We have Sunday night services at our church. Recently I mused in a fit of weariness that I sometimes wished we didn’t. Praying and pondering over my remark [made to my bride in a quiet moment of wishful thinking banter, that included dinner and vacation plans] I retract the thought. It was a thought born of having an eye on the world. It was a thought that required repentance.
Sunday evening worship truly is a wondrous joy. A great many people do not know what they are missing. The bottom half of the Sunday double-header has fallen into disrepute of late. Seekers, it seems, aren’t all that sensitive once the morning “amen” signals that they have again done their God-thing for the week. At our church, however, we gather again once the shadows lengthen. Age and illness, to be sure, keep away some who come in the mornings at the cost of considerable discomfort. Work schedules, weariness and other factors keep many away. Still, we form a respectable little group, and we receive a double portion.
I recommend it highly—even if one is weary.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 14, 2007
supernatural things r happenin'
I do not have the freedom to share beyond this...God is doing amazing things 'exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ask or think.'
I feel like I just ate a Woohoo bar.
- He gets the glory,
- the Body receives the benefit,
- individuals are getting their socks blessed off,
I feel like I just ate a Woohoo bar.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Time as a Son sure flies!
O my! has it really been that long since my last blog? Obviously the tyranny of the urgent and the daily prioritization of life’s events has pushed this spot way to the back burner. I’ll consider it a reason for more Wondrous Joy!
There are so many things demanding my time as an undershepherd of God’s church that I simply do not have much time to blog. I’d rather be very busy doing God’s work which has eternal consequences than having time every day to blog anyway. But I do enjoy logging my thoughts and the challenges and mysteries I face from time to time.
With Father’s Day drawing near I was dwelling upon God as ‘Father’. Jesus Christ is the object of all the Father’s love. Amazing grace has seen to it that I am in Christ. His delight was to do His Father’s will — His meat and drink to do the will of Him that sent Him. Therefore, because I am in Him I know the Father’s love. I have His Father as my Father. I have the Spirit of adoption whereby I cry, Abba Father.
I am brought then in this new life and nature — the Father has brought me — into the very same position and title that the Lord Jesus is in. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,, that we should be called the sons of God; beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” What Wondrous Joy lifts my heart as my soul goes on in fellowship with the Father and with His Son.
There are so many things demanding my time as an undershepherd of God’s church that I simply do not have much time to blog. I’d rather be very busy doing God’s work which has eternal consequences than having time every day to blog anyway. But I do enjoy logging my thoughts and the challenges and mysteries I face from time to time.
With Father’s Day drawing near I was dwelling upon God as ‘Father’. Jesus Christ is the object of all the Father’s love. Amazing grace has seen to it that I am in Christ. His delight was to do His Father’s will — His meat and drink to do the will of Him that sent Him. Therefore, because I am in Him I know the Father’s love. I have His Father as my Father. I have the Spirit of adoption whereby I cry, Abba Father.
I am brought then in this new life and nature — the Father has brought me — into the very same position and title that the Lord Jesus is in. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us,, that we should be called the sons of God; beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
As we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.” What Wondrous Joy lifts my heart as my soul goes on in fellowship with the Father and with His Son.
Friday, May 4, 2007
All In The Attitude
"Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows through persecution and opposition. It is an unceasing fountain bubbling up in the heart; A secret spring the world can't see and doesn't know anything about." --D.L. Moody--
Marvelous Joy is an attitude that results when I make the conscious choice to trust God with the circumstances and occurences in my life. By possession of this confident awareness that God is working all things together for my good and His glory, I can embrace an attitude of inner joy whether or not my eyes see His plan clearly, my mind comprehends His purposes, or my feelings match up with His promises.
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." Jn 15:9-11.
Marvelous Joy is an attitude that results when I make the conscious choice to trust God with the circumstances and occurences in my life. By possession of this confident awareness that God is working all things together for my good and His glory, I can embrace an attitude of inner joy whether or not my eyes see His plan clearly, my mind comprehends His purposes, or my feelings match up with His promises.
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." Jn 15:9-11.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
This Is A Fun Pastime, Not A Mandate
I have not been here for a couple of weeks. I do not feel guilty for that. I have been enJOYing my family, Resurrection Week, our Spring Bible Conference, and the JOY of being God's instrument as the Spirit lead several folks to Christ. I am actually glad that I had no intentions of writing here everyday, otherwise it would become a burden to be shed when the inevitable re-prioritization of my time next occurs. All I have to "log" here on the "web" today is that God is good, all the time!
Monday, March 19, 2007
This is shocking
Personal Convictions for Sale
President Obama, Pro-Abortion Evangelicals, and the New Direction in Evangelicalism if Church Leaders Don’t Wake Up—and Speak Up
By Brannon Howse
President Obama, Pro-Abortion Evangelicals, and the New Direction in Evangelicalism if Church Leaders Don’t Wake Up—and Speak Up
By Brannon Howse
My Favorite Topic
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Ga 5:22-23.NASB : 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995)
The Apostle Paul tells us that joy is one of the characteristics which make up the Christian’s life. The assumption we can make is that joy is something that God intends for us to experience in life. God does not desire that we go through life frustrated and grumpy. Joy should be one of the primary descriptions of our lives.
The pressures of this life often make joy one of the most elusive characteristics to have. We experience times of happiness and pleasure, but true joy eludes us. Part of the reason for that is because joy is not so much a feeling as it is a quality of life, and we have learned to settle for these momentary feelings rather than taking time to discover the joy God wants us to experience.
Joy, I believe, is discovered in our contentment of what we have in life. It flows from the knowledge that we are in exactly the right place. We can’t have joy when we allow ourselves to believe that the good life is just around the corner. When we are discontent with our lives we will not experience the joy we were designed to have. It is so easy to convince ourselves that the missing piece for joy in our lives will be found in the next relationship, with a new job, or having a nicer house. Rather than enjoying the blessings we have right now we focus on what seems to be missing from our lives which allows joy to elude us.
Joy is found in our contentment with life. It is the product of taking delight in our family and friends, as well as, any other blessings we have received. When we realize that the best of life is found in the love relationships we have, rather than in all the things we don’t have, joy will appear in our lives.
Not only does joy appear through our contentment, it is also found in our desire. Yes, that does sound contradictory, but it is not. Contentment is not the absence of desire, rather it is finding fulfillment in the way things are. Desire comes from the knowledge that things don’t stay the same. To stop desiring means a loss of joy in our lives.Joy is found in the desire for things to come. It is the desire of the young lady content with her fiancé but who also longs for the wedding day. It is the desire of parents content with their baby but who also long to see him grow into a mature young man. It is the desire of the Detroit Lion’s fan content with the current state of the football program but who also longs for a winning season. Hidden amongst our greatest desires is joy.
We were created to experience joy. It is one of the qualities God desires to see in our lives. As we learn to be content with our lives and to desire the right things joy will begin to show up and surprise us along this journey of life. There is wondrous joy in life and I hope you find it.
The Apostle Paul tells us that joy is one of the characteristics which make up the Christian’s life. The assumption we can make is that joy is something that God intends for us to experience in life. God does not desire that we go through life frustrated and grumpy. Joy should be one of the primary descriptions of our lives.
The pressures of this life often make joy one of the most elusive characteristics to have. We experience times of happiness and pleasure, but true joy eludes us. Part of the reason for that is because joy is not so much a feeling as it is a quality of life, and we have learned to settle for these momentary feelings rather than taking time to discover the joy God wants us to experience.
Joy, I believe, is discovered in our contentment of what we have in life. It flows from the knowledge that we are in exactly the right place. We can’t have joy when we allow ourselves to believe that the good life is just around the corner. When we are discontent with our lives we will not experience the joy we were designed to have. It is so easy to convince ourselves that the missing piece for joy in our lives will be found in the next relationship, with a new job, or having a nicer house. Rather than enjoying the blessings we have right now we focus on what seems to be missing from our lives which allows joy to elude us.
Joy is found in our contentment with life. It is the product of taking delight in our family and friends, as well as, any other blessings we have received. When we realize that the best of life is found in the love relationships we have, rather than in all the things we don’t have, joy will appear in our lives.
Not only does joy appear through our contentment, it is also found in our desire. Yes, that does sound contradictory, but it is not. Contentment is not the absence of desire, rather it is finding fulfillment in the way things are. Desire comes from the knowledge that things don’t stay the same. To stop desiring means a loss of joy in our lives.Joy is found in the desire for things to come. It is the desire of the young lady content with her fiancé but who also longs for the wedding day. It is the desire of parents content with their baby but who also long to see him grow into a mature young man. It is the desire of the Detroit Lion’s fan content with the current state of the football program but who also longs for a winning season. Hidden amongst our greatest desires is joy.
We were created to experience joy. It is one of the qualities God desires to see in our lives. As we learn to be content with our lives and to desire the right things joy will begin to show up and surprise us along this journey of life. There is wondrous joy in life and I hope you find it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
