joy

Psalms 19: 7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect,reviving the soul.The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. 9 Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.

how often do we mistake happiness for joy? I think it is done very often...

happiness is centered on emotions.. it is a feeling... generally.. when we get our way.. we are happy... and when we do not.. we are sad or angry...

but joy is entirely different... joy is a thing you have despite the circumstances.. you can be going through trying circumstances.. yet you have stability of emotion through God's love for you...

this thanksgiving at a service.. the preacher stood up and talked about people we don't like... and how often we allow them to take our joy from us.. how often we will allow our own peace.. happiness.. patience.. joy... to be upset by someone else just being in our presence...

I am thankful that God is my center... my attitude.. my mood... these things are not determined by what others around me do or say... God is my base.. and I can stand strongly upon Him... secure in His love.. regardless of the circumstance... and keep my joy... even when I am not happy...

peace...

Philippians 4: 2 Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. 4 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

we need to learn to live in peace with one another.. we argue.. we judge... for what? who is it we think we are to determine what others are to do or not to do... yet we get angry about their decisions.. it seems to me.. especially when it has nothing to do with you... that we really need to get over ourselves..

in the scripture we are taught that God gives us peace.. we take our own peace by constantly worrying about someone else...

let us lay down all strife.. all this dissension... let us all pick up peace.. live our own lives.. stop worrying about someone else's life... live in peace and in unity.. in love.. as God has directed us.. in Jesus name.. Father teach us to live in peace and unity and love as this is Your will.. amen.amen.amen.

the price of a life...

what is our life really worth? biblically.. your only value is the glory you bring to God through the life that you lead... as we believe the bible is truth.. I would say that many of us fall short of any value or worth whatsoever...

somehow we are taught how 'worthy' we are... that we are equal to everyone else.. that no one can do better than us if we put our full self into something... yet I find this to be false... all along I believed I was a princess.. a queen.. and many of us have this faulty view.. this is what we are taught by the world.. yet biblically... we are servants.. we are slaves... we are bondsmen...

pride is one of the biggest sins we act out in daily without even realizing it.. we just know how worthy we are of receiving God's blessings... we are righteous.. doesn't He owe us? shouldn't we have the best of everything?

I believe the closer we come to Christ... the more we die to self.. the more valuable we become.. the difference is.. then we cannot see it... all we can see is how much was given to purchase our salvation... so instead of being puffed up.. we are humbled..

we cannot even accept the reality of Christ dying for us... we don't know what it is like to be slaves... we know only of blessing... do you realize... that many people in history were made slaves because of debt they owed... if this were still the case... I would surely be up under the jail... for past debt that was never paid... yet Christ died so that we might go free... but it wasn't about physically being free.. even in the exodus from egypt.. God didn't free them because they were slaves and they were persecuted... He freed them so that they would be able to worship Him... complete freedom from the egyptians only came because Pharoah acted as though God was not powerful enough to free them.. so He then showed Pharoah His true power and might...

are you free? have you accepted Christ? have you realized that only in being a servant of the Most High God do we have life at all.. otherwise we are dead in our sin... I pray for the salvation of each person that reads this... praying they will ask God to forgive them of sin and cleanse them from all unrighteousness... and they will be transformed by the renewing of their minds... in the name of Christ Jesus my Lord and Saviour I ask.. amen.amen.amen.

prayer...

if you search the bible... you find MANY scripture about the importance of prayer in our lives... as God has been molding me into this new creature in Christ.. one of the things He is really impressing upon me is the importance of prayer... and so in doing this... He leads me to pray for the church... I pray for the church I attend and am a member at... but He also leads me to pray for the churches of this world... that souls will be saved and lives will be transformed... and often on sunday mornings during the altar call you will find me at the altar in prayer.. not for myself... but for the people of God... that they will come to know God as their Father, their Husband, the Lover of their Soul, their Best Friend, their Savior... these are the roles that God desires to play in our lives... if we allow Him to be personal with us He will step up and be all that we need Him to be...

so this past sunday... as I walked around and spoke to people before the service started... a woman I have never seen before says to me... thank you for your prayers... and my first reaction was to tell her I did not pray for her... but I feel the Spirit say to me.. shhhhh... so I hug her and tell her she is welcome... and go to my seat and I ask God why would He want me to let her believe I pray for her and I don't know her? and He says... you pray for the church and for the community.. you pray for her... and I thought.. humpf... how about that...

so I challenge each of us.. to pray for your church and your community... for the people of God but also the people of the world... because it is through our prayers that God is changing hearts and saving lives... your prayers are important.. even when you think they are not...

James 5:15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.