Wednesday November 7, 2012

Read Deuteronomy 16:13-16

 

Aussies love to party, don’t they? Any excuse is a good excuse to party! In fact I think we love it too much! When I see hoards of drunk teenagers destroying homes and lives of others and when I see the violence created by excessive alcohol consumption I wonder if we party too much.

 

Imagine if God commanded the nation of Australia to party! Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in the Feast of Booths. God is telling the nation of Israel to party, to celebrate, to rejoice and to be glad. But it’s not to be a binge party or drug party or anything sinful like that. This is a week long celebration in gratitude to God for His gracious and loving provision. This is to be a thanksgiving party in which God remains the centre of attention.

The feast is fascinating in that Israel is told, or more correctly commanded, to rejoice during the feast. No where else does this occur during the feasts.  People laugh and rejoice when Bobby McFerrin sings his hit song ‘Don’t worry, Be Happy’ but when God commands His people to rejoice, there’s an indignation and backing off.  Some people actually get their knickers in a knot at this command and list all the possible reasons for not rejoicing.

 

In the New Testament we are also told, or more correctly, commanded, to rejoice.  In Philippians 3:1 and 4:4 we are commanded to ‘Rejoice in the Lord’. In the second occurrence Paul says ‘Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS’.  Of course we rejoice in the good times. Of course we rejoice when life is going the way we have planned. Of course we rejoice when we are well off. But God says rejoice ALWAYS!!

 

How can that be possible? How can God command such things? How can a grieving widow rejoice? How can a believing man who just lost his job rejoice? How can a poor person rejoice? The key is to understand that joy (the root word of rejoice) is not equal to happiness. Happiness is an emotion built on and founded on external things. When life goes well we are happy. When things go the way we planned we are happy. When they don’t, we are not happy.  Joy is not equal to happiness. Joy is an immovable confidence in God, knowing that all is in His control and that He is at work to bring about His purposes no matter what circumstance my life is presently in. I can rejoice when life is good, bad or somewhere in between!

 

What we need to do is develop an attitude of gratitude that learns to praise God in any and every situation. We need to learn to look to God, to trust God and to know Him intimately in good and bad times. That alone will lead to joy. If nothing else, you can and should always be praising God that nothing, absolutely nothing in this life or the next can take away the salvation you have in Christ Jesus.

 

Prayer:

Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

 

Adoration:

 

 

Confession:

 

 

Thanks:

 

 

 

Supplication:

¥ Pray that this Sonday at your local church there will be an overflowing of thanks to the Lord for what He has done for you in Christ Jesus. Pray that an attitude of gratitude would be upon all who are present. Pray that the Lord would be glorified and exalted by the praises of your congregation.

¥ Pray that there would be provision for the believers in Vietnam who are currently in jail for their faith.  Pray that the other prisoners would see Christ in these men and women of faith and that they would come to Christ in repentance and faith.

 

My Additional Prayer Points.

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