“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous, but for you it is safe. Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision. For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”Philippians 3:1–3

There are many people facing struggles and trials in life today, but few of us would want to compare our suffering with the Apostle Paul. He was beaten, stoned, whipped, jailed, shipwrecked, and chased out of more than one town. When he wrote his letter to the church at Philippi he was in a Roman prison. A few years later, he would die as a martyr at the hands of an abusive government. Yet throughout this epistle, Paul talks about the importance of rejoicing. Humanly speaking we would think that would have been the furthest thing from his mind. Yet he was focused on God rather than his surroundings, and so Paul rejoiced.

Charles Spurgeon said, “When the heart is full of joy, it always allows its joy to escape. It is like the fountain in the marketplace; whenever it is full it runs away in streams, and so soon as it ceases to overflow, you may be quite sure that it has ceased to be full. The only full heart is the overflowing heart.” Joy is not something that stays on the inside. When it is present, it spills out.

The problem for people who have no joy is that they are cut off from the source. Just as a fountain will quickly dry up if no water comes in but only flows out, our lives will have no joy unless we are walking in a close relationship with God and in the fullness of His Holy Spirit. He renews our strength and replaces our joy with His joy which never fails.–Daily in the Word

“ This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”–1 Tim. 1:15

D L Moody told the story of a Scottish preacher who before his conversion had been a vile and  wicked man. His reputation for fighting drinking,and gambling made him well known throughout the area.Soon after he was saved he started preaching the gospel, but some folks were skeptical. On one particular night as he prepared to go preach in another town, someone handed him an envelope with a note inside containing a list of the terrible things he had done in that town. After debating what to do for a moment, then stepped to the pulpit and began to speak.

“Friends, I am accused of crimes and sins committed in this very city. I will read them to you.” One after another he read these charges, and at the conclusion of each he said, “I am guilty.” When he had finished the whole list, he paused for a moment and then said, “You ask how I dare come to you and speak of righteousness and truth, with a list of crimes like that against my name? I will tell you: ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.’”

That is exactly right. Dear friends, Jesus died for all and everything. Regardless of what you have done He is willing to forgive you and save you from the penalty of sin. He is a great Savior for great sinners. From the gutter- most to the utter-most, He is willing and able to save whosoever that will come to God through Him. His sacrifice is sufficient. His promises are sure. And His power is able. You cannot change your past, but you can remove the condemnation that is against you and become a new creature in Christ Jesus by simply trusting Him as your Lord and Savior.

“Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

One of the great tests of Christian behavior is whether there is any glory for God in it. Too often we test our conduct by the question, “Is there any harm in it?” But that is not the question. What we must ask is this: “Is there any glory for God in it?”

Before engaging in any activity, we should be able to bow our head and ask the Lord to glorify Himself in what we are about to do. If God cannot be honored by it, then we should refrain from doing it.

Other religions might be satisfied with behavior that has the absence of harm in it. Christianity moves beyond the merely negative to the distinctly positive. Therefore, as Keith L. Brooks said, “If you would be a successful Christian, stop hunting for the harm there is in things, and start looking for the good. If you want your life to be happy, cast your lot among those persons who are asking for the ‘good’ and not the ‘harm’ there is in it.”

Things might be harmless in themselves and yet be a dead weight in the Christian race. There is no law against an Olympic runner’s toting a sack of potatoes in the 1500 meter race. He can carry the spuds but he can’t win the race. So it is with the Christian. Things may be harmless and yet be a hindrance.

But usually when we ask “Is there any harm in it?” our question betrays a hidden doubt. We don’t ask that about activities that are legitimate on the face of them—such as prayer, Bible study, worship, witness and our daily work.

Incidentally, any honorable work can be done to the glory of God. That is why some housewives have this motto over their kitchen sink: “Divine services conducted here three times daily.”

Whenever in doubt, we could follow this advice from John Wesley’s mother; “If you wish to determine the lawfulness of a pleasure, follow this rule: Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away the relish of spiritual things; whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin.” –William MacDonald