Do It Now   

   People of faith, Rejoice! Be informed ... but do not despair. The world has been frustrating mankind since the beginning. 

   In Philippians 4, Paul tells us twice to "Rejoice!" Adds Andree Peterson in WORLD magazine, "God deserves it, and our mental health needs it." 

    Faith should make us excited that our present troubles are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed. Romans 8:18. 2 Corinthians 4:17. 1 Peter 5:10.

   Peterson asks, "Are we just supposed to rejoice on command? As a matter of fact, yes!" Don't expect tomorrow or the next day to give us a worldly reason.  

   The people of Israel in rebuilding Jerusalem listened to Ezra read the Book of the Law for hours. Nehemiah 8:1-3. They realized they (their ancestors) had neglected God's book for centuries. They didn't feel like rejoicing, but Nehemiah commanded it: "This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." vv. 9-10. 

   "Rejoicing is a choice," Peterson writes. "It is always deliberate." There are two ways, the high way and the low way. Our minds can be on things above or on things below. Colossians 3:2. 

   Isaiah calls for putting on the "garment of praise." v. 61:3.

   Brother Lawrence, a 17th century friar, called it, "practicing the presence of God." Peter wrote of the victory in abiding consciousness of God. 1 Peter 2:19.

   As Tony Campolo liked to say, "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming!" 

             Jimmy