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A Way Of Rejoicing
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Jul 9, 2009 8:01 pm
538 Views
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“Rejoice in the Lord, and again I say, Rejoice.” Phil. 4:4.
Joy is a delightful experience. Whether it be mirth or satisfaction, the end result is a radiance to which even gloom and pain must give way. In fact, without joy the Christian returns to the despair of the heathen. He is like the famous Greek poet who claimed that it is better not to be born at all and that the next best thing is to quit life as soon as possible. The Christian knows no such despondency. For him the common joys of life are intensified and made enduring by the spiritual joys he experiences in Christ.
Singularly enough, joy radiates from the inside. That is why the Christian who has come to understand Christ remains joyful—he has sunlight in his soul. No outward event can threaten or ruffle the happiness that the Christian prospect places in the heart. All around us there is so much seeking of outward pleasure that disillusionment and disappointment are the lot of our generation. Lasting happiness can never come from the world. How could it, for it is not derived from the things we get. It is manufactured within the soul. The color of our sky is created in our heart of hearts.
More than two thousand years ago Plato wrote in his “Republic” this concerning man who ruled by whims and fancies: “He knows no order nor necessity in life; he will not listen to anyone who tells him that some pleasures come in the gratification of good and noble desires, others from evil ones, and that the former should be fostered and encouraged, the latter disciplined and chained. To all such talk, he shakes his head and says that all enthusiasms are similar and worthy of equal attention.”
To experience true joy and avoid boredom, one must bring every problem of life into the perspective of a Christ-centered existence, meaning discipline and the submission of the human will to that of God. It will mean, too, the dedication of a life to God’s high purpose.
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Just A Thought
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Jul 9, 2009 6:25 pm
581 Views
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If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to serve as a horrible warning.
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The Secret
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Jul 9, 2009 5:50 am
551 Views
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“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” - Phillippians 4:12-13
This is one secret that you are allowed to tell. A woman named Vicki once knew a young person at church named Susan. Susan always seemed effervescent and happy, although Vicki knew she had faced struggles in her life.
Her long-awaited marriage had quickly ended in divorce.
She had struggled to get a grip on her single life. She hadn't chosen it, but she decided she would live it with utmost enjoyment and satisfaction.
Susan was active in Sunday school, in the choir, as a leader of the junior high girls' group, and in the church renewal movement. Vicki enjoyed knowing Susan. Susan's whole face seemed to smile. One day Vicki asked Susan, "How is it that you are always so happy, you have so much energy, and you never seem to get down?"
With her eyes smiling, Susan said, "I know the Secret!"
"What secret is that?" "What are you talking about?" Vicki asked. Susan replied, "I'll tell you all about it, but you have to promise to share the Secret with others." Vicki agreed, "Okay, now what is it?"
The Secret is this: "I have learned there is little I can do in my life that will make me truly happy. I must depend on God to make me happy and meet my needs. When a need arises in my life, I have to trust God to supply according to HIS riches. I have learned most of the time I don't need half of what I think I do. He has never let me down. Since I learned that Secret I am happy.
Vicki's first thought was, “That's too simple!” But upon reflecting over her own life she recalled how she thought a bigger house would make her happy, but it didn't! She thought a better paying job would make her happy-but it hadn't.
When did she realize her greatest happiness? Sitting on the floor with her grandchildren, playing games eating pizza or reading a story, a simple gift from God. Susan knew the secret, Vicki learned the secret, and now you know it too!
We can't depend on people to make us happy. Only GOD in His wisdom can do that. Trust HIM! And now I pass the Secret on to you! So once you get it, Whatcha gonna do?
YOU have to tell someone the Secret, too! That GOD in His wisdom will take care of YOU!
“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” - Phillippians 4:12-13
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