Category: Rejoice in the Lord

Rejoice in the Lord

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Rejoice in the Lord
“Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4
One of the characteristics that SHOULD set us apart from the world is the word: REJOICE! I have often said if Christians really practiced this one action, we could turn the world upside because people would want to know what we are so happy about, even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
I read this yesterday in STREAMS IN THE DESERT  (Zondervan):
It’s a good thing to “rejoice in the Lord.” Perhaps you have tried it but seem to fail at first. Don’t give it a second thought, and forge ahead. Even when you cannot FEEL any joy, there is no spring in your step, nor any comfort or encouragement in your life, continue to rejoice and “consider it pure joy” (James 1:2).

“Whenever you face trials of many kinds” (James 1:2), regard it as joy, delight in it, and God will reward your faith.  Do you believe that your heavenly Father will let you carry the banner of His victory and joy to the very front of the battle, only to calmly withdraw to see you captured or beaten back by the enemy? NEVER! His Holy Spirit will sustain you in your bold advance and fill your heart with gladness and praise. You will find that your heart is exhilarated and refreshed by the fullness within …

Lord, teach me to rejoice in You – to be “joyful always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16). Let us sing when we do not feel like it, for in this way we give wings to heavy feet and turn weariness into strength.

Oh, let us rejoice in the Lord, evermore,

When darts of the Tempter are flying,
For Satan still dreads, as he did before,
Our singing much more than our crying!
Dear brother – what are you facing today in your life? Take God at His Word and REJOICE!  — Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick
GPS – God’s Positioning System: Leviticus 5-7; Psalm 42; Proverbs 15
Compass Pointers: He [Christ] tells us plainly, and without any qualifications, that we are involved in a war in which there is no room for neutrals. Yet people attempt to evade His statement. Generally speaking, these are the very people who are the quickest in laying the blame upon God for all the sorrow and sin in the world. They argue that He could prevent it. They excuse their own do nothing attitude by making of evil’s apparent predominance a ground for doubt of His loving kindness. It never seems to occur to them to look for the cause in mankind. Hugh Redwood

Navigation Rules to Memorize: Level 1: Proverbs 7:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 7:1-6
Anchored to the Rock: Neglect prayer. Neglect God. O. Hallesby

Rejoice in the Lord

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Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

God will not command us to do what we cannot do.
            He promises us that He will see us through,
So how can we learn that we can rejoice?
            His command takes away our chance for choice.
We can rejoice for a little while if we try,
            We can let some problem go by,
But sooner or later the time will run out
            And we will give up and begin to pout.
If we try, with all of our might,
            We can somehow make it through a night,
But as sure as there arises the morning sun
            Our great rejoice is suddenly done.
To always rejoice, we must remain “in the Lord.”
            We need to focus on God’s Word.
Remember that “weeping may endure for a night”  (Psalm 30:5)
            But Joy comes with the morning light.
All of our “problems” will come and go
            So don’t let them hurt you so.
It may appear that they will last a while
            But like all the storms of life, just smile,
For they will pass like a summer shower.
            (Now it rarely rains for even one hour)
But when it is over you will see once more
            That our land is better than it was before.               
Move out from under life’s circumstances.
            While you may not feel like doing dances
You’ll find that the moments of each day
            Will help you to rejoice along life’s way.
And joy will be yours if you only do
            What this song bids you to
Put Jesus First for His will is best
            Put Others second then you’ll be blest
If you take care to put yourself last
            All of your problems will soon be past
And you will suddenly find that rejoicing is your desire
            And the Joy you find will be from heaven’s fire.
“So, fix your eyes on Jesus
            He’s coming back some day
Just look up and cheer up
            For that’s the only way!”              
Hebrews 12:2 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Dr. Van served this summer as Campus Pastor and is a dear friend of the ministry of America’s Keswick.
Digging Deeper: Proverbs 16; Ezekiel 3-4; Hebrews 11:20-40

Dig This Quote: As every lord giveth a certain livery (uniform) to his servants, charity is the very livery of Christ. Our Saviour, who is the Lord above all lords, would have his servants known by their badge, which is love. Latimer
Determined Digging: Level 1: John 11:25-26; Level 2: Matthew 5:1-9

Determined Praying: For what is prayer in the last analysis? It is a conscious spreading out of my helplessness before God. – Al Martin