jeffmcl

The basis of Christian joy is our Salvation; it is the hope that lies deep within us that is grounded in the truth of God's Word and His holiness, His character and His trustworthiness. It is differentiated from the human emotion popularly thought of as "joy" because it is not dependent upon external circumstances. So, in that sense, it is not what I think of as "essentially emotional." When we talk about "the pursuit of happiness" it calls to mind a superficial emotion which is a reflection of a temporary, existential experience, whereas Peter's kind of joy is grounded on two substantive, historical facts: Christ's atoning work on the cross and his resurrection. One realizes he has this kind of joy when he finds trials and suffering do not rob him of it.

He used business failures and marital and family difficulties to awaken me to my sad state and my need for Him to take control of my life. That resulted in a sincere commitment to follow and serve Him. He healed my marriage and gave me the most wonderful family! I now strive to serve Him and give Him glory through service in ministry and in everything that I do.

God's part in securing my salvation, according to Peter, is to continue exercising His soverignty and limitless power in faithfully shielding me from the evil one until the Consumation. My part is to continue trusting in Him whose Word proves He has always been faithful to keep His promises.

God knows our heart and discerns true sincerity in our obedience that springs from a pure motive of love and a contrite heart. Accordingly, He extends forgiveness, but our obedience is not the means by which we merit forgiveness. Rather, our obedience is the product of a forgiven sinner whos "works" are done as a result of the change in him thrhough an act of God's grace and out of gratitutde for the miracle of Salvation. As to the question of salvation by grace rather than works, it is apparent from Paul's words to the Ephesians that if our works were the basis for our Salvation, we would only boast about it, robbing God of His rightful glory!

Someone has described the person who identifies more with his present homeland than his heavenly one as someone who "has stayed too long at the fair." We can easily fall prey to the siren call of this world and lose our heavenly perspective, so we must constantly be on guard against the worldly enticements that want to enslave us. I have not only been caught doing this, I used to be fully immersed in the world to the total exclusion of thoughts of a heavenly home. Unfortunately, sometimes God allows us to suffer the consequences of our poor choices and wrong priorities. He does this because He loves us. If He is merciful, we eventually awaken to the truths in His Word for our lives and learn to listen to His written instructions and the guidance of His Spirit.

If we worked for a large, international corporation and we learned the CEO/President was coming to our local office for a visit, how excited would we be??? How much work would we do to make sure everything was in order and ready for his inspection? I actually experienced this early in my secular career. If that is true about this (temporal) aspect of our life, how much more should our Lord's return get our undivided attention? The absolute certainty of his return, as provided for in Scripture and attested to by God's faithfulness throughout human history, evokes a hope in us that stands in stark contrast to the bleak world around us. This world offers no real hope because, as His Word tells us, it will be destroyed in the Consumation. If the above is true, therefore, our response should be to live lives that are self-controlled and consistent with the Bible's commands for living righteously. We should exhibit outward behavior that is consistent with what we believe is true in our minds and hearts. Since he is coming again, I should WANT to keep my house in order and ready for his inspection. When I lose sight of this reality, or lose my sense of anticipation about his coming, I allow myself to become enthralled with the things of this world and I find myself moving away from God. The consequences of loss of fellowship with Him are never good.

I am 62 and a "re-tread" from the secular world who entered the ministry four years ago and began preparation for fulltime vocational ministry by attending seminary, while working as a part-time staff member at my home (Southern Baptist) church in southern Oklahoma. I recently received my Masters of Divinity and am continuing to serve as a part-time, associate pastor while awaiting God's next step for me. In the meantime, I wish to continue in a structured, systematic, exegetical study of God's Word in an effort to understand His message to us. I am looking forward to this study.