Day 2 - Week 64 - James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you are faced with trials of many kinds."

Depending on which translation you are using, there are various adjectives preceding the word "joy".  Some say "pure joy", some say "all joy", others "nothing but joy, and even some say "great joy".  How are we able to anticipate trouble and trials in our lives with great joy? 

If we can think things through from the Lord's perspective, our feelings respond.  We know that God intends to use these things for our good and for His glory, and we can count it all joy.  I like the way the Phillips version puts this passage:  When all kinds of trials and temptations crowed into your loves my brothers, don't resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends!  Realize that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance.  - Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart

I believe that when Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," He was addressing this same perspective.  He was telling an earthly audience that those that they see around them that are sad and broken-hearted are just the people who will most likely seek God through their times of trouble.  When we are puffed up with our self-sufficiency, it can be the most difficult time of our lives to acknowledge God's supremacy over us.

Trials and troubles will come in our lives...we choose how to view them.  As Christians, we can face them with the confidence that God knows exactly what we are going through, and that He will use these very times to build in us a stronger faith, a faith that will be ready to stand the trials that are yet to come, and a faith that will endure to the end.  And not endure grudgingly and bitterly ("I'm suffering for the Lord!"), but endure with a spirit of joy.

Thank God this morning that He is the giver of joy in the middle of your trials and troubles.  That He will allow you to see His light in the middle of the darkness.  That He alone can give you the confidence to see your current problem through, and that He will give you a testimony to share on the other side.  A testimony of faithfulness and strength --- a testimony that you will share with a joy that will draw others to Him.

Day 1 - Week 64 - A joyful verse that's hard to love!

It's a beautiful May morning and I'm reminded of the words to one of my favorite old hymns that I recently learned my little 5 year-old granddaughter, Genny, is working on memorizing!  It made my heart happy to think about her keeping these words in her heart as she grows up and goes through life.  These words will be able to change the way she looks at life and the various problems that she will encounter along the way.  I'm so thankful to my son and his wife for instilling in their girls' lives the most important tools that they can give them...faith in the living and powerful God, knowing Jesus Christ as their Savior, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts to build and keep that faith.

This is my Father's world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres. 
This is my Father's world: 
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker's praise. 
This is my Father's world: 
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world. 
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet. 
This is my Father's world: 
why should my heart be sad? 
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! 
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Maltbie D. Babcock

If you know the tune to these words, I bet you're singing them now!  And I bet you are feeling just a bit more joyful than you were before because you have been reminded of the hope that you have...are you overflowing with that hope?  When you face problems today, let these words wash over you and give you a refreshment of hope to carry you through...this IS our Father's world!

Speaking of refreshment...time to refresh ourselves of our verses and then add one more!

Obedience (10)
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.
Romans 12:18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (NKJV)
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle word turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath."

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13  "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
Remember last week when I said how much I loved Romans 15:13 and the power that it expresses?  Well this week's verse is just as powerful, but it's rather hard to love. 

James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."  I think about James writing this letter to Jews who had been scattered due to persecution, and that his first words immediately after his greeting to them were ones of such "encouragement"!  You get a letter that starts like that, and you might be hesitant to finish it!  James packs a lot of punch into his letter, and it is very well worth your study.  Some call it the Proverbs of the New Testament because it is so full of practical wisdom to apply to our Christian walk. 

For this week, though, we will camp out on just this one little, powerful, verse and see how it impacts us...you can be assured it will!

Day 4 - Week 63 - Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

The past few days have brought with them several occasions for joy, for God's peace and for hope. Have I overflowed? In certain moments, yes, there has been that degree of hopefulness. But in other moments, my focus was distracted and my hope was diminished. Our continual hopefulness is dependent upon our continual focus on God's plan for us. Once our eyes are turned toward this world, and its deceit, hope seems to fly away, doesn't it?

A few days ago, my children's grandfather passed away. He was my father-in-law for eleven years, and even though that time frame of my life seems a long time ago, he was a big part of my years when I was transforming from a fairly naive 18-year old, to a 29-year old mother of two. He was a good man and he was a difficult man. He was completely opposite of my daddy, who was a calm and gentle man. He was a cowboy and he drank and he smoked and he cussed. And I know I wondered if there was any way this man could ever go to heaven.

But in the years that have passed, I have learned so much about life and people, about my own sinfulness, and about the abundant grace of God. And that the cause for hope is not in the high level of our behavior, but in the absolutely high and incomprehensible level of God's love. I was reminded of this hope on the day of my ex-father-in-law's funeral services, when I heard of his proclamation of faith at an early age, and also his affirmation of his faith to his minister in recent years.

And God's hope was again affirmed when I heard a minister on television talk about salvation with the analogy of all of mankind swimming toward shore, with not a one of us having the ability to make it to safety.  So if you're going under water for the third time, does it matter if you're 50 yards from shore or 10 yards? If you're in 50 feet of water or 10 feet?  It doesn't matter how far you've come toward safety, you will still perish.  But the promise we have is that Jesus' sacrifice builds the bridge conveying us out of our drowning pit toward the shore of salvation.

God is the God of hope for all --- it doesn't matter who you are, what you have done or where you are right now.  When He hears us call for His help, His hand is ready to reach down and save.   I thank God that He IS the God of hope...that we all have hope of His eternal home where we have a place prepared for us.  And the best thing is that the hope of that home has nothing to do with how good I am, but only in my trust of my Father who loves me, and who loves you, and who loves a crotchety old cowboy named Walt.  I look forward to the day when I see him again, two redeemed sinners greeting each other on the streets of gold.

Keep the hope!

Day 3 - Week 63 - Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy andn peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:12 "And again, Isaiah says, 'The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.'"

From John Gill's Exposition of the Bible:

Now the God of hope This character is taken from the latter part of Romans 15:12, and is occasioned by it, "in him shall the Gentiles trust", or "hope"; and is proper to God as he is the author and giver of this grace; for naturally men are without it; that which is a good hope is the gift of God, and through his grace, and is wrought in the heart in regeneration; for to this are the children of God begotten again. Moreover, God is the object of it; not wealth and riches, nor works of righteousness, but Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, particularly Christ, is called the believer's hope; that is, the object of it, in whom the Gentiles hope and trust. Likewise, it is God that encourages to the exercise of it by the proclamations of his grace, and mercy, and plenteous redemption; by the discoveries of his love, and views of interest in him; and by bringing to mind the past experiences of his goodness: he preserves and maintains this grace useful and lively, firm and steadfast, at least in being, which sometimes seems almost perished and gone; he increases it, and causes his people to abound in the exercise of it, and continues it even unto death. The Ethiopic version reads, "the God of our promises", which are what hope has respect unto, and builds upon.

John Gill makes me think.  Even though you have to work through the old-style language that he uses (he did write this in the early 1700s), he just gives me insight and thoughts regarding Scripture that I would miss otherwise.    In this passage, he reminds me that  "hope" is from God and that men are naturally without it.  I had not really thought about that, but I know that in my life if I did not have my faith in God, there really would be no hope.    And not only is God the giver of hope, but He is also the object of our hope.  There is nothing else in comparison.

Gill agrees.  He states, "God is the object of it; not wealth and riches, nor works of righteousness, but Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit, particularly Christ."

And then, in only the miraculous way that God can devise, He not only is the giver and the object of our hope, but through the Holy Spirit, He is the encourager of our hope.  I truly love the way Gill explains this aspect of God's relationship to the hope that we have, "it is God that encourages to the exercise of it by the proclamations of his grace, and mercy, and plenteous redemption; by the discoveries of his love, and views of interest in him; and by bringing to mind the past experiences of his goodness: he preserves and maintains this grace useful and lively, firm and steadfast, at least in being, which sometimes seems almost perished and gone; he increases it, and causes his people to abound in the exercise of it, and continues it even unto death."

The discoveries of His love prompt us to increase our hope in Him incrementally.  We realize He loves us more than we thought previously and we have more hope in His promise of continuing and abiding love.  Bringing to mind the past experiences of His goodness reminds us that He is faithful, that He stands true to His word, and that we are assured of the hope that is within us, and that hope grows.  Even when our hope sometimes seems almost perished and gone, He is gracious and increases it, and we continue in our hope in God, "even unto death."

Gill includes the Ethiopian translation, "the God of our promises."  That's right.  We have hope in the God of our promises, because His promises always come true.  That's the testimony of the Bible to us...we can stand on God's promises...and those promises change our hope from "wishful thinking" to a firm foundation for our lives.

Standing on the Promises of God

Russell K. Carter - published 1886

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I now can see
Perfect, present cleansing in the blood for me;
Standing in the liberty where Christ makes free,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
Bound to Him eternally by love’s strong cord,
Overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
List’ning every moment to the Spirit’s call,
Resting in my Savior as my all in all,
Standing on the promises of God.

Standing, standing,
Standing on the promises of God my Savior;
Standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.

Day 2 - Week 63 - Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."

I said yesterday that this verse is dynamic and powerful, and that it is a verse of process and reaction.  So let's look at the process that this verse describes...

What do you see as the first step?  Do you see it as God filling us with all joy and peace?  Actually, that is a result of the first step.  The first step is "as we trust in Him." 

1.  Trust in God

As we trust in Him, then God fills us with all joy and peace.  It is exactly like we have been studying in Philippians 4.  Trust in God and His sovereignty, power and ability, brings to us joy and peace.  Without trust in God, we have to rely on ourselves...and as for me, that is not a joyful state.  That is not a place that brings peace.  It is too much for me.  So the process is...

1.   Trust in God
2.   God fills us with joy and peace
But this verse doesn't just say "God", this verse says "the God of hope."  Our God is the God of hope.  Our God is the God who says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"  Jeremiah 29:11. 

God's message to His children is full of hope.  He gives us hope for each new day as He provides for us, and He gives us hope for eternity when our days here on earth are over.  A hope made possible through Jesus Christ's atonement for us.  God's plan for us is one of hope.  He is the God of hope! 

So we will modify our process:

1.  Trust in the God of hope
2.  God fills us with joy and peace

When we have trusted, when we have felt the filling within us of God's joy and peace, what is the next step in the process?

1.  Trust in the God of hope
2.  God fills us with joy and peace
3.  The Holy Spirit rules over us and empowers us

When we reach a complete level of trust in our God of hope, we fully experience His joy and peace, we will be willing to completely surrender to the Holy Spirit within us, to completely release His power within us.  This is where true life change takes place.  This is where we no longer fight for "self", we completely give ourselves to God and to His will over our lives.  This is where we often stop and resist, because we are so naturally unwilling to give up our control.
But when we do, when we allow the Holy Spirit to truly empower us, what is the final step?
1.  Trust in the God of hope
2.  God fills us with joy and peace
3.  The Holy Spirit rules over us and empowers us
4.  We overflow with hope!

At this point, we cannot contain the hope that is within us.  It is our purpose in life, it is what we are about.  The hope---the hope that is gifted to us by the God of hope; the hope that the Holy Spirit empowers us to exhibit to the point of overflow; the hope that is accompanied by true joy, true peace.  Joy and peace that are not conditional on our earthly circumstances, but that abide within us because of the hope that points us outside of this life, into our perfect lives of eternity with our Father.

Day 1 - Week 63 - One of the most powerful verses for me!

The verse we will add today is one of the most powerful verses of the Bible for me.  It is SO dynamic in its content.  I know you will grow to appreciate its power as well!
Another new week - can you believe it?  The weeks seem to fly by for me!  This year of 2012 is going so incredibly fast.  I am amazed that it is already May.  May is a special month for me as it is the birth month of my beautiful daughter who was born on May 1....and talk about time going fast....this year that beautiful baby girl that God blessed me with turned 32 years old!  I just cannot believe it, and yet I am so blessed by her and her lovely spirit.  I am so proud of the woman she has become and I thank God for blessing my life with hers...she truly loves people and extends God's love to them in such a gracious way.

OK - thank you for allowing me a moment of motherly pride!  But I do believe that mothers should express their joy in their children. Children should know that they bring a smile to their parents' faces and that their parents consider them as true gifts from God.  In my opinion, they are one of God's greatest gifts...and then grandchildren!  The gift just keeps on multiplying!

So back to our journey of Biblical knowledge and memorization.  It has become a lot more important to me to just continue on the journey than to hold myself to absolutely having each of these verses recitable on command.  I know when our journey is complete I will have to retrace our steps and reinforce each of these verses in my brain again...maybe the next time with not as much background study, but focusing more on the memorization.  But on this trip I think it is essential to really know what the verses mean and the depth of the verses so that when we do really get them seared into our brains, we will have their power as well as the words.
Let's review and then we'll add.....

Obedience (10)
2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
Lamentations 3:40 Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.
Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern the good, pleasing and perfect will of God.
Romans 12:11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord.
Romans 12:12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, be persistent in prayer.
Romans 12:18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.
2 Corinthians 9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Hebrews 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching." (NKJV)
Proverbs 1:7 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."
Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle word turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up wrath."

The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

And today we add Romans 15:13...as I said, to me it is one of the most powerful and dynamic verses in the Bible.  It encompasses so much of the picture of faith and the process of God in our lives.  Here we go...

Romans 15:13 - "May the God of hope fill you with all peace and joy as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

This verse relays a process and subsequent reactions that we will really look into this week.  I love it!  I love my God who is so incredibly good to me, through every step of every day His blessings are so apparent. 

Day 4 - Week 62 - Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

"shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

What is this promise that we are given about the peace of God?  What does it mean when it says that God's peace, imparted to us, shall keep (or "guard" as some translations use) our hearts and our minds through Christ Jesus?

When I come across a phrase that I really don't think I have the full understanding of, I go to commentaries that may help me see something that I haven't before.  Commentaries are just that...people's comments on the subject matter based on their study and their personal convictions.  Some commentaries I agree with, some I don't.  You cannot accept commentaries as Holy Scripture, but you can utilize them to push your brain to look at a verse in a different way and, weighing that valuation against other Scripture, decide if you agree or not.  But most importantly, commentary has to agree with other Scriptures on the same subject; reference to other Scriptures as supporting arguments for the view stated is always helpful as well.  So let's look at a few commentaries on this portion of Philippians 4:7:

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
shall keep--rather, "shall guard"; shall keep as a well-garrisoned stronghold ( Isaiah 26:1 Isaiah 26:3 ). The same Greek verb is used in 1 Peter 1:5 . There shall be peace secure within, whatever outward troubles may besiege.
hearts and minds--rather, "hearts (the seat of the thoughts) and thoughts" or purposes.
through--rather as Greek, "in Christ Jesus." It is in Christ that we are "kept" or "guarded" secure.

John Darby's Synopsis of the New Testament
"His peace, the peace of God Himself, shall keep our hearts. It does not say that our hearts shall keep the peace of God; but, having cast our burden on Him whose peace nothing can disturb, His peace keeps our hearts. Our trouble is before Him, and the constant peace of the God of love, who takes charge of everything and knows all beforehand, quiets our disburdened hearts, and imparts to us the peace which is in Himself and which is above all understanding (or at least keeps our hearts by it), even as He Himself is above all the circumstances that can disquiet us, and above the poor human heart that is troubled by them. Oh, what grace! that even our anxieties are a means of our being filled with this marvellous peace, if we know how to bring them to God, and true He is." 

Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)
"The peace of God, the comfortable sense of being reconciled to God, and having a part in his favour, and the hope of the heavenly blessedness, are a greater good than can be fully expressed. This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus; it will keep us from sinning under troubles, and from sinking under them; keep us calm and with inward satisfaction."

People's New Testament
"And the peace of God. The peace that comes by putting all in the hands of the one who is able and willing to deliver. Whenever we fully trust the Lord there comes a peace that is past the understanding of those who have never experienced it. Shall keep your hearts. That peace will be a guard which will keep the heart and thoughts holy and pure."

Do reading through these commentaries increase your understanding of the promise that we are given as a result of the peace of God abiding in us?  I read through them and I can linger over the words and let them sink into my soul, especially those of John Darby regarding this verse.  "Oh what grace!  That even our anxieties are a means of our being filled with this marvelous peace."  And I also appreciate Matthew Henry's statement that God's peace "will keep us from sinning under troubles, and from sinking under them, keep us calm and with inward satisfaction."

Yes - these commentaries help me.  They help me not only understand God's Word better, but to feel a connection with my Christian brothers of long ago, studying the same words of Scripture and being comforted and enlightened by them. 

I wish for you a day of peacefulness, a day when in your heart and in your minds you know that God is in control and that He loves you.