2022-08-26
Good Morning Dear Ones,
After writing about the different crowns glorified people can be given for the conduct of their earthly lives, it’s only fitting that we should look at joy’s foundation, surprise, restoration, and abiding. What is meant by “glorified people” here are those whom God has called to heaven and had their crowns (godly awards) given in heaven. With the understanding of what these crowns represent from previous messages, which matter most to you? I encourage you to go through these previous messages and to do some introspection of your own lives to assess your priorities, as I have done for mine. If you’re not totally happy with what you see, God is giving you time to make changes that will bring you closer to Him. This is a task we all need to do as soon as possible, because we don’t know when He will call us home. Because we are in a covenant relationship with Him, we should be looking inward to find even the most subtle sinfulness and confessing it with honesty before Him. Confession means acknowledging the sinfulness, prayerfully discussing it with Him, and stopping whatever thoughts and/or behavior it is. When dieting, the term “drift” is used to denote conscious or unconscious movement in favor of what one should not be eating. This same meaning can be used to apply to people who “drift” back into sinful thoughts or behavior. That is why we should prayerfully be looking into our souls on a regular basis to stop “drifting” [regression] before it takes hold over one’s life.
If we don’t feel God’s presence itself, know that He is there listening and observing our circumstances. A good example of this is the story of the imprisonment of Paul and Silas in Philippi, described in ACTS 16: 16-40. In the name of Jesus Christ, they exorcised an evil spirit from a slave girl that had been predicting the future. Her fortune telling had generated a lot of money for her owners. They pressed charges and Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and thrown in prison. There they were chained, while sitting on the cold, stony floor. Rather than complain of how unfair this treatment was, they began praying and singing God’s praises. Suddenly, there was an earthquake causing their chains to break and the prison gates to swing open. The lighting was poor enough that the jailer couldn’t see what happened to his charges. He thought he should kill himself as punishment for allowing the prisoners to escape. At that point, Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself; we are still here!” After calling for a light, the jailer could see they were telling the truth. Then, he asked, “What must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved.” The jailer then washed their wounds and he brought them to his house, where he and his family were baptized. Afterward, they shared a meal together filled with joy. The foundation of this joy had been the faithfulness that Paul and Silas demonstrated, despite the challenge that faced them. The surprise is that God was always listening in and eager to bring people closer to Himself. Restoration was the freedom gained by Paul and Silas as well as peace of mind that comes with knowing we can trust in God no matter what our circumstances might be. The abiding is joy at eagerly anticipating that day when God calls us home to Him. We don’t have to fear physical death, because Christ has given us victory over sin and death by His Atonement [1 COR 15: 56-58].
I can attest to the truth of what I’ve shared because of my experience with a group out of Toronto, Ontario called In Search of Shalom for whom I worked for several years. My job was spending at least six hours a week answering questions and comments from seekers, using my working knowledge of the Scriptures in real time computer chats. The foundation was my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; the surprise came with the depth of some of the seeker’s questions; the restoration came when I was able to comfort some seekers with the answers the Holy Spirit gave me to help them, and the abiding came with the joy that I felt. Some seekers even told me they came to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, resulting from our conversations. Our God loves each of us and wants to have a relationship with us.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are so grateful that nothing can sever our relationship with You once we proclaim belief in the Lord Jesus and accept Him as our personal Savior. A friend always put if this way: FAITH + NOTHING = SALVATION. It is by Your grace and nothing else that we can be ever-moving closer in our relationship with You and be blessed with salvation [JN 3: 16-18; EPH 2: 8-9]. Our faith in You also brings us Your love, which is constant, along with inner peace and joy. You show us that we don’t have to fear death because of His sacrifice on the cross. This Atonement brings all who believe in Him the chance to confess our sins and be in closer relationship with You. We thank and praise You for this sacrifice, and we ask You for Your help in always being faithful to our covenant with You. We also ask for Your guidance and intervention in our lives. This prayer is offered in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am commanded by the Holy Spirit to back up the notions offered here with more Scriptures next week. Joy is a rather superb gift of the Holy Spirit to be examining. Our God loves us so much that nothing can separate us from that love [RO 8: 38-39]. I’m at the stage of life where the Lord commands me to consider what kind of legacy will I leave behind. I hope and pray that writing these devotions, teaching adult Bible classes, and even taking a class new to me that is a grand review of the books of Isaiah and Daniel at the church, also new to me, where the Holy Spirit has placed me. I’ve returned to CA, where I had lived almost 50 years ago and never thought I would live again. For the first year, my family and I moved to the home we have now and unpacked all our belongings. My arrival at their invitation meant I wouldn’t have to live alone. Living in an intergenerational household has its challenges, but we are all adjusting as well as one can expect. I began attending my church in person recently and hope to meet the lead pastor soon. What tasks God has for me here are not yet clear, but I feel He has more work for me to do. I urge you to look for the joy in your own lives and ask God prayerfully what He wants you to do. Whatever it is, He will place you where You can use the talents and skills He has given you to do His work. That, Dear Ones, is a blessing! Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 34: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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