There's a song sung by 4Him where the chorus goes something like this:
We need to get back to the basics of life
A heart that is pure and a love that is blind
A faith that is fervently grounded in Christ
A hope that endures for all time
These are the basics
We need to get back to the basics of life
Every now and then, God brings this song to mind -- often at those times when I need some "course correction" in my own life or when things are falling apart at some level on a larger scale.
It's easy, as a pastor, to get caught up in the "need" to address each of life's woes with something specific from Scripture -- how to manage your finances, how to be a good husband, what to do when you're dealing with depression, etc. Of course, all of those things are valid issues, and thankfully God has given us a resource through His Word where -- under the guidance of the Holy Spirit -- we can turn and share with others to help meet those specific needs.
However, I'm reminded of what Jesus said as recorded in Matthew 6:31-33 -- "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (NKJV) In the end, it really all does boil down to focusing on the central message of God's kingdom and the gift of His righteousness that He offers to all those who trust by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ.
As we focus on Jesus and His righteousness, we become more and more like Him -- with a heart that is pure and a love that is blind. When we keep our eyes on Jesus and make the decision and commitment to trust Him by faith -- really trust Him so our lives become grounded on that foundation -- then God invariably gives us a hope that endures through everything life can thrown at us.
Today, let me encourage you to seek first our loving Father, His kingdom and His righteousness, and trust that -- no matter what the obstacle or the struggle you are called to endure -- He will take care of your need.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
The Difference Between Joy and Happiness
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV) -- "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Except for around Christmastime, we don't often hear the word "joy" being used -- and when we do, most people often interchange it for "happiness". In fact, when looking up the word "joy" on www.dictionary.com, the first definition for the word "joy" as a noun comes up with the following:
Except for around Christmastime, we don't often hear the word "joy" being used -- and when we do, most people often interchange it for "happiness". In fact, when looking up the word "joy" on www.dictionary.com, the first definition for the word "joy" as a noun comes up with the following:
- the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation
But is "joy" the same as "happiness"? Perhaps an even better question would be, "Can a person experience joy without experiencing happiness?" I think the answer is, "Yes"...and a perfect example of that would be Jesus Himself.
Look at the what Scripture says in Hebrews 12:2 -- "...looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross..." It was because of the joy that He knew from intimate fellowship with His Father that He willingly subjected Himself to the shame and brutality of the cross. But while He was experiencing joy, He most certainly wasn't experiencing happiness.
Think of how Scripture records Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of His arrest, just prior to His crucifixion -- "...and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed." (Matthew 26:37b, NKJV); and "And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (Luke 22:44, NKJV) Medical experts have documented a physical condition called hematodrosis, in which the body is under such great stress that the capillaries that feed the sweat glands burst, allowing small amounts of blood to mix with the sweat. Jesus was not experiencing "happiness" the night before His crucifixion, but He was experiencing "joy".
Or consider Jesus on the cross, as the sins of the entire world -- past, present and future -- were laid upon His shoulders. At that moment, Jesus became sin for us, and God could not look upon His Son. The Bible records for us what impact that had on Jesus in Mark 15:34 (NKJV) -- "And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'" That was a time of tremendous sorrow and brokenness for our Savior. He wasn't "happy" then either, but He was experiencing God's abiding joy.
Happiness is almost always linked to what a person is experiencing right now. Joy, however, comes from a focus on what is to come, not on what is happening right now. It's more than a feeling or an emotion. It's that inner "fuel" that allows you to say, "What I'm going through right now isn't fun, enjoyable, happy, etc. BUT, it's worth it because I know what the outcome will be."
For Jesus, He knew firsthand what it meant to have constant fellowship with His Father, and it was His desire for all of mankind to have that same intimate relationship with His Father as well. But He also knew that, because of mankind's sinfulness, there was no possible way for us to have an eternal relationship with God on our own. Nothing we could ever do on our own could ever erase sin from our lives. Jesus knew the only way that could happen was for God to transfer our sin to Him -- to allow our debt to become Jesus' responsibility to pay -- which was only made possible through Jesus' death on the cross. And so, what both drove Jesus to the cross and kept Him there was the incredible love He has for each of us and the joy of knowing that -- because of what He would accomplish through the cross -- you and I would have the opportunity to truly have fellowship with His Father just like He enjoyed daily.
Was the cross a happy experience for Jesus? No, it wasn't...but it was an experience driven by true joy, a joy that is available to every person who places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
The Holy Spirit, Pentecost, and the Old Testament
Acts 2:1-4 (NKJV) -- "When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."
Following Jesus' ascension, the disciples did just as Jesus had commanded them -- they remained together in Jerusalem and waited on the giving of the Holy Spirit before they continued with what is known as the Great Commission. (Jesus said, as recorded in Acts 1:8 -- "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV) As we read in Acts 2:1-4 (shown above), the Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, empowering the disciples to speak in other languages, resulting in the message of the Gospel being shared simultaneously with thousands of people!
But why did this happen on the Day of Pentecost? Certainly, there were a lot of people in Jerusalem -- this was a celebration day that would be accompanied by a lot of activity. So, from a strategic sense, there was good reason for this to happen on this day. However, could there be more? I think so...in fact, from my initial study of Scripture, it appears to be linked to the Old Testament in a way that completely glorifies God!
First, it's important to understand the significance of the Day of Pentecost. The word "Pentecost" refers to "fifty days". In the Old Testament, the Day of Pentecost is directly linked to the Jewish festival "Shavuot", in the Bible known as the Festival (or Feast) of Weeks. It is a celebration that commemorates when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai -- an event that occurred fifty days after the Passover, when the Jewish people were freed from bondage and enslavement to the Egyptians. (From Wikipedia -- "On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.")
Interestingly, the Festival of Weeks is also referred to in Scripture as Day of First Fruits, a celebration of the harvest that God gave His people, and is linked to the Feast of Harvest (see Exodus 23:16) as well. God's people would celebrate how God had taken care of them and would offer back to God the first-fruits of their harvest as a way of honoring God.
Here's where it gets so incredible -- look at the similarities and the significance of the two events, from the Old Testament and the New Testament:
1) In the Old Testament, the Passover celebrated when the Jews were freed from enslavement and Pentecost celebrated when they became a nation committed to God. In the New Testament, the crucifixion of Christ during Passover week is something we look back to as a time when humanity was provided freedom from being enslaved to sin...and at Pentecost, through the giving of the Holy Spirit, it's a celebration of entering a new relationship with God.
2) In the Old Testament, as you read the accounts, you find that -- when God gave the law (the Torah) to Moses on Mount Sinai, He wrote the 10 Commandments Himself on the tablets of stone. (see Deuteronomy 9:10) God Himself carved the 10 Commandments into the stone to signify the covenant relationship He had with His people. In the New Testament, the image of the Holy Spirit being given to the disciples mimics the finger of God -- in this case, it was as tongues of fire, signifying the beginning of a new covenant relationship God was initiating with all of humanity, to all those who would trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. In both cases, God "sealed the deal" symbolically through a direct intervention.
3) Of course, with Pentecost being directly tied to the Feast of Harvest, there is a direct correlation to the harvest the disciples experienced following the giving of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:41 tells us the following: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them." (NKJV) And, just as the Jewish people would make a sacrifice of first-fruits on this day, we see the early church members also making a sacrifice of their own -- Acts 2:44-45 says, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need."
These are just some parallels that I felt God impressing upon my heart as I was preparing for the Bible study during the mid-week service at church. While not meant to be exhaustive in any way, for me it just serves as a reminder of how intentional God is about everything He does... He is truly amazing!
Following Jesus' ascension, the disciples did just as Jesus had commanded them -- they remained together in Jerusalem and waited on the giving of the Holy Spirit before they continued with what is known as the Great Commission. (Jesus said, as recorded in Acts 1:8 -- "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." NKJV) As we read in Acts 2:1-4 (shown above), the Holy Spirit was given on the Day of Pentecost, empowering the disciples to speak in other languages, resulting in the message of the Gospel being shared simultaneously with thousands of people!
But why did this happen on the Day of Pentecost? Certainly, there were a lot of people in Jerusalem -- this was a celebration day that would be accompanied by a lot of activity. So, from a strategic sense, there was good reason for this to happen on this day. However, could there be more? I think so...in fact, from my initial study of Scripture, it appears to be linked to the Old Testament in a way that completely glorifies God!
First, it's important to understand the significance of the Day of Pentecost. The word "Pentecost" refers to "fifty days". In the Old Testament, the Day of Pentecost is directly linked to the Jewish festival "Shavuot", in the Bible known as the Festival (or Feast) of Weeks. It is a celebration that commemorates when God gave Moses the 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai -- an event that occurred fifty days after the Passover, when the Jewish people were freed from bondage and enslavement to the Egyptians. (From Wikipedia -- "On Passover, the Jewish people were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.")
Interestingly, the Festival of Weeks is also referred to in Scripture as Day of First Fruits, a celebration of the harvest that God gave His people, and is linked to the Feast of Harvest (see Exodus 23:16) as well. God's people would celebrate how God had taken care of them and would offer back to God the first-fruits of their harvest as a way of honoring God.
Here's where it gets so incredible -- look at the similarities and the significance of the two events, from the Old Testament and the New Testament:
1) In the Old Testament, the Passover celebrated when the Jews were freed from enslavement and Pentecost celebrated when they became a nation committed to God. In the New Testament, the crucifixion of Christ during Passover week is something we look back to as a time when humanity was provided freedom from being enslaved to sin...and at Pentecost, through the giving of the Holy Spirit, it's a celebration of entering a new relationship with God.
2) In the Old Testament, as you read the accounts, you find that -- when God gave the law (the Torah) to Moses on Mount Sinai, He wrote the 10 Commandments Himself on the tablets of stone. (see Deuteronomy 9:10) God Himself carved the 10 Commandments into the stone to signify the covenant relationship He had with His people. In the New Testament, the image of the Holy Spirit being given to the disciples mimics the finger of God -- in this case, it was as tongues of fire, signifying the beginning of a new covenant relationship God was initiating with all of humanity, to all those who would trust in His Son, Jesus Christ. In both cases, God "sealed the deal" symbolically through a direct intervention.
3) Of course, with Pentecost being directly tied to the Feast of Harvest, there is a direct correlation to the harvest the disciples experienced following the giving of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:41 tells us the following: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them." (NKJV) And, just as the Jewish people would make a sacrifice of first-fruits on this day, we see the early church members also making a sacrifice of their own -- Acts 2:44-45 says, "Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need."
These are just some parallels that I felt God impressing upon my heart as I was preparing for the Bible study during the mid-week service at church. While not meant to be exhaustive in any way, for me it just serves as a reminder of how intentional God is about everything He does... He is truly amazing!
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