, we can be assured that the Holy God loves us and that He is looking out for our best interests. We will not understand all that God has done for us until we are face to face with Him, but by faith we can sing about His favor now. Which brings us to: We should sing unto the Lord because, “His anger endures for a moment: in His favor is life.” I pity the people who only see God as “the angry God.” Some people refuse to believe in Him because they read about His judgments in the Bible, or see His judgments today. This is not the complete picture of the God who has been revealed to us through Jesus Christ. The important thing to know about God is not that He is angry, for "His anger lasts but a moment, but His favor lasts for a lifetime." In the final analysis, the “saints of God” will be in His favor no matter what other judgments may come in their lives. The Bible tells us that God disciplines His children just as a good parent disciplines his or her children. God’s discipline is a result of His love and favor. When we forget that, we do not sing unto the Lord. We should sing unto the Lord because, “weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” We have probably all had a fitful night’s sleep, worrying about what we had to face, but when morning light broke we saw what we were worried about in a new light. God did a work of grace in our lives even while we slept. We can be sure that there will be times for us to weep. But we can be equally sure that our weeping will turn to joy when God does His work in our lives. This is why we should have a song in our hearts, and why we should be optimistic about life. We can trust that though “weeping may endure for a night…joy comes in the morning." Believe it! Bro. Joe
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“For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:8-10 is one of those texts that I return to again and again. Like John 3:16, this passage is what we could call “the gospel in a nutshell.” It tells us that it is because of the grace of God that we can be saved in the first place. In other words, God will save us in spite of ourselves. It tells us that we are saved when we put our faith in Christ Jesus. Furthermore it tells us that we have not been saved by our works, but that we have been saved to work for the Lord. Nothing that we do can save us, but when we are saved God has work for us to do. Notice that the text tells us that we are God’s workmanship. What this means is that by God’s grace, when we put our faith in Christ we are saved. In other places in scripture we are told that when we are saved we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit begins a work in us to do the works that God has called us to do. Our salvation is not “worked in;” rather it is "worked out" through the Holy Spirit within us. Notice also that the works that we are to do have been “before ordained.” The NIV translates it: “which God has prepared in advance for us to do.” The idea is that when we are saved, God has plans for us. We are led by the Holy Spirit to do the things that God planned out in eternity for us to do. These works take many forms. Many of these works are carried out in the churches that we attend. There are many ways that God can use our gifts in the church. There is always work to be done at the church, from teaching a Sunday School class to singing in the choir. God prepared in advance that we would do these works that keep the church going and carrying out its mission for the Lord. But God also has prepared in advance works for us to do in our daily lives. I think that we forget that and think that it is only at the church that God can use us. I don’t know what it is that God might want you to do in your community, but you should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and do the works there that He would have you do. The world needs for us to do God’s work outside of the walls of the church. I don’t know what work God has called you to do, but I know that if you are a Christian, He has work for you to do. We should be aware that God is working in us to work for Him in daily life. The KJV translates it: “that God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” In this context “walk” means what we do in our daily lives. The point is that we are God’s workmanship every day of our lives and that God can use us in many ways as we live out our lives in the world. We are God’s workmanship whether we are in church, at work, on vacation, attending a sports event –whatever. Doing God’s work is not just event oriented; rather it is part of our lifestyles. I don’t want to be trite here, or seem to belittle the work that God wants us to do, but there are times that this work can be to smile and say a good word to someone who is in bad need of encouragement. If the Holy Spirit can lead a lost soul to Christ through us, He can surely use us to be an encouragement to discouraged people. The point of this article is to make you aware that God wants to use you at your church and in your community. You are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that (you) should do.” Bro. Joe “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 “For by Him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him. 17.And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist (are held together).”
We should not be surprised that Jesus was involved in creation, as were the Father and the Spirit. John gave the same information in John 1:3: “All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.” In His life on earth, Jesus certainly showed Godlike traits. For example, He turned water into wine. I have never heard of “water wine,” have you? He took one substance and turned it into another in order to make wine. Only the creator could do that. In Colossians 1:21 Paul added another dimension to the power of Jesus, for he informs us that all things are held together by Jesus. This means that we do not have to worry about Mars getting out of orbit and colliding with the earth. We can trust that Jesus will hold it all together. The only way that the meteorite that we hear so much about, can hit the earth is if Jesus lets it happen. If Jesus lets it happen, nothing on earth or in heaven can stop it. This is not your “namby pamby” Jesus that people talk about today. He has real, eternal power. If I read this text correctly, it is Jesus who is holding the universe together. We know that the universe is of unfathomable size; therefore, Jesus has unfathomable power. I have written all of the above to get to the point that I want to make, i.e., this same Jesus has the power to hold our lives together. This is the good news that a lot of people need today. We are warned about all kinds of destructive scenarios that can cause our hearts to sink. If I didn’t believe in Jesus, I would be worried about all that I hear and see. But I believe in Jesus and I believe that He who holds all things together, can also hold me together. Sometimes it seems that our lives are out of control. Problems seem to pile on top of problems. We have problems within ourselves. We worry about what is going to happen to us in the future. We have ego problems that seem so big to us, but are really no problem at all. We have family problems. What family does not have some problems? Show me a perfect family and I will show you a real honest to goodness miracle. We encounter problems in the places where we work. There are always problem people that we have to deal with. There are all sorts of things that crop up in a workplace that can cause anxiety on our part. Then we have to deal with the news every day. I watch the news on Television and read it about it in the newspaper, and I tell myself that if I didn’t know that Jesus was holding all things together, I would really panic. All of the things that I mentioned above, and all of the things that you could add to what I have mentioned, do not have to defeat us if we believe that Jesus is holding us together as He is holding the universe together. In 1 John, the apostle John gave us a great word of wisdom on this matter. When you read these three verses out of 1 John, know that Jesus can hold your life together: 1 John 4:4: “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” 1 John 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?” Put your faith in the only One who holds all things together – even you. Believe it! Bro. Joe "And there came a leper to (Jesus), beseeching Him, and kneeling down to Him, and saying unto Him, If you will (if you are willing), you can make me clean. 41. And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will (I am willing), be thou clean. 42. And as soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy departed from him, and he was cleansed.”
In this passage the leper came to Jesus to be healed, and he wondered if Jesus would be willing to rid him of his leprosy. Leprosy was, and still is in some places, a terrible thing to have, because one had to isolate himself from the rest of the world. People were deathly afraid of getting leprosy. At any rate, Jesus reached out and touched the leper and he was healed - Jesus was willing. There are some lessons here for us that could help us in our relationship with Jesus. First, Jesus is never reluctant to meet the needs that we bring to Him. Throughout the gospels we see the willingness of Jesus to intervene in people’s lives and make life better for them. You might be thinking that you went to Jesus for healing and you did not get healed. Some would say that it was your lack of faith that caused Jesus to not heal you. You need to understand that Jesus’ willingness to help us is not based on His giving us what we want, but His willingness to give us what we need. I know that I have referred to my bout with cancer a lot, and I am certainly not bragging about it. You must know that when I got the word that I had cancer; I went immediately to Jesus with it and asked Him to heal me. The amazing thing is that He did not heal my body, but in the process of my suffering He healed my soul. During the time that I was fighting with cancer, I grew more spiritually than I ever have in my life. I learned the importance of depending on Him for every breath that I take. I learned that His willingness to heal me was based on what my greatest needs were. The bottom line was that I needed to draw closer to Jesus, and to learn to depend totally upon Him. Second, Jesus is willing to heal whatever needs healing in your life. You might have an attitude problem. You might have a relationship problem. You might have a problem with a bad habit that you can’t seem to break. It could be that you have a physical problem that is weighting you down. There is no end to the possibilities of what you need to bring to Jesus to heal. Just remember this: Jesus is willing to heal you and help you with whatever it is that you need to have healed. Third, it might be that you feel that you are just unworthy to seek the healing power of Jesus. I want you to notice something in this text. Verse 41 tells us: “And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth His hand and touched him, and said unto him, I will be thou clean.” You need to know that when you take your need to Jesus, whether it is physical or otherwise, you find that He has compassion for you. That is to say that He cares about what you are going through and that He loves you. Notice also that Jesus reached out and touched the leper. People just did not do that in that day. As aforementioned, people were deathly afraid of catching leprosy and would not dare touch a leper. But Jesus was not reluctant at all to touch him. I think that one of the reasons that Jesus touched him was that the man had not felt a personal touch for a long time. People would do anything to stay away from him. You might think that what you bring to Jesus iis unforgiveable, and that you need a touch from someone who understands. Whatever your sin, it is not unforgiveable and you can know that Jesus understands and is willing to forgive you, heal your soul, and help you make the changes that you need to make to make your life better. In other words, Jesus will reach out and touch you as He did the leper. Bro. Joe “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
There is a lot to write about in this text, but for this article I want to put the focus on the main person in the text – Jesus. The advice is to look to Jesus, and He will enable us to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.” The NIV translates it: “Fix your eyes on Jesus…” Our spiritual problems multiply when we take our eyes off of Jesus. Simon Peter illustrated this for us when he was walking on water to go to Jesus and put his eyes on the wind and waves and took them off of Jesus. The text tells us why it is so important to look unto, or fix our eyes on Jesus. We should look unto Jesus before anyone or anything else because He is the “author” of our faith. The NIV translates it as He is the “founder” of our faith. Both words mean that the Christian faith came into being because Jesus gave up His heavenly home and came to earth to live a perfect life and die as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. The philosopher would say that Jesus is the “prime mover,” because without Him there would not be a Christian faith. Jesus’ coming into the world was prophesied for hundreds of years before He was born in Bethlehem. The writers of the four gospels make it plain that Jesus came as the fulfillment of hundreds of years of prophecy. He was the long-expected Messiah. Revelation 13:8 puts this great truth in perspective for us: “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” The Messiah was not an accident of history, but his ministry had been planned from the beginning, or even before the beginning of the world. The coming of Christ into the world was profoundly planned before one star was ever put into place. We should look unto Jesus first because He is the “finisher” of our faith. The NIV translates this as “perfecter” of our faith. Jesus not only began our faith, He finished it as well. Just before Jesus died, He uttered what in the Greek language is one word: “tetelestai.” This word means “it is finished” or we could say that it means that God’s plan of salvation from the foundation of the world was now complete. God’s plan of salvation that will draw Jews and Gentiles into the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus Christ has been perfected. Indeed, it is a perfect plan, because it comes from a perfect, infallible God. We frequently read in John’s gospel where “the hour had not come” for Jesus. The “hour” means that each step of Jesus on this earth was controlled by God’s eternal plan. When the time was right, Jesus finished God’s plan of salvation. This is stated succinctly in Galatians 4:4-5: “When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5. To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” We should look unto Jesus first because He joyfully surrendered Himself to be crucified for us. Specifically, the author wrote: “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Father.” He joyfully died in order for us to be saved and is now at the “right hand of the Father,” where He “ever lives to make intercession for us.” Wow! What a Savior we have. No wonder, we are to look to Him before we look to anyone else. He is our source of salvation; therefore, He is the source of eternal life in heaven. Let’s look to Jesus and thank HIM for all that He means to us. Amen Bro. Joe “I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.”
A door can be an entrance or an exit. Jesus referred to Himself as “the door.” Through Him we can enter into some good things and exit from some bad things. For example, Jesus said in verse 10b: “I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” Jesus is the door to the abundant life. This is not necessarily speaking of material abundance, but it is speaking about spiritual abundance. It is the abundance of well-being. I can’t speak for anyone else, but the presence of Jesus in my life gives me a great sense of well-being. Looking at the direction of the world today, if I went into the world’s door, I might have a nervous breakdown. It is the abundance of great fellowship. When we enter the Jesus door, we enter into daily fellowship with God. He has promised His presence every day that we live. There is never a time in our lives, once we enter the Jesus door that we are not in fellowship with God. This leads us to the door of prayer. When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two. This means that the door to the “holy of holies” is open to us twenty four hours a day. We can talk to Him about our troubles, and we can take our petitions to Him. In fact, He invites us pray, to ask. He wants to provide for us through prayer. This abundance is available only to those who enter by the Jesus door. It is the door to fellowship with other Christians. He saved us individually, but He saved us to be in relationship with fellow Christians. We can, and should, find joy in this fellowship. It is good to know that we are not alone in this sometimes hostile world. The abundant life that we enter into by going through the Jesus door is only available through Him. Jesus said that when we enter His door, we “go in and out and find pasture.” We depend on Him for sustenance just as sheep depend on the shepherd for sustenance. It is the door to power. I do not mean the kind of power that the world gives, but the power that He gives us through the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised His disciples in Acts 1:8 that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit. That power was to be used as witnesses to the people of the whole world. That power is also available to help us overcome the world. We need the abundance of the Spirit’s help to live the Christian life. If we tried to go it alone, we would surely fail. Satan’s temptations are too great for us, but not for Jesus. Every time the devil and his demons confronted Jesus, Jesus won. They were no match for Him. Through the Holy Spirit, we can sic Jesus on him and defeat him. It is the power to overcome ourselves. Dwight L. Moody once intimated that the main person that he had trouble with was himself. We can be our own worst enemies, but the abundant power of the Holy Spirit can help us overcome even our worst selves. It is the door to an optimistic, loving approach to life. Paul wrote about the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Paul added in verse 24: “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” This quality of life is available only to those who enter by the Jesus door. I mentioned that a door is also an exit. When we enter the Jesus door, we exit all of the negativity that can be in our lives – all of the things that are opposite of Galatians 5:22-23. When we feel separated from Jesus, we need to remember that we have entered His door, and life does not have to be that way. Come into the door that is Jesus, and only He can open it for you. Bro. Joe “Now it came to pass on a certain day that (Jesus) went into a ship with His disciples: and He said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. 23. But as they sailed, He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. 24. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, Master, we perish. Then He arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased and there was calm.”
I can understand the disciple’s fear. I rode out a hurricane on an aircraft carrier, the USS Hornet. The big carrier was tossed to and fro and from side to side by the powerful waves. I can imagine what it was like for them on a fishing boat. In this case all the difference was made because Jesus was in the boat. There is a great lesson in this passage for us. The stormy sea is typical of some of our own “voyages” in life. All of us experience storms of some sort at various times in our lives. As this passage reveals, when Jesus is in the “ship” He makes all of the difference. First, let’s take a look at the stormy sea. We experience many storms on the sea of life. Think about the storms of temptation that we face on a daily basis. Then there are the storms of adverse circumstances and great difficulties in our lives. Also, there are storms of doubt and fear. We face storms that are related to physical illness, and we wonder where Jesus is. It is interesting to note that Jesus did not steer His disciples around the storm but brought them through it. It should have comforted the disciples to remember that Jesus said, “Let us go to the other side of the lake.” His word assured them that they would reach the other side. Those of us who believe in Him should have faith that Jesus will carry us to the other side of the storm. Second, let’s take a look at the sleeping Savior. Sometimes it seems that Jesus is asleep when we go through our various storms. It seems that He is unconcerned about what we are going through. Jesus could sleep because He knew everything would be alright. The all-knowing Savior already knew the outcome of the voyage. Of course, the disciples did not see it that way, and quite often, neither do we. The power of Jesus did not wane because He slept. He has more power asleep than anyone else has awake. He was Messiah whether asleep or awake. We have great assurance that our Savior does not sleep today, though sometimes we might think so. What He expects of us is to wait and to trust until His will is done in our lives. Third, let’s take a look at the stilling of the storm. Jesus could have prevented the storm, or He could have delayed their sailing until the storm had passed. He could have told His disciples to stay on the other side because a dangerous storm was coming up. Instead, they sailed directly into the storm. Why? Think of what the disciples would have missed if they had not taken the voyage into the stormy sea. They would have missed, not just a great miracle and a display of Christ’s power, but they would have missed the lesson that Jesus had the power to still storms. If He could do that to the Sea of Galilee, He could do it in the circumstances of their lives. Think of what we miss if we do not learn to trust Jesus through the storms of life. They saw Jesus do what only Jesus could do, and can, do. Could it be that when we go through the storms of our lives that Jesus is saying: “Be still and see what I can do”? Get this down: Jesus is Lord of your stormy seas too. Trust your life and your well-being to Him. Bro. Joe “But exhort (encourage) one another daily, while it is called Today: lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end. 15. While it is said, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation.”
We need to note that today is all that we have. We have all of our yesterdays, but we can’t do anything about them. We can think of all of the mistakes that we made, and all of the sins that we committed yesterday, but all of these are “water under the bridge.” If we have learned from these mistakes and sins, we can use today to rededicate our lives to do better. We also plan for the future, but we can’t live in days that have not yet come. (duh) We can’t let the wrongs of the past and the fears about the future rob us of the possibilities of today. Hebrews 3:13a tells us to “exhort (encourage) one another daily, while it is called today.” One thing that you can do today is to find someone who needs encouraging and go encourage them. You might ask, but what can I do to encourage someone? Well, you can pay them a visit and tell them that you were thinking about them. There is no telling how many people are out there who really need to know that someone is thinking about them. You could take them a book that has meant a lot to you, or you could bake a cake, or pick one up at the grocery store, and take it to them as a token of love. I don’t know about you, but I need encouragement from people, and I think that if you are honest, you will confess the same. That’s why we should think of encouraging others – today! Hebrews 3:13b tells us to watch out for sin in our lives today lest we be hardened. Perhaps you have a pet sin that you just can’t seem to get rid of. You might have a grudge against someone that you can’t get over. You might have a habit that is bad for you, but you are so hardened to it, you can’t seem to give it up. Hey, God has given you today. The cereal commercial reminded us: “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” You can’t unravel the problems of yesterday, but God has given you today, so take advantage of it. Another scripture comes to mind when I think of today: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV) Wow, that passage is loaded. As we face today, we do not face it alone, for through the Holy Spirit, God is blessing us and renewing us day by day. Claim His blessings and His renewal today. God wants you to make today a special day, so that all of your tomorrows will be lived by faith in Him. Remember that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” Do not let whatever you have to grapple with today rob you of the joy that only faith in the Living Christ can bring. Remember that “we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Hear the voice of Jesus in your life today. Dedicate today to Him. As you live today, remember that He is calling us to a place where it will always be “today.” Bro. Joe “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon you.”
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, felt overwhelmed. He, and Judah, were facing a mighty army from the Moabites and Ammonites. His prayer in this moment of seeming helplessness is a good reminder to us of how we should pray when we feel overwhelmed. (If you are like me, this is often.) The following is what we can learn from this prayer: We can give an honest appraisal of our situation as Jehoshaphat did: “For we have no might against this great company that comes against us.” Sometimes the might of the things that overwhelm us is in our imagination, but sometimes the threat is real. This was certainly true of Jehoshaphat and Judah’s situation. It is difficult for us to admit our weakness, but it is a good idea to know our limitations. According to Paul in Ephesians 6, we are at war with a formidable enemy – Satan. Satan also has a mighty army that seeks to overwhelm us. We just have to admit that we do not have resources to battle him without outside help. I am amazed at times at what human strength can do, but human strength is not all-powerful, and we need to give an honest appraisal of our own weakness. We won’t overcome this weakness until we do. We can make an honest confession of our own ignorance as to what to do. Jehoshaphat was by no means an ignorant man, but as smart as he was, he knew that his knowledge was not adequate to meet the great army that was coming against him. It is difficult for us to admit ignorance. We Americans take a great deal of pride in our knowledge. After all, today we have the internet, which literally gives us knowledge at our fingertips. But in this moral and spiritual battle that we are in, we just have to admit that it is “above our pay grade” to know how to outsmart Satan. He deals with us like he did with Adam and Eve. He makes sin look so good that it is difficult for us to refuse him. Satan is smart enough to make our sins seem small in comparison to the sins of other people. After all, we might think, “We do not commit adultery and we are honest in all of our dealings." But he sneaks pride in on us and we fall for it and downright feel good about it. It will do us good to honestly confess that we do not have the moral power, nor the mental capacity, to overcome Satan. He is to us like the Moabites and Ammonites were to Jehoshaphat and Judah. Which brings us to Jehoshaphat and Judah’s conclusion: They made an honest plea to the right source - “but our eyes are upon You.” The conjunction “but” is important here. In spite of the honest appraisal of the power of the enemy, and in spite of the honest confession of ignorance as to what to do about the situation, Jehoshaphat knew where to turn for help. The song, “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus” comes to mind here. We need to set our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our shield and help. We need to set our eyes upon the power of the Holy Spirit, who can enable us to overcome. We need to appeal to the love and power of God. Jehoshaphat’s was a smart move. Here is what God said to him in 2 Chronicles 20:15b: “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.” What comes to my mind here is that we just need to let God be God and do what only He can do. In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul tells us about the “whole armor of God.” God has not left us defenseless in our battle against Satan. He is our greatest defense. It is a great comfort to know that “the battle is not (ours), but God’s.” What are you facing today? “Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus,” and trust Him to help you over, through or around whatever it is that you are facing. Bro. Joe |
AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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