Needed in todays Chaos! 6/15,2025
Monday, June 22, 2015
"Make my joy complete by being of
the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one
purpose". (Philippians
2:2). "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers
to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head
coming down upon the beard" (Psalm 133:1).
Hey Gang: Did you begin your day
with your armor in place? Is your helmet down so Satan cannot tell you from
Christ? Our Scripture of the day suggests," Making your day
complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in
spirit, intent on one purpose".
Before I get into Paul's joy
principles found in Philippians, I want to share two quick ditty's that are
filed in my human computer banks. I recall an old country preacher that
was asked to define ‘joy’. After several moments of deep thought he
responded, "It is like to ‘spin around like a top’". Now
I do not believe you would find that definition in the Greek or Hebrew or
Aramaic Lexicon's, but it is a definition the kids remembered and I tend to
think it is a pretty good definition.
The second ditty is a verse that all
should tuck away, but not too deep, in your heart and mind. It is found
in one of my favorite 66 books in the Bible - Nehemiah 8:10. Nehemiah was
dealing with very perilous times when he wrote the following antidote to the
grunges: "Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your
strength" (Nehemiah 8:10b). I like the way David put it in
Psalm 28:7, "The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in
Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart exults, and with my song I shall
thank Him". I believe he is saying here that we have a choice,
we can have the "fear of the Lord which is our strength” or the ‘grunges’
which is Satan's forte.
With those two ditty's banging around
in your head, let us now return to Paul's teaching to the Philippian people on
how to live a very joy filled and effective life for Christ. Remember the
first point: there is joy in knowing there are brothers and sister in Christ
who are praying for us. To that I say, Whoopee"!
Paul's second point on joy reminds us
that there is joy that Jesus Christ is preached. "What then? Only
that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and
in this I rejoice" (Philippians 1:18). I could write a
long dissertation on this point but will restrict it to one: we are all
preachers. I believe this was very bothersome to Paul. In Romans, in the
midst of his sermon on how to bring folks to salvation, Paul asked this
question, "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not
believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard?
And how will they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:14). As I read
the story of hell and the Lake of fire, I vowed once again to do all in my
power to prevent even the vilest person from being sentenced to eternity in
such agony.
Soooo, good buddies, I close this
epistle with that wonderful passage from Jesus where He (Yeshua) assured all
who lay down their lives before Him will "Abide in Me, and I in you...I
am the vine and you are the branches". Can you say a loud Amen
to that? Do you want joy this day? Not as the world gives for it is
as the grass that fades but the joy that Jesus promises in these words,
"These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that
you joy may be made full". (John 15 read 1 thru 17).
Blessings, Gramps
