Monday: Making Jesus Glad
Has anyone ever asked you, “How is your day going?” “Is everything all right with you today?” What if you asked God those questions? “God, how is Your day going?” What kind of response do you think you would receive? Possibly it would be one like this.
Image © Deb Minnard at Goodsalt.com
“My day has been extremely difficult. Tears filled My eyes at one thousand refugee camps filled with cold, hungry, crying children. I walked the streets of the world’s crowded cities and wept with the homeless and destitute. My heart breaks over abused women and frightened children sold into sexual slavery. I witnessed the ravages of war, the devastating effects of natural disasters and the painful agony of debilitating, deadly diseases”. Would you respond by asking, “But God, is there anything that makes You rejoice? Is there anything that brings joy to Your heart? Is there anything that makes You sing?”
Read Luke 15:6-7, Luke 15:9-10, and Luke 15: 22-24, 32. How do these stories end, and what do these endings tell you about God?
All heaven rejoices when the lost are found. In a world filled with disease, disaster, and death, we can bring joy to the heart of God by sharing the “good news” of salvation with others. One of the greatest motivations to share Christ’s love is the knowledge that witnessing brings joy to the heart of God. Every time we reveal His love, all of heaven sings.
Read Zephaniah 3:17. What is our Lord’s response when we accept His saving grace?
Imagine this scene. As the result of your witness some man or woman or boy or girl accepts Jesus as his or her personal Savior. Jesus rejoices. All of heaven bursts forth in rapturous song, and our mighty Savior rejoices over that individual with singing. What can be more rewarding, more fulfilling, than knowing your witness brings joy to the heart of God in a world of sadness?
(34)
I read today's lesson and thought that it was just a bit of Christian "Jesus talk" to keep us readers happy. Then I went to make the bed, a chore that I do every morning while Carmel is out of the house on her morning walk. (Just so you don't have to ask: We walk separately because I want to observe and photograph birds, while Carmel wants to walk quickly and she wears bright clothes that spook the birds) It was while making the bed I asked myself, why do I do this? Carmel could easily make the bed and probably do a better job than me. The answer that eventually popped into my head is that we are in a loving partnership and we do things to make one another happy. When Carmel gets back from her walk, she does not fall all over me and praise me for my wonderful bed making effort, but we both know that we appreciate the fact that we work together doing the tasks around the house that need doing. (I wonder if she will mow the lawn for me today? Just kidding)
Making Jesus glad is a spiritual partnership thing. We work together hand in hand and grow our relationship as a result. When we work together, both Jesus and us are made glad. It is part of the "why" for having a partnership in the first place.
The state of this world makes the LORD sad, He would love to completely eradicate all evil now and has promised He will in the earth made new. He is giving the world one last chance to agree that His way is the best way. Why don't they?
Take for example my country - during the first two months of our lockdown alcohol sales were completely banned, some agreed it was a good idea but many others complained bitterly. When the restrictions were partially lifted there was a big increase in assault victims in emergency units and traffic accidents due to alcohol. These were just a few of the most visible negative results, but so many don't care, they think they are immune and believe they should have the right to drink if they choose to do so, the government should not make the choice for them.
Similarly people don't want to surrender their choice to the LORD, they don't trust that He knows what is best for them. Like Eve, God said knowing good and evil will be very bad for you, but the devil convinced her it would make her wise. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will convict people of what is good and what is evil and that once the world has had the final choice that Jesus will come quickly to wipe away all pain and suffering. Amen.
Gen 3:1-6, John 16:8, Rev 14:6-12, Rev 21:4, Rev 22:11-12
Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared:.....for the Joy of the Lord is your strength Neh 8:10
Is Jesus happy when we make the right choices? can we surprise him when we seek to do good to others? Does he give us a thumb up for helping others?
Is Jesus confused when we do wrong or make bad choices? does he cry when we disappoint him?
When my children were at home and went to school, many times they would receive 'A' for work done at school. Actually, they were on the honor roll in school. Sometimes consistently. Do you think I had a right to give them a gift whenever they told me I score an 'A'? Or, did I expected them to do well in school and an "A" is the result of their good works.
My question is- how should we as Christians live our lives in this present world?
Christians mean followers of Christ. If we claim to follow Christ, we will try our best to do what he did. For him to do what he did as a human, he received his instructions from the divine, he listened to the angels daily, then went out to do his father's biddings. He received instructions every day early in the morning as well as moment by moment.
As we receive instructions also, we will do what is right. We will hate the wrong or be so sorry doing evil, we will start hating evil.
Six things the Lord hate, the seventh is an abomination. Do we also hate those six things? Pro 6:16-19
Above texts need to be amended:
Luke 22:22-24 and Luke 22:32 should be Luke 15:22-24 and Luke 22:32
Thanks Curly. I just fixed it.
God suffers much more than He rejoices!
When a single person out of 99 others turns to Him there is a feast in Heaven! (Luke 15:7)
Thus, God must cry more than He laughs!
What a sad reality. Right before Jesus' death, His disciples were either worried about who among them were to betray Him or who among them were to be the greatest in His kingdom! (Luke 22: 22-24) They did not even realized that He was about to be crowned with a crown of thorns! That His kingdom was not supposed to be established in Jerusalem, although He was already the King of the whole Universe!
God must really cry much more than He laughs.
But the good news is "there is a feast in Heaven when a single person turns to Him"! May we make God happy TODAY!
Can we really make Jesus happy; We know that our sin has made Jesus sad. There has been a great controversy and the works of Satan is making Him sad all the time. Do you think there are times when Jesus is known to feel joy? YES
The parables Jesus told in Luke 15 of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son all have very happy endings. It is clear that Jesus is glad and has feelings of joy, along with all of heaven, when people turn to Him and are saved from their condition of being lost in sin.
Zephaniah expressed this joy, even revealing that it is accompanied with singing. We understand that the angels sing praises to God, but this verse, Zephaniah 3:17, tells us God joins in when the singing is about our salvation.
So Jesus can be happy when a sinner comes back.
I think there’s a typo error in Luke 22:22-24 and 32 it should be still in chapter 15.
Thanks April. I just fixed it.
When it comes to God, I tend to habitually give thanks and praise for his blessings. Psalm 40:16 “Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee:...”. It is a good thing to ponder the reciprocal, which is to bring to the source of our joy, joy.
O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever. Ps 107:1
Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Ps 107:8,15,21,31.
Ronald, I am like you when it comes to praise and thanksgiving. I am a recipient of the goodness and mercies of God similar to the children of Israel. I am a person of habitual praise and thanks to God for who he is and what he has done for me and my families. My words cannot express therefore I tell him and him alone lest I come into condemnation from humans. Old and full of experience.
'Making Jesus glad' - when the redeemed:
"Praise God from whom all blessings flow, praise Him ye creatures here below, praise Him above ye heavenly hosts - praise Father, Son and Holy Gost"!
Praising God for who He is, what He has done and what He will do:
Extolling the greatness of His Name; testifying to His Mercy and Grace; rejoycing in our Salvation; steadfastly maintaing faith that He will fulfill His promises;
Trusting in His PROVIDENCE!
The word "providence" comes from the Latin providentia (Gk. pronoia [provnoia]) and means essentially foresight or making provision beforehand. On the human plane it may be used positively, as when Tertullus praised Felix by saying, "Your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation" ( Acts 24:2 ), or negatively(but spiritually positive), as when Paul admonishes us to "make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires" ( Rom 13:14, RSV ).
When applied to God, the idea takes on a vastly larger dimension because God not only looks ahead and attempts to make provision for his goals, but infallibly accomplishes what he sets out to do. And because it is God's governance that is in view, it encompasses everything in the universe, from the creation of the world to its consummation, inclusive of every aspect of human existence and destiny.
Providence, then, is the sovereign, divine superintendence of all things, guiding them toward their divinely predetermined end in a way that is consistent with their created nature, all to the glory and praise of God.
This divine, sovereign, and benevolent control of all things by God is the underlying premise of everything that is taught in the Scriptures.
(definition taken from 'bible study tools'.)
Beause we trust His providence, we therefore praise His Holy Name continuously throughout our lives.
I once read that the immense woe that fills the earth is kept hidden from us individually lest we be overwhelmed by it. God is kind isn't He?!
So then God, who not only sees everything, but has an infinite capacity for understanding all things, would be beside Himself with grief, or at least we would expect it from our finite perspective.
However, keep in mind that God sees the end from the beginning, and has seen already the outcome of all of this, and "for the joy that is set before Him", He endures the anguish only a loving Father could feel for His suffering children. Now imagine His regard for those who know about the Remedy, but keep it to themselves!
Maybe I’m too literal of a thinker, but I don’t think that our reason for witnessing should be “to make Jesus glad”. Perhaps it goes back to reading My Little Friend stories, who knows. I’m not denying that all of heaven rejoices when the lost are found, and maybe the lesson was not trying to make that our motivation for witnessing, it just came across that way to me.