The Secret to Joy

December Teaching Letter from Denise Renner

Dear Friends,

Merry Christmas and greetings in Jesus’ precious name! Christ came into this world “in the fullness of time” to redeem mankind from sin and to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father (Galatians 4:4,5). And what a great salvation it was and is that God wrought for us in Christ (see Hebrews 2:3-18)! Denise and I and our family wish you a warm and wonderful Christmas season and the best new year of your life in 2022.

Today I want to talk to you about opportunities and adversaries, but first I want to say thank you for being such a faithful partner with our ministry. As I told you in my letter last month, our ministry is bursting at the seams, and I am so humbled that God would use Denise and me, our family, and our team to minister to the many people who are reaching out to us every day.

Every soul is precious, and it is our heartfelt desire to convey that truth to every person God brings to us — that they are precious to Him and to us. And your gifts are so vital to our ability to touch every one of these treasured souls! So today I want to say a special thank you for all you do with us to take the trusted teaching of the Word of God to people in Russia and all over the world. From the depths of our hearts, Denise and I THANK YOU!

This month is the last month of the year — and I know you are probably preparing for Christmas and many different kinds of gatherings. But in addition to Christmas, it’s also almost 2022. As we come to the end of this year and to the beginning of a brand-new year, the Holy Spirit keeps telling me to “stay on track” with the assignments He has given us. I hear Him saying that even if we hit bumps along the way, everything will be all right if we’ll just stay on track and maintain our God-assigned territory — the many opportunities and assignments He has given us to inspire, strengthen, and equip believers with the sound teaching of the Bible.

But I’ve learned over the years that opportunities and adversaries usually go together — and today I want to encourage you to undergird yourself so that you can stay on track with what God has asked you to do this month and in the coming year.

Over the course of our ministry, we’ve had many great, effectual doors open to us to do the work of the Gospel. I’ll never forget when I received an opportunity to minister on television in the former Soviet Union. It was as if a great door had suddenly swung open to an entire vast territory — a door that had never before been opened for anyone else — and I knew I was experiencing something miraculous. By faith, Denise and I stepped through that door and began to preach the Word of God on television in this spiritually starved corner of the world.

Given the former socialist-communist campaigns against the Gospel in this particular region, this opportunity was as miraculous as the Jordan River dividing for Joshua and the children of Israel. But with this great open door also came a slew of adversaries, specifically dispatched by Satan to instill fear and doubt into my heart. The devil desperately wanted to prevent me from touching the lives of spiritually oppressed people, so he positioned evil people with insidious plans to try to block my view of what God had in store for our ministry.

I’m telling you that it was like the children of Israel looking at the Promised Land from the far side of the Jordan River. From that perspective, they saw only the fruitful land of blessing that lay before them. But once they entered the Promised Land, they had to fight giants of every kind before they could possess that land and enjoy the blessing. In much the same way, if Denise and I had taken our eyes off the Lord during that tumultuous period — or if we had focused only on the problems and forgotten about the fruit we were pursuing for God’s Kingdom — I’m sure we would have backpedaled to get out of the situation!

But we knew this was a God-given opportunity and worth the fight, so we fixed our gaze squarely on the Lord. Girded with the armor of God and the power of the Spirit, we pushed through every obstacle and possessed the ground that God called us to take. As a result, millions of souls began to hear the Gospel for the first time. We knew that only God could have opened this door!

In First Corinthians 16:9, the apostle Paul wrote about the strategic doors of opportunity that open for the Gospel and the adversaries that usually accompany them. He said, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.” Notice that Paul used the words “great,” “door,” “effectual,” and “is opened” to describe the opportunity that had been set before him.

The word “great” in this verse is translated from the Greek word megale, which means gigantic. The word “door” is the Greek word thura, which typically refers to a door, but in this context, denotes a rare opportunity. The word “effectual” is the Greek word energes, and it depicts something that is powerful and ready to be set into motion. Finally, the phrase “is opened” is the Greek word anoigo, which describes something standing wide open. In other words, the door in question couldn’t be any more open! Thus, an alternate translation of Paul’s words in First Corinthians 16:9 could be rendered, “A gigantic, powerful opportunity is already set in motion and standing wide open….”

Paul continued by saying, “For a great door and effectual is opened unto me….” You see, Paul knew that the particular door he was referring to had never been opened to anyone else, and he stood in awe of the unprecedented opportunity. Walking through these kinds of doors is impossible without divine assistance, and Paul was fully aware of God’s role in the matter. That is why he specified that this door had been opened “unto me.”

Paul’s prayer request in First Corinthians 16:9 was not for a door to open because it had already opened. His prayer request was to receive God’s wisdom to deal with the numerous adversaries who were trying to come against him. Paul used the Greek word antikeimenoi to describe the vast number of “adversaries” that were sent to attack him. This Greek word describes something that was piled high and lying all around him. In other words, he was dealing with more than a few minor opponents. On the contrary, it felt like opposition was stacked high on every side!

I’ve learned that the enemy will try his best to keep you from stepping through the gigantic doors of opportunity God desires to open for you. Satan is afraid of what will happen when “his” territory is invaded by someone fully equipped with a full arsenal of spiritual weapons. So know this: God will open doors for you — but He needs you to make a determined decision that you will walk through them, no matter the opposition, with the help of His Spirit.

By opening the door, God has already done His part, which would have been impossible without His assistance. Now He beckons you to come, dressed in the whole armor of God and in the power of His Word — and proceed through that effectual door into new territory. It may look like enemies are everywhere, but it is simply a fact that the devil and his forces flee and collapse when they are subjected to a show of strong faith!

As I mentioned earlier, many great and effectual doors have been opened to us over the years to do the work of the Gospel. In each case, we knew these doors were unique to us and had never before been opened for anyone else. And just as Paul experienced opposition, there were plenty of enemies that came against us with each opportunity. But because we obeyed God, the devil was forced to move out of the way, and we walked right into the virgin territory that God had opened for our ministry.

Even if you think your situation looks threatening right now, I want to tell you that God is with you. He wants to supernaturally open new doors for you — doors that have never before been opened for you. He is not beckoning you to walk through these doors so you can fail. He is with you every step of the way, and He will empower you to defeat every foe and bring Him glory in that new territory that is yours to possess in Jesus’ name!

Your open door may be an opportunity to shine the light of God’s Word and God’s love to your family or friends during this holiday season. It may be a door that will open to you in the new year. Regardless of when it is or what it is, the same God who opens doors will empower you to walk through them — and then He’ll be right with you to give you the wisdom and strength needed to overcome any giant that tries to meet you on the other side.

I know this is not a typical December, “Christmas-style” letter, but this is what was on my heart to share with you today. I want you to always know that if we can join you in prayer, we would be delighted to do so. To be honest, we are praying for you anyway, but when we are alerted to know exactly “how” to pray, it increases our effectiveness as we pray for you. So if you have a special need, please either call or write to let us know how we can get in agreement with you for God to show Himself mighty to you according to Jeremiah 33:3, which says, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

And please pray for us as we continue marching forward by faith to push back darkness, to shine the light of God’s Word, and to take territory for the Kingdom of God. Together — as partners — we can make a difference in the lives of throngs of people who are crying out to God for help. They are waiting for God to respond to their prayers, and God wants to use us — you and us together — to bring them the answers they desperately need.

But before I close, I want to say we are specifically asking God to do something special for you this month and before the end of the year. I don’t know what it is, but that is what we are praying. We are asking God to do something special that will bless your life! And please, please pray for us as we continue pushing ahead to build our studio in Moscow, to finalize the purchase of our new headquarters in Tulsa, and to continue to minister effectually to every precious soul Jesus brings to us!

Merry Christmas!

We love you and thank God for you!

We are your brother and sister, friends, and partners in Jesus Christ,

Rick and Denise Renner
along with Paul, Philip, and Joel and their families|Dear Friend,

I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas as you reflect on the biggest miracle that has ever happened on earth — God coming to the earth in the form of human flesh and giving His life for us. I pray you enjoy your family and friends to the fullest during this beautiful season.

I also want to say how thankful I am for every email message and phone call that I am receiving. I am hearing from people who are experiencing miracles, and I want to share one of those testimonies with you before I begin my letter.

One gentleman wrote to us and said that he had been having great problems with his leg, and it had even become very difficult for him to walk. As he listened to my program, he heard me give a word of knowledge that the Lord was healing someone’s leg. This man said to himself, I’m going to take that. He woke up the next morning without any pain in his leg and decided he was going to run a few miles. After he finished his run, he said, “Thank You, Jesus! My leg is completely healed!”

Isn’t that magnificent! Jesus is the same miracle worker today as He was 2,000 years ago. I love to see when people are set free from suffering because they experience Jesus the Miracle Worker personally. The Father loves us so much, and He put all that pain and suffering on Jesus so we could be free from it and healed in our bodies.

That testimony was such great news, and I wanted to share it with you because Jesus is YOUR Miracle Worker too!

This month God put it on my heart to share with you something powerful that we can do to help us through difficult times. As I studied, I opened the Word of God to Philippians because the apostle Paul knew a thing or two about difficult times. In verse 7 of the first chapter, he wrote the words “in my chains.” And in verses 13, 14, and 16, he repeated the words “my chains.” It’s obvious that the apostle Paul was bound in chains — and not just in chains, but he was a prisoner in a horrible prison in Rome.

Scholars believe that one of the reasons this prison was so horrible was, it was a place where sewage was collected. Just imagine: The apostle Paul was in this prison, chained up and standing in sewage, when he wrote his encouraging letter to the Philippian church — what we now know as the book of Philippians. This is an incredible example to us of the magnificent power of God working inside Paul, and this same power is available to us today.

From this first chapter of Philippians, you can see that the apostle Paul was absolutely in a very difficult place. So how did he get through this difficult time? How was he able to use the word “joy” or a form of the word “rejoice” 19 times in these four short chapters while he was chained up in this horrible prison? The answer to these questions is found in Paul’s own letter, and I believe it will be very valuable for all of us.

Philippians 1:3 says, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.” Even in this horrible prison, the apostle Paul was thankful! I know that’s amazing, but it is the truth. Then in Philippians 2, Paul went on to explain, encourage, and exhort the believers in the Philippian church. He said, “Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world” (Philippians 2:14,15).

We all need to understand that we cannot complain and be thankful at the same time. The apostle Paul was chained up in one of the most horrible prisons of his time, yet he was telling his fellow believers not to complain. “Complaining” goes further than just the words coming out of our mouth. The admonition in this verse is referring to what’s going on in our heart.

Complaining is murmuring, and murmuring is an expression of dissatisfaction; it’s grumbling and griping, even if in a low voice. One biblical commentator said it is the kind of grumbling that promotes ill-will instead of harmony and goodwill. It is inward disputing, discussing, and skeptical questioning or criticizing, and it refers to an intellectual rebellion against God. Just reading that makes me want to repent and turn from any dissatisfaction and grumbling I might find in myself!

But look again at Philippians 2:15: “That you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.” One Greek commentator said this word “blameless” means unblamed, unmixed, unadulterated, pure, and sincere. The word was used to describe a pure wine or a pure, unalloyed metal.

Many years ago, I had a ring that I loved very much. But in the cold winter months, it would break and come apart. I loved that ring so much that I kept getting it fixed. Finally, the jeweler said to me, “Denise, this gold has so much alloy in it — it has so many impurities in it — that’s why it keeps falling apart.”

Similarly, if we constantly have grumbling and complaining going on inside us, it produces something impure. And these impurities have the power to defile the soul, and it shows up in the intents of our heart. We can’t have this mix of impure things — grumbling, complaining, and disputing — going on in our heart, because instead of our being blameless or harmless in this troubled world, if we’re griping and complaining, we can become harmful.

But when our heart is pure and free of grumbling and complaining, we are blameless and harmless, and something magnificent happens — we shine as lights in this dark world. We’re able to give off light — the light of our Savior within us — and to be a fresh burst of light to this dark world.

As I was studying this, my mind naturally went to thoughts of Jesus, who was and is perfect — so that means Jesus never complained or murmured. Naturally speaking, He had so much He could have complained about. He could have complained about the disciples and how unbelieving they were. He could have complained about the Roman government’s mistreatment of the Jewish people. He could have murmured and complained about the Pharisees and the Sadducees, who ridiculed, criticized, and condemned Him. He could have perhaps even complained and murmured out of weariness, because He was pouring out Himself and ministering to people continually.

But Jesus never complained. Jesus never murmured. He gave thanks. Friend, He is our Example! Then Jesus placed Himself inside us by His Spirit in the new birth — so we can continually give thanks too.

In Second Corinthians 13:5, the apostle Paul asked the church (and he’s asking us today), “…Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?”

Jesus Christ is in us! We can’t justify saying, “But you don’t know my circumstances. It’s too hard. I can’t stop complaining. I can’t stop murmuring.”

Oh yes, we can because the power of the Holy Spirit lives inside us. Jesus has given us the power to be thankful and to not complain. Because He lives in us, we can say, “No, Lord, I’m not going to murmur, and I’m not going to complain. I’m going to give You thanks!”

I want to close with a final verse: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Giving thanks to God was a huge help to the apostle Paul that enabled him to endure in that difficult place. Even though he could have complained and murmured in that horrible prison, he chose to give thanks. And as a result, he gave light to all those around him. And that is what God has called you and me to do. He has called us to be harmless and blameless and to shine brightly in this world.

Thank you so much for spending time with me, and please let me know how we can pray for you. You can call us at 1.800.742.5593 or email us at prayer@deniserenner.org. And please join me on my weekly program, TIME With Denise Renner, Mondays at 7:00 a.m. CT on YouTube and Facebook! You can also find me Saturdays at 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. CT on GospelTruthTV.

Let’s continue to be thankful as we are moving forward together, and let’s continue to be harmless and blameless as we bring goodwill and the light of Jesus Christ to others.

Have a very blessed Christmas!

Denise Renner

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