LifeLink Devotional

Friday, March 2, 2018

Philippians 1:3-4   I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy,

Today’s joy principle from Philippians 1:3-4 is this – Be thankful!

I am deeply concerned about the minimized emphasis we place on thanksgiving in our lives, and the comfort we seem to find in complaining. What is it that makes us believe that we are better off by talking about what’s wrong with life rather than what’s right with it? Why do we believe that it feels good to focus our attention on the bad? What strange kinds of rules are dictating our behavior when we think we can lift our spirits by looking down on our situation? It could be jealousy over someone else’s success, or it could be pride trying to inflate itself at the expense of others. Maybe it’s an expression of insecurity that somehow gives us a sense of temporary control. But whatever we use as our justification for complaining, God doesn’t recognize it. We are commanded to rejoice and be thankful.

On our journey to joy, we must make a stop at the twin cities of prayer and thanksgiving. When I was a boy, I was commanded to say thank-you to people for anything I received. But simple obedience to a command does not create a thankful heart. Without the intentional intervention of grace into our hearts, saying thanks for things becomes nothing more than a polite response, or a tool we use to gain more benefit for ourselves. But when God’s grace overwhelms us with salvation and the gift of eternal life, the Holy Spirit produces the fruit of joy in our hearts, which causes us to rejoice in the Lord always.

I will admit that there are things about life that warrant complaining, but none that warrant the loss of joy. I am not so concerned about the immediate and spontaneous negative reactions to tragedy and loss. I am more concerned about the overall attitude of gratitude that seems to be lacking in many of us.

I remember the day years ago when my car was struck on the side by another vehicle. My initial reactions were, “What was that guy thinking?” and “Oh great, I can’t afford a new car.” But within a few seconds I was saying thank-you to God that I was not hurt and that the other driver was not hurt.

Upon further reflection, I later realized that I still did not understand true thanksgiving. My thanksgiving was simply a response to a positive outcome in a negative circumstance. I could have been rejoicing in the faithfulness of my Father regardless of the outcome of the circumstances.

If we are going to truly become people of joy, we must learn to rejoice in the Lord, not simply in the positive outcomes of our daily life experiences. We need to learn to be thankful that we are in an unbreakable relationship with Jesus, even when relationships with people are being broken. We can be thankful that we have every need supplied by our God who deeply cares for us, even when it appears that the world is taking everything from us. We can be thankful that nothing can separate us from God’s love, even when the world alienates us because of our love for God. We can be thankful that our hope has been firmly planted in the promises of God that cannot fail, even though the earthly promises of people do fail.

So, when you pray, be thankful. When you tell God your needs, be thankful for His love that expresses itself in the meeting of those needs. When you complain to God about things that are wrong, be thankful for His justice that makes all things right. When you ask Him to fix a problem, be thankful that He has the power to accomplish all things according to His purpose. When you are so distraught that you don’t know what to ask for, be thankful that the Holy Spirit knows your heart and intercedes on your behalf to the Father.

And when you pray about anything, be thankful that through Jesus Christ we are the children of God with unconditional access to the throne of grace.

Pastor John

Philippians 4:4 – 7 ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

LifeLink Devotional

Thursday, March 1, 2018

Philippians 1: 2   Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our next stop on the journey to joy that we started yesterday is in Philippians 1:2, where we discover the incredible truth that God accepts us.

Do you remember, as I do, the pressure we felt as young children and teenagers to fit in? Maybe you still feel it. There is a huge longing in our souls to be accepted. As a child we need constant affirmation and attention from our parents. We cry for the security of a hug. As we grow we seek the approval of others by imitating their behavior. We quickly succumb to the lie that acceptance is earned.

As we grow, we begin performing up to what we perceive are other people’s expectations of us, simply to earn their approval. We begin speaking and acting like those we believe to be popular, so that we can potentially earn some of that approval for ourselves. We end up choosing our careers and our friends based on a single criteria – acceptance. Then we wonder why we are so unfulfilled and have no joy.

There is an answer to this dilemma of performance-based joylessness. It is stated in Philippians 1:2. We will experience the fullness of joy when we are at complete rest in the grace and peace of God. God’s grace is the basis for His acceptance, and it alone satisfies the longing of our soul.

Joy is the product of grace. In fact, the words “grace” and “joy” come from the same root word in the Greek language. What a wonderful truth – the grace of God that saves us is the essence of the joy we experience once we are saved.

Consider this – through Jesus Christ we have been chosen by God according to His divine purpose so that our lives might bring praise and honor to Him. Even though we were outsiders because of our sin, we have been included in Christ because we heard and accepted the truth of the Gospel. Our acceptance into God’s eternal family is so complete that we have been sealed by God with the Holy Spirit, declaring us to be His possession forever.  O the joy that abounds in the heart of the person who understands this level of acceptance. (See Ephesians 1:11-14 at the end of this devotional)

But we must also understand that our acceptance is not self-imposed, self-acquired, or self-deserved. We have done nothing to earn the acceptance of God, but He has done it all for us. My favorite verse of acceptance is found in Colossians 1, where Paul writes, ^“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (emphasis mine).

Isn’t that incredible? God has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in His kingdom! I’m accepted! WOW! AMEN! Praise the Lord!

Your journey to joy will not be complete until you come to a full comprehension of this truth. No longer will you have to imitate people to be accepted by people. Now you will be an imitator of Christ because He has already accepted you. (Romans 15:7) No more pressure to perform, because we are at peace in the grace of God. Spend a moment reflecting on that marvelous grace as you read the words to this great song:

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken
I’m accepted, You were condemned
I’m alive and well, Your Spirit is within me
Because You died and rose again

Amazing love, how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love, I know it’s true
It’s my joy to honor You
In all I do, to honor You

(CCLI #545997)

Be filled with joy and rejoice – you’re accepted by the grace of God!

Pastor John

Ephesians 1:11 – 14 (NIV) ¹¹In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹²in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Romans 15:7 (NIV) ⁷Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.