21 October 2014
I Choose Joy
Psalm 40:8
I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.
If joy is the result, then the instructions are not dreary. And how did God’s instructions get written on my heart anyway?
Jesus came into the world and died for everyone’s sins, not just the sins of those who have a line of heritage with the original Israelite people. Everyone. So people everywhere know God. Scripture tells us that he is evident all around. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20)
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:21-23)
The world today is the product of years of people suppressing the truth about God in their hearts and passing that suppression along from generation to generation which is why people are shocked to learn that God’s instructions have been written on our hearts.
But how else do societies draw conclusions and come to agreements about what is and what is not socially acceptable, moral, or illegal? There must be universal code somewhere, albeit very faint...
Jeremiah 31:33-34
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
And the Psalmist concludes that there is joy attached to knowing we’re doing the right things. I choose joy.
Dear God,
Help me to not ignore what is so clearly evident, not only in nature, but also what is evident in my own heart - you are GREAT and greatly to be praised and I desire to serve you and follow you by obeying you. I love you and thank you for opening my eyes and not letting me be blinded by the indifference to you that has captured the world. I choose you, I choose obedience, and I choose joy. I love you very much and pray in your Son’s name, amen.
I Choose Joy
Psalm 40:8
I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.
If joy is the result, then the instructions are not dreary. And how did God’s instructions get written on my heart anyway?
Jesus came into the world and died for everyone’s sins, not just the sins of those who have a line of heritage with the original Israelite people. Everyone. So people everywhere know God. Scripture tells us that he is evident all around. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20)
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:21-23)
The world today is the product of years of people suppressing the truth about God in their hearts and passing that suppression along from generation to generation which is why people are shocked to learn that God’s instructions have been written on our hearts.
But how else do societies draw conclusions and come to agreements about what is and what is not socially acceptable, moral, or illegal? There must be universal code somewhere, albeit very faint...
Jeremiah 31:33-34
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
And the Psalmist concludes that there is joy attached to knowing we’re doing the right things. I choose joy.
Dear God,
Help me to not ignore what is so clearly evident, not only in nature, but also what is evident in my own heart - you are GREAT and greatly to be praised and I desire to serve you and follow you by obeying you. I love you and thank you for opening my eyes and not letting me be blinded by the indifference to you that has captured the world. I choose you, I choose obedience, and I choose joy. I love you very much and pray in your Son’s name, amen.
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