Happy And You Know It 2 | In Joy As Well As In Sorrow

This message this morning was visceral because it brought home a lot of the things that happen basically on a daily basis. People come into your life and go out of your life, and sometimes when they come into your life, you're thinking, "Why is this person even here? What are they doing? Why are they bothering me so much?"

What it tells me is that as I go through life, if I kind of get out of myself and start looking at them as somebody whom God loves just as much as He loves me, then I'm able to look at them through different eyes. I can look at them with grace and compassion, realizing that they are an unfinished work just as much as I am an unfinished work. It causes me to step aside, calm down, slow down, and think about what God is trying to tell me here. What is He trying to do in my life through this person?

I think it's fascinating that God would use us to work with each other and help each other if we're willing to take the view of each other as He takes. It's a very encouraging message. One of the things I really enjoyed taking away from the message today was at the end, where he said that love's 9-1-1 was that your love may abound more and more in the fruits of righteousness.

I look at the fruits of things hanging on the tree, and love is one of the greatest things that you can see hanging from our tree. As our trees are full of fruit, the love fruit should be one of the easiest things to see and pick from. I enjoyed that the message this morning really spoke to my heart.

Just thinking about the happiness and the joyfulness of the Lord is really easy to experience if you have your heart there with the Lord. I learned today that the Lord is looking forward to us coming to Him and seeking Him for the happiness and joy that we need in our lives. I know sometimes life gets really tough.

There are hardships, but if we can go back and just rest in the joy of the Lord, I feel that we can get through these difficult circumstances. We can really be there for others and share Christ's love with those who are also going through the same things that I experience in my life. I am grateful for the message this morning; it's something I will be thinking about all week as I consider how I can keep my happiness in the Lord and seek Him for my joy as well.

We are continuing our series in the book of Philippians here at Cross Connection, a series that we are calling "Happy and You Know It." Today, we are looking at Philippians chapter one and considering together what the Scriptures say about how we might increase our joy in God. So, open your Bible to Philippians chapter one and follow along with us.

I think you guys beat the first service; that was awesome! How many of you recognize that anniversaries are pretty important? All the ladies raise their hands. Guys, take note! A husband had his tenth anniversary coming up, and a few times over the last several years, his wife had to leave little hints along the way to help remind him. But this year was important, so she wasn't going to do that.

You know what? He remembered! The anniversary came, and he approached her looking rather excited with a card. He remembered to get her a card, and she opened it with a little tear in her eye because he remembered. However, her expression soon changed after she looked at the card. He asked, "What's wrong? What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," she replied.

"No, no, there's something wrong. What is it?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing."

"No, there's something wrong. What's the problem?"

"Well, it would be a great card if it was my birthday."

Anniversaries are important, and this day is actually a bit of an anniversary for me because it happens to be the seventh anniversary of me becoming the lead pastor of this church. So, it's a blessing. Thank you! It’s a blessing because the text we are going to be looking at today in the New Testament, in the book of Philippians, actually lends itself to a little reminiscing—thinking back and reflecting on a few things, which we will do as we go through the Scriptures today.

If you wouldn't mind, open your Bibles. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will gladly bring you one. We're going to be in the New Testament, near the end of the Bible, in the book of Philippians. Philippians comes right after the books of Galatians and Ephesians. You don't even need to turn there if you've got a little handheld device like an iPhone. Just go to Philippians chapter one.

We will be studying verses three through eleven this morning. So, if you would stand with me as we read together. Here in this passage, Paul is doing a little bit of reminiscing, which we will also do.

Philippians chapter 1, verse 3. There he writes, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy, for your fellowship, your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus. Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers with me of grace. For God is my witness how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ.

And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God."

Father, would You lead us as we look into Your Word today? Give us insight and understanding. Lord, even though this is a letter that was written nearly 2000 years ago, I'm certain that there are applications here in this text for us today, living in the 21st century. So, God, speak to us. Lord, help us to have open ears and open hearts to receive what You would want to say by Your Spirit. For we ask this in Jesus' name. And all God's people said, "Amen." You can be seated.

Paul, here in the text that we're looking at in Philippians, is, as I said, reminiscing.

He's indulging in a bit of enjoyable recollection of the past as he finds himself in a precarious situation. When Paul penned this letter nearly 2,000 years ago, he was in the city of Rome, awaiting trial. He was being accused of many different things by people from his own country, back in the nation of Israel, which was under Roman rule at that time. However, because Paul was a Roman citizen, he had appealed his case to the highest court in the land. This meant that he was awaiting trial before the emperor of Rome, Nero, who was Caesar at that time.

So there was Paul in a Roman prison, actually under house arrest. As he waited for the day of his trial, and unfortunately also for the day of what would be his execution, he found himself reminiscing and recollecting. As he thought back over the last 10 to 15 years, he remembered a group of people he had the opportunity to pastor and plant a church with in a city called Philippi. He wrote this letter, which is now called Philippians. In it, he begins by saying, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." He expresses gratitude every time he thinks about them.

This leads us to our first point. If you have your sermon guide handy, it's in your bulletin. Point number one: Happiness begins with gratitude. Several years ago, a radio talk show host and author, Dennis Prager, wrote a book on happiness. In the first chapter of that book, Prager states that there is a secret to happiness, and it is this: gratitude. All happy people, Dennis Prager said, are grateful, and ungrateful people cannot be happy.

He makes the point in that chapter and throughout the rest of the book that it is gratitude that stirs happiness, not happy experiences that stir gratitude. He encourages us to be grateful people so that we can experience happiness. I think it is true: happiness is a key to gratitude, or happiness begins with gratitude. Gratitude is a key in such a significant way to happiness, and like many truths we find in the Bible, this is not earth-shattering. It's not an amazing or novel idea.

Happiness begins with gratitude. Perhaps you've thought it before, or read it before, or maybe you've even said it before, encouraging people to be grateful. It is a simple truth, but like many simple truths, although we know them, we don't always practice them with real regularity. I know that that's the case for me.

While we do spend a lot of time reflecting, we live in a society where we have all kinds of days set aside for reflection—anniversaries, birthdays, memorial days, and holidays—to point us back and cause us to remember things that have happened in the past. Good things have happened to stir us to be thankful. Even though we are given to much reflection and reminiscing on past things, we don't often find ourselves being thankful. This is one of the reasons that I think Philippians 1:3 is a good memory verse. I would encourage you this week to commit it to memory. It's simple: "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you."

Each of us, throughout our day, is reminded of people. Various things cause us to think about places and individuals, and as those things come to our mind, it's important for us to remember. This verse points us in that direction—to thank God upon every remembrance.

I was just talking with another pastor this week about how interesting it is that smell is such a trigger for memory. For many years, I can remember that on a cool day, if I smelled diesel exhaust, I would instantly be transported back to when I was in third grade, when my family lived just outside of London. I would walk to school every single morning, and the cold air and diesel exhaust would trigger that memory in my mind immediately.

We all have experiences like that. May it be that when someone or something is brought to mind, this verse would challenge us and encourage us to be thankful to God for that individual or that happening. I think that sometimes God even uses memories to trigger us to pray. Let me tell you, when I think about you, when I think about this church, I am thankful to God. I am truly grateful to God every time I remember this body of believers here at Cross Connection. Why? Because when I think about this church, I think about the position that God has allowed me to be in, as well as the place this church has played in my life.

Upbringing, I am reminded that God is truly gracious. I'm reminded just how good He is. In fact, Paul talks about grace in the verse just previous to this, Philippians chapter 1, verse 2. He says, "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

When I think about and remember all that God has done in my life, much of it through the ministry of this church, I'm reminded just how gracious He is. I know that I am what I am today by the grace of God. The Apostle Paul knew this as well. In another one of Saint Paul's letters, 1 Corinthians chapter 15, verse 10, he says as much: "I am what I am by the grace of God." He goes on to say, "And His grace towards me was not in vain; it was not wasted because I worked, I labored."

You see God's grace in Paul's life, and I've experienced this as well. Maybe you've seen it in yours. Coming into the conception and understanding of just how good and gracious God has been to me has been one of the chief things that has fueled my desire to serve the Lord. In a sense, God has given so much graciously to me that I don't want to let Him down. I don't want His grace to be wasted.

Now, I know there may be someone who would argue my theology on that point, but it's a personal conviction. I want to make sure that the payment of grace that God has invested in my life was a worthy investment. When I think about the stewardship and the blessings that God has given to me—a beautiful wife, four wonderful kids, and an awesome church—I might be a little biased, but I think this is the best church around. When I reflect on those things, I realize just how gracious He is.

I do think there's an important distinction to make: we don't work or labor to get grace. We don't serve the Lord to try and earn His grace. Grace, by its very nature, is unmerited, unearned favor. So, we're not working to get His grace, but because we've been given such great grace, it should compel us. It should stir us to serve Him out of gratitude. You may have experienced that many times—doing something merely out of duty over and over again. Ultimately, just doing your duty in the long run lends towards...

Ingratitude can often cloud our perspective, but when we realize just how blessed we've been in Christ, the wonderful salvation He has given us, and the great grace He has poured out upon us, it begins to stir our gratitude and our service. This gratitude overflows not just into service but also into prayer.

In Philippians chapter 1, verse 4, Paul says in verse 3, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you." In verse 4, he continues, "Always in every prayer of mine making requests for you all with joy for your fellowship or partnership in the gospel from the first day until now."

Point number two on your outline is that joy increases through prayer. Joy increases through prayer when I remember what God has done in my life and all that He has graciously poured out upon me. I am thankful, and this thankfulness stirs me to want to serve the Lord. Beyond desiring to serve Him out of gratitude, it also compels me to thank Him through prayer, offering Him thanksgiving and gratitude for all that He has done.

I express these things to Him in praise through prayer, reflecting on all that He has accomplished through the Church, the big C Church, but specifically through this church. For many years of my life, God has used this body of believers here in North County to foster growth in my life.

I didn't just come to be a part of this church seven years ago; my family started attending this church when I was 11. Therefore, I have been a part of this church for nearly 25 years. Not only have I been a part of this church, but God began that work outside of this church through the larger body of Christ even before that.

I can remember being an eight-year-old while my family attended All Saints Episcopal Church in Vista. I remember thinking and knowing that God had been good and gracious to me, which stirred me to want to do something. I trained to be an altar boy, wearing the white robe and everything. I got to serve as an altar boy at All Saints Episcopal Church.

Not long after that, while I was at All Saints Episcopal Church, I can remember looking up to Father Bob and thinking, "I like that guy; I like what he does." Not long after that, my family moved.

To London, my dad was working there, and while we lived in London, we attended a small Pentecostal church just outside of the city. In fact, that church was so small that it could only fit about 20 to 30 people in the room on a Sunday gathering. The pastor would step up onto a little four-inch tall riser, and every single time, he would take off his sandals and stand there in his bare feet because he felt that he was standing on holy ground. I'm not kidding you; his name was Robert Robb—Pastor Rob. It's hard to forget that one.

I remember, as a nine-year-old, thinking I wanted to serve the Lord in that same way. But something changed—something helpful—when I was 11 years old, and my family started attending a different church. It wasn't in this facility, and it wasn't even called Cross Connection at that point in time; it was called Calvary Chapel of Escondido. At that time, we were over on East Valley Parkway, right behind Yum Yum Donuts, in the facility that is now held by Heritage School. People referred to it as the "donut church."

I remember when we started attending Calvary Chapel of Escondido; something changed in my life. For the first time, I began to understand the Word of God because there were committed teachers and pastors who were part of this church to teach the Word of God. I remember my first youth pastor, Pastor Ken Aram, who taught the Word of God at Calvary Chapel. Then, there was a guy by the name of Christian Devito, who simply taught the Word of God through the youth ministry when we were over at the Vineyard. The Vineyard no longer exists; they tore that thing down, and rightfully so—it was falling apart.

After that, Pastor Tony Benicci, who is still here as part of the church, taught the Word of God as I grew up through the youth ministry. I could grasp it; I could understand it. It was clear and simple. The Word of God made sense, and I began to fully comprehend what it was that God wanted to do in and through my life.

It wasn't just through the youth ministry; our church had a youth intern program. We still do. Every single summer, we offer an opportunity for high schoolers in our church to be a part of the work of the ministry here and to be trained. Going through the School of Ministry here, the pastors of this church—Pastor Pat Kinney, who pastored for 27 years faithfully, Pastor Richard Rare, and Pastor Mark Turner—taught through those things. I'm thankful for the work that God did in my life.

Life from the time that I was 11 up to coming into the ministry has been a journey. I served as an intern, then as a youth pastor, and later as an assistant pastor. A little over 10 years ago, I was sent out by this church to serve as a missionary in Germany for a year, teaching the Bible at a Bible school. Seven years ago, I was given the opportunity to lead and pastor this church. It’s an absolute blessing, and I thank my God upon every remembrance of this church and this body for your partnership in the gospel from the very beginning of my life with the Lord until now.

It’s exciting to see what God does. This week, as I was thanking the Lord, I truly found that our joy increases through prayer to God as we offer these things to Him. However, I also found something else while reminiscing, and I’m sure you’ve experienced this as well: not every memory is a good memory. Not every memory brings a smile to your face. Sometimes, memories cause us to cringe rather than smile. Have any of you ever experienced that before?

It’s interesting to me that the Apostle Paul, in this passage, shares how thankful and grateful he is to the Philippians. When Paul was in the city of Philippi, he experienced some pretty hard things. There were some cruel people in that city who slandered him, beat him up physically, wrongfully persecuted him, and imprisoned him. At the end of the day, they kicked him out of the city. Yet, a little more than 10 years later, he says, "I thank God upon every remembrance of you."

These were cruel people, slanderous people, people with hard hearts. Sadly, these same things sometimes happen in churches. We go through those experiences, and I guarantee there were some people that came to Paul’s mind when he thought about the city of Philippi. There were some individuals that didn’t necessarily warm his heart. There are tough memories and hard interactions, especially if you’ve been a part of a church body for a long period of time. Let me tell you...

I think that it is God's desire and His will that we be a part of a church for the long haul. We should put down roots and grow where we're planted, even though there are hard things and tough scenarios that bring difficulty and pain because we are among people.

The question is, how do you maintain joy when you're a part of a church family in which interactions with others are not always happy or joy-producing? Let me be totally blunt: sometimes church people can frustrate you, can't they? Sometimes they do. So, how do we maintain joy within a church family with people who make us mad?

Frankly, there are times when someone takes your seat. Maybe they were a first service person and thought it was their seat. It was their seat until 9:30, and then it was your seat. But they didn't get up early; that's not my fault. You didn't get up early enough to make the first service and sit in your seat. You can't take my seat; that's my seat!

Or someone took your parking space. You know it's yours; it doesn't have your name, but you know it's yours because that's the same parking space you park in every single time you come here. Not only that, but someone also stole your donut! How dare you take my donut? I get the same donut every single week.

So, how do we maintain joy within the family, the body of Christ, the kingdom of God, with people who make us mad?

Point number three: endeavor to see others through the finished work of Jesus. Where do we get that? It comes right from the text, Philippians chapter 1, verse 6: "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." Just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you are all partakers of grace with me.

Grace with me. We need to recognize that all the brothers and sisters around us within the church are all under construction. How many of you have recently driven down Bear Valley Parkway between the east end of Escondido and south down by the mall? You know that it's under construction, and they have signs that say, "Expect delays. Rough road ahead."

How good would it be sometimes if we all had to wear T-shirts that say, "Under construction. Expect delays"? Listen, every one of the people in this room is under construction. None of us have arrived or have been perfected yet. In fact, when we get to Philippians chapter 3, Paul is going to say the exact thing: "Not as though I have attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me."

Look around the room. Nobody in this room has arrived yet. Sometimes we can get to a place where we look around and think, "Yeah, that guy certainly hasn't arrived," but we might think, "I'm doing pretty good." No, no, no. We need to recognize that we are all under construction. Some people have rough edges; others have sharp points. Some people have both.

I recognize that over the years, there have been times when my rough edges or sharp points have scraped some of you or stuck you. I understand that as we are part of a body, those experiences happen. There is no doubt that they do.

But here's the confidence we have: First, Jesus will complete the work that He began in you. Philippians 1 verse 6 says, "Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." And listen, it's going to take all the way until the day of Christ Jesus for that to take place. None of us here and now, in this life, at this church, in this place, are going to experience completeness, maturity, or perfection. Yes, we press on that we may lay hold of that, but we are all still under construction.

How important it is for us to maintain that view! Not only do we have the confidence that Jesus will complete the work that He started, but secondly, we have the understanding from the end of verse 7 that we are all partakers of grace. You see it there at the end of those verses.

The last words of verse 7 remind us that we are all partakers with one another of grace. Here’s the thing: we all need God’s grace, and we all need one another’s grace as we walk together through sanctification. What is sanctification? It’s the process where Jesus is making us more like Him. We need one another’s grace as we navigate these challenges.

Can I encourage you to give people the benefit of the doubt? Recognize that Jesus is working in them and on them. It’s also important to understand that many times, God is working through them to work in you and on you. Yes, as it has been said before, there are some people who have the sandpaper ministry. You know that one, don’t you? They come along and just scrape and scrape, working to smooth out your rough edges.

Some people don’t just have the sandpaper ministry; they have the jackhammer ministry. Have you met the jackhammer yet? You probably have. There are also those with the explosive dynamite ministry. My rough edges and sharp points are being used by God to dull your rough edges and sharp points, and vice versa.

If you don’t endeavor to see others through the finished work of Jesus, you will quickly become jaded and cynical. You might leave this church and find another, but let me clue you into something: it doesn’t matter what church you go to; you will find rough edges and sharp points everywhere. God wants to work in you to remove your rough edges and sharp points.

We need to strive to see people through the finished work of Jesus, being confident in this very thing: He who began a good work in you will complete it. You are still in process; I am still in process; we are all still under construction. We need to hold that position and remember that we need more grace. I am so thankful that Jesus is the one who gives more grace. In fact, in James chapter 4, the Apostle James tells us that God gives more grace, but He resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. One of the best things we can do is seek humility.

To walk in humility and to do what the Lord has required of us is essential. One of the prophets of the Old Testament, a man by the name of Micah, said, "He has shown you, O man, what is good and what God requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly." Oh God, that You would help us to walk in humility as we navigate through this life. We need more grace—more grace with one another and more grace from the Lord.

When we don't endeavor to see others through the finished work of Jesus, we become jaded and cynical, trying to run from what God desires to do in our lives. Let me tell you, it is never a good thing to run away from what God is desiring to do. There was a man in the Old Testament named Jonah. Perhaps you have heard about him. God wanted him to go do something, but Jonah said no; he didn't want to do that. He tried to go the other way, and God had a very interesting way of getting him to do what He wanted him to do. Let's just say "landshark" is not a good term for you. We can go through that story another day.

Happiness begins with gratitude, and joy increases through prayer. As we live within the body of Christ, we need to endeavor to see others through the finished work of Jesus.

Two final points can be found in this passage. First, in Philippians chapter 1, verse 8, Paul writes, "For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ." If you want joy to increase in your life as you live out this Christian life within the gathering and community of other Christians, then point number four is that you need to seek to love others as Christ loves others.

Loving others as Christ loves others goes hand in hand with the last point about seeing others through the finished work of Jesus. We need to work to love others as Christ loves others.

Married couples, how many of you are here this morning? Lift your hands high! All you married couples, put your hands in the air and wave them around like you just don't care! How many of you remember back when you and your spouse were not married, when you were dating? How many of you remember that love back then was blind? I'm going to disregard that hand over there.

Marriage healed your blindness, and you very quickly realized he can be really smelly, and she can sometimes be kind of cranky. Listen, real love isn't necessarily blind. The Apostle Peter was right when he quoted the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon, who wrote the Proverbs in the Old Testament. When Peter observed this in 1 Peter 4:8, he said, "Above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins."

When you became a Christian, you didn't cease to be a sinner. We're all still sinners. We're saved by grace and forgiven because of the work of Jesus on the cross, but we're all still sinners. When we live within the body of Christ, we might actually sometimes offend one another; we might sin against one another. You will never greatly long to be with the people within the body of Christ if you do not seek to love them with the love of Christ. Paul says in Philippians 1:8, "God is my witness, how greatly I long to be with you and desire you with the love of Jesus Christ." We need to seek to love others with the love of Christ.

This week, on Tuesday night, we're going to begin a series on the fruit of the Spirit. If you've ever read Galatians 5:22-23, you know that the first fruit that's mentioned, or the chief of all of those things from which the rest come, is love. So come on out Tuesday night, and we're going to be talking about that together. This is what we, within the body of Christ, need to have for one another: to love one another with the love of Christ, or we will never see joy increase.

Finally, the last point is found in verses 9 through 11. I think it's fitting that it's 9-1-1; this is the 9-1-1 of happiness. This I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent.

It is excellent that you may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. If you want happiness to increase in your life, then point number five is to pray for those that Jesus has brought into your life. Pray for those that God has brought into your life.

Now, I want to encourage you to pray in a certain way, and Paul gives us some information about that here, which we will look at in just a second. I would discourage you from praying the imprecatory prayers of David. You may wonder, what in the world is an imprecatory prayer? Well, it is a prayer like this: "God, break their teeth in their mouth." That is in the Bible, and some of us have probably prayed a few imprecatory prayers—prayers of judgment. That is not what Paul is talking about here. If you want happiness to increase, pray for those that God has brought into your life.

Look at what Paul prays; it begins in verse 9. He prays that their love would grow more and more, that their love would abound. Might I encourage you to begin to pray for the people in your life that their love would grow? Why? So that their love would grow and they would overlook the multitude of sins that happen to come in my life and in your life. We all fail as we live within the family of God and the community of the saints. We bump up against each other, and our rough edges hit your soft spots. We all get offended, discouraged, and sometimes wounded. Would you pray that the people around you would have their love grow more and more?

Paul also prays that they would grow in the knowledge of God. This I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment. He prays that they would grow in the knowledge of God's Word, that they would know and understand how to walk and live their lives in a way that exalts and approves what is right and excellent. Verse 10 says he prays that they would grow in the understanding of God's Word, that they may be sincere and without offense.

Now, that is interesting because it seems to speak to two different aspects of our life. Sincerity seems to speak about the inward heart motives of an individual.

We would begin to grow in excellence in the way that we think within our hearts. We should walk in sincerity within our hearts, but also walk without offense. This is not just the internal aspect of our lives; it is also the external. God, help us to walk in such a way where our motivation is pure and right, and that we seek to not stumble and offend others.

Paul also prays that we would abound with righteousness. In verse 11, he prays that we would be filled with the fruits of righteousness and that those things would be evident. That is what the fruits of righteousness mean: they should be clearly seen in our lives as we walk out good things. God, do that in the lives of the saints of this church, that we would be filled with the fruits of righteousness.

Finally, he prays that our lives would be lived in such a way that they bring glory and praise to God. The end of verse 11 states that we are being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Christ Jesus, to the glory and praise of God. If you want happiness to increase in your life, the exhortation of the Scriptures in this passage is that you would begin to pray in this manner for those people that God has put around you.

Understand that God placed you in this church to be a part of this body, and He strategically placed people in your life in this church to use them in your sanctification and mine, so that we would grow more like Jesus. Yes, I recognize that there are times when living within the body of Christ can cause us angst. People do and say things that might feel offensive and cruel. However, I encourage you to give thanks to God because, by His grace, He placed us here together.

Your joy will increase through prayer, and your happiness will expand through gratitude as you endeavor to see others through the finished work of Jesus. As you love others with the love of Christ and pray for those people in your life, would you stand with me as we pray together about some of these things and ask God to work this into our lives? I know for certain that I need the Lord to work in this way in me.

Father God, thank You.

For your simple, clear truth, Lord, you called us to walk together within the body of Christ, the family of the saints. Sometimes, Lord, it's a walk in joy, but also, at times, in sorrow.

So, would you work in us, Lord? Work in us in such a way that we would see through the lens of your completed and finished work. Help us to love those around us with the love that you have loved us with. Stir us to be a people of prayer, praying for our brothers and sisters, especially for those who may frustrate or bother us.

Lord, may we be a people who give thanks. Make these things become real in our lives this week, we pray in Jesus' name.