from Inspired Faith
DAILY VERSE
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:2
DAILY QUOTE
Christ came to take away our sins, to roll off our curse, to unbind our chains, to open our prison house, to cancel our debt; in a word, to give us the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Is not this joy? - Octavius Winslow
DAILY THOUGHT
The perfect picture of joy is found in the life of Jesus. And what an amazing, active, buoyant, effective, fulfilling life He lived. But we don’t see the full measure of His joy in the miracle of turning water to wine at a wedding, nor in the feeding the five thousand. It wasn’t when He taught a rapt crowd on a sunlit mountainside, nor when He took an exhilarating stroll across a lake. Amazingly, we don’t see Jesus’ joy in full bloom until the darkest moment of his life: "for the joy set before Him [He] endured the cross" (Hebrews 12:2).
In John 15:11 we read that Jesus spoke to His disciples, "I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." In His final instructions He was teaching those He loved how to have the same joy He had through closeness to God the Father. But it was on the cross that He paid the price that made this joy possible. Even in facing torturous death on the cross, He experienced the joy of knowing He was doing His Father’s work, of knowing what His work would mean to us.
Next time you struggle with a sense of joy, simply consider Jesus.
Lord, thank You for the cross that saves me and brings me to You, for the joy of knowing You. I love You. Amen.
I am presently in the middle of a tough read, Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand, first written and published in 1967 after he was ransomed for $10,000 out of communist held Romania. Most recently, Tortured For Christ was published again in 1998.
Through reading this book, I find confirmation that the greatest joy is realized through the pain of persecution and torture for faith in Jesus Christ. I also learned that we are only able to love God in quantity and quality according to our life experiences... that to pray, "Lord, I want to love you more" may very well lead me into an area of persecution, at which time I am convinced that God's grace will increase to meet the circumstances and joy will be it's companion.
When you read the writings of Richard Wurmbrand you will grasp the meaning of Hebrews 12:2 for the Believer. Fair warning: reading Tortured for Christ will take you out of your comfort zone. It's worth it.
Sunday's post follows this post. qqqiiiqqq
No comments:
Post a Comment