Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Joy inexpressible!

1Peter 1:2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  May God give you more and more grace and peace. 3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. (NLT)

How are you handling the trials of life? The fiery trials you face test your faith.

I'm reminded of Yukon Cornelius on Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. He would toss his pick-ax into the air and then test it for gold by licking it. Now whether one can taste gold or not Yukon's reaction was always the same, "Nothin'".

You either have gone through trials, are in one right now or soon will face one. If God were to speak out about the results of your fiery test what would be the conclusion? "Nothin'?"

Do you take Peter's suggestion above and look forward to the joy ahead? Vs 6. Do you rejoice in your salvation with inexpressible joy?

Can you, do you believe Romans 8:18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

Today focus on the joy ahead and let that guide you into inexpressible joy now, no matter what you are going through.

Love in Christ,
Steve Sherwood Sr

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