The word
Peaceful Reader, these new posts—The Joy of the Lord—will take us to some interesting places. Sometimes we’re showered with the Lord’s blessings and we’re bubbling over with the joy of the Lord. Part 1 about a recent vacation and part 2 about our new dog were like that—joy from God’s goodness. But we have much more to explore—joy in the Lord’s word, joy in affliction, joy in believing, joy in worship, joy in the Lord’s protection and provision, joy in the Lord’s presence, and joy in the family of God. I’m excited about what the Holy Spirit will reveal about joy in the months ahead.
Today on Choosing Peace, we’ll start exploring joy in the Lord’s word. Get ready to read about the shooting, Old Testament scrolls, and Modern Max.
One weekend
Last weekend, spiritual warfare raged boldly. Visibly. These three examples were all tied to God’s word. Come to think of it, can’t all spiritual warfare be described keenly by the truths in God word?
Friday’s song
On Friday, Charlene texted me an article about John Rich’s new song, “Revelation.” The music video displays the epic battle between good and evil, with Jesus coming back to vanquish evil.
The music video ends with these verses on the screen—Revelation 12:10-11.
Saturday’s shooting
On Saturday during an election rally in Pennsylvania, a young man shot President Trump in the ear during an assassination attempt. The shooter is dead and President Trump’s reelection bid is even more on fire. Watch this outstanding 5-minute Fox News interview with Florida Congressman Cory Mills, a former Army sniper, which ends with him speaking about God’s divine intervention and Ephesians 6 Armor of God protection over President Trump. (See the Armor of God posts here.) Do I watch mainstream news? No. Does this particular Fox interview rock? Oh, yes.
This video by Brylan Riggs includes video clips from the incident and ends with 1 Timothy 2:1-6. His recent follow-up video addresses more, and ends with excellent comments about Ephesians 6:10-12 and the vital importance of reading the Bible to equip ourselves with “the truth of God’s word.”
Sunday’s fire
On Sunday, a young man who grew up in our church preached a sermon from Romans 12:14-21, which includes a verse I’ve quoted several times.
Do not seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for the wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.”
Romans 12:19, New Heart English Bible
As Brandon drove us to meet friends for lunch after church, we saw the scene pictured below. A strip club was torched and crumbled to the ground. The only thing left standing was the sign. It was epic. “Vengeance is mine…, saith the Lord.” (KJV)
The sex trade
Let me say the obvious. No second-grader dreams of being a stripper, a porn “star,” a prostitute or a sex slave when she (or he) grows up. Leading little ones astray is something the Lord takes very seriously. From the second post about Samson:
Because God loves us and made us in his image, we know that he doesn’t approve of prostitution, trafficking, slavery, etc. As a matter of fact, kidnapping was a capital offense in the Old Testament—and rightly so. People aren’t commodities or products to be bought or sold. That is an abomination to the Lord.
The millions of victims of the sex trade desperately need to be rescued. Read about trafficking, Sound of Freedom and much more in this post. Can people rescued from sex trafficking experience the joy of the Lord? Absolutely. See this wonderful video by CityAlight about their visit to the Philippines and their work with trafficking survivors.
Joy and the times
With the 2024 election less than four months away, we find ourselves in extremely tumultuous times. Why the subject of joy? Why now?
“…for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”
Nehemiah 8:10b, New Heart English Bible
Why we need strength
Seven years ago, in the Sociopaths series, I contrasted happiness and joy. I also unpacked the important verse above—the connection between the joy of the Lord and strength. Drink in part 4 of Thanksgiving, which includes this important point: “We need strength to move successfully through the storms of life.” Peaceful Readers, we’ve been swept up in a turbulent storm for the last four years—one that was brewing (I mean orchestrated) for decades. See this post about The Great Reset.
We need strength to fight the spiritual battles raging around us.
We need strength to persevere.
Where to get it
Where does our strength come from? Surprisingly enough, the Bible tells us that our strength comes from the joy of the Lord. Our strength also comes directly from God and from God’s word. If you know someone who’s struggled with chronic dissatisfaction, complaining, negativity, read part 3 of Thanksgiving, which unpacks The Happy Formula and The Unhappy Formula. It’s profound.
Because we need strength, we need the joy of the Lord.
In part 4 of Thanksgiving, I wrote about joy, even in the wake of our baby’s death—a time of deep anguish.
The joy of the Lord is not about our circumstances.
First things first
Before we can experience the joy of the Lord, we must have the Lord. We must be saved. While I was writing today’s post, I read this Verse of the Day on BibleGateway.com:
Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 1:21, World English Bible
“The implanted word” reminds me of The Parable of The Sower, which includes Jesus’ explanation of its meaning. This short article from Got Questions further explains the meaning of this important parable about people’s different responses to the gospel—the good news of Jesus Christ.
The conversion of Augustine is a beautiful salvation story. Here’s my testimony: part 1 and part 2.
Seeking joy
Remember, because we need strength, we need the joy of the Lord.
Peaceful Reader, if you’re a Christian and you’re lacking the joy of the Lord, seek it earnestly. Pray and ask God to help you. Read the Thanksgiving posts about rightly-oriented gratitude and other truths that can help you change your thinking—moving you toward a joyful heart. Ponder, reflect on and journal about Philippians 4:4-9. I described this passage at the end of this post in the first series:
[Philippians 4:4-9] is one of my two favorite passages. To me, it gives the key to the peaceful Christian life, despite the storms you’re facing. What we think about drives our hearts and our lives. Remember that God is near, and think on these things….
The context
Where does the popular verse—“…the joy of the Lord is your strength”—come from? Nehemiah 8:10b. What was going on in Nehemiah’s day? The Israelites were conquered and deported to Persia as punishment for their generational, egregious sin. Nehemiah, the cup bearer to King Artaxerxes, asked the king if he could return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city wall, and the king said yes. With persistent prayer and despite much opposition from their enemies, the Jews rebuilt the wall, with their swords ever ready.
Pierced hearts—primed for joy
In Nehemiah 8, Ezra the priest read the Law of Moses to the people, who stood—listening and learning for hours. What was their response to hearing the word of God? Weeping and mourning. Why? God’s word and the truth of their own sin pierced their hearts deeply.
Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites who taught the people, said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn, nor weep.” For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to him for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” So the Levites stilled all the people, saying, “Hold your peace, for the day is holy; neither be grieved.” All the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions, and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.
Nehemiah 8:9-12, New Heart English Bible
Hard times, hard truths
This important truth—the joy of the Lord is your strength—was spoken not during times of ease and prosperity. It was spoken after (1) exile and return, (2) threats from dangerous enemies, (3) hard work on a seemingly insurmountable task, (4) much prayer, and (5) the hand of God protecting his people and giving them success.
In chapter 8 of Nehemiah, the people listened to God’s word and the Levites explained it to them. Then they wept with contrite hearts—pierced by the truth of their sin. Finally, the people celebrated and shared with those in need, rejoicing greatly, because they understood God’s word. They didn’t just understand it intellectually. They understood and received God’s word at a heart level. Their weeping testified to that.
“The joy of the Lord is your strength” came in direct response
to the people’s reverence for God and his word.
Old Testament scrolls
Early this year, Brandon and I attended a presentation by the Ancient Hebrew Scroll Project, based in Cleburne, Texas. At the heart of this presentation was deep reverence for the Lord and his word. Deep, deep reverence.
Saturday, January 13
Journal entry
What a remarkable, incredible experience. I am so tremendously grateful that we went. We learned about the Sofer—Jewish scribes, servants of God—and their meticulous work to preserve the written word of God, usually on sheepskin. Since Brandon and I arrived early, I got to examine and photograph the exhibit before the 3:00 presentation. What a blessing. There was a packed house with standing room only. The scroll of Esther featured in large letters the names of the 10 sons of the evil Haman who were executed. One scroll was stabbed by Nazis in WW2 in Poland. The Nazis are dead, but God’s word lives. [And, true to form, I journaled about the food.] Brandon brought me water, cheese and an oatmeal raisin cookie from the refreshment area. He is a sweetie.
God’s powerful word
The Israelites in Nehemiah and Ezra’s day found joy in the Lord’s word. So can we. And I don’t mean just reading about other people’s joy; I mean finding our very own joy. In God’s powerful word—his Holy Spirit-inspired word—we find (1) who God is, (2) truth, (3) how he can or did save us, (4) our identity as a child of God and a warrior for his kingdom, and (5) how to think and live rightly—among many other life-changing things.
Read your Bible and think about it. Not sure where to start? See this resources page. Ask God to reveal what he has for you through his word. Explore my 12 favorite scriptures in The Beauty of the Bible, part 1.
In addition to reading the word of God, we need to hear it.
Listen to the word of God preached faithfully.
Beware of any preacher who doesn’t preach about sin and repentance.
(Read part 4 for more.)
Please join me on a short but important detour.
Wolves and social justice warriors
Many false prophets—wolves in sheep’s clothing—write best-selling books and speak in massive churches/venues on TV, schmooze with other movers and shakers, and make boatloads of money. Beware. Learn about the NAR in this post and last month’s big-shot preacher scandals here.
Modern Max
Once-biblical preachers—or so we thought—have decided social justice is better than the Bible. They’ve decided to bow to the whims of the age instead of holding fast to God and his word.
Did you know that Max Lucado spoke at an LGBTQ-affirming conference in April? Did you know that he issued many-an apology for preaching in the past about homosexuality being a sin? I guess Modern Max decided God changed his mind about sin. Or maybe Modern Max decided the Bible is no longer the inerrant word of God. Or maybe Modern Max decided being popular and making lots of money matter more than speaking the truth. Who knows. Watch this excellent 12-minute podcast by Brylan Riggs about Max Lucado and more. Also, read this article from Got Questions, entitled “What Does the Bible Say About Homosexuality?” I’ve started reading Rosaria Butterfield’s book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age, about the world’s lies about sexuality, gender, modesty and more. Brilliant. Dig into gender issues here on Choosing Peace in The Armor of God, part 1. Also, see Gender in the index.
Hold fast
Peaceful Reader, hold fast to God and his word. Reflect on Galatians 1:10. Do not be misled by the disturbing lies of this age. See these sections in the index: The Bible, Evil and Current Events.
The same
God’s word is true. God never changes. If God changed his mind based on my thoughts, opinions and feelings, he’d be a god of my own making. And I didn’t make God. He made me. Lean in to the first five words of the Bible: In the beginning God created…. That’s a great place to start. In John, chapter 1—glorious John, chapter 1—Jesus is called the Word. (In the original Greek, John wrote Logos. See this Got Questions article for more.)
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8, New Heart English Bible
We find, ultimately, great comfort from the truth—if we receive it and live it. Healing. Revelation. Joy. This week, I finished a puzzle of Jesus tenderly holding his lamb. Lord, we’re in your hands, and you are faithful.
Coming next: You’ll read about some examples of joy in the word from my life, plus the key verse, party time and visiting churches. Until next time, thanks for reading and for Choosing Peace.
Truth from The Word: Isaiah 55:8-11
Song: “You Are Unchanging” by Sovereign Grace Music
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