December 20, 2011
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she shall rejoice ~ our citizenship is in heaven – Rejoice! | letter 134 on assurance & joy
Isaiah 53:11: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied...
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.Philippians 3:20 But our citizenship is in heaven . . . 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. . . 11 . . . for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
she shall rejoiceProverbs 31:25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.Darkest night
Hottest fire
She shall rejoice
Under His tree
With great delight
Yea, rejoice!
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!In heav'nly place
With eye of faith
A song of joy
Her soul's travail
Already visible
Fruit sweet to taste
With great delight
Banqueting
Under His tree
With Him she sups
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!Desert flight
Driest bones
She shall rejoice
Under His tree
With great delight
Yea, rejoice
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!In heav'nly place
With eye of faith
A song of joy
Her soul's travail
Already visible
Fruit sweet to taste
With great delight
Banqueting
Under His tree
With Him she sups
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!Noxious blight
Barren womb
She shall rejoice
Under His tree
With great delight
Yea, rejoice
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!In heav'nly place
With eye of faith
A song of joy
Her soul's travail
Already visible
Fruit sweet to taste
With great delight
Banqueting
Under His tree
With Him she sups
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!Fruitless vine
Widow's grief
She shall rejoice
Under His tree
With great delight
Yea, rejoice
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!In heav'nly place
With eye of faith
A song of joy
Her soul's travail
Already visible
Fruit sweet to taste
With great delight
Banqueting
Under His tree
With Him she sups
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!Broken heart
Empty arms
She shall rejoice
Under His tree
With great delight
Yea, rejoice
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!In heav'nly place
With eye of faith
A song of joy
Her soul's travail
Already visible
Fruit sweet to taste
With great delight
Banqueting
Under His tree
With Him she sups
Fully satisfied!
Graced in Christ!
Habakkuk 3
17 Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
19 GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Song of Solomon 2:3 As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.* * *Is your citizenship in heaven?
Are you living like it is?By the power of Christ in you . . .
Have you begun to learn to be content in whatever state you find yourself?
Have you been able to rejoice in the Lord always?
Have you known the peace of Christ guarding your heart and mind?* * *
We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.
The sorrows of the mind
Be banished from the place;
Religion never was designed
Religion never was designed,
To make our pleasures less,
To make our pleasures less.We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.The men of grace have found,
Glory begun below.
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
Celestial fruits on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow,
From faith and hope may grow.We’re marching to Zion,
Beautiful, beautiful Zion;
We’re marching upward to Zion,
The beautiful city of God.The hill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Before we reach the heav’nly fields,
Or walk the golden streets,
Or walk the golden streets.(from Isaac Watts' "We're Marching to Zion")
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Related:the laborer's lamentation and affirmation (the precursor to my posts on assurance and joy)
Letter 1 on assurance and fighting for joy
Letter 11 on assurance and fighting for joy (the Lord is at hand! - Philippians 4)
Letter 13 on assurance and fighting for joy (strengthened for endurance and patience with joy)
Letter 15 on assurance and fighting for joy (Joy is a gift of God, more than a feeling)
Letter 16 on assurance and fighting for joy (our prayers, His wise denials and joy)
a conversation with Jesus about misplaced joy ("do not rejoice in this" - letter 73 on joy)
disappointment ~ appointment | letter 119 on assurance & fighting for joy
Rejoicing in Winter?
As the Visible Disappoints
Advent #1 WHY HAS JESUS COME? that we might have life & life more abundantly
Advent # 5 WHY HAS JESUS COME? So we might draw near to God | Even a Vapor
Psalm 131 ~ Lord, calm my soul; Lord, wean my soul in this mephitic air | W.H. Hewitson
even in my disappointment - still blessed by my Father
How long wilt thou mourn? I Samuel 16:1 - Through many disappointments & deceit, To Zion ascend, go up to the mercy seat
Though the waves arose
Habakkuk Hope: "Joy and Peace in Believing" by William Cowper
Where do you go when the world is unlovely? (Psalm 84 & the theology of Biblical counseling)
Yes, it's spring, but for those who are in winter today: Isaac Watts' Psalm LXXIScripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Photo credit: An edited version of the public domain photo found here http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Apple_orchard.jpg.
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Comments (2)
Good Afternoon, Karen. Liked this one---easier to read. lol (not an insult)
I like the one about being content!!!! That cracks me up--be content? My wife and I discuss this section of scripture a lot. It is Christmas time and the cash registers are ringing out the world's favorite music--not ours.
My wife loves Habakkuk--especially the section you wrote. She talks about his faith all of the time. He is like her role model for faith.
That section in Hebrews 12 is amazing---He felt joy dying on the cross from creeps like me!!!! That is amazing.
We also love Philippians a lot. Norma loves 4:6--7 and of course 8. lol Hard to find a favorite verse when the Bible is so loaded with exciting stuff.
Loved your poetry.
Well Merry Christmas again. We leave Thursday to spend Christmas with out single daughter. She has me eating out of her hand. She was an amazing teen gal--what a way with words when she did not like one of my rules. I just wanted to hug her when she got sassy--so cute.
frank
@ANVRSADDAY - Hi Frank, Yeah, I know that other post was more than a bit to chew on, but those things had been building up in me for quite some time now...
As Christians, there's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be content as we come to increasingly know and experience the love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, peace and joy of the Lord in ever-increasing measure – except that we should be discontent when we're not contented as we ought to be.
Of course, there is a holy discontent, but most of the discontentment of Christians experience doesn't fall into that category.
Two years ago, God enabled me to seek out the joy of the Lord that Habakkuk expressed in that hymn, and in His time, He began to open up such joy to me. I would have thought myself to be the last person able to receive such joy - but the things that are impossible with men ARE possible WITH GOD!
The thing that really hit me recently about Philippians 4 was seeing how that followed from the end of chapter 3 – if the Spirit opens our eyes to begin to understand what it means that we are citizens of heaven, as we begin to know our God and the inheritance we have in Him, we can begin to desire to live above our sinful propensity to discontentment.
I agree w/ you about finding a favorite verse!
I hope you & Norma have a great visit w/ Pam and a very Merry Christmas!
Karen