Daily Wisdom

 Joh 14:27 ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you…’

Jesus the night before His suffering makes an amazing statement, 'Peace I leave you.' This is what Jesus is aiming at, again just before His suffers, I want you to have “My” peace. Which brings about ‘Joy’ (vs 28) and an unshakable faith (vs 29); not from what the world gives, but only what Jesus has to offer. Jesus enduring the cross offers to bring you into and share in the very peace that He enjoys with the Father. The gospel of Jesus is peace personified and yours to have. 

Peace is a promise, not a place determined by our circumstance; it's provided only by the cross… HSAY

Daily Wisdom

“Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy…” 2 Cor 1:24

Such a simple statement is extracted from (vs 24) that can bear great weight on one’s spiritual health.  Paul’s letter to Corinth was for the purpose to build up and not for tearing down, “…the Lord hath given me to edification and not to destruction” (2 Cor 13:10). 

So, the question presents itself, do we offer value to the ministry of the Gospel and the “Joy” of one’s faith?  We have no ability or power to command faith, nor can we add to another’s faith, but, we can add value through what is contained in the scriptures. 

Paul refers to “joy” (5) times in 2 Cor.  Joy is the result of grace which is wrought in the soul by which Christ is the object. It’s the by-product of faith, and as one’s faith grows so does one’s joy. 

Yet it is often interrupted by the corruptions of the heart and temptations of this world, leaving the soul feeling unloved, discouraged and hopeless.  Such state of the soul drove Paul’s purpose, as should it ours, is to edify and add value by building-up one’s spirit in Christ. Making ourselves instruments and means by which the Spirit of God can be manifested in other’s hearts.

Our value to others comes when we tell our story not so that we get the glory, but so others may know the joy of the Lord.

This world is full of Joy, if you can’t find it offer it!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

Psa 118:24 “This is the day the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

Joy is not in things, it is in us… “If you have no joy there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.”

Our ability to find joy in every day is not because life is good, but because God is. And nor is joy in the absence of suffering, but in the presence of God and knowing that suffering produces endurance (Rom 5:3).

The source of our joy should be situated in our salvation (Psa 51:12 “Restore unto me they joy of thy salvation”), thus making it a privilege and duty to “rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice“(Phl 4:4)

Joy is in the journey that leads us to the end of ourselves and into the beginning of God!

HSAY… Todd

Daily Wisdom

Jere 32:41 “Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.”

With our endless failures in view, it is such spectacularly good news that God himself is utterly committed to our everlasting joy in him. God is righteous, and thus not indifferent to his glory. And by way of our salvation in Christ, God is not indifferent to our joy. In Christ, not only is God no longer against us in omnipotent wrath, but now he is for us – and our deep and enduring joy in him. Yet, in this fallen world we are fundamentally unhappy and prone to bouts with unhappiness. We are made “happy” by possessions and participation. Whereas, God is happy or better said, joyful by his essence: he is not joyful by acquisition or participation of something else, but by his essence. Don’t fall entrapped in thinking “God will finally be happy with me when X, Y and Z all goes his way.” God’s joyfulness is not based on our accomplishment, but rather his essence. Zeph 3:17 “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” God is so “JOYOUS” that he finds joy even in us! Let that land for a moment. God’s song of joy over his children is not merely the sum of the joy we cause or attract from him, it’s his abundant joy that exponentially expresses itself over us! Unfortunately, if we miss this we miss our needed strength (Neh 8:10). Joy is not the icing on the cake of a dutiful Christian life, but an essential ingredient in the batter itself.  And no matter how the cake appears at times or even may taste, there is a deep reservoir of God’s joy that runs through it.

Joy is the fitting response in the receiver to the goodness of Giver.

HSAY… Todd 

Daily Wisdom

Jos 7:10 “And the Lord said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?”

Often and easily we can find ourselves like Joshua after his men were defeated by Ai, face down ready to give up. But Israel’s problem wasn’t their enemy, it was their own heart and the sin they let permeate within that was their obstacle. Yet, God’s response is one of encouragement not condemnation; (vs 13) “Up, sanctify yourselves” To make things right again, is to simply get things right with your heart before God. It starts with wanting what is right, and humble yourselves spiritually. We can’t pray for our situation to change, and be unwilling to sanctify (set apart) our heart towards God’s will. Like Israel, we all make mistakes (sin), struggle, and even have regret. But don’t allow satan to define you by such and drive us to the ground. God’s Word is a promise of restoration, healing and love. We must be willing to get up, look up, and never give up in that promise. Our ability to overcome our past is not in our power, but His promises and our humility… “I Can” is far more important than “IQ.”  Man is not made to mourn, he was created to rejoice in the Lord’s love. The worlds view calls one to reflect on life’s past performance, and look for the coming sorrow. God’s promises empower the believer to “Arise and Shine” (Isa 60:1) even during sorrow, foreseeing the promise victory coming through Jesus. Don’t live in the shadows of yesterday, walk in the light of today and its promised hope of tomorrow. Don’t dwell on the battles lost in life, nobody is undefeated, focus on the promised victory that no matter what satan wages against you, the war has already been won!

It’s not happy people who are thankful, its thankful people who are happy!

HSAY… Todd

Daily Wisdom

Psa 16:11 “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy, at they right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”

The greatest gift one can obtain is the joy of God’s presence, that in it our pleasures exist. Therefore, one’s heart is to be glad, and his soul to rejoice that the flesh can rest in such promised hope (vs 9). That gift is granted through Christ and the cross, and by one’s acceptance he is engifted the presence of the Holy Spirit of God that dwells within. This Psalm was quoted three times in the N.T. by Peter and Paul speaking of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 2:25-28; 2:31; 13:35-37) and our eternal hope. Jesus himself acknowledges the only “Joy” is in the Father’s presence, and prayed for the Father to fill his human nature with His “fulness of joy”: (Jn 17:5 “And now O Father, glorify thou unto me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was,”) Jesus understood and longed for the only true joy that exist, the presence of God!

Find God’s purpose and you’ll find the “path of life”, and with it the pleasure of God’s presence.

HSAY… Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor on that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Isa 55:2

Finally, something fattening that is good to delight in and good for you at the same time!  Isaiah warns us about laboring to spend money on that which is not bread (life… Jn 6:35) or satisfies the soul. While a man must work to live, he shouldn’t live to work for worthless gain. One will never find more than temporary happiness in worldly things. One toils, and expend the avails of their labor for that which does not produce satisfaction. What a striking description of the condition of the world! The immortal mind will not be satisfied with wealth, pleasure, or honor. It never has been. Where is the man who is satisfied with his wealth, and say, it’s enough? Where is there one who is satisfied with pleasure, and vanity? There is a void in the heart which these things do not, cannot fill. There is a consciousness that the soul was made for higher and nobler purposes, and that nothing but God can meet its boundless desires.  Where is the man who has ever been satisfied with ambition? Alexander wept on the throne of the world!  But, Isaiah does say eat, consume.  They were invited to partake of that which would nourish the appetite of the soul that sustains it with joy. Fatness in the scriptures is used to denote the richest food (Gen 27:28-39; Job 36:36; Psa 65:11) and is an emblem of the richness, blessings resulting from the favor of God “My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.” Psa 63:5

The only one who can fill the human heart, is the one who created it!

HSAY … Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Thus Saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed.” Isa 56:1

Be thankful the Lord is not a respecter person, and the opportunity of blessings (vs 2), inheritance (vs 5) and joy (vs 7) is free to anyone who holds to the Lord’s judgment and justice. These matters of equity God calls us to by way of his word. John the Baptist made a similar declaration announcing the coming of the Messiah: ‘Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’ (Mat 3:2). The Lord is going to judge according to his righteousness and bring forth the revelation of our life according to it. As fair as it is, we don’t get to compare our list of righteousness to his, according to  (Jn 7:24) judgment can only be done by a right judge.   Pro 21:3 “To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.”  Judgment and justice are the moral obligation of one’s faith, doing what is holy, just and good according to his word; both in piety towards God and justice to man. These matters are more important to God than ceremonial sacrifice. Furthermore, let no religious act be done without faith and in hypocrisy… to cover and countenance immoral actions. Instead let justice flow like a river, and righteousness like a never-ending stream (Amos 5:24).   

Judgment and justice comes not by a worldly jury, but by a righteous  judge.

HSAY… Todd

Daily Wisdom

“ARISE, SHINE; for thy light is come, and glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.” Isa 60:1

Isaiah’s reference to the light was a vision of Christ and the gospel (Isa 58:8; 10 & 9:2); that delivers a soul from its darkness. Isaiah’s encouragement is just as called for today and even more so with the fulfillment of Christ. Man was not made to mourn; he was made to rejoice in the Lord. The worlds view calls one to sit in the midst of life’s joys, looking for the coming sorrow; Christianity empowers the believer to arise and shine in the midst of the world’s sorrows, foreseeing the coming joy.  Understand that happiness is not found in perfection, but in the ability to look beyond the imperfections. Don’t live in the shadows of yesterday, walk in the light of today and its promised hope of tomorrow; not for the purpose of everyone hearing you say you’re a Christian, but rather for everyone to see Christ SHINE in you.

It’s not happy people who are thankful, its thankful people who are happy!

HSAY… Todd

Daily Wisdom

“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” 1 Jn 1:5

Darkness in itself does not exist; only by the absence of light do you find darkness.  In a comparative manner doubt is the absence of hope; anger is the absence of joy; jealously is the absence of contentment; selfishness is the absence of love; hate is the absence of peace and fear is the absence of faith. The absence which is missing is fellowship with God (vss 6 & 7). The word fellowship means participation, without such we are left with self reliance when it comes to light, hope, joy, love, peace and faith.  Darkness encroaches when we are left without the light we need to see His righteousness; yet in the darkest moments in life you can still have great vision if you’re participating in it with Christ. Darkness will always try to cast its shadow over you; its ability to hinder your strength will depend on your fellowship/participation with Christ… “I am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 

Darkness has never prevailed over light, only our lack of participation has allowed darkness to prevail over us!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“…And all the people shouted with a great shout, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many priests and Levites, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice…” Ezra 3:12-13 (excerpts)

The cares of comparison… the flower doesn’t think to compare itself to the flower beside it, it just blooms where it’s planted. For the older Jewish leaders, they were more focused on Solomon’s original temple than they were the re-built temple; causing them to weep, comparison robs you of your joy, amongst the shouts of praise (vs 11). Comparison will consistently cloud the clarity of God’s purpose and puts you in a constant state of change in trying to keep up with the crowd; though you change a thousand times, HE has not changed once. Comparing oneself to what lies behind or to who lies before are meaningless compared to what lies within you.  Rather be consumed with the creator of all things instead of comparing yourself to the things HE created. Your worth is not valued in comparison, but in your worth to God; that makes you priceless in comparison!

Before you compare understand the character of that in which you are looking at; if less than Christ, why compare?

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Neh 8:10

If you expect the world to be fair with you because you are fair, you’re fooling yourself.  That’s like expecting a lion not to eat you because you didn’t eat him.  Your joy and peace in life will never accurately be determined by what’s happening around you, but rather what’s happening inside of you.  Unfortunately too many depend on happenings in life for their joy, but the truth is joy originates from within the soul and manifest itself on life around them.  Don’t let your focus be on how good or bad you feel life is; wake up each day thankful for the blessing of life itself, knowing someone else is desperately fighting for theirs.  Life becomes joyful for those who find their joy in the strength of the God, no matter what’s happening around them. Billy Sunday said: If you have no joy, there’s a leak in your Christianity somewhere.”  It’s not found in the absence of suffering, but in the presence of God.  Don’t sit and what for joy to arrive; you must choose joy and keep choosing it everyday, that’s where your strength is.

One who has a heart full of thankfulness will have a soul full of joy!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy; for by faith ye stand.” 2 Cor 1:24

Nothing renders God’s promises more certain, nor does anything have dominion over the gift of Jesus. Paul hesitated in returning to Corinth and reoffering the same answer (Jesus) to a new problem; and wrote instead to encourage them that their need of joy started in Jesus (salvation) and will always remain in Him. What you began in faith and the joys that grow from it cannot be maintained in you, but only through Jesus (Gal 3:1).  Endurance is not a means, but a by-product of your faith through a devoted life. In Mt 10, Jesus foretold His followers they would have to endure persecutions, but their hope is eternal knowing they are heirs to His kingdom. Believe the promises of God enough to venture an eternity on them. Nothing great was ever achieved without great enduring.

Faith in Jesus alone gets you to heaven; endurance helps you to find the joy in the journey.

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“…in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psa 16:11

Both Peter and Paul referenced this psalm three times in Acts speaking to Christ resurrection. This psalm is titled Michtam of David, and is titled on five psalms; it’s translated "stelography" in the Septuagint, meaning an inscription upon a pillar; such as is erected by conquerors declaring a victory obtained; suggesting that the psalm, or the subject of it, the death and resurrection of Christ, was worthy of David’s attention and to be inscribed on a pillar of marble declaring great joy of victory in Christ.  Joy is not obtained through absence of hardship; but rather in the presence of Christ to endure it; that’s the joy that builds strength in your life (Neh 8:10). A soul filled with joy will preach the loudest without ever preaching.

Joy is what comes alive in ones spirit when they find their greatest gift is in the presence of Christ in their life.

HSAY…Todd   

Daily Wisdom

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.”  Heb 10:35

The value man sees in you is often based on past performance; God’s plan is not based on your past, but on His promises for your future.  David had no armor, no experience, he wasn’t battle-tested, nor was he trained.  But, what David did possess, as did Goliath, was confidence, but the difference was David relied on God and not his own strength or the opinions of others.  The answer to joy, strength and hope is to make them dependent on that which can never be taking away.  Such comes in knowing that which is behind you as well as that which is before you is little in comparison to who dwells within you. 

“Dusty bibles often lead to dirty lives.”

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“And the Angel of the Lord spake unto Phillip, saying, arise and go toward the South…And he arose and went…” Acts 8:26 & 27

It’s said, if you don’t change your direction, you may end up where you’re headed.  Fear and faith is the same thing, they both cause you to act, the difference is that fear is faith in the wrong direction.  Phillip left an active ministry taking place in Samaria to venture alone all for one Ethiopian man, that’s fear acting in faith in the right direction. Remember, what we see depends on what we look for; Phillip saw the Ethiopian, not the fear of the journey.  The joy and peace of the Lord is in the direction you travel, not a location you find.  Don’t complain about the winds God sends your way, and don’t just sit there till they change, but instead adjust your sails and enjoy the journey in finding others along the way.

Don’t measure the success of a man by where he stands, but rather by the direction he’s heading.

HSAY…Todd  

Today's Daily Wisdom

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”  2 Cor 11:3

It was not the outer grandeur of the Roman’s, but the inner simplicity of the gospel in Christ that has lived through the ages.  The essence of life is not defined by great victories or grand failures, but in the simple joys of the Lord. We must learn from Eve not to let our minds be beguiled (seduced wholly) thus corrupted from the simplicity of Christ.  Paul himself, educated, was determined not to know anything, save Jesus Christ and His crucifixion (1 Cor 2:1-2).  Paul did not mean that they we're in danger of being corrupted in the same way as Eve, but that similar efforts would be made to entrap and complicate our minds. Satan adapts his temptations to the character and circumstances of the tempted. The word subtlety implies that shrewdness, cunning, craft was employed.  Mastery of the simple things in Christ keeps the mind from wondering into tiring corruption in the world.  Simplicity is about subtracting the meaningless and adding the meaningful.

Life is amazingly good when it’s simple and amazingly simple when it’s good.

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy…” 2 Cor 1:24

Such a simple statement is extracted from (vs 24) that can bear great weight on one’s spiritual health.  Paul’s letter to Corinth was for the purpose to build up and not for tearing down, “Therefore I write these things…the Lord hath given me to edification and not to destruction” (13:10).  So the question presents itself, are you a “Help or a Hindrance” to the ministry of the Gospel and one’s faith?  We have no ability or power to command faith, nor can we add to another’s faith, we do not have dominion over doctrine, but only to share what is contained in the scriptures.  We see Paul refer to “joy” (26) times in his epistles, and (5) times in 2 Corinthians particularly.  Joy is the grace which is wrought in the soul by the Spirit of God, of which Christ is the object; it is the by-product of faith, and as one’s faith grows, so does one’s joy.  Yet it is often interrupted by the corruptions of the heart and temptations of this world, leaving the soul feeling unloved, discouraged and hopeless.  Such state of the soul drove Paul’s purpose, as should it ours, to edify and build-up one’s spirit in Christ. Making ourselves instruments and means by which the Spirit of God can be manifested in other’s hearts in a way that through faith other’s see the joy of the Lord. Helping should not be seen as a choice, but rather a purpose of joy to others. Again, are you a “Helper or a Hindrance” to the Joy of the Lord?

Never look down on someone else unless you’re helping them up.   

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Hast thou found honey? eat so much as is sufficient for thee, lest thou be filled therewith, and vomit it.” Pro 25:16

Gluttony, the permeating sin within the church; no I’m talking about an excess weight or binge-full meals at Sunday lunches.  Gluttony is not merely an addiction to food, if you look at the original definition and context, gluttony lands closer to home/church than we prefer.  Simply stated, gluttony is consumption of excess, occurring when desire overrules need. In America there has always been a desire to upgrade, yet over the last 10-20 yrs. it appears consumption is the driving force in society. The problem is desire for excess stems from a lack of satisfaction. Not content with my portion in life – be it the diner plate, marriage bed or bank accounts. And because every portion is only a finite of the whole, it’s constantly chasing an unquenchable thirst. Picture the Grand Canyon as your soul, if you try filling it with houses, cars, money, relationships, trips, etc. good luck.  In Genesis 3 we see the onset of excess in the Garden of Eden.  What was provided and offered was not enough.  God provided beauty, health, relationship and the absence of shame, guilt and sin, and it was not enough.  So they break their relationship, charge their health and encounter shame, guilt and sin, nice trade. The desire for more is not inherently bad, it’s just misdirected today.  We are losing our desire for a ravenous, relentless appetite for the Divine. Our souls (Grand Canyon) only chance is found in the goodness and presence of an all-glorious God.  There is a great and powerful effect that takes place when we taste and consume the goodness of God, the more we consume the more we acquire the desire for it.  Psa 34: 8 “O taste and see that the Lord is good…”  Unfortunately too many Christians today are more interested in quenching their thirst at a church coffee bar rather than a church pew.  God has ordained that His goodness can be tasted and seen; meaning every finite satisfaction and pleasure should point us to the infinite satisfaction and joy of God.

Is desire for excess sinful? It depends if the soul is addicted to a finite excess or an infinite excess!

HSAY…Todd

Daily Wisdom

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall obtain mercy.” Mt 5:8

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus challenges us to be pure of heart.  To a great extent, having a pure heart is wrecked by man’s immorality, causing us to live spiritually impotent lives blocking our vision and understanding to the will of God.  Such depravity provides many with no inkling or understanding of ever seeing the love of Christ. But, Jesus encourages us with the Beatitudes; which offers eternal blissfulness and can be understood in at least three ways: (1) They are a code of moral/ethics for all believers. (2) They contrast Kingdom values (eternal) with worldly values (temporal). (3) They contrast the superficial "faith" of the Pharisees with the real faith that Christ demands.  The beatitudes illustrate the blessing by God. They don't promise laughter, pleasure, or earthly prosperity; being "blessed" by God means the experience of hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances.  Blessing of a pure heart – are those, whose minds, motives, and principles are pure in desire; who seek not only to have their external actions correct, but who desire to be holy in heart, by desiring what is right. Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart (1 Sam 16:7).

HSAY…Todd