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September 16 Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:4,5. This passage reflects a two-fold pattern of our lives—we are to rejoice in the Lord always and then carry the message to the world around us. Jesus said as much when He said to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as our self. These two steps in our faith summarize all that describes the Christian life. Without praise and thankful hearts, giving honor to God, we are not equipped to express our faith to our neighbors. The Bible is very clear about these matters. Our priority is to focus upon God and His Son, Jesus. Out of that relationship will come the life-style and desire that will reach others. On occasion I have heard the expression, “He is too heavenly minded to be earthly good.” Actually I wish that were said of me, but it has occurred in discussions about others. So I ask, is it possible to be too heavenly minded? I would venture to say that it is not possible, for without a mindset that is focused upon God we cannot be useful to others. Oh I suppose there are those who would try to counterfeit this characteristic, but in the long run they will have a way of showing their false nature. So my friends rejoice today in the Lord. Our spirit knows that we owe everything to Him. We have no adequacy within our fleshly life that can please Him. But we know that the new creation that He has given us will always seek to rejoice in God. Our spirit will then always reach out to others with the same love and thankfulness. Father, thank You for making us this way. We rejoice in who You are and what You have done. Amen. |
