Most of the news we read, hear or see in the media today sometimes leaves me with a sense foreboding! So, I determined to write this newsletter to encourage you and all who read it, to rejoice in your Christianity!
It’s true that a Christian is really the only person in the world with a right to rejoice! The Psalmist sang, “Our heart shall rejoice in Him” (Psalm 33:21). This is true for the Christian in any circumstance whatsoever. The believer can rejoice even in the midst of the deepest distress. Calamities, like a tidal wave, carry off the unsuspecting, but having swept away the debris which we believers have accumulated around us, leave us standing on the Rock. Our shore is swept clean and we have a new glimpse of the ocean of God’s Wondrous Grace! The air is fresh washed by the storm and our lungs are filled with new vigor as we breathe it in.
The unbeliever often breaks before calamity, or takes the dull, depressing attitude of the stoic, that one must make the best of a bad situation. A stoic may be more admirable than a whiner but he’s in no way happier! That’s because the roots of Christian calm go deep into the very heart of God.
When we understand this, there is a sense in which we can reverse one of the great thoughts of the New Testament. Paul tells us that the Lord’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit (Romans 8:16). That is a motion which begins with God and comes down to us. There is also a sense in which our spirit bears witness with His Spirit. The yielded Christian has an uprising of the Spirit which constantly moves towards God.
This is one of the marks of the twice-born man; we reach out towards God. Some of the words used by men in the Book are “yearning-panting-waiting-looking-longing-watching -desiring.”
We reach up into the being of God and find that our all in all is there in Him, and our heart comes back rejoicing. In fact, the only people who really are happy are among those who have been redeemed. The world has gaiety, but no happiness; forgetfulness, but no peace! The world counterfeits every Christian grace, but never is able to produce a coin with the right ring. Its popular to say that “the man worthwhile is the man who will smile when everything goes dead wrong” but even then the weight of unforgiven sin hangs over the heart, and the despair of the old nature hasn’t been removed. Underneath the surface the unsaved are “like troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” They are without peace!
The Christian possesses the joy of the Lord. It’s his strength. The basis for this joy is obvious. “Rejoice in the Lord.” How can there be reality in joy that has no foundation outside this changing world? All passes; Christ remains! Our worship is in the Spirit, our rejoicing is in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the world. This, of course, is the exact opposite of the world’s joy, which is fixed in self alone and doesn’t look to Christ. So I encourage you to, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!”
Pastor Pat
If you have a private prayer request, even if that request is to know Jesus as your savior, e-mail us at torsogong@ yahoo.com. We will forward it immediately to the appropriate ministry, whether it be the pastor and elders and/or our Prayer Warriors. Please title the subject of your e-mail "Prayer Request".
God bless you.
It’s true that a Christian is really the only person in the world with a right to rejoice! The Psalmist sang, “Our heart shall rejoice in Him” (Psalm 33:21). This is true for the Christian in any circumstance whatsoever. The believer can rejoice even in the midst of the deepest distress. Calamities, like a tidal wave, carry off the unsuspecting, but having swept away the debris which we believers have accumulated around us, leave us standing on the Rock. Our shore is swept clean and we have a new glimpse of the ocean of God’s Wondrous Grace! The air is fresh washed by the storm and our lungs are filled with new vigor as we breathe it in.
The unbeliever often breaks before calamity, or takes the dull, depressing attitude of the stoic, that one must make the best of a bad situation. A stoic may be more admirable than a whiner but he’s in no way happier! That’s because the roots of Christian calm go deep into the very heart of God.
When we understand this, there is a sense in which we can reverse one of the great thoughts of the New Testament. Paul tells us that the Lord’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit (Romans 8:16). That is a motion which begins with God and comes down to us. There is also a sense in which our spirit bears witness with His Spirit. The yielded Christian has an uprising of the Spirit which constantly moves towards God.
This is one of the marks of the twice-born man; we reach out towards God. Some of the words used by men in the Book are “yearning-panting-waiting-looking-longing-watching -desiring.”
We reach up into the being of God and find that our all in all is there in Him, and our heart comes back rejoicing. In fact, the only people who really are happy are among those who have been redeemed. The world has gaiety, but no happiness; forgetfulness, but no peace! The world counterfeits every Christian grace, but never is able to produce a coin with the right ring. Its popular to say that “the man worthwhile is the man who will smile when everything goes dead wrong” but even then the weight of unforgiven sin hangs over the heart, and the despair of the old nature hasn’t been removed. Underneath the surface the unsaved are “like troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.” They are without peace!
The Christian possesses the joy of the Lord. It’s his strength. The basis for this joy is obvious. “Rejoice in the Lord.” How can there be reality in joy that has no foundation outside this changing world? All passes; Christ remains! Our worship is in the Spirit, our rejoicing is in Christ Jesus, and we have no confidence in the world. This, of course, is the exact opposite of the world’s joy, which is fixed in self alone and doesn’t look to Christ. So I encourage you to, “Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say, rejoice!”
Pastor Pat
If you have a private prayer request, even if that request is to know Jesus as your savior, e-mail us at torsogong@ yahoo.com. We will forward it immediately to the appropriate ministry, whether it be the pastor and elders and/or our Prayer Warriors. Please title the subject of your e-mail "Prayer Request".
God bless you.
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