Ecclesiastes 12:10

  Companies, armies, and really any organization know the importance of morale. The quickest way to bring things to a screeching halt is to take away joy and cheer from people. The Bible teaches us that importance as well. All the days of the afflicted are bad, But a cheerful heart has a continual feast . Proverbs 15:15  A joyful heart makes a cheerful face, But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken . Proverbs 15:13  A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones . Proverbs 17:22  The spirit of a man can endure his sickness, But as for a broken spirit who can bear it? Proverbs 18:14  Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4      So why is it that some Christians seemingly can’t help but try to squash out anyone who is too happy? Those who scold the jokester, shush the child, complain about the excited and down the joyous.   Is it because we think fun is s...

  If you asked many to describe a typical Christian you might hear words like, grumpy, angry, condensing, pompous, judgmental, and complaining. This may be because of the negative view the world has put on Christians.    But there might be a bit of truth in it as well.   After working in ministry for twenty-five plus years, I can tell you some church attenders seem to love to be miserable and make others miserable as well. This is a shame since the word that we see used over and over to describe the faithful in the Scriptures is Joy.  Consider Romans 15:13, “ Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit .” Or John 15:11 “ These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full . Galatians 5:22 tells us joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Romasn14:17 says it is a characteristic of the kingdom of God. Still not convinced, read the bo...

  For 364 days of the year growing up, I was not the easiest child to get out of bed. If the circumstances required me to be out of bed at a particular time it usually involved cajoling, threats, and occasionally a glass of cold water.  Yet on one day of the year, I was ‘up and at em’ way too early. In fact, it became a requirement for me to yell out from my room “ Can I get up yet ”?  Can you guess what day that was?   If you have not figured it out, it was a day that started with presents under the Christmas tree. You see on that day, there was something worth being awake early.    There is a common phrase in scripture (Ephesians 5:14, Romans 13:11-12, 1 st Thessalonians 5:6-7) that links being asleep to folks in a dangerous spiritual condition. When it comes to the things of the Lord, we are just kind of out of it. We like a kid in the morning, barely awake wanting to stay in bed.     Maybe we would be more awake, if like a kid at...

  As an old country preacher put it, “Some Christians are so sour you’d think they were baptized in pickle juice.” Now we may be quick to dismiss this as just some person's attitude and that is just the way we are, except the Bible commands us to do something different:   Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord . Philippians 3:1 Finally, brethren, rejoice, be made complete, be comforted, be like-minded, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you . 2 nd Corinthians 13:11   Rejoice always ; 1 st Thessalonians 5:16   Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Philippians 4:4     Now with any other command, if we didn’t do it, we say it was wrong, or if we said it didn’t apply, we argue it does, or if we are told to do it, and we do something else, we say it was an error, so why do we think it is ok to not rejoice and have a souring disposition.   The word rejoice, as it was used in these passages, means ‘to...

   The climax of the book of Nehemiah is in chapter eight when Ezra climbs on a wooden platform and reads aloud to the people the book of the Law. The project of rebuilding the wall has led not just to a structural change in Jerusalem but a spiritual one as well. As the law is read and explained a sound breaks out. The people are weeping. Why? Because they had heard the law.   It is not hard to figure out why. As they listened people began to comprehend just how far they were from God’s plan. They needed to change. Soon they would be confessing those sins and making plans to set things right.  But not that day,    Then Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, "This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep." For all the people were weeping when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, "Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send porti...

  I got to thinking the other day that the things in my life that cause me the most stress are the things I can’t do. Waiting on other people’s response, a problem I can’t solve on my own, a task I’m not equipped to perform.  If it is up to me I can do it or not do it and it really doesn’t bother me either way since I have the control. But when I don’t have control, when I too weak, too incompetent, too dependent, it bothers me since it emphasizes my weakness. I stress since I’m so helpless to do the thing I know needs doing.   I wonder if that is why the Scriptures tell us over and over again to trust in the saving power of Jesus. If there is anything we can’t do it is to save ourselves by ourselves. We are too sinful, too weak, too lacking. I can try to my utmost but I will always be lacking. Yet with the sacrifice of Christ, I can make it.  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likenes...