Joy for our Protector

Psa 28:7  The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Is it not interesting that Joy goes with protection. We will always have enemies that pursue us and attempt to destroy the gospel we preach and the life we live. There will always be mockers and those that ridicule. We must continue faithful with our Lord because He is always faithful to protect us. We always need to call upon the Rock.

Let me tell you something about my Rock. This rock I stand on is not a pebble but an immovable boulder. I stand on a Rock that cannot be moved. I am on a firm and safe foundation that will never crumble or was away.

My enemies can assault and assail this Rock and it is to no avail. My Rock is my shield and protection. There is no life storm that can remove me from my Rock. My Rock is a sure foundation that cannot be moved.

I can sing praises to my Savior because of the joy in my heart because of His protection. May I always love and be faithful to the Rock of my salvation and the source of my joy.

THE EVENT THAT CHANGED THE UNIVERSE OF MANKIND

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

William Andrew Dillard
THE EVENT THAT CHANGED THE UNIVERSE OF MANKIND

This is a story of extreme opposites: of love and hate; of joy and despicable shame; a consummation of the crowning act of victory in experience marked “finished” from the foundation of the world. It is a story of the ultimate encouragement and motivation of God’s people in every generation until the age is closed. It is a story that will be the song of the saints while eternal eons roll ever onward in the endless bliss it provides.
Here then is the story so powerfully condensed in the words of Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
It is a story of love and hate. “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting live.” How deeply did and does God love the creative work of His own hands, especially the crowning act of it all, mankind. Yet He patiently endured such great contradiction of sinners against Himself. It is also a story of joy and despicable shame: “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the same.” What enormous joy is that of the post resurrected Jesus. While His crucifixion and resurrection was predetermined and foreordained, the experiential side of it all is the grandest story of the universe. Shame? Indeed much shame! How may one fairly estimate the shame of one sinless voluntarily taking upon Himself the sins of the world, and bearing the consequences of it? Though minor compared to this, how much shame was endured on the cross as a beaten body near death was lifted up as a scoffing point to the world? How much shame was endured as He was stripped of His clothing for rogue soldiers to gamble over, while He must die in sight of all in nakedness, bearing the full force of sin for others?
Yet, it is a story of encouragement and motivation for His people in every generation of the age. It is He who is both author and finisher of our faith. We are to look to Him in this crucial event, and we are to rejoice in His victory, lest we become weary and faint in our mind, which too many have done.
Here then is the story that will be the song of the saints in the never-ending, day of the final heaven age. It is recorded in Rev. 5:9, “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people , and nation.” Then again, Rev. 5:12-13, “. . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. . . “ AMEN! AND AMEN! WHAT A STORY!!

JOY UNSPEAKABLE

HEBREW HONEYCOMB

William Andrew Dillard
JOY UNSPEAKABLE

“Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?” John 4:11.
So goes the question from the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Jesus had asked her for a drink. The woman was astonished that a Jew would ask anything of a Samaritan. It was then that Jesus offered her living water for the asking. Re-read the story in John chapter four, and think with me.
Who was this Samaritan woman? The answer is she was a descendent of Jacob. She was, with her forefathers, a worshipful woman. She knew that Christ was coming, and looked forward to learning what he would reveal. Was she morally upright? No. But I have noted a lot of church folks more knowledgeable than she are not as well. That does not make it right, but it is so.
So how does this end? There is no record of her being born again at this point, and the inference is that she already trusted in God, but to find the promised Messiah (Christ) was overwhelming beyond words. She immediately shared that knowledge in great joy with the men of the city. They, in turn, came to hear Jesus and implored Him to stay with them a while, which He did. The men of the city said in similar joy, “Now we believe, not because of thy saying: for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” Hummm, it seems apparent that they knew about Christ, and they were looking for Christ which is not common among lost people.
So, the knowledge of assurance; of having seen and heard brought to them joy unspeakable and full of glory. Doubtless that joy led to others being born again that day and in the days following. The woman was static as she shared the good news, “He told all things that ever I did. . .” But it did not end there. Jesus shared with the people of Sychar some of the greatest news they could ever hope to hear as He abode a few days with them: news that would build throughout the age as individual disciples progress in knowledge, understanding, and maturity in the blessed Word. Joy gives way to joy as its waves of glory roll, as the hymn writer so marvelously wrote.
In 1900, Barney E. Warren penned the words to the great hymn , JOY UNSPEAKABLE. His understanding and experience is common to disciples of the age who are growing in Christ. He penned in the hymn, “I have found His grace is all complete. . . while I sit and learn at Jesus’ feet. I have found the pleasure I once craved . . . I have found that hope so bright and clear. . . I have found the joy no tongue can tell. . . it is like a great o’erflowing well, springing up within my soul. It is joy unspeakable and full of glory . . . Oh, the half has never yet been told.”

GOD GIVE WISDOM TO THOSE WHO ASK

Jas 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

Notice how this admonition comes right after the thoughts in the previous verses about temptations and patience? These are real trials in our everyday walk in the faith once delivered unto the saints. James is giving us some practical insight about our testimony to others when pressed beyond measure.

We should see that wisdom is required to live this life as a life a victory in overcoming the many different temptations in this world. When we overcome the temptation with wisdom, we honor God and bring glory to His Son. This wisdom brings the patience to get through this life overcoming the temptations and thereby having the joy of overcoming. We could say that wisdom brings joy to the christian life by overcoming the temptations that so easily beset us.

Christians should live with joy as a constant companion. We experience death of loved ones, heartache of sick children, sorrow of a loved one that strays; but with the wisdom of God we have that precious joy the each trial and temptation in life we have gone through and overcome and been the christian example that brings glory to God and the best example to the world of our sustaining faith.

Pray to God and ask for that wisdom of His that is so uncommon today. God’s wisdom is above the wisdom of this world. This wisdom is not in every garden.

Hebrew Word – New Song

First day of the New Year so it is time to sing a NEW SONG!!!

 

New Song

 

chādāš šiyr

 

We’ve all heard the old expression that someone is “singing a different tune” or has “changed his tune.” The expression probably arose in the Middle Ages among wandering minstrels. As they traveled from court to court, they thought it prudent to change the words of their songs to please each baron.

 

Long before the Middle Ages, however, God’s people were singing a new song, and that song was of much greater joy and significance. New is the Hebrew chādāš (H2319), which often indicates something new in the sense of “never seen or done before.” It appears in Eze_18:31, for example: “Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit.”

 

Song, then, is šiyr (H7892), a type of lyrical song or religious song. It also appears several times in Ezra and Nehemiah to refer to songs of Levitical choirs. In Neh_12:46, for example, Nehemiah recounts that in David’s day music directors led “songs of praise.”

 

Significantly, it is at times also used in a negative way. Amos uses it to picture the apathy of the people, as they lay around eating, drinking, strumming their musical instruments, and singing, totally oblivious to God’s coming judgment (in Amo_6:5, “music” is šiyr). Here is a warning to the world, and even the church, concerning complacency and an insatiable desire for entertainment and leisure.

 

It is when we see these two words together, however, that we discover a wondrous truth. The term new song appears seven times in the OT, and in each case we see a new song being composed in response to what God has done. “Fresh mercies,” writes commentator Adam Clarke, “call for new songs of praise and gratitude.” The first occurrence, in fact, is Psa_33:3, which is set in the context of the great event of Creation.

 

What, then, could be more appropriate as we start a new year than to be reminded to sing a new song every day? Does not each day bring new mercies, new blessings, new joys, new triumphs? It also reminds us that we do, indeed, “sing a different tune” than the world.

 

Scriptures for Study: Read the other OT occurrences of new song, noting how God is being praised for what He has done: Psa_40:3; Psa_96:1; Psa_98:1; Psa_144:9; Psa_149:1; Isa_42:10. Note also the two NT occurrences of new song: Rev_5:9; Rev_14:3. New is the Greek kainos (G2537), “something new in quality,” having never existed before.

 

 

 

Revival

To many contemporary preachers and pastors, the word revival is anathama. Their mis-understanding of the word has caused them to revile the practice of old time Landmark Missionary Baptists and dis-continue the practice of having revivals. Bro. W.A. Dillard has nobly and exquisitely considered the the scriptures relating to, and the meaning of the word “revive.”

There is a true need for revival in this nation. It will come by prayer, passionate preaching, and repentance. The following is the article written so ably by Brother W.A. Dillard.

 

THINKING OF REVIVAL

Psalm 85:6: “Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?”
Isaiah 57:15: “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
Hosea 14:7: “They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.”
Habakkuk 3:2: “O Lord, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

Please notice and ponder the word “revive” as it appears in the context of the several verses above. The English word “revive” is a composite of “re” plus “vive” literally meaning “again to live.” It does not convey a loss of life then acquiring it all over again, but the stirring of that which one already possesses to produce such joy, peace, and appreciation of it as to make it the number one priority of one’s days.
The one Hebrew word translated “revive” in each of the verses above is “Chayah.” It means to possess life in all its awareness and attendant activities; to know life in zeal, and a high level of awareness, especially in spiritual things. This is the same root word that God used in the Hebrew language to reveal his name to Moses which is translated “I am.” Exo. 3:14. He is the source of life; and where there is life, there is activity.
The churches of the Lord Jesus Christ stand in need of a revival of proper activity! They do not need a revival of socialism or of bigger, more comfortable facilities, but a revival of joy, hope, and peace that flows from the Holy Word. I do not mean an acquiescence to the Word, rather a personal acquaintance with it, and agreement with its contents. From this flows all things right and holy in human life; hence, in the churches.
So, what shall we say of “revival” meetings? They are not just an intensification of formal worship services, but a dedication of life to the will of God, and to the working of the Holy Spirit within. That dedication is absolutely individual. It does not come from the will or decisions of the pastor; nor of the will or the majority vote of the congregation. It must be within the heart of each of us. It is true repentance toward God, and from the indifference of a backslidden condition. It is to allow ourselves to be enveloped without reservation in the teachings and work God has given to us that will produce the type of person He wants here on earth now as well as to rule with Him in the age that is about to happen. God, please give us unreserved submission to you that we may indeed know revival!!!

 

GOD GIVE ME JOY

God give me joy in the common things:

In the dawn that lures, the eve that sings.

 

In the new grass sparkling after rain,

In the late wind’s wild and weird refrain;

 

In the springtime’s spacious field of gold

In the precious light by winter doled.

 

God give me joy in the love of friends,

In their dear home talk as summer ends;

 

In the songs of children, unrestrained;

In the sober wisdom age has gained.

 

God give me joy in the tasks that press,

In the memories that burn and bless;

 

In the thought that life has love to spend,

In the faith that God’s at journey’s end.

 

God give me hope for each day that springs,

God give me joy in the common things!

 

Thomas Curtis Clark

I HAVE FOUND SUCH JOY

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along a floor
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.

I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain’s blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my window sill,
A rose fresh-cut and placed within a vase,
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.

Grace Noll Crowell

Atrocities revealed

TORREY TALKING TRIUMPHANTLY

Torrey Talking Triumphantly

“I am ready to meet God face to face tonight and look into those eyes of infinite holiness, for all my sins are covered by the atoning blood.”

“There is One who knows, and He sympathizes with you – God.”

“There is more joy in Jesus in twenty four hours than there is nin the world in three hundred and sixty fove days. I have tried them both.”

“I would rather go to heaven alone than go to hell in company.”

“I sit at God’s table – and it is just groaning with good things.”

“God’s Word is pure and sure, in spite of the devil, in spite of your fear, in spite of everything.”