ADVENT SERIES: COMMANDED TO LOVE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Matthew 22:34-39

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Four days.

Four days left in the Advent season and only four days left until the celebration of our Savior Jesus’ birth.

Through Advent and up to today, there have been three weeklong series, each centered on the theme for that particular week. We began by looking at hope, then peace, and finally last week, joy.

So what’s the focal point of these final four days of this special  pre-Christmas season?

It’s love and there’s no better place to start than seeing how all believers are commanded to do so. Look again at this exchange between Jesus and a Pharisee who was an expert in the law:

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested Him with this question:

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  Matthew 22:34-39

Now we know that the Law was immense. In fact, there is an entire section of the Old Testament that has been called the books of the Law. They include the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And so when this expert in the Law asks Jesus to tell him the greatest commandment, we should know that there was plenty of source material and therefore options.

So what does Jesus choose?

He quotes the Book of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, verse 5, saying:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.”

I’m not sure that this is what the Pharisees who were present expected to hear but it sure is what they needed to hear. For the greatest commandment was centered on one giving all their love to God and that was something that was sorely lacking within the souls of the Jewish religious leaders.

Think about it. If they had truly loved God with all their heart and soul and mind, they couldn’t have possibly despised and hated Jesus as they did, so much so that they plotted to kill Him. Jesus was speaking directly to His adversaries here and His words have continued to speak to anyone who embraces them ever since.

For if we would only love God with uncompromising, unfailing devotion through all that we are – heart and soul and mind - then His love would be our love because every part of our being would be aligned with His.

Friends, this is the only way we can then be totally obedient to the second command given by Jesus, the one He says is like the first:

“‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  

Did Jesus draw from one of the books of the Law here?

He sure did and you can find it in the nineteenth chapter of Leviticus, verse 18.

So who counts as a “neighbor”?

Essentially, it’s any person who you can share God’s with and that pretty much means everybody, right?

And just in case people might think they only have to love those who align with their values or beliefs, Jesus cleared that up with His Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). You may remember that in the parable there was a man who had been robbed and left half dead on the side of the road.

Onto the scene first was a priest but instead of helping the man, he passed right by on the other side of the road. You would have thought that one of the chief religious leaders would have shown enough compassion and care to stop and give attention to the dying man but that didn’t happen.

After him, a Levite arrived and like the priest, he too failed to stop and help.

Both of these two would have been the most likely to have gone to the aid of the badly injured person but neither did. That should have surprised those listening to Jesus but what He was about to say was truly shocking.

Because after the priest and the Levite, along came a Samaritan, someone that the Jews despised and saw as low class. Surely, the Samaritan wouldn’t have stopped to help the injured Jewish man?

But that’s exactly what happened. Within the parable, here’s the extent of what he did to help save the man’s life:

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” Vv. 34-35

After finishing, Jesus posed this one question to His audience:

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

To which an expert in the Law responded:

“The one who had mercy on him.”

Of course, this was the good Samaritan and so Jesus commanded all who could hear Him:

“Go and do likewise.”

As we approach Christmas Day, let’s remember that God sent His Son Jesus from Heaven to earth in order to bring salvation to sinners who were without hope. It was only by His deep mercy and love that He was willing to show care and compassion for those who were lost, no matter their nationality. Jew and Gentile alike were given the opportunity to gain eternal life simply by believing in Christ as Savior. It was true when the Christian church started more than 2,000 years ago and it remains true today.

Brothers and sisters, it’s time we commit ourselves to be fully obedient to the greatest two commandments as validated by Jesus. Let us first love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, being as fully dedicated to Him as He is to us. And when His love saturates our total being, let us then freely extend it to others, to everyone the Lord brings into our lives, no matter how chance the encounter might be.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: VICTORY BRINGS JOY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The king rejoices in Your strength, Lord. How great is his joy in the victories You give!

You have granted him his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.

You came to greet him with rich blessings and placed a crown of pure gold on his head. He asked you for life, and You gave it to him—length of days, forever and ever.

Through the victories You gave, his glory is great; You have bestowed on him splendor and majesty. Surely You have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

For the king trusts in the Lord; through the unfailing love of the Most High, he will not be shaken.

Psalm 21:1-7

For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:53-57

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in Heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1 Peter 1:3-9

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today marks the final day of this third week in Advent, a week that carries the theme of joy. Tomorrow, with Christmas day coming on Thursday, we will begin a short four message series focused on love, the emphasis of week four.

Yesterday, we joined the shepherds who were tending to their sheep on a chilly night outside of Bethlehem when an angel appeared, proclaiming good news of great joy for all people because the Messiah had been born in the city of David, another name used for Bethlehem. This was followed by an appearance of the heavenly host who proclaimed glory to God and peace on earth unto all who would gain His favor. After this holy, heaven-sent assembly departed, we saw where the shepherds rushed into the city to find the baby Jesus lying in a manger, just as the angel had said, and after finding Him, they went about the town telling others about what had just happened.

Indeed, this baby, the very Son of God, had come to change everything. He would grow up understanding at an early age that He needed to be about His Father’s business and fulfill the reason He was sent to earth, to save all mankind by bearing their sins while being sacrificed. Through His crucifixion and death on Calvary’s cross, Jesus would bring life and victory, first experienced by Himself at the empty tomb on the third day and then by everyone who would place their belief and trust in Him from that point forward.

Now, I haven’t met too many people who don’t like victory in their life. There’s something about triumph and winning that causes a wellspring of joy to rise up within.

This can happen when we accomplish something that we have worked on for a long time, something that caused us to have to work hard and persevere like finishing a college degree or gaining a promotion at work or even overcoming an addiction or affliction like cancer. These achievements become all the more significant to us when we overcome obstacles that challenged us and served as a threat to our success.

As we look at our scripture passage from the 21st Psalm, we find David, the renowned king of Israel, rejoicing over victories in battle as his nation’s enemies were repelled, and those enemies were many.

We should note that David didn’t see his wins as coming from his own doing. Rather, the king rejoiced in the strength of the Lord who brought the victories, victories that brought David great joy. They were rich blessings to him which included glory, honor, splendor, and majesty in Israel while serving in the joy of his Lord’s presence. Ultimately, David trusted in God’s power and unfailing love which gave him the confidence to not be shaken, no matter what.

These feelings expressed by David are exactly what Christians today get to experience, Christians who have their own God-given victory through their belief in His Son Jesus, the Savior of the world, the One whose birth we celebrate in just five days. The Apostles Paul and Peter sum things up perfectly in our other two texts in today’s message.

Paul underscores the spiritual transformation that comes for any Jesus believer for the person who was once perishable and mortal, destined for the eternal destruction and damnation of Hell, was now clothed with Jesus and as a result, imperishable and immortal. Because of the saving power found in the Savior, death had lost its chance to be victorious and no longer held any sting because God had granted the victory through His Son, a victory that brings the saved a joy that can never be taken away.  

It’s this assurance that led Peter to give God praise for His mercy found in a “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection” of His Son Jesus “from the dead”, a living hope that is grounded in “an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade”. It’s an inheritance that is “kept in Heaven” for every Christian believer who is “shielded by God’s power” through faith “until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time”.

Brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, this good news is given so that we can “greatly rejoice” in our Savior even when we might have to “suffer grief in all kinds of trials”, trials that serve to prove the “genuineness of (our) faith”, trials that are “of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire”. Overcoming these hardships in life and finding victory results in believers bringing “praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed”.

And although we can’t see Jesus now, we know that one day we will. He has promised it and there hasn’t been one promise He has made that He didn’t keep. Until that time when we abide with Him and God forever, we will “love Him” and allow our faith in Him and the sure salvation He brings to fill our hearts and souls “with an inexpressible and glorious joy”.

As we finish this third week in Advent, let us embrace the words of this famous, beloved Christmas hymn:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart prepare Him room.

And Heaven and nature sing.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com. 

ADVENT SERIES: THE GOOD NEWS THAT BROUGHT THE GREATEST JOY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

Luke 2:8-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to be alive during biblical times and actually present when some of the events we read about happened?

I know I do and in this next to the last message in this series on joy, the main theme of the third week of Advent, we come to one of those places. Look again at our verses for today from the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into Heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Luke 2:8-15

Can you imagine being one of these shepherds “living out in the fields nearby” the little town of Bethlehem, where unbeknownst to them, the long awaited Messiah, the Savior Jesus Christ, was being born in a lowly stable?

On the surface, it appeared to be like any other night as you were “keeping watch” over your flocks. It was your way of life and you did so, not because you were admired and respected by people because you weren’t, but because you simply loved the sheep that were under your care. That was the sole reason you did what you did and it provided a meager but stable income.

But then, something happened, something so unbelievably astounding that it would change your life forever. For suddenly “an angel of the Lord appeared” with “the glory of the Lord” shining all around. The incredible appearance left you terrified which was sensed by the angel who offered you comfort and assurance with these words, fully explaining what was happening:

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

The news was amazing. You had heard about the Messiah over and over again as predicted by the prophets and now He had come, “born in the town of David”. This birth was “good news” that would “cause great joy for all the people” and you knew this to be certain because it was exactly what you were feeling at this moment.

Now this would have been enough in its own right but then “a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel” and they were “praising God” while proclaiming:

“Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

And with that, they disappeared and the dark, night sky returned just as it was before. But you, you were far from the same as you processed everything that had just happened.

You had just received good news that brought the greatest joy into your heart, just as the angel and the heavenly host had declared. This wasn’t just happening within your heart and soul because in speaking with your fellow shepherds, you discovered they were all feeling the same thing. It was so extraordinarily powerful that you all agreed to “go to Bethlehem” so to “see this thing” that had happened, the thing “the Lord” had told you about.

Friends, it’s now six days and a wake up until Christmas Day, the day when we celebrate the good news of Jesus’ birth, the good news that brings a believer the greatest joy. Like the shepherds more than 2,000 years ago, let us excitedly go to the manger, rejoice in our Savior’s birth, and then go tell everyone about it (Luke 2:16-20).

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: WALKING THE RIGHT PATH IN LIFE BRINGS JOY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.

Psalm 97:11-12

The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.

Proverbs 10:28

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

We’re well into the third week of the Advent season, a week that is centered on the theme of joy. In recognition of this, there have been four messages in this series where we have learned the following:

1. Any real joy comes from the Lord, the source of all things.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-our-joy-is-lord.html

2. Real joy, the kind that comes from the Lord, leads a believer to sing songs of praise.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-joy-stirs-up-songs-of.html

3. The power of real joy from the Lord helps us feel and express it in good and bad times.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-joy-even-in-hard-times.html

4. All Christians have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who produces the fruit of joy.

https://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com/2025/12/advent-series-holy-spirit-produces-joy.html

This brings us today where we will see that believers will gain joy when they walk in the ways of Jesus while traveling the narrow path that leads to righteousness and a life that is pleasing to God. Look again at these words from the Psalmist David:

You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. Psalm 16:11

Here we find Israel’s king reveling in the joy that came by knowing the Lord had made known to him “the path of life”. This path was paved by God providing His commands and directives which David following in obedience, putting him in a place where He lived in favor with his Lord.

Anytime that anyone does this, commits themselves to allow the Lord to guide them toward living in His righteousness, they will feel blessed and filled with joy as they go through each day in the presence of God who blesses them with “eternal pleasures”. And while David had God’s commands and Law to guide him, today we have the life of Jesus documented in the Gospels, a life that we can read about and duplicate in our own lives. We also have the gift of the Holy Spirit who is always leading and directing us so to do all that the Lord desires, convicting us when we consider doing otherwise.

Can we see that our God has set everything in place for us to always live as He wants us to live?

Indeed, there’s no excuse to live otherwise and who would want to when we read in the scriptures where joy is felt in abundance by those who dedicate themselves to righteousness.

The identified Psalmist in the ninety-seventh Psalm proclaims this:

Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart. Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name. Psalm 97:11-12

Any Christian who has fully devoted themselves to the Lord’s will and way can shout out a hearty “amen” to this. They know how it feels to be walking daily in the light of the Lord, a holy light that dispels and drives out all darkness. It’s a light that lifts our spirits like a bright sunny day and compels us to “rejoice in the Lord” and “praise His holy name”.

The wise Solomon had it exactly right when he wrote that “the prospect of the righteous is joy” and this Advent season is the perfect time to be in a spirit of utter happiness, rejoicing, and worship as we excitedly prepare ourselves to once again celebrate the greatest gift God has ever given, the gift of His Son Jesus, the One who came to be the Savior of the world.

For as Paul wrote in his second letter to the Corinthians:

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 9:15

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES JOY

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Where would we be as believers without the Holy Spirit?

I really would hate to know but we could begin with a total lack of continuity between the Gospel ministry work of Jesus and His disciples who were expected to carry on that work.

Thankfully, God had a succession plan in mind and this was made clear by Jesus before His death, resurrection, and ascension. Here’s what He had to say in the fourteenth chapter of John’s Gospel:

“If you love me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.” Vv. 15-17

At His baptism, we know Jesus received the Holy Spirit (Mark 1:9-11) and so indeed His disciples were living in the presence of this amazing power that was promised to be in them later. That “later” happened in Jerusalem after Jesus ascended to sit at the right hand of God in authority over all things in Heaven and on earth. Acts, chapter two captures this important event that we know as Pentecost:

On the day of Pentecost, all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Vv. 1-4

From this moment forward, Jesus’ disciples were equipped and empowered to continue His work and Christ believers have received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as soon as they place their faith and trust in Him as Savior ever since.

So what does a Christian gain when they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit?

The scriptures gives us the answer for when we study them, we learn that this Holy Spirit empowers (Acts 1:8), leads and guides (John 16:12-13), instructs (John 14:26), convicts (John 16:8-9), intercedes (Romans 8:26), and serves as a deposit for the eternal life to come as all believers (2 Corinthians 1:22). We also read where it produces a harvest of spiritual fruits that help Christians better live in righteousness as Jesus did. Here’s what we find in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, chapter five:

...the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

As we see here, the true and blessed emotion of joy comes from the Holy Spirit and the more we actively engage Him in our lives, ever seeking His direction so to carry out the Lord’s will and way, conviction when we might be contemplating sin, and discernment and knowledge so to best understand the scriptures when we read them, the greater the magnitude of joy that we’ll experience. And this joy, the joy produced from the Holy Spirit, can be found by us even in times of hardship and difficulty as we saw in yesterday’s message.

And so as we navigate through this third week in Advent, a week centered on joy as we move ever nearer to the celebration of our Savior’s birth, let us all rejoice in the presence of the Holy Spirit within our hearts and souls as He works to generate a wellspring of delight and happiness that isn’t just fleeting but rather endures for all eternity.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: JOY EVEN IN HARD TIMES

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

James 1:2-3

“...the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Nehemiah 8:10b

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Joy.

It’s the main theme of this third week in the Advent season, a time when Christians excitedly anticipate the celebration of the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.

When we think about joy, we always get a vision of extreme happiness and bliss. We think of good times, past and present, that could involve family, friends, or accomplishments and blessings experienced.

Wouldn’t it be great if life was always this way?

Unfortunately, we know all too well it isn’t. Things aren’t always rainbows and unicorns all the time, as they say. Rather, we can face a multitude of hardship, difficulty, and affliction that sometimes comes suddenly, at times we least expect.

These events have a tendency to turn our content and peace upside down, often throwing us into uncertainty and turmoil. The sunshine that brought light to life all of a sudden gets covered over by the clouds of stress, depression, anxiety, and worry. Optimism gives way to gloom.

Maybe you’ve been there before and can relate to what I’m saying. Maybe you’re there right now on the cusp of Christmas and there doesn’t seem to be any joy in your world.

Indeed, it seems completely counterintuitive for us while in the flesh to even grasp the concept of being blessed with joy even in the midst of trials and tough circumstances but that’s exactly what we find the scriptures conveying to us in today’s two excerpts.

James, the half brother of Jesus, writes this:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3

Here we find that believers are to consider the trials of life to be “pure joy”.

"Huh? How could anyone possibly do that?” we might ask.

We see the answer is found in looking past the hardship and to the One who holds the power to handle it, delivering us in the process. You see, it’s easy to have faith in the Lord when everything is going great. The real testing of our faith is when ordeals happen in life that bring distress and even chaos into our solitude for it’s during this episodes that God seeks to refine our faith.

Consider how fine metals like gold and silver are purified. This is impossible in their solid, stable state. In order to start the purification process, the metal needs to be superheated to where it reaches a liquid state. Once there, the heavier impurities in the metal float to the surface and can be skimmed off. Then, the metal is poured back into forms where it cools and hardens, a better version of itself because of the purification it went through.

This is a perfect illustration of what the Lord wants to do when we are under the fires of tribulation in life. The times of misfortune superheat us and in that place, the Lord skims away any impurities that are within our faith, impurities that rise to the surface of our souls. Once He has brought us to the other side of our adversity and things cool down back towards stability, we are better and stronger as Christians because our faith has been tested and purified.

I don’t know what you might be going through today as you read this and I certainly don’t know what the future holds for you or me but I do know that things aren’t always going to be easy. During those times, let’s remember that we serve a Lord who transcends all worldly issues and sorrows, a Lord who we can find joy in, even in misfortune, because there’s nothing that is impossible for Him, nothing He isn’t capable of doing...and this includes helping us in our times of deepest needs.

When times get rough and troubles come, let’s embrace this reminder given to us by the Lord as He speaks through His servant leader, Nehemiah:

“...the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10b

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: JOY STIRS UP SONGS OF PRAISE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him. Praise the Lord with the harp; make music to Him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

Psalm 33:1-3

I will praise you with the harp for Your faithfulness, my God; I will sing praise to You with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to You—I whom You have delivered.

Psalm 71:22-23

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:44

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.

Psalm 95:1-2

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music; make music to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of singing, with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Psalm 98:4-6

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Where would we be without music in the world?

Have you ever stopped to consider it?

I don’t know about you but it would really subtract from life, especially as Christian believers as it is such an important element of every worship service.

As we see in our scripture passages today, this was also true back in biblical times and it should be of no surprise that we find so many wonderful references to song in the Book of Psalms. After all, psalms by definition are either songs or poems that are used to worship the one true God. What a blessing it is to have a whole book of these at our disposal in the Holy Bible!

Looking at five excerpts from the Psalms, look at how joy is a common theme, just as it is for this third week in the season of Advent as we excitedly anticipate the celebration of Jesus’ birth. Indeed, it is out of this happiness within our hearts in response to all the Lord has faithfully done, is doing, and is yet to do that we find a wellspring of thanksgiving, gratitude, and praise welling up from our hearts and souls, a wellspring needing expression through jubilant shouts and songs of joy...and we have the best outlet possible for both when we enter into worship. It was true in the Old and New Testaments and it remains true today.

As we see in the scriptures, these songs of joy can be brought to the Lord either instrumentally, through singing, or via a combination of the two. We read where joy-filled praise could be produced by skillfully playing the harp, the ten-stringed lyre, trumpets, and even a ram’s horn. It could also come from the lips of the righteous through declaration of joy and songs of gladness to the God who loves, provides, protects, delivers, and ultimately saves His people.

Today, we can see joy conveyed through songs played on keyboards, guitars, and drums in worship environments, usually accompanying worship leaders who lead the congregation in singing to the Lord who is the King and the Rock of salvation, the One through which eternal hope is found that makes any Christian believers glad for all their days, in this life and the heavenly one yet to come.

Thanks be to God for the gift of music we use to joyfully worship and adore Him, carrying on the traditions of His people well over 2,000 years ago. Let us always seek to lift up our voices and/or play our instruments to Him with thanksgiving and praise, not just on Sunday but every day that He blesses us to live and serve Him and others.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: OUR JOY IS THE LORD

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Psalm 43:4

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we enter the third week of the Advent season, a time when all Christian believers are to prepare their hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus, the Savior of the world.

As we learned at the start of the season, there are four weeks to Advent, each with their own theme. Week one was centered on hope and last week was fixed on the matter of peace with a seven message series associated with each. Today, we begin week three with a series on its theme: joy.

So where does the biblical discussion of joy begin?

It’s the same place that we started with hope and peace prior, the Lord Almighty, the One who is the source of all things.

Indeed, the joy of all believers is grounded in and anchored to the Lord. We see this evident in the words of the psalmist found in the forty-third Psalm, verse 4:

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Here we read wonderful words of devotion that are concentrated on worship so to extol God. The psalmist expresses a commitment to go to the altar of God so to praise Him because He, the Lord, was his (the psalmist’s) joy and delight.

Before I move on here, it’s important to visit the definition for joy, for then we can use that meaning to expound on the qualities of God that bring it (joy) to us. At its core, joy is simply a feeling of great happiness or pleasure and so in order to see how the Lord is our joy, we only need to understand what it is about Him that brings these things to us.

Now, I don’t know about you but I only need to go as far as giving thanks for waking up every morning to find reason to be happy and pleasured. For each time I awake from slumber, I am experiencing God’s grace and provision in its purest, simplest sense through recognizing and being grateful for the gift of life.

This present life is only happening because my heart beats and I am able to breathe in and exhale over and over and over again. This brings me joy in knowing that the very One who created me is the same One who sustains me so my body can function to carry out His purposes.

Friends, I could go on and on and on about things that make me happy, things that bring joy in my life like my mother, wife, daughters, grandchildren, my church and the extended family in Christ, the gifts God has given me to serve Him and others which include me composing this right now, my health, etc., etc, etc. Maybe you could make your own list but even though we might have difference things that bring joy the source of those things remains the same, the Lord Almighty.

Given this, my prayer over this third week of Advent is that you will fully experience the happiness and pleasure found in the One who made the way for Jesus, the real reason for the season. I could write my own wish of blessing on you but the Apostle Paul already wrote something better than I could do on my own so I’ll close with his words found in the fifteenth chapter of his letter to the Romans:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. v.13

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: GOD DEMANDS PEACE

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”

Matthew 9:50

“God has called us to live in peace.”

1 Corinthians 7:15b

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.”

2 Corinthians 13:11

“Live in peace with each other.”

1 Thessalonians 5:13b

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”

Colossians 3:15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Throughout this past week, we have been exploring the matter of peace, the main theme of the second week of the Advent season. We have discovered our sources of peace (God and His Son Jesus, the Prince of Peace), the amazing nature of peace that the Lord brings (peace beyond human comprehension), how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit produces a harvest of peace within, how peace brings gifts to the believer in and of itself, and how the Lord grants peace to us so we can bless others with it.

This all leads to today and the final message, one of critical importance because we need to know that when it comes to serving our Lord, sowing peace as believers isn’t optional for our God commands us to be a people of peace. We see this in five separate verses that form the foundational text for this truth:

“Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.” Matthew 9:50

“God has called us to live in peace.” 1 Corinthians 7:15b

“Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11

“Live in peace with each other.” 1 Thessalonians 5:13b

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.” Colossians 3:15

Note that there are two key peace callings we find from the Lord.

First, God demands that all Christian believers are to be at peace with one another. It’s a common thread we find through all these passages and yet, we find conflict and derision, and division happening all the time.

Can we see where this is happening in direct disobedience to the orders of the One who is the Head of the church?

Disagreements will happen. There’s no question on that but it’s how we handle the disagreements that makes all the difference in this matter. For when we do differ from one another on matters, we are to not resort to sinfulness but rather righteousness, working things out in love and gentleness and peace, all fruits produced that will be produced by the Holy Spirit if we only submit to His leading.  

This is aided exponentially by the other key calling we find in the scriptures from Paul’s letter to the Colossians. For it’s there that we find the command for Christians to allow the “peace of Christ rule” to “rule in (their) hearts”. Again, the Word of God isn’t recommending this. Rather, it’s a strict directive, one that believers are absolutely required to adhere to and obey without exception.

And why wouldn’t we want this? What true Christian wouldn’t want the peace of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to rule over their hearts?  

Friends, if we as believers would always seek to live our lives in a way that is Christ-like in every way, peace will come naturally and it won’t be any worldly manufactured peace we share with one another and those we seek to save. Rather, it will be the perfect peace found through the only perfect person who has walked this earth.

As we finish up this second week of Advent, moving ever closer to the birth of the Savior of the world, let us gladly receive His peace into our hearts and minds and souls, so much so that there is an overflow for us to extend to others.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

ADVENT SERIES: GOSPEL AND PEACE PROCLAIMING PEOPLE BLESS OTHERS

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation.

Isaiah 52:7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we come to the next to the last message on the theme of peace, the central focus of the second week of the Advent season. The text for today comes from the words of the prophet Isaiah, one of God’s greatest messengers of Old Testament times. In this verse from the fifty-second chapter, we find these opening words:

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news...”

The original foundation for these words came from when messengers would run from where a battle was taking place to convey the outcome to the king and his people but in this verse, they referred to the coming deliverance of the Israelite people from their Babylonian captivity, a deliverance orchestrated by the Lord that allowed them to return to their homeland in order to rebuild their cities, their homes, and their relationship with God.

This was truly good news for the people of God who had paid a heavy penalty for their covenant-breaking disobedience and blatant disrespect for the God who had brought them out of Egyptian slavery, leading them to a promised land that would be their own.

This verse also has further meaning in that it foreshadows the coming of Jesus, the Lamb of God who would serve as a substitutionary sacrifice so to purchase the pardon of sinners. Of course, this group includes all people (Romans 3:23) and so there has been, and still are a multitude of people who have received and hopefully will receive the beauty of someone willing to bring the ultimate good news to them, the good news of Jesus and the eternal life that is only found through Him.

Indeed, God has wrapped up the greatest good tidings one could hope for in His Son and everyone who believes in Him are called to tell others all about it with the goal of making disciples of all nations while helping them be baptized and obey all that Jesus has commanded. The Great Commission of Christ appoints every single person to be an evangelist (Matthew 28:18-20).

What happens when a believer embraces their calling to evangelize and bring good news and tidings to others about the salvation available to anyone if they would place their belief in Jesus as Savior?

They not only become a Gospel sharer but they proclaim and promote peace through their work.

You see, when a person sees themselves as a sinner destined for the judgment of Hell, a sinner who can’t find saving in themselves or anyone else, then they are in a place where they can easily realize the special gift of grace God extends to them through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, a special gift of grace that costs the sinner nothing except a willing submission and surrender to the ways and will of their Lord. And in gaining God’s sure promise of everlasting life, they also gain another important thing in this life: peace.

This is what the good news of salvation brings to every single believer, a peace that is beyond imagination or comprehension (Philippians 4:6-7), a peace that brings the guarantee that Heaven is ahead, a far better life than the one we endure here on earth.

Through Christ, death has lost its sting and the believer’s future is secure. Hell with its eternal torment, damnation, and suffering is no longer in play.

Friends, every Christian believer that is still alive has yet to live the best life ever, a life that will be free from pain and hardship and heartbreak and sin. Despite our physical and mental condition at the time we draw our last breath, the Lord will make us new and usher us into His Kingdom where we will dwell with Him in a spirit of love, worship, and yes, peace.

Until then, let’s all do everything we can every day to be the beautiful feet of Jesus as we proclaim the good news and tidings of God’s gift of salvation, not just proclaiming the Gospel but the wonderful peace that accompanies it, a message that serves to be a blessing to all we share it with.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.