The Joy of Knowing You're Forgiven

For date night this past Friday, Beth and I went to hear Peter Kreeft, a "Catholic Evangelical", speak supposedly on C.S. Lewis.  He spent more time on discussing joy in philosophical manners.  I did think it was helpful to apply Aristotle's four questions to the category of joy:

What is it?
What is it made of?
What's the purpose of it?
What's it good for?

But during the question and answer session, I tried to pose to him a question about the joy of knowing that your sins are forgiven being a richer, more robust picture of the gospel, having joy in KNOWING you are justified with God through faith in Jesus Christ.  I tried to contrast this gospel with the message of Catholicism, which does not give that eternal security so sweet to Evangelicals.

Now we're not talking cheap grace when we talk about eternal security.  We don't mean that you can pray a prayer when you're 9 and live like a heathen and then know you're going to heaven because of a decision you made (even if sincerely made) back in the day.  No.  That is no gospel at all.  That is heresy.

But there is a confidence in knowing that your sins have been forgiven that enables you to experience such joyful, sanctifying grace!  I can walk in freedom!  I don't need sacraments to inch away at my sins.  No!  I have the true Jesus of Nazareth saying, "It is finished!"  I tried to tell that picture to another Catholic neighbor. She didn't respond to it.  But I want people to be amazed at grace!  There is a joy in absolutely knowing and feeling and sensing and comprehending sin is no longer my master!  Jesus is!

The Meaning of Joy

I hear Christians often try to approach the word joy as a deeper happiness or an even deeper pleasure.

I see the three terms as synonymous.  There is no holier category.  God’s word uses the three to express the delights that can be found in God and in the world. 

What do you think?

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How Anger Can Kill Joy Left and Right

So Jonah is like the epitome of joylessness.  He's so angry that God is going to show compassion towards the people of Nineveh that he tries to escape even the task of preaching to them.

God tries to humble him through some whale incarceration.  But that act only gets Jonah to go through the motions--instead of preaching a message of judgment with anticipation that they will repent!  Oh the joys he could have had in excitement to see an entire city of 100,000 people repent!  When is the last time you saw 100,000 people humble themselves because they saw how wretched their sins were?

So Jonah misses out there.  He then can't even be humbled by God's grace in the people of Nineveh.  He wanted judgment.  And isn't that how people are sometimes?  They would rather cry out for wrath than to see mercy handle the situation.  And if we're honest, do we ever secretly rejoice when someone "gets what they had coming"?  I think there is greater glory in being happy when people are spared from judgment through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

But then Jonah gets all angry about the plant that God made grow and then wither away.  God asks the best question:  "Do you do well to be angry?"



And that question has been helping me to avoid anger towards my children or anyone else.  Little good ever comes from my anger.  Almost never.  So I have come to see that when I sense that temptation to get angry, God is saying, "Is that really doing well?  Is that going to help you?  Is that really beautiful?"

And that is my question for you:  who are you angry with?  Are you so consumed with your own rights and expectations and preferences that you are carrying around anger and bitterness?  Do you need to see how futile your anger is?  Are you missing out on the joys of graces that God is giving all around you?

Don't let anger murder your happiness.  It does not do well for yourself or anyone else.

Lust Leads to Hell and Not Happiness

I met two men at the Speedway gas station on Poplar Level Road. They were looking at a smutty magazine and talking about women's body parts as if they were items on a buffet:  there for the taking.

I think I felt the Spirit telling me, "Be bold!  Talk to them."  So I passed over the gasoline median and said to Chuckie, the one standing outside his car, "Did you know that lust will send you to Hell?"

He replied, "Excuse me?  What did you say?"  I repeated it and explained that Jesus said, "If anything causes you to sin, cut off your right hand...For it's better to enter heaven with one member than it is to enter Hell with both."

I then talked about how Jesus is willing to forgive us of all our sins if we do two things:  repent and believe.

It turns out that Chuckie has a possible 20+ prison sentence hanging over his head.  We discussed how Jesus can sustain him through taking responsibility for his crime, how Jesus can help him persevere through all trials, etc.

I also felt compelled to bust out some freestyle gospel rap to try to make the message more understandable and also relevant in their minds.

We prayed for their lives, I invited to come to our home on Sundays when we gather to learn more about Jesus.  I then felt compelled to give them 20 bucks to communicate the grace of God--it's a gift--nothing we can do to earn His forgiveness and love--all of grace!

May they see Jesus as their happiest satisfaction and treasure.  He is wanting to free people from Hell and their Hellish desires.

Finding Joy in Judgment

So I had a performance appraisal at work on Friday.  There were 20 different categories that my enrollment manager and director of enrollment were charged to evaluate and then rate me on a five category scale:

Role Model
Advanced
Proficient
Developing
Not Acceptable

So I was shooting for Role Model in every category.  I even made a video of it to really think of examples of role models.

I was sad, though, to find my overall appraisal was Proficient.  Now Proficient is in the category of Standard Employee, versus an employee who is Above and Beyond as the best and Area of Concern as the least.  So it's a little bit better than the middle.

I was very sad, actually.  I feel like I do come to work everyday and try to work heartily as working for the Lord--and not for man.  So why did it bother me so much that I was not evaluated the way I thought I should have been?

What a sobering reality!  To be judged and evaluated and come up short from expected marks!  I began to think more about the Day of Judgment when I stand before Christ and He perfectly evaluates every aspect of my mind, my heart, my words, my actions, my looks, my hands, my interactions, my everything.  How I will not hear role model then!

So, I began to think:  where's my fighting for joy mentality now?  Why is my soul downcast?  I have to fight for joy in judgment.  I have to work at seeing all the happiness in evaluation and scrutiny.  I have to revisit my motivations to ensure that I am working for Jesus--and not the mere approval of my managers.  I have to humble myself to receive feedback--not so that I can merely be seen better by them--but to really surrender myself to every governing authority as coming from God.

Everything my mangers pointed out had some form of merit and should be seen as opportunities to rejoice that I am get to grow in character.  I can be transformed through this evaluation process for my good.

Most people think of judgment as all bad--as oppressive.  And I admit I felt that way at first.  But with more meditation, evaluation is not the Old Testament law.  I'm not merely crushed by it.  I CAN be a role model by God's grace.  And more importantly, I can hear a positive appraisal on the Day of Judgment.  But God will accurately evaluate me and ensure that I am clearly perceived by His judgments.

For the time I work at the University of Phoenix, I want to make sure that I am quick to listen to all feedback and attempt to improve at my position so that I can be pleasing to Christ--even when I don't fully agree with the feedback.  I want to be quick to make adjustments and develop professionally so that I am fighting for joy that can exist and does exist in judgment.

May God enable all people to be humble and happy to receive judgment!

Are You Happy Because You Forgive & Are Forgiven?

I have heard so many people complain about how someone has wronged them.

Their hearts are bitter and they cannot fathom even the concept of forgiveness.

I was at Denny's last night with a friend who hated his high school baseball coach. This coach just celebrated 500 wins and my friend was plotting how he could write an editorial the next day describing just what kind of person this coach really was.

I recommended that my friend buy a gift card and mail it to the coach and say, "I forgive you for any wrongdoing in the past and wanted to congratulate you on your milestone."

That idea seemed so ridiculous to my friend. Does it seem strange to you? Having the forgiveness of Jesus Christ makes you forgive happily and joyfully. That's the nature of grace.

How Criticism Kills Happiness

My wife pointed out today that I can be quick to criticize.

I was at Chick-fil-A and noticed that the kids' meals have an educational gift that can be exchanged for an ice cream cone.

I said, "I don't like it that I have to choose between education and ice cream."

She rightly said, "So quick to criticize."

And I missed out on the nature of the gift: to bring joy and happiness! Not critique and dissatisfaction!

What are you criticizing that is in turn killing your happiness?