“Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”
It is difficult to decide what to write about in Romans 12:10-12. It is certainly important that we love one another with “brotherly affection.” (We could add “sisterly affection.”) We should certainly go out of our way to honor one another. Verse 11 gives advice that we all should follow, and is sorely missing in churches today: “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord." Think of the revival that we would have in our churches if we adopted each of these things. I decided to write about verse 12, because I saw virtues there that we need if we are to live at peace with God, ourselves and others, and if we want to live in victory. This verse contains what I am calling “Three Indispensable Virtues.” We are encouraged to “rejoice in hope.” The Greek word translated “hope” here is not what we call hope. We use the word as a hunch that maybe something good will happen, or maybe we will make it through. The word as used here means that we have a solid hope in Christ, no matter what is going on around us. Our situation today certainly doesn’t look very hopeful for us. We see all kinds of moral values being devalued and paganism seems to be creeping into our country – if it is not already pagan. I remind you that this is the kind of society that Paul lived in. Rome was perhaps the most pagan of all cities. But Paul had the audacity to rejoice in hope and to tell us to do the same. Our hope is not in the world situation, nor is it in political victories; rather, our hope is in Jesus Christ – period. We who truly believe that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross to save us from sin, rose the third day, ascended to the Father, and has promised to return, have a hope that transcends the world. This knowledge should cause us to rejoice. I will not pretend to be happy with the direction of our country, but in this I rejoice: “I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded (convinced) that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day.” (2 Timothy 1:12b) Hold to that hope and rejoice in it. We are encouraged to be “patient in tribulation.” In today’s vernacular, it would be “endure in all of your troubles.” It is easy to give up when things are not going well for us. (The Greek word translated “patience” here means more than just to wait in patience. It means to thrive in it, to live above what troubles we have.) We can get discouraged and just want to throw up our hands and quit. We might say, “What’s the use, nothing seems to be going right.” This can happen to us at home, at work, at church, or wherever we might be. When we are going through trouble, we need to remember two things: (1) No one’s life is trouble-free, and (2) It’s not all about me. No matter what your problems are today, if you will look around, you will see others with worse troubles. This is where "rejoicing in hope" comes in. You are not alone in your troubles, for the Holy Spirit is with you, and you have fellow Christians to encourage you. This brings us to a third thing that will help us "rejoice in hope" and be "patient in tribulation," and that is, “Be constant in prayer.” In 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Paul admonished us to “pray without ceasing.” In Luke 18:1b, we are encouraged to “always pray and not to faint.” “Faint” here means to lose heart. “Take it to the Lord in prayer” is always good advice. No matter what the “it” is that we take to the Lord in prayer, He has an answer for us, and will encourage us to go forward. We should pray constantly, even when we do not feel like praying, for the Lord is always ready to listen to us and give us encouragement and guidance. Think on these three virtues! Pray over them! Memorize them! Hold them close to your heart and live in victory. Bro. Joe
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“I called upon the Lord in my distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place. 6. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do to me.”
I think that you will agree that distress is an awful thing. Observe the definition given in the New Webster’s Dictionary: “extreme pain, mental or physical; misfortune; extreme poverty…” There is nothing good to be said about distress. I’ve never heard anyone say, “I hope that I can have some distress today.” We don’t like it but we will all experience it. Let’s learn from David what to do about it. David had been in distress, which happened to him a lot. What did David do about distress? He prayed: “I called upon the Lord in my distress: the Lord answered me…” One thing that we can always know is that God is aware of our distress, and when we have it, we need to talk to Him about it. God will do for us what He did for David: He will answer us. God’s answer is up to Him. He might take us immediately out of distress, or He might let us live in distress for awhile to teach us something. I quit trying to second-guess God a long time ago. But the important thing here is that God answers and that will make a difference. What God did in this case was to “set (David) in a large place.” The ESV translation of this makes it a little clearer what it was that God did: “…the Lord answered me and set me free.” David felt constricted by whatever the cause of his distress was. He felt bound by his distress. I think that we can understand that. The time that we spend in distress imprisons us and keeps us from being able to move on with our lives. When God answered David, He took him out of restriction and put him in a larger place, the effect of which was to set him free. Jesus is in the business of setting us free. The gospels are filled with events where Jesus came to people in distress and set them free. There were the blind, the halt and the lame that came to Jesus and He set them free. Indeed, he enlarged their lives and broadened their dreary world into places of service to God. This is what He wants to do for us in our distress. Then David writes something that we want to believe but we are afraid to say that they are true and that the LORD is on my side. How can we say that the Lord is on our side?” He can be on our side because He is the Lord of the universe. Being on our side, does not mean that he always agrees with our side. God is on our side because He loves us and wants the best for us. I mean, He went so far as to send His Son to die for our sins. When Jesus died on the cross, He took everybody’s side, because He opened up the way to salvation for all people. God is not “willing that any should perish.” If that is true, then God is on everyone’s side. God wants to help you out of your distress, not because you are such a “jolly good fellow,” but because He loves you and wants what is best for you. God’s being on your side does not mean He is against everyone else. When you take your distress to God, you can be assured that He wants to bless you. Because of what God did for David in his distress, he would not be afraid anymore. When fear is gone, the cause of distress is gone or has been significantly diminished. Then he was hit with a great reality: “What can man do to me?” If we know that God is on our side, we have no reason to be afraid of people who mean us harm. We know that He will work on our behalf. And quite often, He changes our adversaries in the process. This is part of the amazing sovereign nature of God. Bottom line: Take your distresses to the only source that can give you eternal help. Distress is an awful thing, but it is not beyond the reach and power of God. This is true for you too, so take your distresses to Him. Bro. Joe “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope , through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
In the midst of Paul’s explanation of the inclusion of the Gentiles, he wrote this verse that points out three essentials of all who believe – Jew or Gentile. He wanted Roman believers, and all believers through the ages, to be filled with “joy and peace in believing,” and to “abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” I do not think that I am taking this verse out of context to say that those who believe in Christ will receive joy and peace, and through the Holy Spirit are filled with a hope that only God can give. These three essentials of joy, peace and hope are available to you if you are a believer in Jesus Christ. The first essential is joy. Joy is essential, because of the promise that Jesus gave in John 15:11: “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.” When Christ comes into our lives by faith, we are guaranteed of His joy. It is a lasting joy that gets us through all of the troubles of life. In spite of life’s trials we have His joy. Claim this joy today, because it is yours, or can be yours. The second essential is peace. All who receive Christ by faith, have the peace that Hepromised. Jesus promised this essential in John 16:33: “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me you might have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation (trouble): but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” In spite of the troubles of this world we can peace of heart and mind. This is a promise of Jesus that will enable us to withstand all of the trouble, disappointments and ailments that we may have to encounter in our lives. Jesus wants His people to be at peace. As we face all that life might bring, the promise of Jesus that He has overcome the world remains true. Rejoice! The third essential is hope. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives when we are saved, He fills us with the hope that only He can give. In fact, the Holy Spirit helps us to “abound in hope.” To abound in something means that we have plenty of it; therefore we have plenty of hope in Christ. If you feel hopeless, you need to claim Christ’s hope, for He has given you a lot of it. Like with joy and peace, we have hope in Christ in spite of what we might be facing in our lives. In all things that we face in life, Christ is at work getting us out, or through, whatever it is we face. Put your trust in Christ, and He will bring you through. Give all of your burdens to Him. As the old hymn reminds us: “Jesus will carry you through." Joy, peace and hope are yours in Christ. He promised so you can have them – period.Claim them! Bro. Joe “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 24. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul: therefore will I hope in Him.”
Our text is a word of encouragement in the midst of a dark time. Jeremiah wrote this when Judah was in captivity in Babylon. In the darkest of times there is always hope in the Lord. There is always hope in the Lord because of His “mercies.” Throughout the Bible we see God’s mercy at work. One of the greatest examples is Psalm 51, which was written by David after his adultery with Bathsheba. The psalm began: “Have mercy upon me O God according to thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.” You can go to the throne of grace today and the Lord will forgive you. He will have mercy on you when you appeal to Him in brokenness and sincerity. There is always hope in God’s “tender mercies.” There is always hope in the Lord because of His compassion. Jeremiah wrote that “His compassions fail not.” This means that God always loves us in spite of our sins. There will never be a time in our lives when God does not love us. Even when He disciplines us it is because He loves us. God loves you! That might sound odd to you, but it is true! You can say with confidence right now that “God loves me.” Frankly, I still have a difficult time believing that He loves me, but I know that it is true. Through Jesus Christ, I know that His compassions fail not. Jesus died on the cross because of His compassion for us. There is always hope in the Lord because of His faithfulness. Verse 23 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible: “They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” The mercy and compassion of God are new every morning. This means that there is not a minute, hour or day that God will stop loving us. God is faithful to touch our lives with His love and mercy. He is always faithful to forgive us. 1John 1:9 tells us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You can depend on the forgiveness of Christ. You have hope today because of God’s mercy, compassion and faithfulness. That is gospel truth. Amen Bro. Joe “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”
1 Corinthians 13:13, contains what I call “Three Christian Essentials.” The first word that is listed is “faith.” This is the translation of the Greek word “pistis.” This word means to believe; it further means to have firm conviction. To be saved, to become a Christian, one must be firmly convinced that Jesus died on the cross to save him or her from sin. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8: “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith (pistis).” Without God’s grace, unmerited favor, no one could be saved. By God’s grace we are convinced that Jesus will save us if we come to Him by faith. The second word that is listed is “hope.” This is the translation of the Greek word “elpis.” The translation of this word is also “expectation.” This does not mean that “by faith we hope maybe we can be saved.” It means that when we come to Jesus by faith to be saved, we can know that we are saved. Paul wrote that is “by faith you have been saved.” Please understand that this does mean that “you might have been saved.” Jesus shed blood is enough to save even the worst of sinners. The third word that is listed is “love.” At the end of the promise about faith, hope and love Paul wrote: “But the greatest of these is love.” It is the love of God that makes salvation possible for lost humanity. In that love, by grace, God forgives and saves us. The Greek word translated “love” is the Greek word Agape (ahgahpay). John 3:16 tells that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him may be saved.” Agape is the greatest kind of love, for it is God’s kind of love. In His love God gave His Son as a sacrifice for our sins that we might believe in Him be saved and live in His eternal hope. We can know that we are loved and forgiven by God, and that, in Christ; we have eternal hope in this life and in the life to come. If you are regular reader of CouchPotatoRedux articles you know that these are familiar themes. I hope that this has encouraged you in your Christian walk, or if you do not know Christ as your Savior, you will receive Him by faith. Bro. Joe “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me. 2. In my Father’s house are many mansions: If it were not, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”
Jesus was about to leave His disciples and return to the Father, and their hearts were heavy with sorrow. Jesus sensed their sorrow, and He gave this word of comfort, which is also a word for our encouragement. Jesus was saying that our faith in God is sufficient to meet all of the needs of our lives. This faith sustains us today. It helps us to understand Paul’s words in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Our faith tells us that God’s grace is sufficient for us in our struggles and problems. Think about this: What are you putting your faith in at this moment in your life? Are you putting your faith in Christ, or do you think that you are in this alone. Our faith in God, in Christ, is sufficient. Jesus was saying that death is not the end. There are people who say that when we die that is it, and we will put in our “final resting place.” I think that when we realize that Jesus is in charge of our lives, we will realize that He is also in charge of our deaths. He even mentioned an eternal home: “In my Father’s house are many mansions…” He is preparing a dwelling place for us in heaven. Jesus was telling His disciples that when He died on the cross, that would not be the end, for He would rise again. Death did not defeat Jesus; rather, Jesus defeated death. Death could not hold Him. This means that it will also not hold us . There is a heaven awaiting believers in Jesus Christ. Jesus said that we would join Him in eternity. Jesus said that if that was not true, He would have told them that it was not true. He has gone to prepare a place for us and we will be with Him as the ages roll. When we get there, we will see Jesus and we will know Him. This also leads me to believe that we will also recognize all of those who have gone before us as we gather at the feet of Jesus. Think about it. Moses will be there. Paul will be there. Peter, James and John will be there. Think of all of the great things that we can spend eternity learning from those who have gone before us. Take this word of encouragement from Jesus personally and claim it for yourself. Bro. Joe “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope. 22. Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for His compassions fail not. 23. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
In the midst of his great depression, Jeremiah fell back on some things about Yahweh that he knew he could depend on. First, he remembered that God is a God of mercy and grace. Just because God allows us to be disciplined for disobedience, does not mean that He does not love us anymore, or that He is no longer the God of love and mercy. Whatever you are going through might not be discipline from the Lord, but it is at least allowed by the Lord. This doesn’t mean that God has ceased to be whom and what He is in His very nature. He has not stopped loving you and He will show His mercy in His time. No matter what is going on around us, God has not ceased to be the God of mercy and hope. Second, Jeremiah remembered that Yahweh is the compassionate God. This means that not only does God love us, He feels deeply for us and His actions show the great agape (ahgahpay) love that was eventually revealed in Jesus Christ. The temple being torn down, did not mean that God’s compassion had been torn down. Our circumstances can, and must change, but God does not. Take great joy in that. Third, Jeremiah remembered the faithfulness of God. His love, mercy and compassion for us are new every morning and in all things, He will prove to be faithful. Isn’t this what the coming of Jesus meant in the economy of the whole Bible? Take heart! This God, described in Lamentations, is at work in your life through the Holy Spirit. Praise Him! Take a few minutes and praise Him now! Bro. Joe “18. And I said, my strength and my hope is perished from the Lord.” 21. This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 22. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”
One does not normally think of going to Lamentations for encouragement, since it is as its name implies, lamentations of Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem. Yet in the middle of his lamentation, Jeremiah sees a glimmer of hope. Jeremiah could have called the Old Testament’s version of “chicken little” who went about saying “the sky is falling, the sky is falling.” Except that in a sense the “sky” was really falling. He is like the watchman who says, “All is lost, all is lost.” At this time in Judah’s history it would certainly seem that all was lost. Look at what had happened: (1) The king had been taken into exile, (2) The walls of Jerusalem were either being torn down at this time, or were already torn down. (3) The temple at Jerusalem had been destroyed. (4) People were being carried everyday into exile in Babylon, or being killed. It would certainly seem that all was lost. In one sense, all was lost. A whole civilization, which had been ordained by God, was being torn down person by person and brick by brick. There was death and destruction on every hand. No wonder that Jeremiah said, “My strength and my hope is perished from the Lord.” Don’t you think that if we saw all of our great institutions being destroyed, and our people being either killed or taken into exile, that we would think that all was lost? But then, Jeremiah has a thought: “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” The Lord was letting Jeremiah see all of the death and destruction around Him, but He was also working in Jeremiah’s mind the hope that is always ours in Him. Here is what the Lord put on Jeremiah’s mind: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” In the midst of all of the negativity, to put it mildly, Jeremiah saw a glimmer of hope, not in the situation, but in Yahweh, the great God of Israel and the world. Jeremiah knew that all was not lost because God was not dead, and was working among His people. This is still true today. There will be more on this tomorrow. Bro. Joe "O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. 2. For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Praise ye the Lord.”
What you just read is the shortest psalm. It is also in the very center of the Bible. In my archives there is an article on this psalm, but I felt led to share it again. Let’s look at the wonderful message that it gives us. First, it is a psalm of praise. It begins: “O praise the Lord,” and it ends “praise ye the Lord.” Why don’t we pause and give praise to the Lord. (I just did!) Second, it calls all nations to praise the Lord. Whether all nations, and all people, realize it or not, Yahweh, the Lord, is their Lord. We have been given the charge to take the message of the Lord to all nations. (Read Matthew 28:18-20.) Ultimately, this is a call to honor Jesus, as we will discover in Philippians 2:10-11: “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and thing in earth, and things under the earth. 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Third, the psalm reminds us that “His merciful kindness is great toward us.” This has also been translated as “His steadfast love is great toward us.” The Lord, whom we praise, loves us and is merciful toward us. This is the gist of the message throughout the Old and New Testaments. Though we do not deserve it, the Lord loves us and is merciful to us. Romans 5:8 reminds us: “But God commends His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” This is a message that the whole world is in dire need of hearing and understanding. Fourth, the psalm reminds us that “the truth of the Lord endures forever.” “Truth” can also be translated as “faithfulness.” It is indeed true that the mercy and love of God are available to all people, and that God is faithful to give us His mercy. You might be thinking: “Then what about the wrath of God?” This is as biblically true as God’s love and mercy, but we should be reminded that through faith in Jesus Christ we can be delivered from the wrath of God. To illustrate what I mean let’s look at Romans 5:9: “Much more then, being now justified by His (Christ’s) blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.” Think of what a difference it would make in your life if you decided to really learn the truth of Psalm 117, and live in the promise of it. Take this message personally and rejoice in what a difference it can make in how you view God, and of how you view life. Do it! Bro. Joe |
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