The Joy Of Our Salvation

Psalm 16:10-11 - You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Have you ever noticed that one day your “joy meter” seems to be full and all is well with the world and even as soon as the next day you feel the complete opposite? I know that this is true of my own life. When I actually take the time to think about my change of heart I can often blame it on a trial, an uncontrollable circumstance or even my mood. But all these things revolve around one thing…me. MY trial has taken away my joy, MY circumstance is influencing my feelings, MY gloomy mood is normal and I will come through it. It is true that there are enemies of joy all around us and in us, but there is a remedy…

“Here in the cross is where every enemy of joy is overcome: divine wrath, as he becomes a curse for us; real guilt, as he becomes forgiveness for us; lawbreaking, as he becomes righteousness for us; estrangement from God, as he becomes reconciliation for us; slavery to Satan, as he becomes redemption for us; bondage to sin, as he becomes liberation for us; pangs of conscience, as he becomes cleansing for us; death, as he becomes the resurrection for us; hell, as he becomes eternal life for us.”- Charles Spurgeon

Psalm 71:23 - My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.

When I take the time each morning to inform my heart and mind about the truth of the gospel, everything else fades into the background and the Cross becomes central.

“…preaching the gospel to ourselves every day reminds us that we are indeed sinners in need of God’s grace….It helps us to consciously renounce any confidence in our own goodness as a means of meriting God’s blessing on our lives. Perhaps more importantly, though, preaching the gospel to ourselves every day gives us hope, joy, and courage. The good news that our sins are forgiven because of Christ’s death fills our hearts with joy, gives us courage to face the day, and offers us hope that God’s favor will rest upon us, not because we are good, but because we are in Christ." – Jerry Bridges

When the weights and burdens of trials, the mundane moments of life or the sting of our sin overwhelm us, we can remind ourselves that our greatest need has already been met. The truth of the gospel gives us hope, joy and courage. We have this not because we deserve it or have earned it, but because we are in Christ. Like my mom said at our ladies meeting on Sunday, "in light of what has been done for us, we have no reason to not be joyful people". When the cares of life start to rob my joy, I need to fix my eyes on the cross, because that is where my past, present and future are bound up in.

Psalm 68:3 - But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy!

God Is Not A Magic 8-Ball

When it comes to decision making...

"I was trying to bring all of my thoughts and questions and reasoning to God and expecting the answer to float up in front of me. I saw God as little more than the solution to my problem. With my decision I was acting as though God had no other purpose than giving me what I wanted: an answer. My thoughts were consumed with me-centered thoughts like, "How will this affect me? What will happen to me? Will I be happy?" It was me-driven decision making. I was treating God more like a Magic 8 Ball than a God that I loved and served."- Ricky Alcantar

This is an expert from my friend Ricky's latest post on Boundless. Decision making is also something I really struggle with and this article was very helpful and insightful for me. I often forget that my decisions should be less about me and more about God. If you get a chance, go to Boundless.org to read the entire article.

Our Minds Stayed On Christ

"That Christian who has free grace, who has free justification, who has the mediatorial righteousness of Christ, who has the satisfaction of Christ, who has the covenant of grace most constantly in his sight, and most frequently warm upon his heart—that Christian, of all Christians in the world, is most free from a world of fears, and doubts, and scruples which do sadden, sink, perplex, and press down a world of other Christians, who daily eye more what Christ is a-doing in them, and what they are a-doing for Christ, than they do eye either his active or passive obedience.
Christ has done great things for his people, and he has suffered great things for his people, and he has purchased great things for his people, and he has prepared great things for his people; yet many of his own dear people are so taken up with their own hearts, and with their own duties and graces, that Christ is little eyed by them or minded by them!
This is the great reason why so many Christians, who will certainly go to heaven—do walk in darkness, and lie down in sorrow.”
- Thomas Brooks, A Cabinet of Choice Jewels

These words from Thomas Brooks have reminded me of the importance of what our mind is stayed on. Intentionally thinking about God and all He has done is actually a remedy for "a world of fears", "doubt", "scruples which do sadden, sink and perplex". May I be less taken up with myself today and more taken up with Christ!

Time For God's Will

"One reason we are so harried and hurried is that we make yesterday and tomorrow our business, when all that legitimately concerns us is today. If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.

Lord, help me to take your yoke on my shoulder, not a yoke of my own making. May I learn from You to be gentle and humblehearted. May I find that your load is light."

- Elisabeth Elliot

Lord, in the midst of the business of daily life, help me to always remember that is You who gave me this life. May I love what You love and hate what You hate. And may Your priorities become my priorities. Amen

Ephesians 4:29: "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."

Corrupt:
debased in character; depraved; perverted; wicked; evil
made inferior by errors or alterations, as a text.
infected; tainted.
decayed; putrid.
to destroy the integrity of; cause to be dishonest, disloyal
to lower morally; pervert
to alter (a language, text, etc.) for the worse; debase.
to mar; spoil
to infect; taint
to make putrid or putrescent

I think after reading the above description of what the word corrupt means, no one would want to be responsible for letting “corrupt” speech come out of them, but sadly we are all guilty of it. I have recently been thinking about “speech” and have been reminded of the importance of words. I know that I can far too often be unconcerned with the words that are coming out of my mouth and guilty of letting corrupt words come out of me. We supposedly use an average of 25,000 words a day. How many of those am I using to glorify God and edify others?

Paul Tripp wrote in his book War of Words: "When we speak, it must be with the realization that God has given our words significance. He has ordained for them to be important...God has given words value. So we must do all we can to assign words the importance Scripture gives them."

Corrupt talk includes all words or communication that deters growth in godliness and hinders the cultivation of godly relationships. It defiles others. It has a decaying, rotting effect on a person's soul.-CJ Mahaney

This verse in Ephesians doesn’t just stop with the instruction to not let corrupt talk come out of our mouths, we are to replace that with something…speech that is good for building up.

1 Timothy 4:12 - Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

What amazing power and potential there is in our speech! When we are purposeful and intentional to use edifying and appropriate words, this is the result: God promises that our words will impart grace to those who hear. Every conversation we have with another person carries this marvelous potential of passing on the grace of God. And we are a people in need of God's grace, are we not? – Janelle Bradshaw

I am praying for God’s help in letting my words, whether many or few, be glorifying to the One who has enabled me to speak and to be a means of grace to all who know me and even those who don’t. When others love and encourage me, may I do the same to them. When others hurt and sin against me, may I seek to build them up and encourage them. When others are lost and need a kind word, may I speak the gospel truth, which is the kindest thing I could ever do for them. May I strive to use all 25,000 of my words as a beautiful building tool and not an instrument of destruction.

IF only I had "blank", then I would be happy.

I don't think there is a person on the planet that has not at some point struggled with thoughts and feelings of discontent. I know I have. But there is something better than having the restless desire and craving for something we don't have. It's called contentment. In a culture that is always telling you to do what feels right and go after what you want, it can be difficult to find that. Media and people are constantly bombarding us with whispers of attaining the perfect. But what has God called us to attain?

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.-1 Timothy 6:6-7"

Greg Spencer who wrote an article on contentment offers this insight, "As you've thought about contentment, you've probably wondered how to push for excellence without being defeated by it. How can we keep some control over the chaos of our lives without gripping it so tightly that all we have is a fist to shake at God when things don't go our way? My definition attempts to address these tensions: Contentment is a hope that frees us to pursue the unsatisfied life in a satisfying way."

Living the "unsatisfied life" can mean knowing that only God is the only thing that brings true contentment and not anything this world has to offer...even good things. While it's true that God gives good gifts and loves to give them, if He chose to take them all away, where would the state of our happiness fall? Spencer also, reminds us that a key to contentment is "the art of dying well".

"The art of dying well reminds us to surrender. We can express our trust in God's goodness by accepting that THIS IS MY LIFE. Not my past. Not my future. THIS is my house, not the one my neighbor has. THIS is my spouse, not the one on TV or the Internet. THIS is the child I was given, the one with the strong will, the one who inspires heartache. When I feel overwhelmed grading papers and exams, I try to surrender by telling myself, "This is the life I've chosen." Sometimes this one line settles me into a more contented state. Part of surrender is "detachment." Although the word itself might be a little off-putting, the idea is as liberating as they come. Thomas Merton says it well: "We must learn to be detached from the results of our own activity." Detachment does not mean that we shouldn't care about what happens; it means that we are responsible for faithfulness, not for success. The art of dying well reminds us that a "turning toward" is also a "turning away from." When we face one thing, we turn our backs to another."

When I turn toward discontent in something I don't have, I am turning away from contentment in what I've been given. I like how Spencer reminds us that we are responsible for faithfulness, not success. This helps calm my heart in knowing when I may want something and it doesn't turn out the way I hoped, I can be content in knowing that I was faithful in the task and that the outcome was God's best for me. He will always give us His best, even if we can't see it at the time. Every detail of our lives can be entrusted to the sovereign and capable hands of our God. I pray that I will be able to continue to grow in contentment, knowing that if all beneath me falls away, I know that I still have the only thing that really matters. The road to learning contentment can be a long and hard one, but there is joy in the journey and eternal satisfaction at the end.

Philippians 4:11 "for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

Bless The Lord At All Times

Today marks a year since my sister's accident. I think anniversaries, good or bad, are always helpful to think back on and see where God has brought you and it always helps us see the big picture a little more clearly. I told Britt that I thought it would be beneficial for her to write out a little testimony about what has happened to her. I thought it would be good for her to remember the Lord's faithfulness over the past year, especially since I'm sure today brings back painful memories for her. I also, wanted it to post! So, here is the story of a courageous, godly woman and our faithful and merciful Father.

This morning, April 1, 2008 I awoke to find a beautiful white robe hanging on our shower door with a sweet card from my husband. How thankful I am for him and for the reminders of God's faithfulness he wrote in the card to me this morning.
"I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes it boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad." The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and His ears toward their cry. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all" Pslam 34.
April 1, 2007 had quite a different start and marked a new chapter in my life and my husband's. That morning 90% of my legs and feet, part of my right arm, and part of my back experienced 2nd and 3rd degree burns due to a grease fire in our home. I spent about three and half weeks in the hospital recovering. I had to undergo daily wound cleanings, daily oxygen treatments to my skin, and a skin graft surgery to my feet and part of my right arm to restore the skin that the 3rd degree burns had destroyed. Once released from the hospital I still remained at the mercy of those around me as it would still be some time before I could walk again. I made weekly trips back to the wound care clinic for them to check on my progress and change my dressings. I've had to battle severe anxiety attacks due to the trauma to my body and fight the enemy's attacks of thinking God no longer had good things planned for my days here on earth. But through this all, I know for a fact, God has never left my side, and even through this, God always intended this for good in my life. My physical healing process, though long, was much faster than anyone would have anticipated. Today, the only marks left from the accident are some slight scarring on my right foot from the skin graft, but even that in time, will completely be gone. I no longer experience anxiety attacks and can go about life just like I always knew. Our God is such a faithful God!
How much we need our Lord and Savior! The Lord has shown me that I cannot go a day without Him. I am alive not because I woke up being able to breathe this morning, but because my Savior has rescued my soul and I am now His. How often we take life for granted and how often we think this life is our own! No matter what we go through, our God is rich in mercy, and the fact that He has saved our souls is enough to sing His praises for all our days.
This morning as I stared teary eyed at the sweet gift of the white robe my husband had given me, I was reminded of how our Lord Jesus clothed us with His sweet robe of righteousness and because of His gift to us, we can stand holy and blameless in His sight. No matter what we go through here on earth, let us always remember, our greatest need has been met in Christ and one day we will spend eternity with Him, where every tear will be wiped away and pain and suffering will be no more..but again most importantly, we will be with the one we were created for!
- Brittany Arellano