27/06/27
JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD
Today’s Scripture
How can we sing the songs of the LORD while in a foreign land?
Psalm 137:4, NIV
The Songs of Zion
When the Israelites were conquered and taken into captivity by the Babylonians, it was a season of suffering and great loss. It was one of those times when the pressure is so great, the loss so heavy, the disappointment so discouraging, we don’t think we can go on. They could not sing the songs of Zion. They were in a season of weeping, which we all go through. God made us to feel things. Something breaks your heart, and it feels too much to carry. Weeping is not a lack of faith. It doesn’t mean you’re not tough enough. It means that your heart is working, that you care deeply.
When you go through a season of weeping, remember that God says, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” As He did for the Israelites, eventually freeing them to return to their homes, He’s already set the time to end your heartache, to turn around what’s causing your tears. God is going to bring you out better through the suffering, and your mourning will turn into dancing.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that You have the power to change what looks as though it will never change. Thank You that the morning comes, and You turn mourning into dancing and sorrow into joy. I believe that You will always restore me to sing the songs of Zion. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
SECTION TWO
How were you first impacted by Jesus? Was it through the law or was it His grace in your life that touched your heart?
We all began our relationship with the Lord because we were impacted by His love and grace. Let us then continue in that grace.
Paul warned the Galatians against turning back to the law after beginning in grace. He said, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace [unmerited favor] of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6–7).
Paul takes this very seriously. He calls any gospel apart from the gospel of grace (God’s unmerited favor) a perversion. Attempting to be justified by the works of the Ten Commandments is a perversion of the gospel of Christ.
Paul asked the church in Galatia point-blank, “Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh [self-effort]?” (Gal. 3:2–3).
Paul was saying to them, “You began by believing in His grace, why are you now depending on your works? That is foolishness! You should be continuing in His unmerited favor!”
These are strong words by Paul. Don’t start with grace and end up with the law. Don’t start with the new covenant, only to turn back to the old covenant!
There are those who say that they are not justified by the law, but believe that they should keep the law for sanctification. My friend, both justification and sanctification come by our faith in Jesus’ finished work alone.
When you are established in the new covenant of grace, you will experience a tremendous sense of confidence and security in Christ. When your confidence is in His unmerited favor and not your performance, you will not feel as if you are constantly jumping in and out of His favor and acceptance.
It is unfortunate that some believers have put themselves back under the old covenant without realizing it. Sometimes, they feel that God is on their side, but at other times, they feel that God is far away from them. Sometimes, they feel that God is satisfied with them, but at other times, they feel that God is angry with them.
All these feelings are based predominantly on their own evaluation of how they have performed, how they feel about themselves, and not how God sees them. Because there is no new covenant scriptural basis for such evaluations, they end up arbitrarily deciding if they are deserving of God’s blessings and favor in their lives or not, when in fact, they actually have access to His blessings all the time, simply because of Jesus and His finished work at the cross.
Today, think, talk, and act knowing that it is not about you or your works—it is about Jesus and Him alone, and step out into His blessings for you!
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