2022-09-23
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I wrote about Paul’s greatest joy on earth, which was conveying the Gospel of Jesus Christ and experiencing the joy of seeing others come to faith in the Lord and pursue lives based on truth. PHIL 1: 21-24, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” Paul knew the joy of bringing others to lives worthy of Christ’s Atonement. PHIL 1: 25-26, “Convinced of this I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me.” After writing this message, Paul went on in this same chapter to describe a life worthy of the Gospel, whether or not, he was physically with them or just writing to them. (Paul was on house arrest in Rome at the time).
There was plenty of opposition to faith in Jesus Christ at the time, particularly from believers in Gnosticism. [Gnosticism is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Gnosticism is a man-centered, rather than a God-centered religion, which involved elitist beliefs]. No doubt, this was a source of great worry to Paul.
My own experience in working for In Search of Shalom, a ministry out of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the recent past, gave me a deeper understanding of just how much joy is generated by sharing my faith in Jesus Christ with seekers, trying to deal with their own issues,---ones that sometimes made them feel that God didn’t love them or they were confused about what to believe. This work, which I did for 6 hrs. a week for 5 years, was answering their questions on the computer in real time chats. It connected me with some very interesting people with whom I chatted many times from all over the world. Some were dealing with lifestyle at odds with beliefs of the church, eg homosexuality and lesbianism, etc.; others had been reared in belief systems which rejected Christ, and so on. They felt alone and unloved, and it was my joy to share RO 8: 38-39, RO 8: 1 and 28 among many other rays of hope from the Bible with them. Their interest and positive reaction to these hopeful messages, like EPH 2: 8-10, gave both the seeker and me great inner joy. Some of them actually accepted Christ as their personal Savior for the first time in their lives. My own life has included moving to different places around North America, which interrupted what I was doing, but for the last 35 years I have been writing these weekly devotions, receiving joy from hearing from my many readers about their reactions to the teaching the Holy Spirit is sharing with me. And to think, it all got started at God’s hand, when a friend who was dying from brain cancer asked me to write to her and our Lord made it possible for others to hear about my letters and want to receive them. I love receiving your letters and studying these precious verses of the Bible with you. And yes, I also have some outside interests like studying Hebrew and Greek, Biblical archeology and research, being involved in my church, friendships, knitting and crochet, travel, TV and family time. To me, it is a privilege to witness to the faith Christ has given me.
If you are having difficulty in taking joy from your fellowship with Jesus Christ through prayer, study, etc., then ask yourself what is blocking it. Ask God to reveal the reason. HE 10: 23-25, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He Who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
PRAYER: O Dearest Father, believers in Your Son Jesus Christ know that He has been appointed by You as the final Judge of one’s fate [DN 7: 13-14]. We will all be judged with the same criteria in fairness and equity. PS 9: 7-8, “The Lord reigns forever; He has established His throne for judgment. He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the people with justice.” The faith we have today and the lives worthy of the Gospel that we live on earth will lead us “through the small gate to the narrow road that leads to eternal life,” [MT 7: 13-14]. Nothing will separate us from Your love or desire to bless us eternally for our faith in Your Son. Sometimes, we disappoint You in our imperfection, but His teaching has built our faith to a strong and vibrant force for good in our lives. We offer You praise and thanksgiving (richly deserved) for our blessings and are devoted to learning to trust You and turn first to You in our times of trouble. Help us, Dear Father, to gain spiritual maturity through our experiences with and faith in our Lord, Jesus Christ. In His mighty and wonderful name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am commanded by the Holy Spirit to write about some questions we should ask ourselves, in the course of determining the status of our faith. We each need to know what causes disconnection both within and outside of the church. I’ve been through long years of experience with churches that I served. Two split due to politics, another gave in to outside disconnectors, and several others were healthy churches that based everything on prayer and God’s word. One’s heart-attitude makes a huge difference. EPH 4: 3-5, “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, Who is over and through all and in all.” Love comes from God and gives rise to the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our lives. These gifts are listed in GA 5: 22-23, the subjects of this entire series of devotions. Look at them, if you haven’t yet memorized them, so that you can join me in seeing how these blessings can give us a better, more meaningful lives. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 24:15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved
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