The other day I lost my guitar. I had it...put it in my car...and the next thing I knew it was gone. Stolen, I figured. I always lock my car but I must have not done that at a quite inconvenient time.
Luckily, I didn't really care. Not because I didn't love my guitar, because I did. But I really am blessed by having a personality that doesn't sweat the small stuff. It's just not something I'm prone to do. But, there was another reason it didn't bother me: I had a bible verse stuck in my head immediately afterward.
"The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." - Job 1:21b
There are many reason I can think of why not having my guitar anymore would be good, and even if I couldn't think of any, I'm confident there would be. Because I believe the Bible when it's says that "for those who love God all things work together for good." No matter what. The name of the Lord should be praised.
So I was looking at my empty guitar stand at home today, wondering what I should do with it. I had my tuner too, which was not in my guitar case apparently. I decided to leave my guitar stand right where it was, rig the tuner in the neck cradle, and print off Job 1:21 to tape onto it, as a reminder that "every good and perfect gift is from above" and that although the Lord may take things away, he still deserves to be praised.
I'm confident that I'm being taught this in the simple insignificant case of a guitar because I will inevitably undergo immeasurably greater losses in the future. God always has done a good job of preparing me for things, even when I'm unaware.
Before going to my computer to print off the verse to tape onto my guitar stand, I grabbed a hat that was lying on the floor, and in an effort to keep my room tidy, went into the hall to put the hat where it belongs - in the big closet. I opened the door, set the hat down, glanced over in the corner of the closet....
And I saw my guitar case.
I just stared at it, more than likely with my jaw hanging open. I quickly scanned my memory to make sure that I had the guitar in the case when I lost it; I had. I touched the case to make sure it wasn't a mirage; it wasn't. I slowly lifted up the case and took it into my room. I carefully unfastened the clips, opened the case, and there it was. My guitar. (or more accurately God's guitar which he has entrusted to my care.)
And true to form I did just what the Tree 63 song would tell me to do.
"Every blessing you pour out - I'll turn back to praise."
So I did. I played and sang and I praised God because He is always good, because he taught me a valuable lesson, and also went above and beyond. Amazing, no?
To Jesus be the glory.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Jesus' Joy - Our Good Example
Ever felt down? Depressed? Joyless?
I have advice. If you're not a Christian. Meet Jesus! If you are a Christian, rely on the Holy Spirit to give you joy! This is where true joy comes from. Galatians 5:22 lists joy as one of the "fruits of the spirit." And Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God is a matter of "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Going through a REALLY tough time though? Maybe you don't see how this elusive joy is even possible? Let's look at two biblical examples of attaining joy.
First, of course, Jesus!
Jesus was a man just like us, with all the same temptations common to us, though he never sinned. How did he remain joyful throughout his life? The Holy Spirit. Luke 10:21 says that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit..." and then he prayed to the Father. (Notice our trinitarian God here!)
But I can hear the argument already. Jesus, in this context, was probably happy anyway, right? The seventy-two he sent had came back, and although he had just admonished them for rejoicing for the wrong reasons, he must have been happy that they had done the good work of sharing the good news!
I say, regardless, he's still is receiving some supernatural joy from the Spirit, right?
Right.
[EDIT: Also, I think we should keep in mind that Jesus was a "man of sorrows" and "acquainted with grief" or "familiar with suffering" (Isa 53). Plus, Eccl 1:18 says that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." And Jesus was the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth! Some may say it was all so much easier for him, remaining joyful in our context, because He was God. But I think the instrumental thing was that he was filled with and led by the Holy Spirit continuously. And that same spirit lives within us; the one that raised Christ from the dead! (Rom 8:11) ]
Okay, well, second example - let's flip over to 1 Thes Chapter 1. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica and they were apparently not in circumstances that would be really congruent with joy usually. They were, in fact, suffering severely (Paul's words, not mine). I don't know what kind of suffering, although I assume it included persecution from very angry non-believers, as Paul had been chased out of town by an angry mob when he left! (Read Acts 17).
But...what did the church there do? Paul writes: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." If we're going through some valleys, even "severe suffering", joy is still available to us!
Fantastic, no?
Now, to finish, maybe you still can't figure out what there is to be joyful about. Well, I believe that this joy spoken of really is a supernatural joy, and we should not, perhaps, try to manufacture it. But let me just jump back to the scene in Luke's gospel quickly. Jesus says to the seventy-two - "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Well, if you trust Jesus, your name is written in heaven! A proverbial 'guest list' to the wedding feast that will begin eternity for believers! That's something to be joyful about! Just one of many things that can bring us joy regardless of our circumstances. So.....
Rejoice!
I have advice. If you're not a Christian. Meet Jesus! If you are a Christian, rely on the Holy Spirit to give you joy! This is where true joy comes from. Galatians 5:22 lists joy as one of the "fruits of the spirit." And Romans 14:17 says that the kingdom of God is a matter of "righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."
Going through a REALLY tough time though? Maybe you don't see how this elusive joy is even possible? Let's look at two biblical examples of attaining joy.
First, of course, Jesus!
Jesus was a man just like us, with all the same temptations common to us, though he never sinned. How did he remain joyful throughout his life? The Holy Spirit. Luke 10:21 says that Jesus was "full of joy through the Holy Spirit..." and then he prayed to the Father. (Notice our trinitarian God here!)
But I can hear the argument already. Jesus, in this context, was probably happy anyway, right? The seventy-two he sent had came back, and although he had just admonished them for rejoicing for the wrong reasons, he must have been happy that they had done the good work of sharing the good news!
I say, regardless, he's still is receiving some supernatural joy from the Spirit, right?
Right.
[EDIT: Also, I think we should keep in mind that Jesus was a "man of sorrows" and "acquainted with grief" or "familiar with suffering" (Isa 53). Plus, Eccl 1:18 says that "For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief." And Jesus was the wisest man to ever walk the face of the earth! Some may say it was all so much easier for him, remaining joyful in our context, because He was God. But I think the instrumental thing was that he was filled with and led by the Holy Spirit continuously. And that same spirit lives within us; the one that raised Christ from the dead! (Rom 8:11) ]
Okay, well, second example - let's flip over to 1 Thes Chapter 1. Paul wrote this letter to the church in Thessalonica and they were apparently not in circumstances that would be really congruent with joy usually. They were, in fact, suffering severely (Paul's words, not mine). I don't know what kind of suffering, although I assume it included persecution from very angry non-believers, as Paul had been chased out of town by an angry mob when he left! (Read Acts 17).
But...what did the church there do? Paul writes: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." If we're going through some valleys, even "severe suffering", joy is still available to us!
Fantastic, no?
Now, to finish, maybe you still can't figure out what there is to be joyful about. Well, I believe that this joy spoken of really is a supernatural joy, and we should not, perhaps, try to manufacture it. But let me just jump back to the scene in Luke's gospel quickly. Jesus says to the seventy-two - "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." Well, if you trust Jesus, your name is written in heaven! A proverbial 'guest list' to the wedding feast that will begin eternity for believers! That's something to be joyful about! Just one of many things that can bring us joy regardless of our circumstances. So.....
Rejoice!
Why does God give us grace?
We are told that "God is Love." And that's true.
We are told that "God so loved the world." And that's also true.
We are told that God "chose us...before the creation of the world." And that, my friends, is true as well.
Christianity is based on the fact that God gives people grace that they don't deserve. But why? Well, here's the answer: only God knows.
As Ephesians 1:5-6 tells us.
"He predestined us...according to the purpose of his will - to the praise of his glorious grace."
That's it.
According to the purpose of his will. To the praise of his glory.
This should fill us with awesome wonder...while welling up in us an inexpressible thankfulness.
And how does this grace come to us?
Through Jesus Christ!
[EDIT: As I have further learned, later on in the book of Ephesians, we get a little more insight. It says that God's kindness to us is to show the riches of his grace to those in the coming ages (2:6-7). The really crazy part is that it says this will happen as we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, which seems to indicate that his glory is being shown to angels or other heavenly beings we know nothing about! This idea is backed up in Eph 3:10. ]
We are told that "God so loved the world." And that's also true.
We are told that God "chose us...before the creation of the world." And that, my friends, is true as well.
Christianity is based on the fact that God gives people grace that they don't deserve. But why? Well, here's the answer: only God knows.
As Ephesians 1:5-6 tells us.
"He predestined us...according to the purpose of his will - to the praise of his glorious grace."
That's it.
According to the purpose of his will. To the praise of his glory.
This should fill us with awesome wonder...while welling up in us an inexpressible thankfulness.
And how does this grace come to us?
Through Jesus Christ!
[EDIT: As I have further learned, later on in the book of Ephesians, we get a little more insight. It says that God's kindness to us is to show the riches of his grace to those in the coming ages (2:6-7). The really crazy part is that it says this will happen as we are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms, which seems to indicate that his glory is being shown to angels or other heavenly beings we know nothing about! This idea is backed up in Eph 3:10. ]
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