Let Us Walk in The Light

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” (Romans 13:10-14 ESV)

 

If we love God, and if we love our fellow humans, we are not going to sin against them deliberately and habitually, and especially not premeditatedly. We will not willfully do what we know is wrong and that we know is going to hurt other humans and that will hinder our walks of fellowship with God. For to love with this kind of love is to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord, which we obey in his power, strength, and wisdom, by his grace.

 

We are also not going to be self-absorbed, only thinking about ourselves and what we want, without regard or concern for what God wants for our lives, and without regard for what needs the Lord wants us to meet in other people’s lives, and in what ways. And this includes we will not display total lack of concern with regard to the signs of the times in which we live and of the critical need and requirement of God that we should live holy lives, pleasing to him, and that we should be sharing the truth of the gospel.

 

For when this says here that our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed, it is letting us know that our salvation is not just something that takes place in the past, and that’s it. For we are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Christ returns for his faithful ones, but provided that we are those who are walking according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, and in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death.

 

Therefore, we need to be those who are making it our practice to cast off the works of darkness (sin, wickedness) and to put on the armor of light (truth, righteousness, the gospel, Jesus Christ). For like Jesus said, if we are going to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we give up our lives of sin to follow him in obedience, then we have eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26).

 

And then we must walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit of God and no longer according to the flesh, and in walks of holiness and in obedience to our Lord, and no longer in deliberate and habitual sin. And this is why we must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and it is why things such as sexual immorality, sensuality, adultery, murder, stealing, cheating, lying, orgies, drunkenness, and the like, should not have any part in our lives. But we are to put on Christ and make no provision for the flesh.

 

For, if we make sin our practice, i.e. if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to God, and not righteousness and not holy living, then, according to the Scriptures, we will not inherit eternal life with God. In fact, we do not know God, we are not born of God, we are not in fellowship with Christ, we don’t have salvation from sin, and we will not enter into the kingdom of heaven, for we are of the devil if sin is what we practice and not obedience to our Lord. So we must continue in Christ steadfast to the very end.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Pet 1:5; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]  

 

Walk With Me

 

By Al Langdon and P.J. Zondervan

 

Walk with me, walk with me,

Lest mine eyes no longer see

All the glory, all the story of Your love;

Talk to me, talk to me,

Like You spoke so tenderly,

When You talked there,

When You walked there by the sea.

 

Talk to me, talk to me,

Lest mine ears no longer hear

All the wonder, all the beauty of Your grace;

Walk with me, walk with me,

As You walked so lovingly,

When You walked there,

When You talked there by the sea.

 

Let me follow in the footsteps

That trod the shore of Galilee,

Let me learn to pray like He did

In the Garden of Gethsemane;

Take my hand, take my hand,

Teach me Lord to understand,

All the duty, all the beauty of Your love.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no8_yctK-Zg

 

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Listen! Listen!

Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness (See: 1 Pet. 2:24). He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (See: 2 Co. 5:15). And, he died that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live (See: Ro. 8:1-14; cf. Ro. 6:1-23; Lu. 9:23-26). 

God’s grace is not a free license to continue in sin without guilt and remorse. His grace, which brings salvation, teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (See: Tit. 2:11-14).

God takes sin very seriously. He hates sin because of what sin does to his children, and how it has the potential for ruining lives, homes, marriages, friendships, and/or church congregations, etc. So much sin in today’s church goes unchecked. So many messages in today’s church leave out the word “sin.” They do not call the sinner to repentance, and they do not demand obedience to Jesus Christ. They often placate sin so as not to offend the sinner, and they water down the gospel message so the sinner does not feel guilty about his sin, but he feels that God’s grace gives him a free license to continue in his sin and yet still attain heaven. May it never be! 

Christ Jesus came to set us free from sin, and not just free from the ultimate penalty of sin, which is eternal damnation. He set us free so sin no longer has to have dominion over our lives, but so we can be free to not allow sin to control us. Instead, we can now be slaves to righteousness, as obedient servants of Christ. And, we can walk in the Spirit and no longer conduct our lives according to the sinful flesh.

Listen! Listen!  

An Original Work / December 20, 2011

Weep and wail o’er your sins, children.

God is calling out to you:

Be ye honest; tell the truth,

And it will set you free.

Harken to Him calling you to

Bow on bended knee today.

Don’t delay to let Him in,

And He’ll cleanse your hearts;

Pure within. 

Sinners, won’t you listen to Him

Calling out to you today?

He died so that you would be free

Of your sins always.

Turn from your sin. Turn to Jesus.

Obey Him in ev’ry way.

He wants to set you free of

All your guilt, 

For which He did pay. 

Listen! Listen!

Don’t close your hearts

To His voice speaking to you.

He will give you all of His peace,

If your hearts be true.

He longs for you to come to Him

Humbly now and repentant.

Obey all of His commandments.

Live with Him eternally. 

https://vimeo.com/125862580 

Be Patient in Your Tribulations

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)

Love does not engage in nor does it rejoice in what is evil, but it abhors what is evil. So it is not loving God or anyone else if we participate in or approve of or are entertained by what is evil. And we can, sometimes, approve of what is evil by our silence, by not speaking out against what is evil. And if we know that a fellow professing Christian is living in sin, are we not approving of their sin by our silence if we have the opportunity to say something but we say nothing? (women with women, and men with men)

For to (agape) love one another is to prefer what God prefers, which is all that is holy, righteous, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord and to his commands. And it is to prefer to live through Christ and to choose his choices and to obey his commands in his power. And so it is to treat others with the love of God, which does no harm to a neighbor, but only what is good in the eyes of the Lord and that is beneficial for them as God determines what is beneficial for them, not as man chooses.

And we, as followers of Jesus Christ, are not to be slothful in zeal for our Lord and for the work of the ministry to which he has called us. But we are to be fervent in spirit in service to our Lord in accord with his word and with his calling upon our lives, both collectively and individually. For God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – should be the one guiding and directing our lives, and the one to whom our lives should be surrendered to do his will. For this is why we exist, to serve God with our lives.

But serving the Lord is not always easy. For when we serve him in the ways in which he has called us to serve him, and so we speak the truth in love to others, and so we are sharing the truth of the gospel, and we are refuting the lies of the enemy, we are not going to be well liked, even by others who call themselves Christians. And so we will be hated and rejected and cast aside as unwanted, and we will be persecuted and have evil done against us, and even by those who profess to love us, in some cases.

But through it all, we are to rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation and affliction, and be constant in prayer and in service to our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. And instead of taking revenge when others do evil to us or tell lies about us to turn others away from us, or when they sin against us in other ways (lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, betrayal, etc.), we are to love them in return, and do good to them, and pray for them. For we are to love even our enemies and those who do evil against us.

And when this says here, “if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all,” this is never promoting compromise of truth and righteousness and moral purity nor the truth of the gospel of our salvation. We don’t back down from the truth of God’s word just so people will like us and so that they will not hate us. And we don’t join them in their evil just so they will think we are okay, and so that they won’t think that we are religious fanatics. But we follow the leading of the Holy Spirit always.

And when our enemies, who could be anyone, do evil against us, we are to do good back to them. But we need to be very wise and discerning in this so that we don’t get caught in any of their traps, too. So be loving, be kind, be forgiving, but be wise and discerning, for our enemies will try to trip us up, and they may betray us, and stab us in the back while pretending to be our friends, too. So while we are loving our enemies we must be careful to not be overcome by evil, but to continue to overcome evil with good.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Eph 6:10-20; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Love Must Be Genuine 

An Original Work / October 22, 2013

Based off Romans 12:9-21

Love must be genuine.

Hate what’s evil; cling to good.

Love each other with affection.

Show respect for ev’ryone.

Never lack in your zeal.

Serve the Lord with diligence.

Rejoice in steadfast hope.

In affliction, patient be.

Keep on praying; share with others.

Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute.

Feel with others sympathy.

Be not filled with conceit.

Daily sit at Jesus’ feet.

Live in harmony with others.

Live at peace with ev’ryone.

Repay not to someone

With the evil he begot.

Do not take your revenge;

Leave it to the wrath of God.

If your enemy is thirsty,

Give to him something to drink.

Do what’s right for mankind.

Evil: overcome with good.

https://vimeo.com/114695549 

Are You Abiding in the Teachings of Christ?

“And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.” (2 John 1:6-11 ESV)

The apostle John wrote this letter, either to a very specific lady, with regard to her and to her household, or with regard to her and the church that met at her house, or to a specific church fellowship that met in someone’s home, it would appear. He expressed to her that he rejoiced to find that some of her physical children or that some of her spiritual children were walking in the truth. But then he asked that they love one another (see 2 John 1:1-5).

But this is not human love, which is based in how we feel, and which is often based in the one we are loving. This is agape love which centers in moral preference and which prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to God and to his commandments (New Covenant). So, as believers in Christ we prefer to live through Christ, and to choose his choices, and to obey them in his power.

For this is (agape) love, that we walk (in conduct, in practice, in lifestyle) according to our Lord’s commandments. For if God we do not obey, in practice, but we continue living in sin and for self, we do not know God, we are not born of God, we are not in fellowship with Christ, we are not saved from our sins, and we don’t have eternal life with God. And it doesn’t matter what our lips profess, for lip service only doesn’t get us into heaven.

Yet there are many deceivers who have gone out into the world, and who have entered into the fellowships of believers in Christ, or into these businesses which are creations of humankind which are called “churches,” and they are lying to the people. And in our day and time many of these deceivers do indeed confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, with their lips, but they use this as a ploy to gain acceptance so they can deceive.

For since the object is to deceive, they first disguise themselves as servants of righteousness and as the Lord’s true sheep so that they gain the acceptance and approval of “the flock” who they are hoping to deceive with their half-truth lies. But they are, in reality, “wolves in sheep’s clothing” out to destroy the sheep with their lies. And they are being quite successful, sadly so, at deceiving the majority, it would appear, here in America.

For they are teaching that we can just acknowledge who Jesus is and what he did for us on that cross, or that we can make a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or that we can “pray a prayer” to receive Christ into our lives, and now all our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and now heaven is guaranteed us when we die, and that it cannot be taken away from us, but regardless of how we live. But that’s not biblical faith.

So we need to watch ourselves so that we do not lose what we worked for, but may win a full reward. For everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide (live in, walk in, continue in) the teaching of Christ, does not have God. And Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity (Luke 9:23-26).

And Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. For many will stand before him on the day of judgment, calling him “Lord,” and claiming all that they did in his name, and he will say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because they would not obey the Lord’s commands (Matthew 7:21-23).

So, if you have people telling you that you can say some words and now you have heaven guaranteed you for life, despite how you live, they are lying to you. For the Scriptures teach that we must forsake our lives of sin and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And we must continue in these walks of faith steadfast to the end for God to let us into his heaven.

So if anyone comes into your gathering of the body of Christ, and if he brings a teaching that does not teach the necessity of death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands for us to have genuine salvation from sin and eternal life with God, do not receive him and his teaching. For the Scriptures teach that if we continue in sinful practices, and if we do not walk in obedience to God, we do not have eternal life with God.

And we need to be those who are not only humbling ourselves before the Lord in genuine repentance and in genuine walks of faithful obedience to our Lord, but who are praying for all to believe in Jesus Christ with the kind of faith that puts sin to death in our lives and that gives us the strength and the power of God to now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living, so that we may all have salvation and eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Hear My Cry

By G. M. Eldridge

When my soul is worn and weary

And my eyes are filled with grief,

When my hands in desperation

Reach to heaven for relief,

Would I find the words there waiting

If I had the strength to start?

Could a mortal tongue interpret

All the sorrow of a heart?

Spirit, search me in my weakness,

And discern this growing gray.

Intercede in understanding,

Hear the things I cannot say.

Hear my cry, heav’nly Father,

You have known my ev’ry pain.

You have seen all my sorrow,

Hear my cry once again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOJiTN56xTg

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He Disciplines for Our Good

Are you struggling against sin?

Does a battle rage within?

Have you forgotten ‘bout God?

He helps us with His discipline.

Be not weary when reproved.

Discipline of God is love.

We have need, need to endure.

God is treating us as His.

If not disciplined, we’re not His.

God does for us what is good –

We may share His holiness,

Bear the fruit of Righteousness.

Therefore, lift your drooping hands,

Strengthen then, too, your weak knees,

Make straight paths now for your feet,

So that what is lame now’s healed.

Based off of Hebrews 12:3-13

An Original Work / May 2, 2024

He Has Given Us Understanding

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

“We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.”

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:13-15,18,20-21)

For us to correctly understand what the Scriptures are teaching us, it is best if we can read them in context. So it is best if we can read this passage of Scripture in the context of the whole of the book of 1 John. 

For example, in 1 John 1:5-10 we read that if we say we have fellowship with God but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light (righteousness, truth), as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with God (understood) and with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. 

And in 1 John 2:3-6 we read that by this we have come to know God/Christ, if we keep (obey, adhere to) his commandments (New Covenant). For whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep (obey) his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps (obeys) his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. 

And then we read in 1 John 3:4-10 that no one who abides in Christ keeps on sinning (makes sinning his practice, habit, go to); no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. So let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as God is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is not born of God but is of the devil.

Now this is not teaching that we will never sin. For in 1 John 2:1-2 it says that if any believer in Christ does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in the power and mercy of God (see 1 Peter 2:24).

And this teaching is not just in the book of 1 John. Jesus taught it, and Paul and Peter taught it, too. For Jesus Christ died on that cross that we might be crucified with him in death to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but if we obey obedience to God, then we have eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

So, with that understanding, when this says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life,” he is not talking to those who give lip service only to the Lord but who are still walking in sin and in disobedience to the Lord, in practice. He is talking to those who have died and are dying daily with Christ to sin and who are now following him in walks of obedience to his New Covenant commands. We are those who practice righteousness.

Now, can a true follower of Christ ever have a time in his life when he falls away from his pure devotion to the Lord and needs to be brought back to the Lord in humble submission to the Lord in true biblical repentance and renewed faith and obedience to God? Yes! We have examples of that in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. But a true believer in Christ will not make a profession of Christ and then keep right on sinning. His life will change. And he will grow in his walk of faith and obedience, and not remain stagnant.

Then, if we are true followers of Christ, and not just those giving lip service to the Lord while we continue to walk in sin, we can be assured that we have eternal life with God, provided that we continue on that course until the end, the Scriptures teach. And then we will begin to know and to understand the will of God so that when we pray, we pray according to his will, even if it is just to pray, “but Thy will be done,” when we are not certain of his will in any particular matter pertaining to our lives or other people’s lives.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Pet 1:5; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]  

I Sing of His Mercy  

An Original Work / April 10, 2014

Based off Psalm 32 

Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven

By the blood of Jesus Christ.

Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does

Not count against them; freedom found.

When, in silence, I did not confess 

My sin to You; had no strength.

Then I owned up to my sin and

You forgave and cleansed me within.

Therefore let the godly pray to You;

Draw near to You; grace they’ll find.

They will not be o’ertaken by afflictions,

But in Christ peace abounds.

Lord, You are my hiding place.

I find my refuge in You secure.

You protect me from all evil.

You give songs of vict’ry in You.

Lord, You teach me to walk in Your ways;

Counsel me in love, I know.

Help me to not be stubborn and

Unwilling to follow in Your truth.

Thank You for Your love and mercy.

I put my trust in You always.

I rejoice in my Lord and 

I sing of Him throughout all my days.

https://vimeo.com/91747192

Leap for Joy

Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

    for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who hunger now,

    for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

    for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,

    when they exclude you and insult you

    and reject your name as evil,

        because of the Son of Man.

“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

“But woe to you who are rich,

    for you have already received your comfort.

Woe to you who are well fed now,

    for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

    for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,

    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:20-28 NIV).

Job had just lost pretty much everything, his possessions, his livelihood, his servants and his children. His first response was to grieve this loss and to call on God and to worship the Lord. Then, and then only was he able to take this attitude: 

“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (see Job 1:1-22)

Paul, to keep him from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations God had given to him, was given a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass him. This, he said, was “to keep me from becoming conceited.” 

Then, he said, “Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’” (see 2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

And, then only was Paul able to state that he delighted (took pleasure in or was content in) insults, persecutions and difficulties.

So, it isn’t that we must immediately respond to our trials with “Yay!” “Yippee!” We may have to grieve them first, call on God, and/or plead for deliverance from them. But, then we must resolve to accept the sovereignty of God over our lives, and that God works all things for good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

Leap for Joy

  

An Original Work / August 2, 2011

Based off of Luke 6:20-36

Leap for joy in that day.

Great is your reward in heaven.

Blessed are you who are poor;

Blessed are you who hunger now.

You will be satisfied and 

You will laugh if you weep now.

Blessed are you when men hate you

And exclude you because of Christ.

Leap for joy in that day.

Love your enemies who hate you.

Do them good; say kind things;

Pray for those who treat you wrong.

If you love those who love you

What reward is there for you?

Love your enemies and your

Reward will be great in heaven.

Leap for joy in that day.

You will be sons of the Most High.

Be ye kind; merciful

To the ungrateful always.

If you love those who love you

What reward is there for you?

Do to others as you would have

Them do to you every day.

Leap for joy in that day.

Great is your reward in heaven.

Blessed are you who are poor;

Blessed are you who hunger now.

You will be satisfied and

You will laugh if you weep now.

Blessed are you when men hate you 

And exclude you because of Christ.

https://vimeo.com/126494171