Weekend Warrior

I'm looking forward to this weekend...  it will be action-packed with opportunities to share Christ...  in word and deed... Tonight, we'll be serving up lattes, cappuccinos and cookies to soldiers at Ft. Jackson.  The weekly Cadence Fortress Coffeehouse is the highlight of the week for many of them, who are in their advanced training.  This is sponsored by the chaplains, and provides the soldiers with some down-time to enjoy music, fellowship and a message.  

Tomorrow, there is an open house at Victory Ranch - which is a retreat ministry that Cadence does.  The regular weekend retreat will be going on - with an opportunity for others to drop in and see the ministry in action.  This provides soldiers with a 24-hour respite from training - where they can enjoy home-cooked meals, games, fellowship, outdoor recreations, movies, books and more!  We also provide a Bible study and a Sunday message.  I'll try to post some pictures after tomorrow!  

I'm teaching on the Wisdom of God this weekend in Sunday school... stay tuned for a post on that next week!  

Have a great weekend!

Andrea  

Rising Above Our Circumstances

Just to summarize the key points of the first two blogs, in case you may have forgotten… (or didn’t read them):

·         God (the LORD – Yahweh) is the source and focus of our joy

·         Joy is NOT based in circumstances

·         Joy is NOT a synonym for happiness – although - neither does it preclude happiness

·         We are commanded to be joyful – in all circumstances

Jesus spoke a fair amount about joy…  in fact, at the last supper, He gave the eleven disciples some pertinent information as to how to have “full joy”.  In John 15:1-12, Jesus points out three evidences of believers, which are linked to this joy:

1.       They will bear fruit – and they will be pruned.  Pruning is an interesting thing – because it is NOT just clipping away dead parts.  In fact, it occurs in spring when vines are flowering.  Fast-growing shoots are clipped, so they won’t grow too quickly, long shoots are clipped so they don’t break in the wind; some flowers or fruit are removed so that the remaining fruit will be of better quality, and “suckers” are removed so that the strength of the vine is not weakened.  As believers, the fruit that we will bear is described by Paul in Galatians 5:22: love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  It is important to note that this fruit glorifies God – NOT worldly success.

2.       The second identifier of a believer is that they will ABIDE in Christ.   You cannot bear this fruit on your own or in your own strength.  Christ says this in vs. 4-5.  The ONLY way to bear this fruit is to abide in Him.  Abide means to remain or continue in Him.  So, if you are trusting in a prayer you prayed at some point in your life… you might want to reconsider…  we must ABIDE in Him.  Some ideas on how that “looks”: prayer, Bible study, fellowship with believers.

3.       The third identifying trait of a believer is that they obey God’s commands. Again, Jesus gives direction on this in vs. 9-10 when He tells us that He loves His bride and that we are to abide in His love by keeping His commandments.  Then, in vs. 12 He gives us one of the two commands: Love one another.  (The other is to love God.)  As I pondered this – I thought – “wow… what if Jesus were to return today and the litmus test of belief was the way believers loved one another?”  Our churches are in a sad state of affairs – because it seems like we “love” more like the world than the love Paul describes in 1 Cor. 13.  I am challenged to love more self-sacrificially by these words. 

Jesus didn’t just come up with this list to burden us with more to do or to create a works-based salvation.  Salvation is a work of grace – a free gift.  These things can ONLY be done by one who has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who has come to help us.  But – these are a good test for us to see where we are abiding…  and for those who are abiding – we rest in the knowledge that we have an eternal inheritance – and that knowledge causes our joy to be full!  (v. 11)  In John 16:11, Jesus says, “I have said these things to keep you from falling away”.  In other words – they are boundary markers – if you go outside this – it gives cause to question your allegiances.

Jesus knew this wouldn’t be easy – and if you are like me, you are thinking – “Well, this is all great, but HOW do I do this?”  We learn a lot – get “head knowledge” – but how do we move it to our heart, so that the next time our circumstances are overwhelming us, we can remember to “consider it all joy”?

Here are some practical ways to do this:

·         Express spiritual affections based on TRUTHS of God

o   About His character

o   About His Word

o   About His doings

·         By being content

·         By words – prayer, praise, psalms

·         By attitude & countenance (smile once in a while)

·         By tears of joy – (ie) crying when someone professes faith

·         By silent thought – rejoicing in our heart

·         By remembering the things God has done in our lives

·         By laughter of joy –see 2 Sam. 6:14-16 – where the ark is returned and David and the people are dancing, shouting and singing!

·         Cultivate a heart of joy

o   Digging for “gold” – looking for the good in hard circumstances

o   5 Things I’m Thankful for…

·         Train yourself to be alert to the many reasons FOR rejoicing.  We can get so bogged down with the details of life that we MISS opportunity to rejoice.  Be looking and listening to what people are telling you about what God is doing in their lives.  Watch carefully for answers to your prayers…

A recent example of the last bullet point…  last week, our internet suddenly and inexplicably quit working.  It was a day when I had a fairly tight schedule, and none of the normal trouble-shooting techniques were working.  So, I called the internet provider… which turned out to be unhelpful.  In frustration, I unplugged everything and dashed off to our Ladies Bible study at church, trying to refocus my mind on my role in that.  On the way home, I thought, “I haven’t even prayed about this!”  And so, I asked the Lord to forgive me for not turning to Him immediately – for being independent and trying to always be self-sufficient… and then I asked Him to help me with this situation.  (I depend on the internet heavily – as I telecommute). 

When I walked in the door, wondering what the next step was and how much of the next day might be consumed with trouble-shooting, my sister said, “I just plugged everything back in about 5 minutes ago [the SAME time I was praying], and the internet came up!”  A worldly response to that would be to list out some technical reason…  “Oh, it just needed unplugged for a while to reset”…  But a God-honoring response was to say, “That was exactly when I asked the Lord to intervene – ISN’T HE GOOD???”  He was answering my prayer, even as I prayed it…  and it is my hope that I will remember that lesson, and RUN to Him with ALL the details of my life… because He is BIG enough, powerful enough, WHATEVER enough to handle them!  To HIM be the honor and glory and praise – FOREVER!  He is worthy!  And in HIM is our joy complete!

"What We've Learned about Joy"

I'm getting ready to post my third blog on joy and I thought it might be neat to share some of the photo's of the "joy posters" created at the Unity Presbyterian Church Women's retreat.  I asked them to create posters of what they had been learning about joy...

Joy Notes - What Robs Us of Joy?

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4, ESV)

These verses perplex many Christians - because when the tough times come: a tragic accident that takes a spouse; cancer that robs a child of his life; daily trials that wear us down - we wonder why on earth James would tell us to consider this all joy?

As I mentioned in my first posting on joy, this is a joy that only comes from the Lord, and it is based on our position in Christ. Far too often, when the trials of life come, we say, "Why Me??" and then grit our teeth and think if we some how hunker down and stoically bear through the hard times, we will somehow return to a state of happiness. 

We think our hard circumstances rob us of joy. But this is contrary to what the Bible teaches. James tells us to count the trials as joy. Why? Because it tests our faith and produces maturity. As a believer - your joy is already there - it is the knowledge that this world is not your home - you are merely passing through to your REAL home… which is your eternal inheritance in heaven. This perseverance is a mark of maturity - an affirmation that you are, indeed, growing in Christ. How we respond to trials reveals a great deal about where we find our treasure… because a believer takes hope in what is to come, and does not despair over the losses of this world. THIS isn't the prize!

So, if you aren't experiencing this joy, then here are some questions to ask yourself:

1.  The first question to ask is, have I truly been born again? Being religious won't get you through trials with joy. It is only when you have cried out to Jesus – recognizing that your own efforts will never be enough to merit an eternal relationship with God – when you have repented and turned and trusted in Christ alone – only then will you even be able to tap into joy.
   

2. Some of you might be saying – YES, I know that I am born again – and at one point, I was tapped into that joy- but something has happened… and I don't know how to get back to it. The next question is: where is your focus? Are you focused and tapped into Christ or are you consumed with yourself? Am I consumed with myself – am I consumed with the daily demands of this life? Or, am I delighting myself in HIM! Am I keeping an eternal perspective? I am seeking to know Him and be known by Him?

   Satan seeks to steal our joy. One of his many subtle tricks is to keep us focused on ourselves and too busy to spend time with the One who ALONE can satisfy the desires of our heart. And he especially likes to use "religious" stuff to do this. 

3. Another thing that will rob you of joy is dissatisfaction. We need to ask ourselves, am I joyless because I think I deserve more than what is currently mine? For example – as a single woman, I can get wrapped up in a pity party that I am not married. As married people, we can get wrapped up in "I don't have children yet" – or I wish my spouse were more like that person… or a multitude of other things. What breeds discontent in your heart? 

   This is one of the dangers of the health and wealth gospel that is prevalent these days… which says, God is going to give us a trouble-free life on this earth. But James does not say IF you face trials – he says WHEN. In other words – you WILL have trials – of all shapes and sizes. But not just to have trials. They have purpose… they mature us in our faith… and we don't get joy when we make it through them – the joy is already ours. 

   This is a perspective issue. If you are focused on yourself and the trial – it's going to be a miserable experience. Remember – we are striving for our eternal inheritance – which, by the way, is beyond our wildest imaginations.

   Trials will come – it's our focus and response that indicate where our heart finds delight. When trials come is our response "woe is me" or is it, "God is good!"?

4.  Another reason you might be lacking joy is if you are being controlled by your feelings. Philippians 4:4 says – REJOICE in the Lord always – again, I say REJOICE. Ask yourself – what is TRUE in this situation? You may not always FEEL like rejoicing – but as a believer, the fact that you have been redeemed is reason enough to wake up praising and rejoicing! 

We must learn to CONTROL our feelings. The only way to do that is to practice right thinking. Phil. 4:8 says "Whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy – think on THESE things" (NIV).

I don't know if any of you have ever suffered from depression – but I have had 3 bouts with it – all in my 20's – and God be praised – not at all in the past 10 years. Many times depression comes from a downward spiral in our thoughts… if we can catch this early on – we can avoid the downward spiral. (Now, I'm not talking about depression that comes from chemical imbalance… which is not the cause of depression for most of us…)

There are two steps that I take and recommend, if you are feeling "down":

• Check for any known sin issues – I know at least one of my depressions was brought on by me being in sin… I literally became sin-sick. If you know of sin in your life – name it – (ie) confess it – and then repent (turn from it – stop it!
• Recite TRUTH – about who God is – what He desires for and from His children… remind yourself of where your treasure is. One thing others (and I) have found to be helpful is to keep index cards with relevant verses – and when that depression seems lurking – recite truth. Break out those index cards and get your thinking back on track and your focus back on the source of joy.




5.  In James 1:5-8, we discover another clue. James says, "if any of you lacks wisdom, ASK God!" A lack of prayer will rob you of joy. Are you spending time set aside to talk to and LISTEN to God?

Back in the Philippians passage – right after Paul says to always rejoice – he says PRAY! (v. 6) We see this in his letter to the Thessalonians too. Thess. 5:16-18 says "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (NIV)


If you've ever wondered what God's will is for you – well, this is clear… and I think if we focused on just getting this part right – it would make a difference!!


Joy and prayer and thanksgiving are all linked. So often we blame our circumstances for our lack of joy, but it really has so much more to do with our relationship to the Lord (or lack of). I recommend praying Scripture (in proper context). (Two helpful books on this: Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney and Before the Throne of God by Carol J. Ruvolo.) Praying Scripture helps my focus stay on Christ - and it gives me the proper perspective (God's perspective).


What I have described is not easy - and it requires us to fight for this joy. In my next posting I will describe more ways for us to do just that.