"With Gladness of Heart" Part 1

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe….

"With Gladness of Heart"

Part 1

    "Serve the Lord with gladness" (Psalm 100:2).

    The Psalmist correlates service to God with gladness of heart.  Long before, Moses also made the connection in one of the most direct criticisms of Israel's failure to genuinely know and respond to her Lord:

    "Because thou servedst not the LORD thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and He shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck" (Deuteronomy 28:47).

    The challenge proceeds to our current dispensation of God's revealed truth in the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ: 

     "Rejoice in the Lord alway, and again, I say rejoice" (Philippians 4:4).

    The Apostle Paul's twice-repeated command, coupled with David and Moses, beckons us to serious consideration regarding the matter of a glad heart.  Rejoice always?  Is this really possible?  First, let us simply acknowledge the fact that if any command of Scripture were beyond our capacity to fulfill through the power of God, the Bible would lose all rational meaning.  We would have to conclude our Lord to be an unjust authoritarian tyrant who bears no resemblance to the living and true God revealed in His Word.  Of course, this is most decidedly not the case:

    "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).

    "Justice and judgment are the habitation of Thy throne" (Psalm 89:14).

   Clearly, gladness and joy of heart must always be possible for believers.  Scripture commands us accordingly.  How is this possible in our present lifetime wherein we live in a world that brings much sadness to our doorstep, and then barges in to foist upon us its heartache and heartbreak?  How can we obey God regarding perpetual service with gladness?  We will consider this vital matter in this series of messages.  For now, let us embrace the promising, but challenging truth that by Biblical definition, joy must always be possible because our perfectly just Heavenly Father will never call us to do anything beyond our Christ-enabled capacities.  Indeed, Paul's affirmation, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" applies to the obedience of joy no less than any other aspect of faithfulness to God (Philippians 4:13).  Perhaps even more than some, because a joyful believer brings great gladness to our joyful God, along with honoring Him in ways few other ministries can compare.

"But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee" (Psalm 5:11)

Part 2:  A Joyful God

Weekly Memory Verse

   "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

(II Peter 3:18)

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"How Dependent?"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe….

"How Dependent?"

    How dependent are we on the Lord?  The answer begins with our beginning.

    "It is He that hath made us, and not we ourselves" (Psalm 100:3).

    We did not choose to exist, nor do we originate our own being.  Someone else did that for us.  "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" declared the Psalmist, referring to the creative marvel of the living God's engineering and artistry (Psalm 139:14).  When tempted to pride and self-sufficiency, we do well to remember this most foundational of truths regarding our own existence.  We are because and only because the great I AM caused us to be.

    Truth regarding our dependence proceeds to its continuation.  "By Him all things consist… upholding all things by the word of His power" (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3).  The Lord Jesus Christ sustains our being as He "giveth to all life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:25).  As we rightly play our responsive role of seeking to enhance and preserve our earthly lives, we nevertheless do well to frequently remind ourselves that apart from the Lord's upholding of our very being, we would instantly dissolve into nothingness.  He promises not to do this - "whatsoever God doeth, it shall be forever" - but we nevertheless realize and affirm, "In Him we live and move and have our being" (Ecclesiastes 3:11; Acts 17:25).

   The awareness of our Heavenly Father's creative and sustaining operation on our behalf leads us to realize how dependent we are for the practical, day to day living of our lives.  "Without Me, ye can do nothing" declared the Lord Jesus" (John 15:5).  If our lives are to bear fruit of eternal worth and significance, the motivating, guiding, and empowering work of God on our behalf must be accessed.  "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" declared the Apostle Paul, confirming both his Savior's faithfulness and our calling to trust the Lord to empower our lives by His life (Philippians 4:13).  Born again believers in the Lord Jesus are doers.  We ever seek to actualize the potential of our "fearfully and wonderfully made" humanity.  We do so, however, in the recognition that we can only live for God by living from God.  We "work out" that which God "worketh in" (Philippians 2:12-23).

   The truth of our Lord's origination, sustaining, and living work on our behalf illuminates both His faithfulness and our dependence.  We do well to frequently encourage and challenge one another with the blessed assurance that God can be trusted.  Moreover, He must be trusted.  We grope in the dark apart from such awareness, merely existing rather than genuinely and vibrantly living.  Or, as Paul exulted, "To live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21).  Nothing else fits the definition of life, and nothing else enables our access of such freely given wonder than the dependence of faith.

"The just shall live by faith."

(Romans 1:17)

"We had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead."

(II Corinthians 1:9)

"He that trusteth in His own heart is a fool."

(Proverbs 28:26)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

(II Peter 3:18)

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Wheat and Tares, Light and Darkness

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe….

"Wheat and Tares, Light and Darkness"

    We recently had a discussion with a young person who has never experienced life without the Internet.  I made the point that in previous generations, information did not present itself 24/7 to our hearts and minds.  A trip to the library was often in order if we desired to know something about a subject, which necessitated thumbing through a paper card catalogue in order to access the appropriate book, article, or periodical (wow, I am feeling old as I write this!).  Frequently, by the time we had opportunity to visit the library, the subject had slipped from our attention and interest, perhaps never to be considered again. 

    Fast forward to the present, wherein a very different challenge presents itself.  More information and imagery than our minds can process stands almost instantly available.  How do we know what is true or false (or perhaps even more dangerous, what is half-true or false?).  Rather than access, the issue now becomes critical analysis for the purpose of sifting tares from the wheat, and discerning light from darkness.  It concerns me that we too often fail to consider the possibility that information instantly available may also be patently false despite the authoritative tone and persuasive eloquence we often encounter in Cyberspace.

    "Beloved, believe not every spirit, try (test) the spirits, whether they are of God, for many false prophets are gone out into the world" (I John 4:1).

    Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ have always required the process of critical analysis in order to faithfully walk with our Lord in the light of His truth.  Our spiritual enemies do not rest in their ongoing effort to distract and deceive us.  What does Scripture actually say in its text and context?  This question must ever characterize our search for the living and true God, as revealed in His living and true Word.   "Try me and know my thoughts" requested the Psalmist in a day long ago when he was not constantly bombarded with information and imagery (Psalm 139:23).  Certainly we do well to heed his example, along with keeping our hearts and minds in the written Word of God that David did not possess.  

    The issue primarily involves awareness and attitude.  Do I realize my ongoing need to grow in proper understanding of the Lord Jesus and His truth?  Am I aware that enemies incessantly seek to mislead me?  Do I humbly acknowledge that I know nothing yet as I ought to know? (Philippians 1:9; I Peter 5:8; I Corinthians 8:2).  Perhaps most importantly, do I remember the infinite and eternal nature of our Lord's light, which offers glories that fill and fulfill, but which ever beckon us to venture further into truth and reality?   In times such as these, the awareness and attitude that leads to critical analysis must characterize our desire to discern wheat from tares, and light from darkness.

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

(II Peter 3:18)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

(II Peter 3:18)

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