THE ALL SATISFYING OBJECT

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Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)

The quest for pleasure is not even optional, but commanded (in the Psalms): “Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). The psalmists sought to do just this: “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1–2). “My soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1).

The motif of thirsting has its satisfying counterpart when the psalmist says that men “drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights” (Psalm 36:8, NASB). I found that the goodness of God, the very foundation of worship, is not a thing you pay your respects to out of some kind of disinterested reverence. No, it is something to be enjoyed: “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8).

“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). As C. S. Lewis says, God in the Psalms is the “all-satisfying Object.” His people adore him unashamedly for the “exceeding joy” they find in him (Psalm 43:4). He is the source of complete and unending pleasure: “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

Questions to ponder on……Am I delighting in Him? Is my soul panting and thirsting after Him? Is my flesh fainting for Him? Am I enjoying Him? Is His word sweet to my taste?

REJOICE IN THE LORD

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“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” Phil 4:4

One of the things I love about this verse is that, regardless of the differences in context that exist as it relates to culture, time that surrounds this verse, it has one central truth; “Rejoice in the Lord.” Today we as believers are exhorted to not just rejoice, but rejoice in the Lord, despite our circumstances. Paul was in prison when he wrote this exhortation. Very often us being happy and offering praise to God is based on how well things are going for us. But for Paul, rejoicing in God is not about our current situation but it is based on who God is.
Today I’m not by any stretch of the imagination trying to play down what some of you might be going through, but what I do know is that the word of God is just as relevant today as it was when first written. So I exhort you today as the church at Philippi was exhorted by the Apostle, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice.”

GRATEFUL

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1Ti 1:13
“Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy…”.

The verse before us describes a man known at that time as Saul, who in his own words “persecuted the church of Jesus Christ.” At another time he called himself “the chief of sinners”, which indicates to us in some way that he ranked himself among the lowest of the low. But he was shown “mercy”… rather than receiving a just recompense, the now Apostle Paul received the mercy of God.
Gods mercy is infinite and very often we do not understand the vastness of it that when applied to a violent murderer he is totally transformed and becomes an apostle.
Every believer today can identify with the Apostle Paul in one way or another, and be extremely grateful to God that we didn’t get what we rightfully deserved. “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy” (Rom 9:15). To Him alone be the Glory.

Joy in Spite of Detractors

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“Whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18).
Contending with the detractors at Philippi was not a completely new trial for Paul. He had previously learned patience in dealing with the letdowns caused by other supposed supporters (see 2 Tim. 1:15;4:16). Now his opponents were testing his patience to the extreme as they sought to destroy his credibility with his supporters.
The detractors’ tactics might have unsettled the faith of some in the churches, but not Paul’s confidence. He stood up to all the unpleasantness with joy because, as our verse indicates, he knew the
cause of Christ was still being advanced.
Paul’s exemplary behavior under fire provides an obvious lesson for us: no amount of false and unfair criticism should steal our joy in Christ and His gospel. And we can keep rejoicing if we, like Paul, stay devoted to our top priority, proclaiming and glorifying the name of Christ.