Are You Experiencing Joy Today?

“I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

PHILIPPIANS 4:12-13

 

PONDER THIS

I heard of a little boy and an old preacher who both went out to see the Grand Canyon. The old preacher wrote back to his wife, saying, “Today, I’ve seen the handiwork of God. I’ve seen God as He put colors on His palette and as He took His fingers and sculptured a masterpiece.” And he went on in grandiose words to describe the Grand Canyon. The little boy wrote back to his mother: “Guess what Mama? Today, I spit a mile.”

You can be surrounded by beauty and not see it. Do you have eyes to see the beauty God has given to the world? Earlier, in Philippians 4:8, Paul said to meditate on “whatever things are of good report.”

The Book of Philippians was written from a prison but smells of Heaven. There is peace, hope, joy, even from that dark place. In verse 11, Paul told the people not to feel sorry for him. He said, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” Paul could live with joy and a hopeful outlook because he had Christ. Today, you have the same beauty and hope to behold, regardless of your circumstances.

What is your outlook on life like right now? How has God shaped the way you see the world?

What would it look like to live content in Christ? What would be different? What would stay the same?

PRACTICE THIS

Start a challenge with a friend to go through an entire day with a joyful outlook without complaining.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Make War with Unbelief

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:16–17)

When I am anxious about getting old, I battle unbelief with the promise, “Even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4).

When I am anxious about dying, I battle unbelief with the promise that “none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living” (Romans 14:7–9).

When I am anxious that I may make shipwreck of faith and fall away from God, I battle unbelief with the promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6); and, “He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

Join me in this battle! Let us make war, not with other people, but with our own unbelief. Unbelief in the promises of God is the root of anxiety, which, in turn, is the root of so many other sins. The sword of the Spirit is the word of God, Paul said in Ephesians 6:17. The shield by which we quench Satan’s fiery deceits is faith (verse 16) — faith in that very word of God. So take up the shield in your left hand and the sword in your right hand, and let us fight the good fight of faith.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

John Piper 

Bible Study

Isaiah 49:2

    [2] He made my mouth like a sharp sword;

        in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

    he made me a polished arrow;

        in his quiver he hid me away.

Hebrews 4:12-13

[12] For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. [13] And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

2 Corinthians 6:7

[7] by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;

Hosea 6:5

    [5] Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

        I have slain them by the words of my mouth,

        and my judgment goes forth as the light.

Are You Thankful or Worried?

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” 

LAMENTATIONS 3:22-23

 

PONDER THIS

We all need to reflect on the Lord’s provision. If you ask God for more and don’t thank Him for what He’s already done, I doubt your prayers will be answered in the way you hope. Did you know that there’s no higher expression of faith than thanksgiving? And worry is the highest expression of unbelief. It is time to refuse to worry. We can tell God about our worries but thank Him for what He has done and for what He’s already planning to do.

Look at the Apostle Paul. He encouraged a spirit of thanksgiving when he was in a slimy dungeon. Why? Because of the blessing that he had. Sometimes we just have to put things into perspective. We get to feeling sorry for ourselves, and we fail to understand the blessings of God. The word “think” and the word “thank” are related.

Unthankful people are always unhappy people. And some people are grumbly hateful rather than being humbly grateful. I think we’ve all met them. They are filled with bitterness, fear, negativity, selfishness, and self-pity. But we don't take things for granted, we take them with gratitude. If you are in a dungeon, thank Him for your spiritual blessings. If you are in a dungeon, thank Him for the simple blessings. Rejoice in the presence of the Lord; rely on the power of the Lord; and reflect on the provision of the Lord.

What has God provided for you that you often take for granted?

What is an area of life where you struggle to see the blessings of God?

PRACTICE THIS

Lift up to God your gratitude and worries in prayer.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers

Our Good Is His Glory

“But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6)

One common objection to Christian Hedonism is that it puts the interests of man above the glory of God — that it puts my happiness above God’s honor. But Christian Hedonism most emphatically does not do this.

To be sure, we Christian Hedonists endeavor to pursue our interest and our happiness with all our might. We endorse the resolution of the young Jonathan Edwards: “Resolved: To endeavor to obtain for myself as much happiness in the other world as I possibly can, with all the power, might, vigor, and vehemence, yea violence, I am capable of, or can bring myself to exert, in any way that can be thought of.”

But we have learned from the Bible (and from Edwards!) that God’s interest is to magnify the fullness of his glory by spilling over in mercy to us — to us sinners, who desperately need him.

Therefore, the pursuit of our interest and our happiness, even if it costs us our lives, is never above God’s interest and God’s happiness and God’s glory, but always in God’s. One of the most precious truths in the Bible is that God’s greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him — in him!

When we humble ourselves like little children and put on no airs of self-sufficiency, but run happily into the joy of our Father’s embrace, the glory of his grace is magnified and the longing of our soul is satisfied. Our interest and his glory become one.

When Jesus promises in Matthew 6:6, “Your Father who sees in secret will reward you,” this is a reward he wants us to seek. He does not lure us with joy we shouldn’t have! But this reward — this joy — is the overflow of turning away from human praise, and going into our closet to seek God.

Therefore, Christian Hedonists do not put their happiness above God’s glory. They put their happiness in God himself and discover the glorious truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.

 

John Piper

Bible Study

Matthew 6:17-21

[17] But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18] that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:4-5

[4] so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

The Lord’s Prayer

[5] “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

Isaiah 26:20-21

    [20] Come, my people, enter your chambers,

        and shut your doors behind you;

    hide yourselves for a little while

        until the fury has passed by. 

    [21] For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place

        to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,

    and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,

        and will no more cover its slain.

2 Kings 4:33-34

[33] So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. [34] Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm.

Do You Have Strongholds that Keep You from Victory?

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

2 CORINTHIANS 10:4-5

 

PONDER THIS

What is a stronghold? It’s a fortress with walls of resistance. What types of resistance are in the hearts and minds of people? Arrogance, ignorance, despair—these are the strongholds. Demonic thoughts are organized and mobilized; the demonized armies of Hell are inside that stronghold. Paul said, “That needs to be pulled down.”

And then he mentioned high things. Do you see that? Look in verse 5, “casting down . . . every high thing.” What’s he talking about there? He’s not talking about intelligence but intellectualism—high-minded attitudes and pride. Paul said we are to tear down those walls of pride and arrogance and every thought related to them. We are going to address the root of our pride when we handle it as Paul said. We can’t just destroy the structure. Every brick and every thought must be dealt with.

What is some evidence of arrogance in your life?

How have you dealt with pride in the past? What do you need to change based on this passage?

PRACTICE THIS

Spend the day looking to the interests of others and helping them.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers