Shouts of JOY, Even When the Sky Appears To Be Falling!

 Tuesday, March 17, 2015

 

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, shall indeed come again with shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (Psalm 126:5-6).

 Hey Gang:  I believe Satan hates hymns of praise.  As a matter of fact, I have tested this many imes.  When the alligators are up to my armpits and my back is against the wall, I get out my lawn mower (or snow blower) and go out and ….  Now, I may have cut the grass two days ago so there must be another reason why I am doing a repeat performance, when it certainly does not need a repeat performance at this time.

 And there is.  You see my lawn mower makes a lot of noise and when it is running at top throttle and the cutter bar is whirling a full speed it makes a lot of noise, so much so that I can sing at the top of my lungs and no one but me and Abba Father can hear me.  I believe, when I am singing praise songs, and power songs and Scripture Songs, it is as a soothing aroma to Abba Father and an eviction notice to "Slue Foot!

 The Psalmist gave us these very special words of encouragement in times of trouble: "He who dwells in the shelter of the most High Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.  ..For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence".  Now notice the next phrase, "He will cover you with His pinions and under His wings you may seek refuge" (Psalm 91:1, 3).

 Paul said, "I became your Father in Christ…Therefore I exhort you, be an imitator of me" (1 Corinthians 4:14-16).   He also said, "be an imitator of God".  (Ephesians. 5:1).  Do you think Paul was a man of joy?  He certainly had many reasons to believe life was a bummer.   I believe the one thing that Paul developed early in his ministry was to survive and remain firm in his walk with the Lord. You, too, will need a very strong "act of the will".  And where does the cannon fodder for the "act of the will" come from?  James says we grow strong through trials and tribulations so that we can handle even bigger trials and tribulations in the future. (James 1)

 In 2 Corinthians 4:17, Paul refers to his slight afflictions as producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.  Later, In 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, he lists what he considered "slight afflictions", any one which could send us into depression -ville.  How do we keep our Love Bank from becoming totally bankrupt  when we encounter even one such experience listed in this passage? 

 I believe we can find the key to Paul's success, “…in keeping his eyes on the mark that is Jesus Christ”, in the Book of Philippians.   It is truly a book of joy.  Paul begins by telling us there is great joy in knowing that there are those in the family of God who are praying for us.   (I fear the phrase "I will pray for you" has become a phrase with no meaning or commitment to many.) 

 When we started the Village, there is no question in my mind, we were successful  because we had a solid core of grandmothers who prayed very faithfully for us.   I believe our Nation has taken the wrong path in recent years because our prayer life has become "pithy".  I am truly blessed and so very thankful to know there are faithful prayer warriors who take me to the throne room of heaven on a regular basis., and many who pray for the Village.

 Sooooo, my young friends and neighbors, I will close this epistle for today with Paul's words from First Thessalonians 5:16-18, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  Paul has much more to say about joy and I will scatter them throughout these epistles.

 Blessings,      Gramps                                                                                                            

   Gramps