Tag Archives: depending on Christ

Joy Flowing From Grace

(In the Moments) The Remarkable Link Between Joy and Grace

2 Comments

It’s a cool late summer morning. Fall is in the air.

As I sip my dark coffee, laced with sugar free peppermint mocha (not sure it’s good for me, but it is tasty), I listen to the sound of our man-made mountain brook outside the porch. A cool breeze whips across my face, carrying the scent of tea olives in full bloom. Looking up from my writing, I notice the multiple shades of green leaves awaiting the signal to change colors and float to the ground.

I’m in a very contemplative mood. In fact, I feel quite weary. There are plenty of tough circumstances to go around. We’ve had three deaths in our family in the last few years. Folks we love are struggling with addiction. Some don’t know Jesus. The thought of them facing an eternity without Him is sobering. So many are dealing with lost jobs, broken relationships and life-threatening illnesses.

Even though, in John 16:33, Jesus tells us this will be the case, it doesn’t make it easy to deal with such pain. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (NIV)

Sometimes, when I remember the nearness of Jesus, He infuses me with the courage to handle these troubles. Other times, I get lost in the details and negative situations. I think it comes down to my perspective. When I can gain an eternal view, even during hard times, my outlook is different.

Right now, my heart is heavy, and I need God’s truth.

Turning to the Bible, I read a verse that if someone said it to me right now, I’d take it as a trite answer and consider them very insensitive.

It’s I Thessalonians 5:16 – “Rejoice Evermore.”

Rejoice Evermore! This unconditional command seems impossible. With all that’s going on, rejoicing is the last thing I want to do. But, since God said it, I’ll take this as an invitation to dig deeper, asking Him to show me how this is possible.

Lord, how is it possible to rejoice evermore?

To Obey God Requires Abiding Dependence Upon the Holy Spirit

Before digging into the verse more fully, I have to pause and admit my inability to obey any of God’s commands in my strength. After years of trying to be like Jesus without Jesus, I’m fully convinced the Christian life requires an abiding dependence upon the indwelling Holy Spirit of Jesus to fully follow Him.

Abiding is not just a delightful idea, it’s the essence of the Christian life. Paul summed it up beautifully in Galatians 2:20-21:  “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

Our life now is a life of dying to self and yielding to the indwelling Holy Spirit. Christ gave Himself up for me and, if I revert to living independently, I’m nullifying His death for me.

Living a life of self-fueled “obedience” leads to burnout and deeper sin. “It’s all up to me” is a lie from the pit of hell. It’s prideful and sinful.

Learning what it means to rejoice evermore doesn’t differ from any other command. Yielding to the Holy Spirit within me is the only way to obey it.

What Does it Mean to Rejoice Evermore?

When Paul tells us to rejoice, he uses the Greek word “chairo,” which means to be cheerful, calmly happy, or well off, to be glad. The word “chairo” originates from the root word “charis,” which means grace or unmerited spiritual blessings granted to those who trust in Jesus Christ.

The Greek words for “rejoice” and “grace” share a close connection. Feeling joyful is a common response to receiving and experiencing God’s grace. One of the fundamental aspects of joy involves having faith and seeking peace in Christ’s righteousness, rather than focusing on my own achievements.

“Evermore” originates from the Greek term “pantoteh,” signifying always, or at all times. I’m to remain glad all the time because of the spiritual blessings God has freely given me. All times!

  •    When I’m grieving, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
  •    When life is fun and my wife and I are loving hanging out with our grandkids and kids, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
  •    When relations are strained or broken, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
  •    When life seems stale and plain, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.
  •    When I’m afraid and worried, my joy comes from God, fullness of all joy, and the grace He’s given me.

I’m always living in a physical world, with actual trials, problems, and heartaches. So, if I am to make this command to “rejoice always” a legitimate part of my life, I can’t forget certain spiritual truths based on the “grace” or unmerited favor given to me.

Rejoicing in God’s Grace

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.  (Ephesians 1:3-8a NASB).  

Rejoicing in God’s grace, shown to me in His love and sacrifice for my sins, sustains me and gives me courage.

 Before the world began, God Almighty chose to love me as His child. The cruel death of His Son Jesus, the Messiah, secured my eternal relationship with Him, my new Father. This was all done for the praise of God’s grace. He lavished His grace upon me, abounding and overflowing, manifested in the shedding of Jesus’ life blood.

This is how I rejoice evermore. Regardless of what I’m going through, the root of joy is God’s grace, expressed in His love. It happened before the world began, so nothing can change His grace for me today.

In God’s Grace, I Rejoice Evermore.

God’s grace gives me a peace which is greater than any circumstance I can face, including the very hard difficulties I face today.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 NASB).

In my opinion whatever we may have to go through now is less than nothing compared with the magnificent future God has planned for us (Romans 8:18 J.B. Phillips Translation).

 Challenge

What is your current weariness? Can you name it? Or perhaps you’re in a season free of troubles. These are rare. Be extremely thankful.

For the rest of us, sink into the deep connection between God’s grace and our full joy. People never earn God’s grace, and it doesn’t change with each passing circumstance or human choice.

Ours is to choose His grace for our life, both now and forever.

With grace, as an unbelievably interlinked component of the same root word, there’s rejoicing.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV).

Come. With all that burdens your heart, come and stay with Jesus. It’s what He wants.

With Him, we have grace and full joy, which results in true rest for our souls.

Prayer

Despite the ongoing hard times and unresolved problems, I find joy in You, Lord, as Your word has given me courage. Please help me take each care and concern and cast them upon You because You care for me.

Please help me to stop striving to make everything “okay” in my world. Your nearness is my good. My hope and stability are in You. I rejoice in the grace You showed me before I was even born. And I know nothing can change that.

In You, and in Your love and grace, I rejoice evermore.

Amen

Other posts in our series In the Moments:

As Sea Gulls Fly

The Gift of Presence

It is Finished

Behold the Moments

Tranquility

Stop Striving

Simplicity In Christ

What is Good

Yet Will I Rejoice

Sorrowful, Yet Always Rejoicing

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 

Robby Buck

Nonfiction books by the Author:

Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.

For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy

Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Please Check out the  Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, Our Union with Christ

Lord, You’ve Got To Do This. I Can’t.

4 Comments

My father was at a low point in his life. He’d lost his marriage, his home, and his ability to live a normal life. He was imprisoned by alcoholism. I tried to comfort him, but my words didn’t help.

But one day, I read Jesus’ words to him, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest.”[1]

I read the rest of the chapter and explained to Dad that Jesus wanted to give him the rest from this great burden. He began to cry. The philosophies of his college had led Dad to doubt God’s existence. But Jesus’ words opened up the eyes of his heart. Eventually, Dad entrusted his life to Christ.

But Dad still struggled. There was a gap between his reality and the deliverance he longed for.  He tried dozens of alcoholics anonymous meetings and was in and out of rehab centers. Nothing worked.

All along he’d been asking God to help him quit, but it wasn’t working. One day he came to the end of himself and cried, “God. I’ve tried everything I know. This isn’t working. I can’t do this. You’re going to have to do it.”

A bit later, after cutting the grass, he opened a beer and took a sip. It tasted horrible. He poured it out and never had another drop to drink the last fifteen years of his life.

Dad modeled for me a very powerful truth. Christ Himself is our life.

Jesus said. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”[2]

Paul said it this way, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”[3]

We were never designed to live life apart from God. Christ was pierced through for our transgressions[4] in order that He might share His life with us. By God’s doing, we’ve been placed in Christ[5] and seated with Him in heavenly places.[6] We’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit.[7]

As children of God, we’re new creations. [8] We’re united with Christ. God’s purpose is to transform us into the image of His Son. [9] But His way is not for us to try harder to improve ourselves. God never intended to make a better version of us. We died and our lives are now hidden in Christ. Christ now is our life. [10]

Anything which causes us to realize we can’t and God can has the possibility to draw us deeper into our true Life Source. It comes with humility and utter dependence.

Perhaps in our situations we need to say along with my dad,  “God. I’ve tried everything I know. This isn’t working. I can’t do this. You’re going to have to do it.”

Thanks Dad. I miss you.

Robert Elroy Buck III, whom I am named after, went to be with Jesus on April 30th, 2011. 

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)

[1] Matthew 11:28 

[2] John 15:5

[3] Philippians 2:13

[4] Isaiah 53:5

[5] I Corinthians 1:30

[6] Ephesians 2:6

[7] Ephesians 1:13

[8] II Corinthians 5:17

[9] Romans 8:29

[10] Colossians 3:3-4

Unless otherwise noted, verses are from the NASB version of the Bible.

Other Posts on Depending on the Lord:

Raised up with Christ

Christ in Us

Hidden with Christ

Batman or Spiderman

Waiting on Jesus

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

 

Eternal Perspective, God's Greater Purposes, Love First Mentality

Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This

2 Comments

You’re running late for work. You stayed up late and overslept. As you gather your info for the presentation you’re in charge of, you plop a sausage biscuit in the microwave and pry on your dress shoes. The oven sounds and you retrieve your breakfast. As you grab your lunch from the fridge, you spot the mustard and add a dab to your biscuit.

As you back out of the driveway, you calculate that, barring bad traffic, you’ll arrive just in time for the start of the meeting. You can feel the pressure mount as you pull to a stop at the first red light, the one that seems to take forever. As you wait, you take a sip of coffee and think of the countless hours you put into this presentation for your companies’ top client.

“We have good reasons for them to stay with us,” your boss had said. “You just have to clearly show them why.”

As you near the ramp to the highway, you hear a train whistle. Tension mounts. “Please Lord!” you pray.

No deal. The crossing arm comes down two cars a ahead of you. You’re stuck, boxed in, with no way to take an alternate route. The train cars just keep on coming. You sip your coffee and pick up  the biscuit from the paper plate.

As you take a bite,  you get lost in the savory, crunchy delight. But then, as if in slow motion, you watch a large mustard drop escape from the back end of the biscuit as you take your second bite. Yellowness plops and spreads quickly down your blue dress shirt.  You look around. No napkins.

Your boss glares you down as you burst into the conference room, fifteen minutes late. A junior colleague stands up from the presentation desk and gives you a questioning look. Soon after you sit down, you realize why. In your late night weariness, you forgot to upload the presentation from your home computer to the companies’ shared folder.

In stunned disbelief and growing panic, the words of a song flash in your mind:

Mamma said there’ll be days like thisThere’ll be days like this, mamma said. [1]

Perhaps you’ve had days which feel this unnerving. I know I have. What steps do we take to recover?

Recovery Mode

Being an IT professional, I’ve been trained to think recovery. We make plans for restoring the data when programs end abnormally?

That’s IT, but how do we recover from life’s unexpected happenings?

I suggest there’s two phases – circumstantial recovery (dealing with the problems at hand)  and inside recovery (dealing with the affects on our mind and emotions).

Circumstantially, in the above scenario,  perhaps an honest disclosure of your disastrous morning would add some sympathetic humor to the growing tension. Then you could give your presentation from the heart without the Power Point slides.

This might work, but what about the damage to your insides? What are ways you can tend to your heart when your outsides are falling apart?

Soul Recovery

What’s the plan?

As believers in Jesus Christ, we need to be reminded of God’s overall plan. Though we’d like to be, we’re not in control. God is and His plan doesn’t include elimination of chaos from our lives. He has a much greater plan. God is at work for His greater purpose of bringing the universe into submission to Jesus Christ. [2] He’s also at work in us, not for us to experience the American dream, but for us to be transformed more and more into the image of Christ. [3]

Get with the plan?

If God’s plan is different than us just being happy, how can we get with His plan? Even though we love smooth, predictable days with no oversleeping, no train delays, no mustard stains and dazzling presentations, this is not necessarily God’s plan for our day.

What if far greater, eternal things happen in the midst of our difficulties? What if, in our trials, we learn more and more to depend on God and not on ourselves? [4] What if problems lead us into more intense interactions with folks around us, giving opportunities to love them more deeply?

The Rest of the Story

In the above scenario, when you finish speaking your  presentation, you feel relieved. As far as you can tell, you hit all the major points from your presentation.

To your surprise, the client walks up and congratulates you on how you owned up to your struggles and forged ahead, even with an ugly blob of mustard on your shirt. You both laugh. Your client mentions similar experiences and empathizes with you.

When the client leaves, you’re junior colleague comes up and compliments you on how cool you were under pressure and asks you how you did it. This gives you an opportunity to give glory to God for what He did in you. You tell him how you were praying and asking God for guidance the whole way through.

Hearing your name, you look over and  see your client and boss talking. They both smile at you. Your presentation did the trick, the client is renewing for another year.

Stepping Into the Greater Plan

Not every bad day ends with circumstantial success. Some days are so bad we feel the effects for a long time. However, if we stick with God’s greater plan as our goal, our actions can have positive eternal ramifications.

The bottom line has to do with our goal for each day. Is our primary goal to be successful in all our tasks with no problems? Or is our first priority to love God and whomever He puts in our path as we go about our duties? [5]

This change in focus is a paradigm shift which changes everything concerning our stress levels and our joy. Keeping God’s greater purposes in mind, we develop a love first mentality.

If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.  These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you  (John 15-10-12 NASB).

Prayer

Lord, I’ve had days like what is described above. At the time, it felt as if my life was falling apart and crashing into the sea.  But, You are an ever present help in my times of trouble. [6] Thank You.

You are trustworthy. You know what’s best for me. You never stop working for my greater good. Please increase my faith that I might always trust in Your greater purposes no matter my circumstances. Please help me order my days around loving over accomplishments. 

Amen 

[1] Song by The Shirelles, 1961

[2] Ephesians 1:9-12

[3] Romans 8:28-29

[4] II Corinthians 1:8-9

[5] Matthew 22:36-40

[6] Psalms 46:1-3

Other Posts on Experiencing God during Difficulties:

When Things Get Hard

Turing Drainers into Gainers

Can we be Sad and Glad at the Same Time?

Casting Your Burdens

Knowing God’s Love in Spite of the Circumstances

Mustering our Faith

Fixing Our Hope on What Lasts

Dealing with Sadness and Disappointment

I Can’t Do This

Longing Hearts

Until the Darkness Fades

Finding the Silver Lining

Orienting our Lives Around God’s Greater Purposes

Remaining Cheerful

Joy Which Brings Endurance

What’s a Normal Agenda

The Lord Our Keeper

The Monkey Trap

Nearsighted

Embracing God’s Purposes in our Pain

Done Trying to Fix Life

Near to the Broken Hearted

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

The connection between Thanksgiving and Joy

Gratitude, Key to a Life of Joy

4 Comments

What I read felt totally outlandish. How could it be true? A good friend has a mass on their chest. They go in for a biopsy on Thursday. A marriage is in trouble. A job was lost. Relationships are broken. A long-time friend died of a brain tumor. Loved ones are sick. People are in deep emotional pain.

Considering things like this, what I read seems impossible. And it isn’t even a suggestion. It is a command.

Always be joyful.  Never stop praying.  Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (I Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT).

Be thankful in all circumstances?

I do believe God is for me and that His indwelling Spirit enables me to carry out what He commands. But to always be grateful is hard to imagine. How can it be?

How is it Possible to always be Grateful?

To be truly grateful in everything, I must pull my perspective away from my circumstances. I must realize that God has something far richer in mind for me than an easy, comfortable life.

From God’s word, here’s what I know:

I was created with deep longings which can only be satisfied by God Himself.[1]

Delighting in God, enjoying Him, loving Him, and praising Him, satisfies these deep longings. [2]

Pursuing things of this world to satisfy my soul leave me empty and headed for destruction.[3]

God uses all things for my greater benefit, according to His purposes, not mine.[4]

Above all things, God is at work to make me more and more like Jesus.[5]

Following Jesus means His character being formed in me, not by my efforts, but by dependence upon His Spirit within me.[6]

In Jesus’ endurance of the cross, He remained fixed upon God’s greater purposes, even during excruciating pain.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2 NASB).

On the cross, Jesus had Joy.

Relational Joy.

 Fueled by His love for His Father and for us, joy strengthened Jesus through unbearable pain. 

No matter what else is going on in our lives, the fact that Jesus, Lord of Lord and King of Kings, values us enough to lay down His life for our relationship with Him, should fill our hearts with overflowing gratitude. And gratitude draws us near to God, the source of all Joy.[7]

Gratitude, the Gateway to Relational Joy

If I’m bemoaning my circumstances, the eternal overshadowing joy of the Lord can never be experienced.

If I’m only measuring how I’m doing by how my life is going, I’ll tend to be ungrateful, and joy will be killed.

God is not absent from my pain. In fact, if I call upon Him, my Ever-Present Help in Trouble [8], His peaceful nearness cleanses and heals deep parts of my heart, untapped when circumstances are easy.

From personal experience, I’m fortified in my troubles when I turn to God for comfort and not the false affections of the world.

Our gratitude for the gifts God gives us, especially everlasting life with Him, invites our soul to develop a posture of thanksgiving. God is good and God is for us. The more we see this, and point everything back to Him in glorious thanksgiving and praise, joy will grow and spill over into rejoicing, come what may.

Practice It

Think about a present trouble in your life. It could be related to health, finances, relationships, busyness, or any number of difficulties in this broken world.

 In the midst our very hard times, God invites us to call on Him as our Comforter in all we face.[9] He is for us. He is near to our broken hearts.[10]

As you receive the comfort of His nearness, thank Him. Thank Him for being with you and for the price He paid for your reconciliation. Realize that especially in your trials, He’s always at work to make you more and more like Jesus.

Ask Him to bring other things to your mind to be grateful for. Develop a habit of giving all thanks and glory to God.

As did Corrie Ten Boom, present all praise from others as fragrant offers back to God.

When people come up and give me a compliment… I take each remark as if it were a flower. At the end of the day I lift up the bouquet of flowers I have gathered throughout the day and say, ‘Here you are, Lord, it is all Yours.’” Corrie Ten Boom

Prayer

Lord, I’m sorry that I haven’t developed a regular rhythm of thanking You for everything in my life. The more I walk with you, the more I’m convinced that you are for me and that You are at work in every aspect of my life. Please help me thank you for the pleasant times and the heart aches.

Teach me to linger and savor Your life all around. Slow me down to pause and thank You at every turn.

Thank You for the way joy is unleashed when I have a heart of gratitude. When I’m thankful, the joy of my relationship with You explodes in my soul.

Please keep me focused on loving You, thanking You, and loving those You bring my way.

Amen.

[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11

[2] Psalm 37:4

[3] I Timothy 6:9, Matthew 6:19

[4] Romans 8:28

[5] Romans 8:29

[6] Galatians 4:19, Galatians 2:20

[7] Psalm 16:11

[8] Psalm 46:1-3

[9] II Corinthians 1:3-5

[10] Psalm 34:18

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in the Midlands of South Carolina.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

The Joy of Communing with Creator God

Enjoying Unhindered Intimacy with God

6 Comments

Identifying and Eliminating what Hinders our Fellowship with the One Who Made Us.

The Story

Could a former addict, who lost his job and almost his family, now enjoy unhindered intimacy with the Creator of the universe? You might not think so, but think again.

A couple of months ago, at a Saturday morning men’s breakfast, a brother, I’ll call him George, shared about his life of addiction, which held him captive for many years. Tearfully, George shared how tough love, accountability and God’s grace transformed his life. With a gleam in his eye, he declared that he now enjoys unhindered intimacy with God.

Those of us who were at the breakfast were very thankful for George’s honest vulnerability. It took great courage to admit his weakness, but we all saw how in his weakness, Christ showed Himself as strong. Too often men hide behind thin veneers of outward goodness, while inside, joy withers and souls dry out.

Men need to be brave enough to talk about deeper subjects than sports, cars, and fishing. That morning, George’s vulnerability led to more meaningful, transformative connections and conversations.

We men need to fight for this level of openness. It starts with our own courage to stop hiding and talk about our struggles. This is the gift George gave us that morning.

Since then, I’ve explored George’s phrase, “unhindered intimacy,” and would like to share what I’ve discovered.

Intimate Fellowship

What is intimate fellowship?

God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord (I Corinthians 1:9).

Our fellowship involves a deep association with Christ, a community with Him and a joint participation.

But what hinders our enjoyment of this intimate fellowship?

The Hinderances

Distractions

These days, they are far too many screens to capture our attention. Even in our times with God, they cry out, offering politics, sports, TV, short video reels and the like. These and other distractions invade our souls with noise and crowd our minds. We tend to suffer from a lack of intentional solitude. 

May we be less like Martha and more like Mary. Less bothered and worried about what we do and more resting in the Lord as we love and serve.

38Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; 42 but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42)

False Affections

We were created with an eternal hole in our hearts which only God can fill.[1] But, we tend to dedicate our lives trying to plug the void with temporal, fragile, fleeting pleasures. We are tricked into thinking these false affections, such as substances, porn, gluttony, achievements, possessions, and even human relationships, will quiet our longing souls.

The truth of the matter is the these impostures only hinder our intimacy with our Creator. We can’t depend on any earthly thing, including our closest relationships, to make us feel okay. God alone must be our Highest Joy.

You have put gladness in my heart, More than when their grain and new wine abound (Psalm 4:7).

 Guilt and Shame

The guilt and shame of sin can make us feel unlovable and unworthy. As we pursue holiness, we can never depend upon our own strength to become like Jesus. Depending on God’s Holy Spirit within us is how transformation happens, not by our own strength.

Similarly, we can never depend on our own righteousness as the entrance into intimate fellowship with God. Any misunderstanding of the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation clouds us with guilt and shame, which hinders our approach to Father God.

We must not allow the enemy to hide God’s love and forgiveness from us. 

 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all  (I John 1:9 NASB).

 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus        (Romans 8:1).

Jesus says that the more we are forgiven, the more we love. 

 46 You (Simon) did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. 47 For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven” (Luke 7:46-48 NASB).

Doubt of God’s Love and Care

How many times have we heard or thought,  “How could a loving God allow this or that to happen?”

After all, didn’t Paul say:

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28 NASB). 

But what is our good? Is it pleasant circumstances? Is God’s purpose for us to live a comfortable life? The verse below gives us the answer.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29 NASB).

God’s purpose for us is to make us more like Jesus.

In the verses below, Paul despaired even of life. But, he saw God at work for His greater purpose of causing Paul to trust God and not himself.

8For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead (II Corinthians 1:8-9 NASB).

In Conclusion

Because of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf, we have been given the ability to have unhindered intimacy with Almighty God.

To enjoy our fellowship:

We must fight distractions and pursue unhurried time alone with God.

We must not allow any affection to supplant God as our Highest Joy.

As we follow Jesus, we must not allow guilt and shame to discourage us from communing with God.

We must remember the power of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf to take away our sin and grant us His righteousness.

We must not forget that God is at work to give us the freedom and joy of being like Jesus.

Hallelujah.

[1] Ecclesiastes 3:11

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child.

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Cast Your Burderns

Throw it in the River

4 Comments

When we’re going through difficulties, we know to pray. However, sometimes I find myself still striving hard to work out the problems on my own. It might be a matter of not being aware of God’s nearness, faithfulness and strength at the time. Or, it might be a matter of me trusting myself more than I trust God.

On the other hand, when things get really bad, and my efforts don’t seem to make a dent in the situation, God comes to the forefront of my mind as my only option. This has not always been the case, but the more difficulties I go through, the more I’m learning to trust Him. Hard times have literally strengthen my faith, though I still don’t like them. I long for when I’m desperate for Him all the time, even during good circumstances.

I had one of those really hard situations a few years ago. I can’t recall all that was going on but it was multiple issues all at once dealing with family health, too much to do and the ever present brokenness of the world around me. I remember the feeling of being crushed under my burden  more than the exact issues. I literally felt a huge weight on my shoulders, like a heavy knapsack weighing me down to my knees.

I needed God and I knew it. I was at work and decided to take a prayer walk during a break. Prayer walks seem to be affective for me. I pull away, alone, moving and talking to God.

I walked into a deserted office area in the back of the building, with row after row of abandoned cubicles and equipment. As I talked to God, I had a picture in my mind’s eye of me walking along a river instead of a line of empty office spaces. A peace came over me. I knew in my spirit I was walking along the river of God.

The river was to my left and I was walking along the bank in the same direction as the current. I stopped and turned to face the river. Caught up in the rhythmic flow of the current, I felt God’s presence.

God spoke to my heart. “Take off the burden.”

I did.

“Throw it in the river.”

“But, I have to take care of these things,” I objected.

“No you don’t. You’re to live a life fully dependent on me. I’m your ever present help in this trouble. Throw all that stress and worry in the river. I’ll take care of them.

Keep walking with me. Be watchful and wait for me. You’re yoked to me. My yoke is easy and My load is light.”

This sounded really good to me. So picked up the heavy sack and whirled it into the rushing current. I saw it float away, ahead of me down stream. For an instance, I wanted to jump in after it, but I sensed God saying, “Keep walking. I have it.”

I did walk on. Completely peaceful, I sensed God walking right along with me, beside me and in me. A cool breeze from the river swept across my face.

In spite of all my cares, which I know will come, this is how I’m to walk.

Lord, I pray I’ll spend life’s moments walking along the river with you. I know they’re things I’m to-do, but I also know you never intended for me to tackle life’s problems alone. You who are at work in me to will and to do according to your good pleasure. I’m to trust you, walk with you, speak your words and love others in your strength. This is my prayer. Please keep me walking with you, relying upon you and you alone for every breath. Show me quickly whenever I try and do life without you.  Amen.

Challenge: What do you have right this moment that needs to be thrown in the River?

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. Psalm 46:4

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading. 

 Novels by the Author:

Rob Buck

What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for?  Beyond Time

By finding two undelivered letters in a old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowing set off a series of events which uncover a plot to wipe out a whole family Hope Remains

Exchanged Life

Victory is a Person (God’s not out to change us, but to exchange us)

Leave a comment

Victory, from the Old French word victor, means to triumph or overcome in a struggle. A personal victory might be losing weight, breaking a bad habit or making the dean’s list. There are team victories, political victories and victories in war. Most victories require tremendous strain and effort, but are extremely rewarding.

In Christian circles you hear of a “victorious Christian life,” a time when sin is conquered, fear is overthrown and love for God and other’s flows freely.

Our natural tendency is to think a “victorious Christian life,” is gained in the same pains taking efforts other victories have been won, giving it our all, trying as hard as we can to win. This could not be farther from the truth.

It is true, Jesus desires for us a life free from fear and sin, loving God and others in the same sacrificial way He has loved us, but He is not asking us to change.

God is not looking for a changed life. He is offering an exchanged life.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2nd Corinthians 5:21

Christ has exchanged His life for ours. Not only did He die in our place to rescue us from eternal separation from God, but He also imputed His righteousness to us. We have become the righteousness of God.

There is not trying hard to be righteous. In Christ we are righteousness.

But you say, “That might be true, but how is victory realized in my own life? How is sin defeated, fear banished, love unleashed and joy experienced?”

The answer is still the same. With His exchanged Life.

Consider the great summary verse Paul wrote about the Christian life:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20

The victory is not in trying harder. The victory is in embracing the death of our old nature on the cross and depending upon the newness of our life in Christ. Christ did not die so that we could be changed. He died so that we might die with Him and be raised with Him in newness of life.

Victory is in realizing our crucifixion with Christ and depending upon Christ in all we do. Yielding to His abiding Spirit, we bear fruit for the glory of God. Apart from His work in us, we can do nothing. ( See John 15:5)

We need to stop trying so hard to pattern our lives after what we read about Jesus in the Bible. There’s only one person who can truly live the victorious Christian life and it’s not us. It’s Jesus in us.

We have been made new. In Christ we have all the love, joy, peace, patience and hope we will ever need. Ours is to realize our newness in Him (counting as fact the death of our old self (See Romans 6:11) ) and yielding to Christ in us to love whoever get’s in our way.

Victory is not in trying harder. I’m pretty sure we’ve all tried that.

Victory is in remaining in the love of Christ and yielding to His Spirit.

The old has gone the new has come.

Challenge:  Consider an area of your life in which you feel defeated.  Trust that Jesus wants you to have victory in this area even more than you do.

Bring this area before the Lord right now:

Lord, you know  how discouraged I am in this area. I’ve tried so hard to be like you, but have failed miserably. I know now that victory is not in trying harder, but in resting in You. Open the eyes of my heart that I might know your great love for me. Teach me to remain in your love and yield to your Spirit in me as I allow you to become my victory in this area.

Lord, You are my Victory.

 

Exchanged Life

Victory is a Person

Leave a comment

Victory, from the Old French word victor, means to triumph or overcome in a struggle. A personal victory might be losing weight, breaking a bad habit or making the dean’s list. There are team victories, political victories and victories in war. Most victories require tremendous strain and effort, but are extremely rewarding.

In Christian circles you hear of a “victorious Christian life,” a time when sin is conquered, fear is overthrown and love for God and other’s flows freely.

Our natural tendency is to think a “victorious Christian life,” is gained in the same pains taking efforts other victories have been won, giving it our all, trying as hard as we can to win. This could not be farther from the truth.

It is true, Jesus desires for us a life free from fear and sin, loving God and others in the same sacrificial way He has loved us, but He is not asking us to change.

God is not looking for a changed life. He is offering an exchanged life.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2nd Corinthians 5:21

Christ has exchanged His life for ours. Not only did He die in our place to rescue us from eternal separation from God, but He also imputed His righteousness to us. We have become the righteousness of God.

There is not trying hard to be righteous. In Christ we are righteousness.

But you say, “That might be true, but how is victory realized in my own life? How is sin defeated, fear banished, love unleashed and joy experienced?”

The answer is still the same. With His exchanged Life.

Consider the great summary verse Paul wrote about the Christian life:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Galatians 2:20

The victory is not in trying harder. The victory is in embracing the death of our old nature on the cross and depending upon the newness of our life in Christ. Christ did not die so that we could be changed. He died so that we might die with Him and be raised with Him in newness of life.

Victory is in realizing our crucifixion with Christ and depending upon Christ in all we do. Yielding to His abiding Spirit, we bear fruit for the glory of God. Apart from His work in us, we can do nothing. ( See John 15:5)

We need to stop trying so hard to pattern our lives after what we read about Jesus in the Bible. There’s only one person who can truly live the victorious Christian life and it’s not us. It’s Jesus in us.

We have been made new. In Christ we have all the love, joy, peace, patience and hope we will ever need. Ours is to realize our newness in Him (counting as fact the death of our old self (See Romans 6:11) ) and yielding to Christ in us to love whoever get’s in our way.

Victory is not in trying harder. I’m pretty sure we’ve all tried that.

Victory is in remaining in the love of Christ and yielding to His Spirit.

The old has gone the new has come.

Challenge:  Consider an area of your life in which you feel defeated.  Trust that Jesus wants you to have victory in this area even more than you do.

Bring this area before the Lord right now:

Lord, you know  how discouraged I am in this area. I’ve tried so hard to be like you, but have failed miserably. I know now that victory is not in trying harder, but in resting in You. Open the eyes of my heart that I might know your great love for me. Teach me to remain in your love and yield to your Spirit in me as I allow you to become my victory in this area.

You are my Victory.