This is the day the
Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Praise the Lord
for His presence, His power, and His promises, which are yes in Jesus Christ. I
spent some time with one of our friends yesterday as he gave me a ride for my
blood tests in the Triple Cities. It was a mild and partly sunny
day. As we were driving we were recounting recalling, reminiscing, and
saying simultaneously how blessed we are in how much we are loved.
This is due to the sheer grace and mercy of our Lord Jesus. Alice
and I walked for a bit in the evening, enjoying time outdoors as the days
getting longer and the western skies appear brighter and more
colorful. We spent some time with our grandchildren on Google chat
in the evening. It is always a treat to spend time with our children and
grandchildren.
Praise
the Lord for some people in our community here Marathon. Praise the Lord
for Donald Barber and Art Signs. They are good buddies who both live in
their own homes. They still drive with confidence. They often meet
for lunch at a local diner. They love this community have labored
faithfully to make the community a better place. Don is in his 90's
and Art is also. Praise the Lord for Connie White. She is deeply
civic minded and cares about the town deeply. Praise the Lord for many
towns citizens who are the salt of the earth. We are blessed.
One
of the verses I memorized as young boy is found in 1 Thessalonians: “Be
joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).
Professor
James Denney of Scotland called these three commands “the standing orders of
the gospel.” They are “standing
orders” because they always apply to every Christian in every situation. The Greek makes this very clear because these
imperatives are all in the present tense. You could translate it
“continually rejoice, continually pray, and continually give thanks.”
This is a great challenge. We might have little problem if
the text said, "Rejoice sometimes”, “Pray occasionally”, “Give
thanks when you feel like it." We get tripped up by the commands'
unbending nature. “Always.” “Continually.” “In all
circumstances.”
The
real impact of the gospel will be seen when we don’t feel joyful, when we don’t
want to pray, and when we can’t think of a reason to be thankful, but we are
obedient to the commands anyway. These simple commands reveal the true
life-changing power of Jesus Christ. When Jesus enters a life, He
changes it from the inside out so that we have both the power and the desire to
rejoice, to pray, and give thanks even in the worst moments of life.
We recognize that often things happen to us (and to our loved ones)
that make no sense. How do we give thanks when our hearts are
broken? How do we give thanks when we are confused? How do we give
thanks when we are angry at what sin has done in the world?
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