Love the Lord

Deuteronomy 6:5- “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.”

"I do love God," said a little girl to her papa one day when he had been talking to her about loving God. "Perhaps you think so, Maria." "Oh, I do, indeed I do, Papa!" "Suppose, my child, you should come to me and say, 'Dear Papa, I do love you,' and then go away and disobey me? Could I believe you?" "No, Papa." "Well, dear, how can I believe you love God when I see you every day doing those things which He forbids? You know, the Bible says, 'If ye love me, keep my commandments.'"

How many of us fail to show our love for God because we do not keep His commandments?He tells us to love Him with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our might. The best proof of this love is to obey His commands, one of which is to love Him. The Psalms also speak much of loving God. Psalm 31:23 instructs, “Love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” And Psalm 145:20, “The Lord preserveth all them that love him.”

This command is so important that Christ reinforces it in each of the first three gospels when the lawyer came to Him and asked Him which was the greatest commandment. In Matthew 22:37-38, Christ responds, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.” In John 14:15, He adds, “If ye love me, keep my commandments,” and in John 14:21, “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me.”

The Apostle John takes it a step further in 1 John 2:5, “But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected.” Here’s that perfect love that “casteth out fear” of 1 John 4:18. Two verses prior, John says, “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Love the LORD

Love the LORD with all thine heart Is what the Word commands.

Give to Him the praise that’s due With all that’s in thy hands.

Show to Him a heart that’s full Of love so strong and sure

By living here a holy life That’s right and clean and pure.

Love the LORD with all thy soul – To Him above give praise.

Extol Him for His mercies fine, And love Him all thy days.

Give Him thanks for all He’s done – With all thy soul do tell –

Exalt Him over all the world For saving thee from hell.

Love the LORD with all thy might, Yet not thy strength alone.

Put on the righteousness of Christ, And stand before His throne.

For in the strength of His Dear Son, We’ll worship Him above,

And give to Him the proper praise With heart so full of love.

© 2006 Paul Stultz

Quote – “God is love. If love is absent, God is absent.” - Unknown

Harvest Aplenty

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 – “To every thing there is a season, … a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”

Summer’s gone – fall is here. Traditionally the fall of the year is considered the time of harvest. It’s time to harvest that crop which was planted in the summer months. To the child of God, harvest represents something else.

Whether we look to God for His harvest or to ourselves – within ourselves – the harvest most assuredly will come. We see that God provides a time of harvest – physical harvest. Look at Genesis 8:22 – “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest … shall not cease.” The Bible often speaks of the former rains and the latter rains and the time of planting and the time of harvest. Though the earth has been marred by the sin of man, God has promised “seedtime and harvest” in this physical earth.

But the Bible also speaks of a spiritual harvest. Galatians 6:7-9 tells us, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Sin will always produce a harvest – a harvest of corruption – and the harvest of sin will produce an end that will not be pleasing.

But the Gospel will also produce a harvest – a harvest of everlasting life. In John 4:35, Christ tells his disciples, “Lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.” He was telling them that the time to harvest the souls of precious men had come. It was time to get busy and spread the Gospel of salvation, as He had just done with the woman at the well. He had told her of the great Gospel of Christ and she had been born again – and not only her, but she had told everyone she met and had brought many others to Christ.

The time is now – for the harvest of judgment is nigh at hand. Matthew 13:39 tells us, "The harvest is the end of the age." And the end of the age is close – one day soon Christ will return to take us home to be with Him, and then it will be too late to spread the Gospel. So “Now is the accepted time; … now is the day of salvation.” Spread the “good news” of the Gospel now, while men can still be reached. Let us follow the example that Christ set for us as He told the Samaritan woman of God’s salvation. Let us tell it far and near and bring in that harvest.

The harvest dawn is near,

The year delays not long;

And he who sows with many a tear

Shall reap with many a song.

Sad to his toil he goes,

His seed with weeping leaves;

But he shall come at twilight's close,

And bring his golden sheaves.

--Burgess

Quote – “The world is full of proofs of his goodness. Every rising sun, every falling shower, every revolving season certifies his faithfulness.” – C. H. Spurgeon

The Way

John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

I recently heard a radio preacher expounding this verse. He said he was once out in a rural area looking for someone’s home. He wasn’t having any luck finding the place on his own, so he did the unthinkable and stopped at a store and asked directions of a customer coming out the door. “Well,” began the customer, “You go up here to the third road and take a right. Then you go to the seventh mailbox and take a left. Cross three branches and look to your right for a herd of cows – right across from those cows you take another left. Go three gravel roads, not dirt now, and take another left. The house you want will be the fourth house on the right. You got that now?” The radio preacher asked his audience if they had ever experienced directions like that that totally befuddle you as you try to keep them straight in your head. He continued his story saying that he responded that he didn’t know if he could keep all that straight or not. “Well,” the kind-hearted stranger replied, “I’m going that way just follow me.” The preacher then drove his point home to the congregation by asking, “Now, would you prefer to follow directions about the way or would you prefer to follow the way? That stranger became the way for me, and it was surely a lot easier to follow the way than to try to keep straight his directions about the way.”

And that’s what Christ is to us. He is the Way! There is no other way. All roads may lead to Rome, but all roads do not lead to heaven – as some religionists would have you believe. There’s no alternate avenue – Christ says, “It’s my way or the highway.” Matthew 7:13-14 gives us this instruction, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” His is a narrow way – His is a hard way – His is an unpopular way – BUT His is the only way! Any other way leads only to destruction in the pits of hell.

Man, in his egotism and rebellion, has devised many other ways. Humanism, pragmatism, philosophy, religion – they are all man’s inventions to try to make his own way to heaven – they have “hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water (Je 2:13) – they have become “thieves and robbers (Jn 10:8)” who try to steal their way into the way. John Bunyan spoke of these who tried to climb over the wall into the way in his Pilgrim’s Progress. The wise man of the Bible says in Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” God must have considered this verse extremely important as He repeats it almost word for word in Proverbs 16:25. John 10:1 tells us, “He that … climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.” Man must give up his puny attempts to find another way and come God’s way – through the Lord Jesus Christ.

And in Proverbs 22:6, God instructs us to “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” So we are not only to walk in the way ourselves, but we are to educate our children in the way. We are to teach them from birth about the Lord Jesus Christ and His commands to us. We are to teach them to “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths (Pr 3:5-6).” This promise is made to us – if we’ll teach our children about The Way – guide them in The Way – teach them to follow The Way – then He will keep them in The Way.

Quote - "The grace of God hath power to bring salvation to all men," and if a man is unsaved it is because he wants to work it out; he wants to receive salvation in some other way than God's way; but we are told that "he that climbeth up another way, the same is a thief and a robber." – D. L. Moody

Safety in the Cross

Galatians 6:14 – “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”

D. L. Moody once asked, “When men see that a prairie fire is coming, what do they do? Not the fleetest horse can escape it. They just take a match and light the grass around them. They take their stand in the burnt district, and are safe. They hear the flames roar as they come along, but they do not fear. They do not even tremble as the ocean of flames surges around them, for over the place where stand the fire has already passed and there is no danger. And there is one spot on earth that God has swept over. Nineteen hundred years ago the storm burst on Calvary, and the Son of God took it into his open bosom; and now, if we take our stand by the open cross, we are safe for time and eternity.”

Wherein do we have to boast? In what worldly place do we find safety? In what earthly thing can we glory? There is none – no hope of salvation – no wisdom of this world – nothing in which we can put our trust. For the world is in just as bad shape as we are – there is no hope. So along with the Apostle Paul and the great Chicago preacher, D.L. Moody, we have to doff our caps to the one and only hope we have – the only thing wherewith we have to glory – the cross of Christ. For without the cross of Christ, we are yet in our sins – without the cross of Christ, we are of all men most miserable – without the cross of Christ, we are lost, destined for a devil’s hell. Therein is salvation – therein is hope – therein is safety. If we will put our trust in Christ’s finished work on Calvary, we can find safety from the eternal wrath of God.

The cross is our beacon in a treacherous world. Just as the lighthouse on the rocky crags of the ocean cliffs guides wayward ships through the dangerous shoals, so the cross of Christ guides us to safe harbor in Him. How many shipwrecks we see – those who have scuttled on the rocks – with no hope of salvation. Fanny Crosby wrote that wonderful hymn, “Rescue the perishing; care for the dying. Jesus is merciful; Jesus will save!” If we’ll look to the cross, we’ll see the way. There’s safety in the cross.

The cross is our healing in a sin-cursed world. Christ told Nicodemus in John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up.” And just as those who looked to the serpent as God instructed were healed of their snakebites, so everyone that looks to the cross is healed of the curse of sin on his life. How many have looked to their own way – rejecting the way of the cross – with no hope of healing. But if we’ll look to the cross we find the cure. There’s safety in the cross.

The cross is our banner in an unforgiving world. Where but Christ can we find such an ensign? Song of Solomon 2:4 says, “His banner over me was love.” The love of Christ, so purely expressed in the cross, is disseminated to the hearts of all men. The choice of accepting or rejecting this love is squarely on the shoulders of every man. If you reject the love of Christ, so generously offered, the only recourse is damnation. Look to the cross – accept his loving forgiveness – “Look and Live.” There’s safety in the cross.

Now the world won’t accept it, “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God (1 Co 1:18).” No the world won’t accept it – to them it’s foolishness. But to us it is the power of God. There’s safety in the cross.

Quote – “A bloodless gospel is the gospel of the devil.” – Dr. Ian Paisley

Whosoever Will

Revelation 22:17 – “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”


While preaching on this verse, the great evangelist Sam Jones related this story: That reminds me of the penitent down in Georgia at the altar. He was agonizing, praying. The preacher went up to him, trying to encourage him, and, "Well," he said, "I am not one of the elect, I am one of the reprobates; I feel it all over." And I don’t reckon a poor soul ever did try to seek God that the devil didn’t slip up with something of that sort. "You are one of the reprobates; God never died to save you." And there he was in agony, and the preacher said to him, "Well, my brother, listen to me a minute. Now," said he, "if you could see your name, James B. Green, written upon the Lambs book this minute, would you believe then Christ died for you and you were one of the elect?" The poor fellow thought a moment and he said, "No, sir. There are other people in this world of my name." "Well," said the preacher, "if you could see it, James B. Green, Scriven County, Ga., would you believe it was you then?" “Well," he says, "there may have been other people of my name in this county before I was born. I don’t know." "Well," said he, "if you could see it, James B. Green, Scriven County, Ga., and the year 1867, would you believe it was you?" "Well," he said, "it may be there is somebody in this county now of my name." "Well," said he, "if you could see it, James B. Green of Scriven County, and the Nineteenth District and the year '67, would you believe it was you?" "Well," he says, "I could not know definitely." "Now," said he, "my friend, God Almighty saw all that trouble and he just put it into one word and he said: 'Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." And the poor fellow jumped up and clapped his hands and said, "Thank God! I know that means me."

Sam Jones continued: Thank God, it is "whosoever will." If you will, God will; and I say tonight God don’t say "whosoever feels," or whosoever says this or that or the other, but he throws it all on your will as a man, and says: "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." And I like the conclusion: "Let him take the water of life freely." Blessed be God, ye thirsty men can drink, and there is enough for to-day, enough for all of us, enough forever and evermore. Come and drink freely.

Whosoever

Whosoever loves the Lord – That included me –
Whosoever trusts His Word, Him He maketh free.
Whosoever doth believe That Jesus is the Christ,
Whosoever wilt receive, God gives eternal life.

Whosoever knoweth Him Knows that He is love.
Whosoever turns from sin Finds a home above.
Whosoever will repent, Leaving worldly fare,
Whosoever quits his bent Finds wherewith to care.

Whosoever learns to love Those around about,
Whosoever’s born above Shows what love’s about.
Whosoever trusts His Word, Him He maketh free.
Whosoever loves the Lord, That included me.
© 2006 Paul Stultz

Quote – “Blessed be God! It is for all of us. It is for all of us.” – Sam Jones

What is Salvation?

Luke 19:10 – “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

A young girl in Scotland once described salvation this way: “Oh, sir, I cannot explain it, but I know it. It seems to me it is like the washing of the sheep in yonder brook. We take them into the flowing stream and hold them there till all the dirt has been cleansed from the wool. We cannot tell where the water comes from or where it goes, but we know that the fleece is cleansed. I can’t explain it, but I know the blood of Jesus cleanseth me from all sin.”

To describe salvation – there aren’t enough words – the words we do have can’t be put together in such a way – if we could put them together, we could not even touch the wonder of it – to describe salvation. Some try to say that it is merely a reformation – turning over a new leaf – making a conscious decision to do better – making a New Year’s resolution. But reformation is not salvation – a man cannot plumb the depths of his soul enough, reach the heights of heaven enough, or scrape the pit of hell enough to change sufficiently to meet God’s demands. Some try to say it is confirmation – make a head decision – shake a preacher’s hand – sign a decision card. But confirmation is not salvation – religion tells you that when you reach a certain age you can be confirmed into religion as a means of grace – but there is nothing magic about that age, and besides that the church cannot save you. Some try to say that it is information – if you make an informed consent – if you gain enough knowledge – if you gain enough worldly wisdom – then man can save himself. But information is not salvation – no amount of head knowledge can bring about salvation. Some try to say it is a demonstration – if you can demonstrate a desire to bring about salvation – an assertion of selfhood – a self-sacrificing act – a self-punishing experience – then salvation will surely come. But demonstration is not salvation – no amount of self-flagellation, self-sacrifice, self-abasement can resolve the sin-debt that must be paid. Some try to say that it is isolation – cut yourself off from the rest of the world – isolate yourself from worldly desires – and you’ll cleanse yourself of sin. But isolation is not salvation – removing temptation and worldly desires will not resolve the sinful condition of your soul. Some try to say that denomination is salvation – if you follow this doctrine or that dogma or this catechism – then surely salvation will follow. But denomination is not salvation – denominations are man-made perversions of God’s original intent – no denomination can save a man.

Then, you may ask, what is salvation? Three things: First, salvation is a change of mind. In Luke 13:3, Christ uses some recent local happenings to describe salvation to the Jews. “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” He repeats the same warning again in verse 5 – word for word. So repentance is essential to salvation. What is repentance? It is an about face – a complete change of mind – a 180 degree turn. You cannot be saved and continue to walk the way you were going. This turning from sin is a continual process, a continuous turning away from sin. Second, salvation is a converting of walk. Ephesians 4 instructs us how we are to walk. Paul says in verse 1 to “walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called.” In verse 3 – walk in unity; in verse 17 – walk in purity; in 5:2 – walk in love; in 5:8 – walk in light; in 5:15 – walk carefully; in 5:19 – walk in harmony; and in 6:10 – walk in victory. Everyone who would be saved must turn again his walk from the world to Christ. Third, salvation is a committal of faith in Jesus Christ. We don’t have to work for our salvation – Christ did that at Calvary – but we must do certain things – we must accept – we must repent – we must believe. This belief comes through accepting Christ as Saviour through faith in His finished work on the cross, acknowledging the need for salvation, and believing in your heart that He will save. This belief in Christ brings with it the salvation of the soul. Salvation then brings the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a daily walk with Him in this present life, and eternal life with Him in heaven.

Quote – “The shed blood is like a scarlet carpet which men follow to Heaven.” – Dr. Bob Jones, Sr.

'Twas His Grace

2 Timothy 1:9 – “Who hath saved us … according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus.”

Charles Spurgeon and Joseph Parker both had churches in London in the 19th century. On one occasion, Parker commented on the poor condition of children admitted to Spurgeon's orphanage. It was reported to Spurgeon however, that Parker had criticized the orphanage itself. Spurgeon blasted Parker the next week from the pulpit. The attack was printed in the newspapers and became the talk of the town. People flocked to Parker's church the next Sunday to hear his rebuttal. "I understand Dr. Spurgeon is not in his pulpit today, and this is the Sunday they use to take an offering for the orphanage. I suggest we take a love offering here instead." The crowd was delighted. The ushers had to empty the collection plates 3 times. Later that week there was a knock at Parker's study. It was Spurgeon. "You know Parker, you have practiced grace on me. You have given me not what I deserved, you have given me what I needed.”

That’s just how God treats us, He gives us what we need, not what we deserve. If we got what we deserved, each of us would be in hell today – or well on our way – but God, in His infinite mercy, has chosen to give us that which we do not deserve. If you look in just about any Bible dictionary, you’ll find that the word grace means unmerited favor – that is, a gift that is not deserved or earned – and there is no way that we as finite beings could ever do anything in order to earn the gift of salvation. But God, in His infinite mercy, has chosen to give us that which we do not deserve – the free gift of salvation. And what do you have to do to receive a gift? Nothing, but accept it – it’s free – it’s a gift – it is in no way earned or worked for. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Ephesians 2:8 tells us, “For by grace are ye saved.” And that’s the unmerited favor of God – the free gift of salvation.

‘Twas His Grace

When in sin’s dark dominion I aimlessly trod,
When my soul did cry out in despair,
‘Twas His grace e’er so free wrought salvation from God.
Now I’m resting in His loving care.

This same grace is sufficient to meet every need
That might come in my life every day.
Every trial, every heartache He’ll graciously heed,
And He’ll guide me each step of the way.

When I’ve come to the end of this long tiresome race,
When I’ve finished my course here below,
He will sweetly sustain me through His precious grace
As across death’s dark river I go.

The Father sought me, the Saviour bought me,
The Spirit taught me of His sweet grace.
By grace He saved me, His grace secures me,
His grace will send me to His embrace.
© 2006 Paul Stultz

Quote - “Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favor.” – D. L. Moody

Not Your Own

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

I spoke with a pastor yesterday who bemoaned the allurements of the world today on his church members. He said, “I get in the pulpit Sunday after Sunday and preach holy living, righteous judgment, soul-winning, and humility of spirit, and it seems the crowds are flocking to the mega-churches to be entertained rather than preached to. The Bible says the people ‘would heap to themselves teachers having itching ears.’ And that’s exactly what today’s churches have done. They’re neither cold nor hot, and God says He would spew them out of His mouth. The problem is in both the pew and the pulpit. Preachers today are more worried about their paycheck and their pension funds than about preaching the unadulterated truth of God’s Word.”

And it’s true – the modern-day church is filled with “saints” who go about their daily lives seeking only to please themselves. Taught by this humanistic society, they attempt to gratify self – to gain wealth – to satisfy the lusts of their flesh. They don’t accept the biblical teaching of self-denial and self-abasement. No wonder today’s churches show no similarity to the church of New Testament days. We need members who are sold out to God – who are committed to Christ – who are responsive to the Spirit. Any member who is not, is not a true saint.

And we’re not going to get members like that until we get some preachers like that. We need preachers who are committed to following God’s instructions in the Word – to submitting to the teachings of Christ – to listening to the leading of the Holy Spirit. They need to not be so concerned about their careers and be more concerned about their calling. If preachers would let God lead them instead of following their pocketbooks, they would preach the truth of God’s Word – that if we are saved we are not our own, but we are bought with a price – that we don’t control our own destiny, but we are controlled by the Spirit of God – that we don’t esteem ourselves, but we esteem others. Let’s follow Paul’s instructions and glorify Him by living a righteous and holy life for Him, by telling others about Him, and by living unto Him instead of unto ourselves. Man is not the ultimate, regardless of what Nietzsche says. Christ redeemed us from the slave-market of sin, so we are no longer our own – we are no longer the world’s – we are no longer the devil’s. So let’s act like it.

In His Name

In whose name do we come to pray?

We say the name of Jesus.
But when we’re done we rise to play,

As if He never sees us.

We continually fill our lives

With things apart from Him.
His Holy Spirit with us strives,

Convicting us of sin.

And yet, we try to go each day,

As if He’s nowhere near,
And if indeed we stop to pray,

It’s not with awe or fear.

We seek to pass each moment here

In our own strength alone.
He tries to make it very clear

That we’re not ours to own.

We ought to live for Him each day –

To Him we ought to come –
And in His Name to daily pray

Until He takes us home.
© 2006 Paul Stultz

Quote – “If you have a fire-man in the pulpit, you’ll not have many snow-men in the pew.” – C. H. Spurgeon

Salvation Brings Joy

1 John 1:4 – “These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.”

Men of all eras have spent their days searching for joy - most to no avail - some with great success. So where can one search for joy in this life? One of Dr. Sightler’s favorite methods in describing or defining a subject was to first describe what it is not. In order to explain where joy may be found, let’s explore where it cannot be found through some well-known figures from history:

Alexander the Great thought it could be found in military might. But no – after conquering the known world, he wept in his tent, declaring, “There are no more worlds to conquer.” – No joy!

Lord Byron thought it could be found in pleasure. He lived a life of hedonism – but he wrote, “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.” – No joy!

Voltaire thought he would find it in infidelity. This noted French infidel wrote, “I wish I had never been born.” – No joy!

Jay Gould, the American millionaire, tried to find it in wealth. But in spite of all his riches, he came to his death declaring, “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.” – No joy!

Benjamin Disraeli tried to find it in power and fame. This great British Prime Minister declared in despair, “Youth is a blunder; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.” – No joy!

So where can one find joy? A man traveling by train through the South got off at a station during a stop. While taking a walk, he came across a native of the South and asked him, “Do folks down here enjoy religion?” He received this reply, “’Em ‘at’s got it does.” Though we don’t put much confidence in religion, what is usually referred to as “old time religion” is really true salvation. And true salvation brings true joy. In fact, our text verse tells us that salvation brings a joy that is full – that is complete – that is perfect. What are some things that salvation brings us joy in?

Salvation brings us joy in sins forgiven. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Can you imagine any greater feeling of rejoicing than to know that our wrongs against God can be totally forgiven?

Salvation brings joy in fellowship with the Father. “And truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)” That’s what salvation is all about – restoring our fellowship with the Father – a fellowship broken by the fact of sin.

Salvation brings joy in fellowship with God’s people. “That ye also may have fellowship with us. (1 John 1:3)” The fellowship that we can have with fellow believers is one of those marks by which we know we are saved.

Salvation brings joy in tithing. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “For God loveth a cheerful [hilarious] giver.” Giving back to God in proportion to how He has blessed us brings about a wondrous joy – a hilarious joy – a cheerful joy.

Salvation brings joy in soul-winning. Paul declares this joy in 1 Thessalonians 2:19 in thinking of those he has won, “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?”

Salvation brings joy in seeing Him. This should be one of the greatest joys we look forward to. Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ.”

Salvation brings joy in the Word of God. The psalmist says in Psalm 119:162, “I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.” His Word is so wonderful, so marvelous, so richly rewarding, that we cannot help but to rejoice in plumbing its depths.

Quote –– "The world may have pleasure, but only the Christian has joy." –– Unknown