{"id":3759,"date":"2022-02-22T14:04:01","date_gmt":"2022-02-22T19:04:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=3759"},"modified":"2024-12-18T15:53:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T20:53:03","slug":"dont-postpone-joy-2-2-3-2-2-3-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/?p=3759","title":{"rendered":"Rhythms: IN (The Cadence of Life)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Story:<\/h3>\n

A few years ago a friend of mine shared a secret he’d learned during miles of cycling. “Don’t worry about the miles per hour,” Rick said. “It’s the cadence that matters. If you keep the cadence above 70 or 80, no matter how steep the hills, your miles per hour will take care of itself.”<\/em><\/p>\n

What Rick told me turned out to be true. I had my bicycle computer set to always show me the Miles Per Hour. I \u00a0would strain, sometimes in very hard gears, to maintain my speed even on monster hills. But eventually my legs would wear out.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, when I changed the computer to show my cadence, I paid attention only to how many times I pedaled in a minute. If it was at least 70 times, shifting gears as needed to accommodate changes in the gradient, my miles per hour worked out better at the end of the ride. It’s the key to endurance cycling.<\/em><\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> In the above picture, Rick Velilla is the second biker on the right. He is now with the Lord.<\/p>\n

The Cadence of Life<\/h3>\n

As I think about how watching my cadence led to cycling success, I wonder if there’s a similar focus\u00a0 for life. Is there a rhythm which can be maintained during the ups and downs of circumstances, that keeps me in God’s will, the same way Rick’s suggestion kept me steady on the inclines of the road?<\/p>\n

I think of \u00a0Matthew 22:37-40<\/span><\/strong>, where Jesus gives us a focus for our lives, \u201c\u2018Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

These two summary commandments, focusing on Love, <\/span>form a filter for me to run my words and deeds through,<\/p>\n

But the kind of love Jesus is talking can’t originate with me.<\/p>\n

I John 4:19<\/strong>:\u00a0“We love<\/span> because He first loved<\/span> us.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

God’s love is the only true love. I can grind out a self serving type of love, straining at the pedals of life, but it’s not pure and it will wear out.<\/p>\n

My cadence is to remain in Jesus’ love flowing through me, as Rivers of Living Water, [1] and to love others in the same way He’s loved me. [2] No matter what difficult hills I travel in life, my focus is to be on receiving His love and giving it away.<\/p>\n

Receiving God’s Love to Give it Away<\/h3>\n

Just as\u00a0the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love.<\/span><\/span> If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father\u2019s commandments and remain in His love.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/sup>These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and\u00a0that your joy may be made full.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you (John 15:9-12<\/strong> NASB).<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

As I look closer at the above verses, the steps of receiving God’s love and giving it away are clearly laid out.<\/p>\n

Know<\/strong> His love. Remain<\/strong> in His love. Love other’s as He’s loved me<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

First, I’m to Know<\/strong> how much Jesus loves me. Verse 9 says He loves me as much as God loves Him. \u00a0The essence of this truth is beyond my understanding, yet Jesus tells me it’s true.<\/p>\n

Lord, this truth is too amazing to fit in my head. Please open the eyes of my heart that I might begin to truly know the vast quality of Your love for me, which is beyond comprehension.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Then I’m to Remain<\/strong> in the Lord’s love for me. Verse 10 commands me to stay, tarry, abide in Jesus’ great love for me. Abiding is not striving. It’s remaining, not moving from where God originally placed me, in the love of Christ. [3] God did it. I need to rest in what He’s already done.<\/p>\n

Lord, please keep me aware that staying in Your love is not something to attain, but something to rest in.\u00a0 When I’m tricked again into thinking I must perform to earn Your love, please calm my heart. May I continually remain and rest where You’ve placed me, in Your unending love.<\/em><\/p>\n

And, from verses 10 and 12, I must learn the true cadence of receiving God’s love and giving it away, Loving others as He’s loved me.<\/strong>\u00a0 This quality of sacrificial love, demonstrated by Christ’s washing of the disciples’ feet [4], can only be repeated by me depending on Christ’s Holy Spirit within me. Apart from Him, I can do nothing [5], especially love others.<\/p>\n

Lord, truly this is the great cadence of life, receiving Your love, and by Your Spirit, loving others as You’ve loved me. So often I offer a cheap imitation of my own kind of love. When I do this, please shut it down quickly. Loving with my love is only harmful and self serving. But, by allowing you to love through me, You are glorified and my life is filled with Your joy.<\/em><\/p>\n

Complete Joy<\/h3>\n

Jesus tells says when I know<\/strong> His love, remain<\/strong> in it and love others as He has loved me<\/strong>, I will have His joy.<\/p>\n

As we look at Jesus\u2019 life, we see love tightly coupled with joy.<\/p>\n

. . .<\/span><\/sup> Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the 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 Go (Hebrews 12:2b<\/strong> NASB).<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0It was His love for us, and the prize of our reconciliation with Him, which gave Jesus a joy, which fueled His endurance on the cross.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s this quality of joy which accompanies our receiving His love and giving it away, a joy which completes us.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

There’s a command Jesus gave His disciples, after He washed their feet and before He endured the cross. He called it a new commandment and He gave it twice:<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/sup>I am giving you a\u00a0new commandment,\u00a0that you love one another;\u00a0just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/span> \u00a0<\/sup>By this all\u00a0people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another (John 13:34-35<\/strong> NASB).<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you (John 15:12<\/strong> NASB)<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Resting in the love of Jesus, we, in turn, love others. The great cadence of life. Receiving His love and giving it away.<\/p>\n

If this rhythm of love is locked into our minds, the result will be far better than if we focus on the circumstances of our lives.<\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord, you’ve given me a new commandment which seems to sum up Your desires for me. By Your strength and guidance, I ask You to allow me to obey this as the foremost focus of my life. Please show me quickly when I deviate and lose the cadence of receiving Your love and giving it away.<\/em><\/p>\n

Thank you, that in obeying Your new commandment, I remain in Your love and experience Your joy.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u00a0 love You Lord.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n

Personal Study<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The Daily L.O.V.E<\/span>. Examen<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

In order to LOVE<\/span> those close to me, I need to regularly examine my interactions with them. The LOVE<\/span> Examen is a daily contemplation of my relationships and conversations to see if I need to seek reconciliation or forgiveness. This is how God grows my character.<\/p>\n

Search me, God, and know my heart;<\/i>
<\/i>Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;<\/i>
<\/i>And see if there is\u00a0any\u00a0hurtful way in me,<\/i>
<\/i>And lead me in the everlasting way (Psalm 139:23-24 <\/strong><\/i>NASB<\/i>).<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b>L<\/b><\/span>isten\u00a0 \u00a0Did I \u00a0Listen attentively today to what was said and unspoken?<\/p>\n

O<\/b><\/span>pen\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Was I open and vulnerable in my interactions with others today?<\/p>\n

V<\/b><\/span>alue\u00a0 \u00a0 Did I\u00a0 value the thoughts & opinions of others in my conversations?<\/p>\n

E<\/b><\/span>xamine\u00a0 \u201cLord, examine my heart for any way I didn\u2019t love well today.\u201d<\/p>\n

[1] John 7:38<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] John 13:34-35<\/p>\n

[3] I Corinthians 1:30<\/p>\n

[4] John 13<\/p>\n

[5] John 15:5<\/p>\n

Previous posts in the Rhythms series:<\/span><\/p>\n

God’s Amazing Love<\/a><\/p>\n

God’s Essential Love<\/a><\/p>\n

What Hides God’s Love<\/a><\/p>\n

Christ Lives in Me<\/a><\/p>\n

Raised up with Christ<\/a><\/p>\n

Who’s your Treasure?<\/a><\/p>\n

Obtaining the Joy of Jesus<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orienting Life from Above<\/a><\/p>\n

When Things Get Hard<\/a><\/p>\n

Communing with God<\/a><\/p>\n

Please Check out the new Cola City Podcast<\/a> . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child with the gospel.<\/p>\n

Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God\u2019s nearness in the midst of life\u2019s adventures.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Subscribe below to get email notifications of new posts. We post a few times a month. Thank you for reading.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Novels by the Author:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Rob Buck<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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?\u00a0\u00a0Beyond Time<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0Hope Remains<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Story:<\/p>\n

A few years ago a friend of mine shared a secret he’d learned during miles of cycling. “Don’t worry about the miles per hour,” Rick said. “It’s the cadence that matters. If you keep the cadence above 70 or 80, no matter how steep the hills, your miles per hour will take care of itself.”<\/p>\n

What Rick told me turned out to be true. I had my bicycle computer set to always show me the Miles Per Hour. I \u00a0would strain, sometimes in very hard gears, to maintain my speed even on monster hills. But eventually my legs would wear out.<\/p>\n

However, when I changed the computer to show my cadence, I paid attention only to how many times I pedaled in a minute. If it was at least 70 times, shifting gears as needed to accommodate changes in the gradient, my miles per hour worked out better at the end of the ride. It’s the key to endurance cycling.<\/p>\n

Note: In the above picture, Rick Velilla is the second biker on the right. He is now with the Lord.<\/p>\n

The Cadence of Life<\/p>\n

As I think about how watching my cadence led to cycling success, I wonder if there’s a similar focus\u00a0 for life. Is there a rhythm which can be maintained during the ups and downs of circumstances, that keeps me in God’s will, the same way Rick’s suggestion kept me steady on the inclines of the road?<\/p>\n

I think of \u00a0Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus gives us a focus for our lives, \u201c\u2018Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.\u2019 This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: \u2018Love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”<\/p>\n

These two summary commandments, focusing on Love, form a filter for me to run my words and deeds through.<\/p>\n

But the kind of love Jesus is talking about can’t originate with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I John 4:19:\u00a0“We love because He first loved us.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

God’s love is the only true love. I can grind out a self serving type of love, straining at the pedals of life, but this love is not pure and will wear out.<\/p>\n

My cadence is to remain in Jesus’ love flowing through me, as Rivers of Living Water, [1] and to love others in the same way He’s loved me. [2] No matter what difficult hills I travel in life, my focus is to be on receiving His love and giving it away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2201,2187,207],"tags":[179,178,2448,1730,180,896,2479,956,509,170,894,18,1779,2431,172,20,510,211,1349,189,134,271,192,7,1907,2476,2220,2428,465,2477,177,780,2144,174,76,2478,173],"class_list":["post-3759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-loved-so-we-can-love","category-loving-like-jesus","category-remain-in-his-love","tag-cadence","tag-cycling","tag-devote","tag-disciples","tag-endurance","tag-endured-the-cross","tag-examine","tag-father-god","tag-god","tag-gods-love","tag-hebrews-122","tag-holy-spirit","tag-i-corinthians-130","tag-i-corinthians-19","tag-i-john-419","tag-jesus","tag-jesus-christ","tag-john-13","tag-john-1334-35","tag-john-1512","tag-john-155","tag-john-159-12","tag-john-738","tag-joy","tag-listen","tag-love-examen","tag-matthew-2237-40","tag-noah","tag-now","tag-open","tag-our-joy-made-complete","tag-psalm-13923-24","tag-rhythms","tag-the-greatest-command","tag-value","tag-vulnerable","tag-we-love-because-he-loves-us"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3759"}],"version-history":[{"count":80,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6605,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3759\/revisions\/6605"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joy-in-the-journey.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}