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I just wasted four hours of my life! I am a Ohio State Buckeyes fan, and was all geared up for the big game Saturday evening.  Watching your favorite team play under the lights in prime time can be a great experience … or, on nights like Saturday, an incredibly frustrating waste of time! Being a typical selfish fan, winning creates those great experiences, and losing … well, I bet you could have guessed that we lost.  And to top it all off, after watching a game for four, futile hours, I couldn’t sleep.  Being wide awake, I decided to do some reading and began to draw parallels between my simple football frustration and the way our lives become so easily frustrated.  Things that are non-essential can dominate our thinking and attitudes, causing us to reflect anything but the attitude and selflessness of Christ. Isn’t it silly that watching our team lose, sitting in traffic, annoyances at work or generally bothersome people can dominate our minds and damage our witness?  Can you relate?

Since I was awake, and it was after midnight, I decided to do tomorrow’s devotions (I know! I have issues).  It never ceases to amaze me how God can use such seemingly unrelated and circumstantial things to speak directly into a moment of personal need.  In the few short verses of Sunday’s reading, I saw a dramatic contrast between the disciple’s resonant attitudes and how Christ views interruptions that spoke directly into my irritation and sleeplessness.

So here was the disciples’ frustration … parents were bringing young children to Jesus.  Yep, that’s it! That was their frustration!  “How rediculous,” you and I are tempted to think and blurt out.  And then we remember circumstances and frustrations like football games, and we quickly become quiet.

Look carefully at the contrast between the actions and attitudes of the disciples and those of Christ:

People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.”
Luke: 15-17 (MSG)

Jesus lived with purpose. Large crowds and seemingly bothersome people weren’t a source of frustration for Christ, they were His ministry. What the disciples decided was a bother, Jesus declared as the pride and joy of His kingdom.  An epic example of missing the point, as is every time we get frustrated over a football score or any number of other minor inconveniences.  My preconceived agenda too often gets in the way of reflecting Christ on busy days. I get irritated in traffic when my precious schedule is threatened, and I have found myself getting increasingly frustrated with work annoyances this summer. I’m sure that I’ve quickly shooed people away like the disciples did. What about you?

This year, looking at the words of Jesus has shown me how easy it is to be in conflict with the attitude and ways of our Savior.  Sometimes there is too much me and too little of Christ in my life.  As a friend, may I ask you a hard question? Does your preconceived agenda conflict with the patient and purposeful way Christ lived his life? If so, confess it today and commit to having the attitude of Christ in your everyday.  We are not perfect as He was, but remember that resurrection power lives within us, and that gives us hope that we can indeed live that way.  In the same way you cast your cares on Him, hand over your schedule too.  God knows what’s important to you in this life and He knows who He created you to be and do (Eph. 2:10).  Let the Spirit do the work of revealing what’s “me” vs. “He” and be like those little children who are the pride and joy of the kingdom.

Let me just say that I simply and sincerely LOVE scripture.  It would require a multi-part post to expound on the multitude of reasons why, so I will choose just one to share with you that I was reminded of in the midst of our reading schedule early this week.

One of the many things that I LOVE about scripture is how the Spirit can use a well-worn single phrase, verse or entire portion of scripture and  bring it into view at just the right time in your life to bring hope, healing, encouragement or challenge.  A truth you have intersected with so often that you could recite it in your sleep and which may have, over time, lost much of its power in the repetition.  God’s Word is never the thing in need of a recharge, though, right?!

This idea of power is a recurring theme in the seventeenth chapter of Luke (power in forgiving, healing and judgement).  It’s at the heart of the disciples response to Jesus’ standard of forgiveness.

The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”
Luke 17:5  MSG

It seems a bit odd, but on deeper consideration, totally plausible that the disciples would ask for more faith in living up to the standard Jesus just set for forgiving someone.

Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.
Luke 17:4  NLT

This wouldn’t be the world’s wisdom in responding to repeated hurt, and you can certainly put yourselves in the disciples place in thinking they’ll need more of something to live up to that standard.

Jesus’ response to the disciples is the “well-worn” I was mentioning above.  They’re words that most, if not all, would readily recognize (although you may not be familiar with the exact words of “The Message” text) …

But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.
Luke 17:6  MSG

“You don’t need more faith.”  That must have been a response that the disciples didn’t see coming, and I wonder if it’s one that we really believe.  I’ve heard and repeated, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed ” many times over, but as I read and allowed the words to settle deeper, new life was breathed into that “seed” of truth.

As I navigate through life and its many uphill moments and seasons, it seems my call is most often for “more” … more presence, more patience, more peace, more power, more faith.  Jesus is clear in responding that you don’t need “more.”  You only need a minute measure of pure faith to possess the kind power that uproots a mature, stalwart tree.  Romans 8:11 tells us, as a child of God indwelt by the Spirit, we have resurrection power inside of us.  A truth you’ve, no doubt, heard many times before but take a minute and let that settle deeper.  The exact same power as raised Jesus from the dead is within all who believe … is inside of ME.

The pace of human technology is traveling at light speed.  In the design, research and manufacture of Intel’s i7 computer processor chip, researchers created transistors so small that that it was calculated 30 million of them could fit on the head of a pin.  Yet as powerful as “30 million on the head of a pin” sounds, it is dwarfed by resurrection power.

Let us not be found asking for more.  Let us rather focus on becoming less, and tapping into the bottomless well of resurrection power found deep inside of us.  Let us live and forgive in that power.

Today we tear another page from the calendar.  I wonder if anyone else noticed there are only four remaining in 2014!  It’s not likely I’d get any argument suggesting that this summer, and this year, has been a vapor.  Some children have already started back to school.  My two boys will tomorrow.  I could swear we were just sitting around the kitchen table making our summer reading and bucket lists, but alas, last night we sat around that same table and looked back to see how we did.

As common as this feeling may be, I expect there are many who would be quick to qualify the “vapor.”  They wouldn’t have to think long before recounting stories of “seasons” during the summer (or year) where they weren’t sure the clock would ever strike twelve midnight or a new week or month would ever come.  I join those who would be quick to qualify.  My year has flown by but it has also been marked by periods where time seemed to stand still.  Periods defined by deep darkness and pain that fought to swallow the promise of a new dawn.

Yet through it all, I have heard the words of Jesus speak.  Sometimes they were whispers of general encouragement, challenge or comfort for the bigger journey.  Many other times, targeted truths spoken directly into the events or details of my right then.  Time and time again, the daily readings of the words of Jesus came alive in my life and I experienced the deep truth of Hebrews 4:12:

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

I’ll confess to having the thought several times that the focus God laid on our hearts at Journey onWord last Fall might have been just for me.  I wish I had the forethought in January to begin to journal my personal stories of sacred intersections with the words of Jesus this year.  I wonder if you would say the same or can remember vividly where the Spirit has used them to encourage, challenge or comfort you.

In researching, drafting and then finalizing the daily reading schedule for 2014, there was always a gap at the very end of the schedule.  No matter where we drew the lines of division or intentionally placed passages in the schedule, we always came up a bit short in covering the entirety of the calendar year.  After considering “options” late last year for the twenty-six open days in December, we decided to leave them open to God’s leading.  Specific inspiration for filling the gap came just recently as the thoughts I expressed above began to form.

In confident belief that God has used the words of Jesus intentionally and meaningfully in more than just my life this year, we would like to offer the opportunity for you to partner with us in filling the final 26 days of our reading schedule.  We pray you will take some time and reflect on the nearly three-quarters of this year that has passed and share a specific passage with us that has been especially meaningful in your life.  If you have a story that accompanies it, we’d love for you to share that too.  We believe this will be a powerful way to end a very meaningful year at Journey onWord.

We are trusting God with this invitation, so respond as (and when) you feel led.  It has been our great pleasure to share a journey with you through scripture again this year.  What a great way to spend it, focusing only on the words of Jesus.  Thank you for coming alongside.  God bless your time of reflection and the remainder of our journey together this year through the words of Jesus.

“This is just my cross to bear,” are words which people have spoken in particularly hard seasons of life. You may have even spoken words like this yourself. I know I have! Why? Because life is sometimes very hard, and we all relate pain and suffering with a cross. It’s interesting to me that when I think of those words, I readily associate them with the biblical truth that all Christ-followers are called to carry their own crosses or they can’t be His disciples (Luke 14:27). Strong words for sure, but words that Christ conveyed to a large crowd that was following Him one day.

The words Christ spoke to the large crowd are words that we all should take very seriously in our right now. Sometimes in an effort to make the gospel palatable to all, we want to make it all about what is offered (which is amazing!), without speaking of what it costs (the real cost of discipleship). Kyle Idleman speaks to this very issue in his book, Not a Fan.

“So in case someone left it out or forgot to mention it when they explained to you what it meant to be a Christian, let me be clear: There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no surrender without death. There is no believing without committing.”

I have meditated on Luke 14:25-33 over the last several days. Christ’s words are so strong in this passage and they should never be ignored. In my last article, I discussed the cost of discipleship from this passage, and in the next few lines, I would like to place emphasis on two more statements that cannot be ignored.

Luke 14:27 (MSG)
Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

Luke 14:33 (MSG)
Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to  you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple.

There is no way to read these two verses and not believe that Christ is demanding total allegiance. And I should also mention that tucked between these verses are two parables about counting the cost. I believe Jesus was making a paramount point to all those in the crowd about the cost of discipleship. Christ wants to be the primary allegiance for anyone who follows Him. It should never be Christ plus; it should always be Christ above all else!

I’m sure you agree with the words of Jesus. But today, August 29, 2014, how is your journey of discipleship going? An old song called, Whatever it Takes, by Lanny Wolfe came to my mind as I pondered Christ above all. Note the discipleship heart in these two verses.

Take the dearest things to me,
If that’s how it must be,
To draw me closer to Thee;
Let the disappointments come,
Lonely days without the sun,
If through sorrow more like You I become.

I’ll trade sunshine for rain
Comfort for pain –
That’s what I’ll be willing to do –
For whatever it takes for my will to break,
That’s what I’ll be willing to do.

“Whatever it takes” is the heart of a disciple. It takes nothing to sing the words, and everything to live them. I’ll ask again, how is your journey of discipleship going?  Are you counting the cost?  Are you calculating it but not paying it?  Does your heart feel the words; does your mouth sing the words; does your life live the words?  Take heart, no matter your answers, Jesus wants to join you on your journey.  He’ll forgive where forgiveness is needed; He’ll speak encouragement, gift courage, and carry your burden; He’ll walk step by step with you through its full length.

Although we would never insert ourselves, because He and only He is able, we’ve prayed to be His hands and feet if you feel the prompt to reach out to someone.  We are companions on the journey.

Friday was another mike day.  My daughter and I have coded when we do something funny, dumb or absent-minded as a mike. My mike came by trying to remove a lateral file cabinet (big) from our basement. A good friend, who works with us, was in need of just such a cabinet, so we decided to finish the job on Friday. After taking two of the file drawers out of the cabinet, we determined that we could remove the cabinet with the help of my old, small dolly. Wrong conclusion!  With the cabinet and dolly stuck in position half way up the stairs (and fearing for my life), my wife bolted to a neighbor’s house begging for help.  With no friends in sight, she ran to a stranger’s house, pounding on the door.  After a quick introduction, she blurted, “Do you have a man in the house?”  The stunned lady obliged and Steve (our new best friend) saved the day.  A close call all because my friend and I didn’t count the cost.

Words that I read yesterday morning from the lips of Jesus were all about counting the cost. The cost of discipleship, that is. On one particular day, Jesus was being followed by a large crowd, and made what may seem to many to be a strange or even contradictory statement.  If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26 ESV) Was He asking those following Him (and us today) to hate those they loved to be a follower of His?  Certainly not! The context of the words of Jesus was to compare the love for family and our self to how we love Him. So the word “hate” was used to show a stark comparison, to emphasize His view of discipleship. Most Christ-followers struggle with the high cost of genuine discipleship … Christ above all!

Since this is such an important subject for all believers, I will take two posts to examine the cost of discipleship.  Salvation is a free gift that comes by faith; discipleship is for those willing to pay a price. The question for you and I is, are we willing to pay the price of genuine discipleship? … Christ above all!  In studying this subject, I came across a message by Tom Rietveld in which he quoted words that I believe convey my point better than I could:

Few sermons have affected me more than Bishop Richard Snyder’s powerful message given at the 1995 Free Methodist General Conference in Anderson, Indiana. The thing that Bishop Snyder said that most affected me in his 1995 message was this… “We must be a discipled…people. It is absolutely essential for us to return to a thorough study of the Scriptures. Pop-theology, found in so many of the easy-to-read and popular books has left the church with a generation of believers who have little knowledge of the Word of God… We are calling the church to purposeful, serious attention to God’s Word. Without this, we will miss His Way and we will starve spiritually. Neglect of this is the one and only thing that will take us away from our roots and spoil our fruitfulness.”

Finally, I want to share two sentences with you from the man who was said to be C. S. Lewis’ favorite Christian author, G. K. Chesterton. He said…

The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried.
G. K. Chesterton in “What’s Wrong with the World,” Christianity Today, Vol. 39, no. 1.

I am willing to admit my periodic mikes.  In this particular one, I didn’t count the cost. I’m sure you can relate. I never want to be a Mike that is unwilling to count the cost of discipleship, because then I will have made a decision to choose my own way above the way of Christ.  Are you willing to consider with me the cost of discipleship? And then say, “YES! Christ above all!”

This article will be the last of our archive articles from 2009, the year Journey OnWord started. Recently, I have noticed lots of pain and hurt, and from my perspective the best answer to life’s great stressors come from God Himself. So view this article in light of your world today, and respond as He leads.

Have you ever noticed how noisy your journey has become?  Non-stop vehicles of communication have overtaken our world, and we have embraced it. Because of all the great technology that we all love, our lives have journeyed further down the path toward the elimination of solitude, that we so desperately need. It would be less than honest of me to say that I am not caught in that very same web.  I need, as do you, a sense of quiet that tunes our ear to the Father’s voice.  Distractions (even good ones) will pull at the relationship every believer in Christ wants with the Father. Our Father desires for us to know Him, and wants to be the first priority on our journey.

When the issues of life get really tough, then we want God on speed dial.  Needing the Father in this way reminds me of something that happened many years ago, walking my daughter to school. As we headed into her school, she fell and hurt her leg quite badly. Immediate tears and pain jarred dad into action. My desire to protect her and fix everything went into overdrive. Nobody else needed to help her … I would!

It remains important to me, even after all these years that I was able to calm her down and meet her need in that moment of pain. My father moment begs the question, “Who else but your heavenly Father can really calm your spirit and heal your hurts?”  The noise generated by distractions and stresses in our lives so often drowns out the voice of a God who desperately wants to speak peace to our hearts.  Stop for a minute, get quiet, and meditate on a verse that can give perspective to the will of the Father and what He wants from us …

Psalm 46:10a (NIV)
Be still and know that I am God;

Psalm 46:10a (NASB)
Cease striving and know that I am God;

Psalm 46:10 (MSG)
Step out of the traffic! Take a long
loving look at Me, your High God,
above politics, above everything

In the context of danger and turmoil, what does God say? Whether you prefer “be still,” “cease striving,” or “step out of the traffic!” the intent is clear. Do nothing. Know God. The Message paints a great visual. “Take a long loving look at Me.” Are you getting to know the Father better? Or are the distractions and turmoil drowning out the Father’s voice? “Be still.”  “Cease striving.” “Step out of the traffic!” The Creator of heaven and earth wants to speak peace … and I believe you want to hear Him.

My role is not to tell you how to grow in silence and solitude with the Father, but honest hearts will confess whether they are often distracted from His voice. He is the author of the solution, and you don’t have to look any farther than Psalm 46:10 to find His answer.

All this technology is fun, and also has the potential to be a great source of spiritual good. But it should never pull us from the one true Source of all spiritual good. Don’t wait for really tough times to develop a quiet heart. Be still, and just maybe “the things of earth will grow strangely dim,” and the peace and joy of the Father will engulf your life — today!

If you’re like me, being intentional about remembering important events in our lives sometimes escapes us. Taking the opportunity to create mile markers (Piling up Stones), for us as well as those who come behind us, is something that was modeled over and over in scripture. I hope you enjoy this post from a few years ago as much as I do.

We approach, arrive at, and then pass significant markers in our life.  They can be a number, like turning 13, 21, 30, 50 … and beyond.  They can be stages of life, like the first day of school, becoming a teenager, graduating, getting married, becoming a parent, and then a parent with an empty nest.  And what about our spiritual lives?  There’s salvation, baptism, and … second coming?!  Do we ever take the time to stop at significant moments on our spiritual journey, stay for a bit, and memorialize?  Have you ever piled up stones?

“Piled up stones?!” you might ask.  There are multiple examples in the Old Testament of occasions where characters or groups stopped and built a marker, or monument, to commemorate the location of an event or occasion of significance in their lives with God.  Let’s take a brief look at one significant moment where an entire nation piled up stones.

At the beginning of chapter 4 in the book of Joshua, we find the nation of Israel in the afterglow of a miraculous intervention from God.  They had just completed crossing the river Jordan on dry ground.  And before moving on, God has some very specific instructions for them…

Joshua 4:1-3 (MSG)
When the whole nation was finally across,
God spoke to Joshua: “Select twelve men
from the people, a man from each tribe,
and tell them, ‘From right here, the middle
of the Jordan where the feet of the priests are
standing firm, take twelve stones. Carry
them across with you and set them down
in the place where you camp tonight.'”

God is requesting that the nation of Israel pile up stones.  His primary purpose in making this request was to teach forward the great message of his care and love for his people, and his direct intervention and deliverance in their lives.  And although God specifically mentions teaching future generations in his instructions to Joshua, He also ends verse 7 with…

“… These stones are a permanent
memorial for the People of Israel.”

I believe this broadened and personalized its significance in the lives of both those who were a part of the miracle, and generations to come.

I love the idea of piling up stones, but i also love that people rarely stayed where they piled their stones.  It was a marker, not a destination; a place of communing, honoring and rest, but not a final resting place.  I love the thought that they paused, built, honored, and then moved on.

I would encourage you to expose your senses to the marker moments in your own spiritual journey.  Listen and watch, and then take action in finding, and piling up stones.  Stop a bit to praise God for who He is, what He did and how it has changed you.  And then, after an appropriate time of reflection and rest, make sure to leave your marker and move on.  What would your earthly life have amounted to, if you had stopped and stayed as a kindergartener, teenager, or a parent with a full nest?  And what will your spiritual life count for if you stop at salvation?  Sometimes your journey will be more wander than walk, more wilderness than path.  What a blessing it would be, if in the midst of a wander in a wilderness circle, you pass by one of your piles of stones.  Because as much as markers point in the direction you are going, they can be a reminder of where, and to whom you need to return.

On a recent business trip, I had the opportunity to sit next a fellow believer who just happened to live in the same southern city as my daughter and son-in-law. During our conversation, He shared that his daughter was in the process of planning a wedding. When I began telling him that my daughter had just recently been married there, he came to life! He immediately began asking about the church, the reception venue and all the associated details. What an amazing God-authored moment it turned out to be as this fellow traveler continued on to share that it happened to be the very weekend they were beginning to search for the venue for the reception and would certainly be looking into the one we had used.

As I talked, he took notes and made plans to contact his daughter when we landed in Montréal. Why was he so interested in all of the details of my daughter’s wedding? And why did he seem to implicitly trust what I was telling him? I believe it was because I had been down a road he was about to travel. It also seemed that being a fellow Christ-follower meant the information I was sharing with him (that he would use in beginning his own daughter’s wedding journey) was trustworthy. We both realized and acknowledged that our seat choices (he was normally in first class) were no happenstance. It was the divine hand of a loving God leading two of his children into a space where they could share information and encourage each other.  May I (and we) always obey the truth and challenge of Scripture in our God-authored opportunities.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up
1 Thessalonians 5:11a (NIV)

But encourage each other daily, while it is still called today, so that none of you is hardened by sin’s deception.
Hebrews 3:13 (HCSB)

 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching
Hebrews 10:24 (NIV)

Our lives should reflect Christ’s love.  Our temperaments should be friendly and welcoming, seeking to attract the lost and encourage fellow Christ-followers. Look for opportunities to encourage each other today.

My parents are experts at creating outdoor spaces that both relax and inspire.  At every home they’ve owned, they seem to have the Midas touch with decks, porches, plantscaping and unique rest stops for any number of varieties of friendly fowl. It has become routine for them to begin and end each day observing God’s creation in one of their ever-evolving spaces.

I had the chance to join them last week, as my family stopped for a brief visit during our return from summer vacation.  I thoroughly immersed myself in the sights, sounds and scents of the surroundings, and the coffee and conversation which was the perfect complement.  One specific morning, my mother’s recount of one of hers and my father’s morning conversations provided a beautiful and natural illustration of a biblical truth that I would love to share with you.  The question my father asked during that conversation spilled over into ours that morning, and something I had heard and been taught all my life came alive in brilliant color.

The thing I’d heard and been taught? … God doesn’t need our money, our talents or our efforts to accomplish His plan and purpose for this world, but He does give us the amazing gift of the opportunity to participate in it.  And when we do, what we receive is far more amazing and beautiful than what little good we did.  God is so gracious in His design for all created things.

The question considered in conversation?  … How do birds know where to find food?  My parents do their part (and maybe a bit more) in providing for the birds of the air.  There is abundant and intentional sustenance and a place to cool or wash off.  Yet absent those things, the birds in their small corner of the world would still survive.  If they sold their home and moved, or decided to stop filling the bird feeders and baths, the birds would find food and water elsewhere.  God has provided an instinct within the birds to find food (Matt. 6:26), and in the thought that followed that comma in my mind (the gift of accepting the invitation to participate in God’s plan), appeared in the brilliant red of the male cardinal and stunning yellow of the American finch.

In their small efforts to provide food and shelter for the birds, my parents are gifted the beautiful sights and sounds of these winged creations.  The red streak of the male cardinal in flight, the low hum and graceful movements of the hovering hummingbird – the landscape would be so much less without them.  God doesn’t need us in much the same way as the birds don’t need my mom and dad.  But He desires our presence and revels in going with us into the work He is doing in the created world.  We are His masterpiece, and He created us for specific purposes (Eph 2:10).

Be encouraged today to get up and get moving in the direction of what He has for you.  Any “sacrifice” you offer is multiplied exponentially as blessing in the lives of those you serve and even more so in your own.  These thoughts might not be the most revolutionary you’ll ever hear, but they’re also not “for the birds.”

As we commemorate our anniversary, we offer a blog from October 2009.  And since this describes my Thursday yesterday, I thought it was only fitting! Be encouraged…

Have you ever noticed how Monday mornings are times of good self-talk?  We have thoughts of a better week, a better diet (no french fries this week), plus an, “I can do it attitude”.  But as we journey through the week, something happens.  And by Thursday, we are just surviving … and eating those fries again.  What happened?   Energy drains come from a multitude of sources and come at you from all sides.  It could be people who drain you, kids who pull at you, or just the sheer amount of responsibility that conquers your week.  And then leaves you gasping for air, as you head into the weekend.  Before you know it, you arrive at the Monday morning of another new week!  A fresh perspective on how to approach all your days may just help you convert your weeks into meaningful victories.

Proverbs 27:19
As water reflects a face so a man’s heart reflects the man.

As I have thought about this verse, it has become obvious to me that the heart too often reflects a weary man.  The weight of the journey and the energy drains too often are a reflection of our tired hearts.  If you don’t believe me, just look around.  But I am convinced that an application of just a couple of verses, with an attitude of, “I can apply them,” can help anyone begin a strategy of daily rejoicing.  The weeks may not be “easier” but the energy gains from the Holy Spirit will be noticeable.  When a person’s heart reflects the joy of the Father, others (especially those who are closest to them) will see visible evidence of life as He meant it to be.  Consider these verses …

Psalm 118:24
This is a day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

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

You would probably agree that the above verses are easily passed over.  We all know the principle of rejoicing, but the reality may seem a bit fanatical … even to most who call themselves Christians.  Reflect a bit on your life this week.  And evaluate how you have approached each day.  And when you contrast the Scripture above, don’t confuse the verses with happy self-talk.   They can be the norm for anyone who has come into a life changing relationship with Christ.  But how?!   A couple of thoughts may give us a start:

• Start each day personalizing a prayer of Psalm 118:24. “Father you have made this day for me to be a reflection of your love and grace. I rejoice now with a glad heart in the opportunities you will place before me today”.
• Decide that rejoicing is a reflection of your trust, not a reflection of your day.  Every day will have its set of trials.  But the Father says “rejoice”, and by a choice of the will, we can.

Challenge yourself with the verses above, daily for just one week.  You will find that the application of Scripture in such a simple form will change your week, and ultimately, your life.  Believe the verses, quote them, personalize them and leave each day to the Father.  And in all of it, find joy in your journey!