September 23, 2024
Derek Smith
Lead Pastor
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice
C.S. Lewis once said,
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Every day the Lord offers us infinite joy, but so often we settle for mud pies. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 16:11, in His presence there is fullness of joy, but some seem to have missed that joy somewhere. Some Christians seem so unhappy; they’re on the way to heaven, but they’ve forgotten to tell their faces. They wouldn’t laugh if you told them a knock knock joke and tickled them at the same time! The good news is that in Christ we can enjoy the journey, and ultimately that’s the purpose of life. He created us to know and love Him, which means resting in the life He has for us.
Paul reminds the church at Philippi that we must find our joy in Christ right where we are. He says to rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice in the Lord is a command, not a suggestion. So, every morning when we rise we should declare Psalm 118:24 which says, “This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Joy is a choice to put God and others before myself, to lay aside my sin and selfishness and choose to rest in Jesus.Do you have joy? Are you resting in the love and sovereign plan of God or are you fretting over life? Choose joy. Choose to pray. Choose a heavenly perspective. When we do, as the old song says, the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Lead Pastor
Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice
C.S. Lewis once said,
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Every day the Lord offers us infinite joy, but so often we settle for mud pies. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 16:11, in His presence there is fullness of joy, but some seem to have missed that joy somewhere. Some Christians seem so unhappy; they’re on the way to heaven, but they’ve forgotten to tell their faces. They wouldn’t laugh if you told them a knock knock joke and tickled them at the same time! The good news is that in Christ we can enjoy the journey, and ultimately that’s the purpose of life. He created us to know and love Him, which means resting in the life He has for us.
Paul reminds the church at Philippi that we must find our joy in Christ right where we are. He says to rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice in the Lord is a command, not a suggestion. So, every morning when we rise we should declare Psalm 118:24 which says, “This is the day the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Joy is a choice to put God and others before myself, to lay aside my sin and selfishness and choose to rest in Jesus.Do you have joy? Are you resting in the love and sovereign plan of God or are you fretting over life? Choose joy. Choose to pray. Choose a heavenly perspective. When we do, as the old song says, the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
Posted in Daily Devos