Category: Be Inspired

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

I have heard it again and again – rejoice! Repeated endlessly by worship leaders, preachers and sympathizers in exhortations, devotionals, sermons – “rejoice” I am told, even if I don’t feel like it. I am tempted to think, is this some kind of denial? How can I rejoice when trials, sorrow, and hardships stare me in the face? Especially now, with the pandemic having claimed the lives of two dear church members, and the “new normal” seeming so abnormal!

Then again, how can I not take Paul’s words to the Philippian church seriously? Does he have an important point to make? My reflections led me to the following thoughts. First, the sorrow and hardships I might experience are not a verdict that God does not love me. On the contrary, his love is never diminished, no matter what I am going through. Nothing, yes, nothing changes God’s love for me. That itself is a reason to rejoice!

Second, I am to rejoice “in the Lord”! In a fallen world, hardships dampen the spirits but “in Christ” there is an inexplicable joy. Where is my focus – to temporary situations or to everlasting victory in Jesus? My focus could become my idol. Sadness and sorrow of the temporary are lousy idols to be worshipping! I might as well trade it for the “joy of the Lord”! And finally, Jesus meets me in every one of my hardships. In his incarnation he understands every one of those gut-wrenching feelings I experience. His presence imparts comfort and provides strength to cope.

Rejoice, indeed, in the grace of Christ. There is every reason to!

Prayer: Lord, I may not understand everything that happens around me, but help me know your grace. While you give me strength to cope, grant me to experience and express your joy in every circumstance. Amen.

 

 

By Danny Zachariah

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. (John 10:27-29)

We live in a culture of hyper-communication. We are bombarded incessantly with verbiage (written and spoken). There are “news” channels, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – and much more. Everyone is an expert. Everyone knows what is right. Those who get or take the most “air time” (speaking the loudest, the most frequently, or most “cleverly”) capture the minds and hearts of multitudes. And what is the result of this cacophony of voices? Greater confusion, unrest, and disunity. Anything but a sense of hope, security, and peace – all of which are promised by Jesus, in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.

 

In this and the previous passage, Jesus clearly expresses his love for us. He shares his life, and all it entails, with us. Peace, security, and stability are ours in him. But we need to listen to him. He needs to be the one we pay the most attention to. His is the voice we need to seek. His is the voice we need to believe. His is the voice we can trust to know the truth, which begins with knowing him, who is the eternal embodiment of truth.

Important questions we must ask ourselves, especially at a time when so many voices are calling, no, shouting, out to us, are: “Whose voice am I listening to? Whose voice am I seeking out? Whose voice am I relying on?” The answer to these questions can determine whether we will experience peace, safety, and even joy as we navigate life’s challenges.

Dear Lord, help us hear your voice. Help us yearn for it; keep our ears attuned to it and follow it with faith, hope and courage, wherever it leads us. For we know we can trust you to be with us at all times and in all things. Amen.

 

 

By Randy Bloom

Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:4-5

One of the things God has been telling me lately is this: “I created you to enjoy life to the fullest, and to give thanks in every situation.”

With all the calamities that have occurred this year and those still occurring as I write, it seems counterintuitive to enjoy life at this time while practicing gratitude. How can I be joyful and thankful when it seems like the world around me is falling apart and everything I thought was stable is now crumbling before my very eyes?

There’s a reason why joy and gratitude are intimately connected. Joy and gratitude are often mentioned together throughout Scripture, and this is precisely because it is impossible to be negative when we are grateful. It’s as if God created this inherent connection between thankfulness and joy.

Author and mindfulness instructor, Tamara Levitt, said, “It is not our circumstances that create gratitude, but rather our perception of our circumstances.”

Contrary to what many might believe, gratitude doesn’t just come to us. Gratitude doesn’t just happen to us. The powerful practice of gratitude is a daily, conscious choice. And the more we practice it, the more receptive we are to the peace that surpasses all understanding in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). Our tendency toward negativity gets interrupted as we practice non-judgmental awareness of our thoughts. So the more we consciously and patiently choose gratitude in any given situation, the more we can enjoy life and enjoy it to the fullest.

I have a great quote that hangs on my wall at home and it reminds me every day: “Enjoy every single moment. The good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the inspiring, the not-so-glamorous moments. And THANK GOD through it all.”

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, thank you that you are the reason I can give thanks in every situation and enjoy life to the fullest. I surrender my thoughts, beliefs, choices and actions to be transformed daily by you.

 

By Jillian Morrison
Associate Pastor
Grace Life, Glendora, CA

 

Click the image below to view and download this month’s featured GCI profile.

Am I the only one to get confused when wearing a mask? Recently I had my face mask on when I went for a cup of coffee. I tried to pay by using my phone, but it would not process. What was the problem? My phone’s security works by facial recognition and the mask obscured my face! I felt flustered and peered intently at the phone, thinking it would click in. People in the socially distanced line behind me were snickering as they watched, and I too began to laugh.

Masks have a fascinating history and were worn for all sorts of reasons, and they still are. I remember watching a movie that featured a masquerade, a party where people wore elaborate masks to conceal who they were. The idea goes back to the theatres of ancient Greece and elsewhere, where actors would don a mask to get into character. Typically, they’d use a mask that featured a recognizable attribute of the role they were playing.

A friend of mine, who knew I was a Christian, asked me once about God. What is he like? Would he please come out from behind his mask and identify himself? My friend was being sarcastic, but I had an answer, based on Colossians 1:15, where we read that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (ESV). Jesus came, I said to him, to show us who God is, to reveal how God is love.

It’s something worth noting. If we want to know what God is like, how he thinks and how he cares for us, we look to the life of Jesus.

Jesus is God unmasked.

Prayer: Thank you, Father, for revealing yourself through your Son, Jesus Christ, and help me please to grow more and more into his image. In his name, Amen.

 

 

 

By James Henderson

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Check out this month’s GCI Profile to get to know Hazel Tabin, GCNext Leader in Los Angeles, CA. To read her full profile, click the image below.

We want to hear from you!

What does your Hope avenue look like right now?

Please comment below.

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If you need a refresher on the three avenues, please click on the image below to view and download the full Team-Based – Pastor-Led infographic, or scroll down to the bulleted summary.

• Hope avenue (worship)—the Sunday worship service—intentional preparation, inclusive gathering, inspirational worship.
• Faith avenue (discipleship)—discipling people in the faith—connect groups, discipleship classes, Bible studies, church life activities and events.
• Love avenue (witness)—mission and outreach—identifying a target community, building relationships, missional events.

 

Acts 2:42 (ESV) “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.”

Though this verse speaks to a specific moment in the history of the church (the days immediately following the birth of the church in Jerusalem), it describes the basic content of the church’s public assemblies—a content that endures to this day: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread (the Lord’s Supper) and prayers.

Being unable to assemble during the pandemic has reminded me of the great importance (and blessing) of our times together in public assembly as the body of Christ. Something we can still take part in, albeit virtually, through our church services online. (I am grateful to those who worked so hard to make this resource available, it has been a lifeline!)

Robin Parry, in Worshipping Trinity: Coming Back to the Heart of Worship, states (referencing the writing of Susan Wood, emphasis added):

Taking part in Christian worship is essential for Christian spiritual formation. We may not pay conscious attention to all the individual elements of the faith that we sing or act out in worship, but we are immersed in the practice of communal devotion to God. We internalize the shape of the faith through the sights, sounds, smells, tastes of the whole experience. Liturgy… creates an environment that, when we indwell it, shapes our vision, relations, and knowledge of God in Christian ways. The knowledge of God we gain in worship is not the knowledge that one can learn from a book but the participatory knowledge that comes from being involved in a relationship.

Because we worship a relational God—the Holy Trinity—our worship is communal. By God’s design, it involves assembling together—Sunday-by-Sunday, season-by-season through the course of the Christian year. In our assemblies, through the liturgy of worship, we reenact the story of the gospel—the story of Jesus, our story. So important. Such a blessing!

Prayer: Lord God, we are grateful for your church; grateful we are part of it—members of Christ’s body. Lord, you created us and created the church so that we might share in your life and your love. We do that sharing together, and through that life together we are transformed. Lord, we pray for those who due to circumstances beyond their control, are unable to assemble with us. May we reach out to them so that they know they are part of us, and we a part of them. Help us to assemble faithfully, safely, with joy, reverence, and awe, for our sakes, and for the sake of the world that you love. Amen

 

Ted Johnston
Instructor, Grace Communion Seminary
Retired GCI Regional Pastor and Publications Editor

 

 

 

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

1 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.

29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. 32 For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

Sometimes I get discouraged when thinking about many I used to know at church, who, for a number of reasons, have left our fellowship, and as far as I know, just aren’t “going” anywhere. I don’t know their hearts, and what their relationship is with Jesus, but humanly, I grieve for them, wishing that they were again in community with me, that we could journey together in the love of our Triune God.

When I read this passage in his letter to the church in Rome (part of a discussion in chapters 9-11), I see Paul had similar concerns. Here he struggles with the fact that the descendants of Abraham, God’s chosen people, the covenant people and his own people, have rejected Jesus as their Messiah.

In addressing Gentile Christians, Paul explains that although they were once disobedient, God has shown them mercy, and he still offers mercy to those who are the original covenant people.

What does that mean for us when we reject God through our actions, or for those we may know who seemingly have walked away from God?

I take great encouragement from two statements in this passage:

God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew.
The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

God has not abandoned the original covenant people. And he continues calling to me, even when I find myself in a state of disobedience to him. He also continues to reach out to all who have “walked” away from their calling.

Why? So he can show that he is merciful to all.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for showing mercy to all through your Son Jesus. Thank you for not judging us as we would tend to judge ourselves and others. May you show us how to be merciful the way you are merciful to us.

 

 

 

By Bill Hall
National Director, GCI Canada