joy – Page 3 – Cross Culture Church

Meditation: March 13

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,” Jude 24

God has the ability to stabilize our walk and keep us from staggering. It is the staggering walk or the unsettled and unsure steps that eventually lead to a fall. We don’t have to waver in unbelief, but can maintain a steady confidence that God is all that He says in His Word. The world has a dizzying affect upon all who focus their attention in its direction. The contrary winds of error spoken by the majority blow in such ways as to cause the fainthearted to sway under its control. But God has a path that is straight and the power to keep us straight on the path. It leads to the Presence of His glory as one who has victoriously endured the pressures that otherwise would have caused us to drift away. Even if we stumble or stagger or even drift for a moment in time, He gets us back on course and teaches us what we need to know in order that we may stand erect in the center of the storm. There His peace abides and we learn to trust in Jesus as Lord over the storm.

07 Mar 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: March 7

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

The initial light of God leads us to greater light. We see Him as Redeemer and we are saved from the penalty of sin. The entryway into His grace has been provided as His light has shined upon us. But there is light shining on the path inviting us to enter in. It is not enough to enter in a park at the gateway of all that has been provided for us in Jesus Christ. The things that accompany salvation is awaiting us within the vast areas of exploration of blessings and joy that can only be experienced once we have passed beyond the Outer Courts and are will to enter into the Holy of Holies. The further we are willing to be led, the deeper the level of intimacy we are enabled to experience. His light leads to the fountain of life. We are able to drink from the fountain that spring forth into everlasting life. When Jesus Christ becomes life to us, we can then live the abundant life. The pleasure of knowing the Father as He is known by the Son is made known to us. Lord, lead us to the greater light so that we may be able to see You and be blinded to the distractions of the flesh, the world, and the devil.

20 Feb 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: February 20

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Why do you seek the living among the dead?” Luke 24:5

The pronouncement of the two angels at the empty tomb is the challenge to this generation. We need answers. This is a desperate time for so many in searching for real answers. People are getting tired of pacifying words that merely delay the imminent failures that they have grown so accustomed to. Some are wishfully thinking that some semblance of life may yet remain among the tombs of yesterday’s shattered dreams. They have dug their stakes and set up their tents in graveyards rather than in the place where new life is blossoming. Jesus was once there but only for a little while. He was carried there because no life was within His body. Now it is as empty as those who attempt to live their lives without Him. But now as being resurrected, He has moved beyond where men were able to place Him. He is where He has decided to be. Now is the time to meet Him where He chooses to reside. He is among the living. Those who have spirit-life within them and a will to do His Father’s will, their life takes on its truest meaning. Only there one can find true joy and peace within their souls.

24 Jan 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: January 24

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.” Proverb 10:22

There is the accumulation of wealth among the rich which brings sorrow and a wealth that endures to eternal life. When money becomes the god that replaces the true and living God, it then competes with what He wills to do in his life. That person, under the control of Mammon, will never know the richness that comes through full surrender to God’s will. The greatest blessing is the passion to love Him with one’s whole heart, soul, mind, and strength; then His joy becomes our own joy. When we are there, all that comes our way is managed and not owned. If we have an abundance of things, we find pleasure in having more options to use them in blessing the Lord. Money does not make the person; it merely gives him more options to express what he already has become. We should not allow anything to stand between us and the Lord, but at all times exercise diligence in pleasing Him. He gives us both the ability to accumulate wealth and the joy of the harvest.

29 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 29

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments.” 2 John 6

Love defined by the Source from which it originated. None else can define love in language that is so sensible yet so profound. The qualities of love are found within the confines of obedience. Everything else outside of this is hatred and repulsive to the One who is able to determine the authentic from the counterfeit. The world is in search of authentic love. Too many have been duped into believing the lie of those with strings attached to their affection. It is a legitimate need that is, to love and be loved.

This is love, love identified as a lifestyle chosen and a people empowered to obey God’s commandments. The will or the heart to obey precedes one receiving the power or ability to obey. A daily walk willfully engaged that is pleasing to God. An assurance accompanies that degree of commitment. God makes it known to the servant’s heart that He belongs exclusively to Him. He reveals His love in order for it to be disbursed abroad or distributed through his heart to others. He becomes an instrument in God’s hands as His servant which is the highest honor. The synchronizing of wills so that only one exclusive expression remains. One enters into His life of love as He lives His life through us. The knowledge of His love produces joy within the soul. It is a contagious love which recruits others to enter in. They see the message of Christ conveyed thus giving an entryway for the hearing of the message which readily pours forth from the lips. True love cannot be contained within the heart of the lover. It must be given away.

25 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: November 25

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me? Psalm 116:12

The Lord provides benefits, many times unexpected and often before we are even aware of our need for them. As He looks far down the road of our lives, if we maintain a steadfast faith in Him, He takes our offering of life and leads us on a course directed towards His standard of righteousness. None can imagine the how many benefits we receive along the way as we journey on that path. It is not just arriving at the destination, but being on course with what really matters in life that is fulfilling. The emptiness of vanity is gone and we are left with a pursuit to know the One who loves us most. Love received demands a response. How can we respond to the overwhelming love demonstrated through our Lord, Jesus Christ? All we can possibly do is take advantage of the purpose for which He came to die such a cruel death on the cross for us. We can take Him up on His offer. By receiving His gift we bring the greatest joy to the heart of the Father.

27 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 27

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:18

Circumstances ought not to control our rejoicing. Our faith is often strained by the pressures that are brought to bear against us. When the fig tree is full of figs, our joy is because they are sufficient in quantity even with some to store. When the fruit and olives are plenteous, we have the joy of the harvest. The food is plenteous and the flocks are in their proper place giving us a reason for contentment of heart. But the delicate balance may shift in an instance. If all of life depended upon these things being in place, how fragile our faith would be. Some give up on life itself because things are not as we would have them to be. Others resort to desperate attempts to regain what appears to be lost. The most important thing remains and gives us a reason to maintain our faith and joy. The Lord is the God of our salvation and our strength. None of these things are capable of robbing us of the greatest gift we could possibly have. Once we are saved and secure in Christ, everything else will become elementary in contrast to what we have received. It is our salvation that gives us glimpse of the eternal. All is an interval in anticipation of what God has given us now and promises for our future.

20 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 20

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, (2) fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2

The objective of preaching the gospel is for those who are following to have the mind of Christ. Whatever Christ has provided for us is to be provided through us to others. It is with His comfort of love that we become loving. A difference is made in our lives as the result of being loved by Christ. He settles us down and gives us both rest and a peace that surpasses all understanding. The disturbed soul cannot interact with others on the same level as one who senses the security of the arms of Christ. There would be a caution that interrupts that degree of fellowship. But the soul that rests in His love is free to love others because he is not dependent on them but gives to them expecting nothing in return. The Lord supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory. We are complete in Christ thus able to love unconditionally. The constant communion that we enjoy with the Lord provides evidence that the Word of God has taken root within our hearts. We do not have to rehearse what we have to say for it flows from our hearts of love. It is a joy when the entrance of God’s Word brings light, life, and love within the hearts of its hearers and doers.

18 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: October 18

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.” Proverbs 23:23

The price paid for the truth may be the loss of friends and love ones. It may be the loss of the potential of profit requiring the compromise of our integrity. Our integrity is worth more than the things acquired through dishonest gain. Even though they may bring immediate success, but the high cost paid in the end far out measures its temporal benefits. We must be willing to pay the price for the truth. The price of self-denial and sacrifice for the sake of having the character to stand for what is right. This is accompanied with wisdom which comes from above. God can speak His truth to our hearts and there is nothing within us rejecting it. The lust for things not sanctioned by God choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful. It is the fool that despises instructions. The ownership of truth will deliver us from the bondage of greed and self-centeredness. We can then understand what the will of the Lord is and comply with joy because we are enabled to see the benefits of our faithfulness to Him.

17 Jul 0Comments 0Likes

Meditation: July 17

Posted by wwalker Categories: Meditations

“Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” Jeremiah 15:16

It is not merely the exposure to the Word that will transform lives. The Word ingested is the cause for rejoicing. It is able to do its work of transformation remaking the individual into becoming a vessel of honor. It is the contrast from the old to the new that is so amazing. Before the Word was eaten, it was made available. There was no appetite to reach out and take it in. But God allowed the void to become more apparent. Then He shut off the optional appeals that would in the past bring temporary pleasure. He placed me where the Word may be found and placed within me the desire for something other than what I was accustomed. Then I ate what is true rather than continuing to feed on the lies of the past. Never would I have imagined that what I once rejected would bring me such joy!