THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH

Have you ever wondered where THE JOY OF THE LORD IS MY STRENGTH comes from? Here is the back-story…

Babylon conquered Judah, who remained in captivity 70 years, give or take. Nehemiah, one of the captives at the time Cyrus the Great became ruler of Babylon, asked the King for favor to go back home to rebuild his city and the gates, which lay in ruins. Permission was granted and, all alone, under the cloak of darkness Nehemiah surveyed all the damage. He said nothing to those who would be doing the work, until he returned with a plan. Nehemiah then unveiled the plan God placed in his heart for rebuilding, and the sentiment of everyone was unanimous – LET’S REBUILD! Sinister opposition tried to derail the work but, in just 52 days, all the walls and gates around the city were rebuilt. The gatekeepers, musicians and Levites were assigned, people settled into their towns and 7 months later they gathered together in the center of the city. A huge, high stage was set up so everyone could see and hear, and Ezra began to read from the Books of the Law of Moses as the Levites explained everything to the people, men, women and children, so they understood what was being read. Hearing the Words caused deep mourning because the people came face-to-face with the fact they had neglected to give God the glory, respect and honor deserved. The fear of the Lord was absent.

And now, that most amazing verse: 

The Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the JOY of the LORD is your strength. Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them. 

I believe we are standing on similar ground today – ruined walls of injustice and famine for Truth lay all around us. For decades we have pushed God out of our independent, free society and our country lies in ruins, just as surely as Judah did in 600 AD. The only difference, at this point at least, is we have not physically been taken into captivity… yet we are captives, in our homes, in our country, in our hearts. 

I’m coming to understand, more clearly every day, that grumbling against what seems to be holding us captive doesn’t set us free, and in fact just tightens the grip of fear and frustration abounding all around. Reading, learning, studying, knowing what assures us the favor, love, presence, grace and power of God is crucial for our lives, for our country, for the world today. Captivity is a mind-game today, but in a blink of an eye this could change to virtual reality. Only our heart-condition will keep us, no matter the circumstances, in the freedom for which Christ died to set us free.

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH, and we, God's people, standing in THE TRUTH that sets us free, will see God’s victory, just as sure as those in the back-story of Nehemiah 8:10. 

If My people, who are called by My Name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14

Sorrow lasts through the night, but JOY comes in the morning... (mourning?) Psalm 30:5

May the Joy of the Lord be our strength as we proclaim God’s Word throughout our city, state, country and the whole world.  

All for God’s Glory and Honor,

Sue McCary Sargis  5/27/2020

LET'S BEND THE CURVE

LET'S BEND THE CURVE! 

This is what I sense the Spirit saying to me as I post a new scripture each day for our little tiny church during this Covid-19 crisis. As believers, we can bend the curve of fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, hopelessness, and this particular Scripture, which a friend shared with me yesterday, has three really great curve-benders:

     REJOICE IN HOPE - I'm old(er), so I remember the Hymns of faith we used to sing in churches and one of my all-time favorites says, "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust a sweeter frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' Name! On Christ, the solid rock, I stand! All other ground is sinking sand." 

Where is my hope today? In a vaccine? In a government leader? In humanity? We need a healthy respect for all of these, but they cannot be the source of our hope. If they are, we will cave in to fear, anxiety, frustration, etc. etc. Just the word 'REJOICE' causes the corners of my mouth to turn upward. So I take a deep breath, hold it, let it out slowly as I feel the presence of my Lord and Savior filling me with hope - HOPE that does not disappoint. 

     BE PATIENT IN TRIBULATION. I am the first to admit I get way too frustrated these days, and patience is not my strongest attribute. But I am working on this. It is, after all, part of the hybrid Fruit of the Spirit we are to walk in... love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness. Pretty much in the middle is patience.... and then this hybrid fruit adds "self-control." I suppose none of the others will be evident to anyone, if patience flies out the window. I am reminded of this scripture:

"Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." Hebrews 12:4 

No, I have not shed any blood as I have waited, and waited, and waited for things to be more normal. I've complained way too often. I've fretted and sweated the small stuff - but I have not suffered, as my Lord did so that I could walk in freedom. So I am working on this virtue, for your sake and mine, and I do believe working on this will bend the curve so the glory of God's goodness shines through even the darkest funk.

BE CONSTANT IN PRAYER is the crux of the matter; the place where the rubber meets the road. I have prayed more in these past four and a half months, but constant is such a strong word - endless, relentless, continuous, persistent. Intentionality, expectancy, courage and confidence are the driving forces which bend my heart toward the heart of the Father where a bending of the curve for everything takes place. Jesus told us this from the get-go:

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Matthew 7:7-11

Rejoice, be patient, be constant - I want to live to bend the curve from fear, hopelessness, anxiety, depression so the glory of God is visible in me and through me. Jesus told us the gates of hell will not prevail, and no weapon formed against us will prosper, but we have to know, grasp and use the weapons of our warfare effectively and fervently, and all the more so when times, like these, are upon us.

Bending the curve - one song of rejoicing, one deep breath of patience, one constant prayer on my lips - one day at a time. 
To God be the glory.

HOW DO WE LIVE IN THESE TIMES?

The things that are happening in our world today surely look like Jesus’  return to gather His Bride is more eminent than I ever imagined I would witness in my lifetime.

Sue McCary Sargis – 5/7/2020

Revelation22:12-14

“Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

WHOA – I don’t think I’ve considered this verse in Revelation before. Last night I listened to a message by a pastor in SOCAL from 5 years ago titled, “A Galilean Wedding: Picture of the End of the World.” I was intrigued because of the title of a movie that is just out, in the midst of this pandemic, “Before the Wrath” which is based on this pastor’s book of the same title. The things that are happening in our world today surely look like the Jesus’ return to gather His Bride (the church) is more eminent than I ever imagined I would witness in my lifetime.

Revelation 22:1-2… Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 

Here we see the river of the water of life, and a tree, on each side of the river – now that is a phenomenon – a tree that has roots on both sides with a river flowing through it. Wow! This tree is not described as the tree of life, but the implication is clear. This tree provides all the sustenance needed and there is healing power in the leaves – healing for the nations. The Tree bears fruit, which represents the Spirit of God – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, self-control. A life-giving, sustaining, empowering, transforming Tree of Life, by the River of Life, from which we will have the right to eat and drink in the Kingdom prepared, by Jesus, for us.

Revelation 2:7… Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

Revelation 22:17…  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

But then Revelation 22:18-19 gives this warning…  I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.  And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.

One thing this pandemic is pressing home to my heart loud and clear… we have the opportunity NOW to share the message of sustenance, saturation, wholeness, transformation, and healing in Jesus. The time is now. I cannot go on living life as I’ve always lived it – one day at a time with my agenda topping the to-do list each morning. Jesus is coming soon, sooner for some of us maybe than for others. I may or may not be one of those alive when He comes to gather His Bride, but if I am not, I know I will be one who rises to meet Him in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), and so I will ever be with the Lord. That’s great assurance for me, but until then, how will I live?

Life is about living, not for just today but for, and on into eternity – which begs the question: how will they know? How will anyone know of the free Water and Tree of Life, if we keep the words of the very last Revelation to mankind to ourselves?

"What’s it all about, Alfie? Is it just for the moment we live," as the 60’s Burt Bacharach song examined? No, we are to live with hands and hearts reaching out to one another with the only eternal message of hope. And longing to usher all into His Kingdom, Jesus exhortation and benediction, for now and for all eternity, remains…

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Revelation 22:20-21