ESOCS Devotional 3 July 2025 – The Joy of Knowing Jesus
MEMORY VERSE: “Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the Church unto God for him.”Acts 12:5 NLT
TEXT: PHILIPPIANS 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.
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In James 5:16b, we note that the earnest fervent prayer of a righteous person has great power, and produces wonderful results. In our text, Saint Paul admonishes all believers to be full of joy in the Lord always. In other words, Christians should be seen rejoicing in the Lord at all times, and to be thankful, irrespective of the circumstances. This is the whole essence of knowing Jesus, as distinct from the case of unbelievers. By the grace of God, that joy, a joy in spite of difficult circumstances, and toxic people and temptations, is ours for the taking today.
Over and over again, Paul challenged the Philippian Christians to rejoice because of the incomparable benefits of knowing Jesus. In his counsel to the Philippian Church, he was full of emphasis on the encouragement, the comfort and the tenderness that flow out of an intimate relationship with Jesus.
Generally speaking, Paul’s overall emphasis here is to define the nature of true Christian life. It is not like the one of rejoicing over specific favourable incidents. Paul insists that the demeanour of the Christian lifestyle is one of constantly rejoicing in all situations (Romans 12:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:16; 1 Peter 4:13; James 1:2).
It follows therefore, that if a believer or disciple has an over-anxious or quarrelsome lifestyle, he or she must repent of this unchristian attitude (Matthew 5:11-12). Let your forbearance be known at all times, since one major result of the life of rejoicing is gentleness toward others (James 2:13). In all, every Christian should live out a reputation for being a patient and longsuffering person towards the faults and weaknesses of others (Colossians 3:12-15).
Finally, in our rejoicing in the Lord, we must learn to put on, as God’s elects, bowels of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, and endurance. Above all, we must make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive those who offend us.
CHALLENGES
- In 1 Thessalonians 5:16, Saint Paul insists that we must be joyful always – irrespective of the circumstances. Do you agree?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord Jesus, grant me the grace to be joyful always.
FURTHER READING: Isaiah 26:1-9; Daniel 4:13-27; Acts 13:34-51
ESOCS Devotional 3 July 2025
