The Christian owes it to the world to be supernaturally joyful. In this day of universal apprehension when men’s hearts are failing them for fear of those things that are coming upon the earth, we Christians are strategically placed to display a happiness that is not of this world and to exhibit a tranquillity that will be a little bit of heaven here below. All this takes for granted that sin has been dealt with by sincere repentance and thorough amendment of life. It assumes that we are walking in the light of truth, for true joy cannot be artificially induced. The “keep smiling” school of applied psychology is not even remotely related to the true faith of Christ. The chief fun of the comedian and the good humor of the wit who is the life of the party are like flowers growing on old graves, briefly interesting, but evanescent and always touched with sadness. But the fountain of Christian joy flows out from the throne of God, pure, refreshing and sweet everlastingly.–A. W. Tozer

The power Of God’s Word is amazing! Sometimes we forget that it is what the Scriptures say, not what we say about them, that is most important. Samuel Bagster (1772-1851) understood this. The example below is taken from “Daily Light from the Bible”).It is like a string of precious pearls—all of which comes directly from the Word of God. Read it and be blessed:

Be strong … and work: for I am with you,
saith the LORD of hosts.

I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. -I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. -Strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. -The joy of the LORD is your strength.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words by the mouth of the prophets. -Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not. -The LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might.
If God be for us, who can be against us? -Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not.
Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. -Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
————————— Haggai 2:4; John 15:5; Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 6:10; Nehemiah 8:10; Zechariah 8:9; Isaiah 35:3,4; Judges 6:14; Romans 8:31; 2 Corinthians 4:1; Galatians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:57

It is written: “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:37-39)

Life can sometimes be a strange thing in and of itself. There are ups and there are downs, and there are many twists, turns, and pit falls along the pathway that leads to the end. For many believers there are times that cause us to wonder if faith in God and Christ Jesus is worth all the heartaches and despairs multiplied upon us since we believed and surrendered our lives into their noble hands. At a glance one would consider it absolute lunacy to endure so much when there is a seemingly easier pathway. Why suffer such onslaught and wrenching of the heart and mind? What motivation is there to endure?

The answer is the love of God!!! How can one experience the love of God expressed upon the cross of Calvary in the midst of His saving grace and walk away unchanged? How can one be made alive by the love of God and not crave its constant nurturing? How can one encounter God face-to-face and turn back to the dark shadows of the valley of death? How does one look into the eyes of our suffering Savior and think we are better than our Redeemer and Master? How could our eternal souls ever be torn from so great a love by accident or by purpose? Is this love of God so feeble that it cannot secure every object of His affection?

If “all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose,” and “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us,” then we most certainly must be persuaded that “If God be for us, who can be against us”!!! Shall our eternal heavenly Father allow anything of all His creation to tear us from His love that is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ? I am persuaded that it is an utter impossibility, though the demons of hell will surely struggle at their best to rip the saints from the hand of God. I am persuaded we are secure in His sovereign power eternally! Thanks be unto God for the surety of His love!!! (By Dr. M.J. Seymour, Sr.)

 

“It’s no wonder that self-help books top the charts in Christian publishing and that counseling offices are overwhelmed. Our pride and our neglect of the gospel force us to run from seminar to seminar, book to book, counselor to counselor, always seeking but never finding some secret to holy living.

Most of us have never really understood that Christianity is not a self-help religion meant to enable moral people to become more moral. We don’t need a self-help book; we need a Savior. We don’t need to get our collective act together; we need death and resurrection and the life-transforming truths of the gospel. And we don’t need them just once, at the beginning of our Christian life; we need them every moment of every day.”

– Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dennis Johnson, Counsel from the Cross (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Books, 2009), 30.

—I will come again—John 14:3   Merry Christmas! This is the day that many parents have planned for and many children have longed for. As we know from experience and observation, little children feel that Christmas will never come, but it did. For them the days turned into months and the final twenty-four hours seemed like eternity. They couldn’t wait to rip into their presents and finally be able to hold their gifts.   But, can you imagine how Mary and Joseph felt on that first Christmas day–knowing that, after the many centuries, the promise had been fulfilled! The Messiah was born. The Infinite became an infant. Mary held in her arms the One who upholds “all things by the word of his power”(Heb.1:3). WOW! But there is more.   The same Bible that predicted His first coming also promises that He will come again. That, my dear friend, is our “blessed hope”(Titus 2:13). He won’t come as the meek and lowly baby, but as our King. The Lamb of God will return as the roaring Lion of the tribe of Judah. At long last He will reign upon the earth as the King of kings and Lord of lords! It sounds too good to be true, but it is. It seems that the day will never come, but it will. Are you ready? Have you received Christ as your Lord and Savior?   Remember–for the Christian, the future always looks bright if you look far enough ahead. The best is yet to come. Jesus is coming “again”.