Reasons to Rejoice

Saturday's QT brought upon two main points...

the first is seen through the 72 followers' response to the grandness of the authority that has been given them, that they "returned with joy and said, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'" which has made me think about what I'm doing with that great authority... sometimes I feel like there is more potential in me to do greater things for God... to be able to do things with greater confidence knowing that God is with me and working in me... however, I find myself hesitating often and doubting that strength and power can do something great through me... one thing I have realized these days is my lack of social skills in new environments... I am pretty talkative and can interact well with people I know and associate with often in places I am familiar in... however, when I'm placed in a different environment and put in a group with people I don't know well, I have a difficult time interacting with them... I would rather just sit and listen to others than to share my thoughts... this is always the case when I see newcomers at church, in the youth group as well as in the EM... I hesitate to introduce myself and just find my way to familiar faces, to my comfort zone... this hesitation also occurs with sharing the gospel with people I don't know... so... one application to this passage is to find confidence in the Lord and initiate conversations with newcomers at church...

the second point is on joy... after the 72 followers expressed WITH JOY the greatness of the authority given them, Jesus responded by saying "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven"... how often do we rejoice for the gift of salvation? for the eternal life we've been so privileged to receive? For me, I tend to find joy in the smallest things in life as well as the big things... but most of the time it is on earthly things, things that are temporary... last night as I was talking to one of daniel ssn's co-worker's wife, I told her that I always try to think of something joyful that happened at work with my students before leaving school everyday because those moments are what motivates me for the next day... and I wonder if those moments are temporary... or life-long for my students, especially when they have achieved something that day... but I definitely do not rejoice over my salvation as often as I should... it has become something I've taken for granted... so... my second application is to focus more of me and my life on God and to rejoice in the hope of meeting Him one day