Joy in Christ

Take a RISK for the Lord!

Dear Friends, this blog has been out of action for a few days because of some major technical troubles. Unfortunately, all of my past posts are gone forever.

When the whole thing crashed, I had just begun a series on taking a RISK for the Lord, with RISK standing for:

• Rejoice in the Lord!
• Imagine God’s possibilities for you!
• Share the message!
• Keep it simple!

Because the previous posts are gone, I want to restart this series.

First, taking a RISK for the Lord does not mean you go out and try to do something foolish, like jumping off a cliff. No, it means stepping out in faith and serving the Lord as He has called you to do. It means becoming all He wants you to be. You are probably working on this every day, if you are a true believer.

The place to start is rejoicing in the Lord, no matter what is going on in your life. That is easier said than done. In fact, you can’t do it without the Spirit of God working in you and giving you strength.

Philippians 4:4 shows Paul commanding Christians to “Rejoice in the Lord…” (Note: all Scripture references are from the New King James Version.)

He doesn’t suggest that you do it—he says you must do it. You might be thinking, “But how can I rejoice, I just lost my job,” or “Rejoice? My wife just died,” or “I cannot rejoice because my life is just a mess.”

Please notice that the verse in Philippians does not tell you to rejoice in those circumstances. It says to rejoice IN THE LORD.

Your life may be a mess. You are not alone. Everyone has challenges and trials. But here’s the wonderful thing. Jesus Christ never changes. He is always faithful, holy, righteous, good, full of grace, forgiving, and just. The whole world could fall apart, and He will still be the Son of God. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always there, and the Living, Triune God will never leave you or forsake you.

The Word of God says in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Rejoice in those words, and rejoice in Him!

You may not always “feel” Him taking care of you, but He is. He promises to do it. He says so in Hebrews 13:5, “…I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Also, in I Peter 5:7 you are told to “cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

Wow! God cares about you. The Living God of all is concerned about you. If you can’t rejoice in that, you can’t rejoice!

Join me in the next post when we’ll look at the next letter in RISK, namely “I.” We’ll look at what it means to imagine His possibilties for you.

God bless and keep you strong in faith, Glen Averill

April 09 2010 | Uncategorized | No Comments »