Day 38

REJOICE AND LEAP FOR JOY!

  • JESUS COMMANDS HIS FOLLOWERS TO “REJOICE & LEAP FOR JOY”

GOD’S WORD: “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.

(Luke 15:9-11; Matthew 13:44; Luke 10:19-20; Luke 10:19-20; 6:22-23, NIV)

REFLECTION-DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. How did Jesus define the “condition for remaining in his love”?
  2. What “spiritual reward “ does Jesus promise for remaining in his love and the love of our Father?
  3. What would “complete joy from Jesus” be like and do I really live in that kind of spiritual joy?
  4. When I am completely filled with spiritual joy, what “kind of sacrifices will I be willing to make” for the Lord’s kingdom?
  5. What is even more exciting “than seeing demonic forces falling” in the name of Jesus?
  6. Do I fully live in the joy of having my “name written in heaven”?
  7. Have there been times when I have been seriously “excluded and rejected” by others because of my faith in Jesus?
  8. Have I experienced “joy or self-pity” during times when I have suffered persecution for my faith?
  • AT THE EXODUS, BELIEVERS GOT EXCITED ABOUT “THE LORD’S DELIVERANCE”

GOD’S WORD: Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord : “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.

Then Miriam the prophetess, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea.”

(Exodus 15:1, 20-21, NIV)

REFLECTION-DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. What was “this very special occasion” when Moses created a powerful song of praise for the Lord?
  2. When have been some times I also may have felt so filled with worship that I just wanted to “sing a new song to the Lord”?
  3. Have I ever felt inspired to “write a poem or song for the Lord”?
  4. How did Miriam, sister of Moses and Aaron, get caught up in this “powerful spirit of worship and praise”?
  5. Have I ever felt so grateful to the Lord that I “felt like dancing” to praise him?
  6. What are the “three components of praise and worship” in this powerful occasion of public worship in Israel?
  • THE FAITHFUL GOT EXCITED AT “THE RETURN OF THE ARK OF THE COVENANTS”

GOD’S WORD: David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the Lord with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. . . When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord ’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord . I will become even more undignified than this . . . (2 Samuel 6:14-15, 20-22, NIV)

REFLECTION-DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. What was “this very special occasion” when King David lost himself in powerful praise for the Lord?
  2. How did Michal, David’s wife, feel about David’s “praise to the Lord with all his might”?
  3. What were the “three components of praise and worship” in this powerful occasion in Israel?
  4. Have I ever “praised the Lord with all my might”?
  5. Do I have such “unchecked worship, adoration and joy before the Lord” that I will not let anyone limit my praise to him?
  • OUR SAFE RETURN TO THE FATHER’S HOUSE INCITES “VIBRANT PRAISE”

GOD’S WORD: “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’” (Luke 15:22-28, 32, NIV)

REFLECTION-DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

  1. What do I know about the “differences of the two sons of the Father” in this parable of Jesus?
  2. Can I imagine what it would be like to “lose complete contact with one of my children”?
  3. How does our heavenly Father feel about “losing contact from one of his children”?
  4. How would a parent feel about “the return of a lost child” no matter where the child has been or in what condition he or she comes back home?
  5. What is the “central meaning of this favorite story” Jesus is shares with his followers?
  6. Who is “the Father” in this spiritual story?
  7. Who, in fact, is “the prodigal child” in this spiritual story?
  8. Where is “the Father’s house” in this spiritual story? (Clue, see 1 Timothy 3:15)
  9. What does it mean for a “prodigal child to return to the Father’s house”?
  10. For the joy of salvation, what kinds of “vibrant worship and praise” are expected in the Father’s house if I am filled with the joy of the Lord?
  11. Have I ever been so caught up in the spirit of worship that “I could not keep quiet and could not stand still” with my praise?
  12. In this passage of scripture, who personally “authorizes vibrant praise” in many forms including singing, music and dancing?
  13. How does Jesus respond to those in the Father’s house who would try to “stifle the vibrant praise and worship of others”?