Rejoice

 

“Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.”

(Psalm 105:3, NIV)

Rejoice and rejoice in the Lord! Seek Him always and your heart will be glad.  He is holy and He is the apple of our eyes.  Seek Him and you will find a peace that is abundant and never ending.  Place your heart and focus on the lord and you will find rest, peace, and rejoicing.

 

Sometimes we forget to always seek the Lord. We try to do things on our own and we usually end up failing.  With the Holy Spirit as our guide we can do no wrong and he will lead us to continue to seek the Lord for our hearts need Jesus and we can rejoice in His name.  Seeking the Lord should be our first and continual thoughts throughout the day. There should be no moments in our daily walk that takes our heart off of Jesus.

 

Jesus wants our hearts and he wants us to rejoice in Him.  Seeking the Lord is a heart thing, an action we must continually need to strive for every day, every moment in our lives.  Without the seeking Jesus all the time, we lose our focus of Him in our lives and we begin to stray from our path with Him. Seeking Jesus always ensures our hearts are always in the right place and our mind is steadfast in praising Him and rejoicing in His promises for us for eternal life in heaven.  So rejoice that we have Jesus in our life. Rejoice that He died for our sins. Rejoice that as we follow and let Him lead us in our lives we will spend eternity with Him in heaven.

Wisdom From the Holy Spirit

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”

 (James 3: 17-18, NIV)

When you follow the Holy Spirit, you can’t but help gain the wisdom of the Lord. The Holy Spirit will impart to you wisdom in situations that are unfamiliar, in talking with people about Jesus, and to help you with everyday life.  Some say wisdom comes from making mistakes and through experience, but I’m not talking about worldly wisdom, I’m talking about spiritual wisdom, wisdom that only come to us from God through the Holy Spirit.

Wisdom from God is pure and will not lead you astray in your walk with Him. His wisdom will draw you closer to Jesus and will allow you to face the spiritual battles we face every day from the world and from attacks from the dark forces fighting to keep us and separate us from Jesus. Wisdom will keep us strong and will help our spirits and mind to stay on the path of righteousness.

This is hard sometimes, for the world fights against the wisdom from God, but if we listen to the Holy Spirit and abide by his guidance, we are surely able to resist. Gaining the wisdom from the Holy Spirit is not something we achieve over night, but is something that grows in us as we grow in our relationship with Jesus.  The Holy Spirit will give us the wisdom we need to protect us from sin and to impart the love of Jesus to others who are seeking Jesus or do not know about Him.

Mighty Warrior

The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

(Zephaniah 3:17, NIV)

 

Before I was saved it didn’t rely on anybody but myself and I didn’t like myself too much. I had an emptiness in my heart I couldn’t fill.  Once I found Jesus though that changed over time.  Jesus saves and He saved me from myself and from eternal damnation to eternal heaven. 

 

I know He takes great delight in me for I am being led by the Holy Spirit daily in my walk with Jesus and I take great pleasure in that.  I don’t feel rebuked like I used to because God is love, pure love, and I get to participate in that love, received like a thirsty traveler finding water.  He rejoices in me and the work I strive to do for Him as lead by the Holy Spirit, not of my own will but of his.

 

For each person we help along the path of righteousness and for each person we help bring to Jesus, not only does he rejoice for us helping the harvest of souls, but He rejoices in the new found child of the most high.  It is our job as children of God to bring others to the Lord. If the Lord is in us, we can’t help but draw people to us and then to Jesus.

Praise the Lord

“Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.”

(Psalm 71:8, NIV)

 

Praise the Lord! He is an awesome God! Your mouth should be filled with positive words and expressed thoughts everyday and all the time. Jesus deserves our praise for the sacrifice he gave each one of us when He died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.  All day and every day, glorify the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind.  Blessing abounds from the Lord if you give Him praise in all you do.

 

In every situation you find yourself in, even the negative and bad ones, keep the Lord in the forefront of your mind and bring praise and glory to Him in asking him to turn negatives into positives. When you speak, those who hear your or are actively listening to you should be able to discern your love for Jesus in the words that come forth out of your mouth. For what is in your heart and soul will be manifested in the words you express.

 

If you are humbled by the Lord, your words will express the gratitude of His love through the words you speak. Remember that God loves you and you should give back to Him praise through your mouth. Your words should reflect God’s love for you and His towards others.  By doing this you are set apart from those who don’t know God, but your words may lead someone to the Lord, so what you and say things that bring praise to the Glory of God.

Citizenship is in Heaven

“But For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…” (Philippians 3:20 KJV).

If you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, that he died for your sins and rose from the grave and ascended to heaven, then you are a Christian, a follower of Christ.  This also means that this world we live in is not our home. Our home is in heaven because by believing in Christ, we are citizens of heaven. 

We followers of Christ eagerly wait to meet Jesus. We wait expectantly and patiently to that day when we get to meet our maker face-face.  What a glorious time this will be. I know that I eagerly await my time to heaven to be with my Creator.

While we wait though, we must survive the current world we live in and this takes great effort on our part to not fall to the ways of this world but to keep our eyes focused on our final prize: to be with Jesus in heaven for all eternity. 

The world we live in is ruled by Satan and he will try to do his best to encourage us to stray from Christ’s teachings and stop believing in His promises of eternal glory with Him in heaven. Hold tight my friends to Christ and His ways, always praying for strength and guidance as we run the marathon of Christian living to the finish line and cross over into heaven to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

just a thought

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:11-12, NIV).

The Lord’s joy is in my soul always. No matter what happens during the day, the troubles and tribulations that I face, I am assured of His joy. Why? My joy is not of this world but of the Kingdom of God and heaven which I will ascend to someday. My joy is in my future relationship with the Jesus and to meet him face to face in joy and love.

Part of the joy I have is in his commandment to love others as He has loved me. What choice do I have but to love? God loved us so much that he sent His only Son to us, in this fallen world, to sacrifice Himself for our Salvation.

To not love one another is by default to hate others. Not having love for one another takes effort and takes energy away from furthering the kingdom of God.  Love is easy, for all you have to do is to let Jesus shine through you and your actions and your interactions with people. Do this and love will radiate from within you to others.

To love one another can be difficult at times but to put the effort forth to choose to love even those who seemingly do not deserve love, gives you a sense of peace, regardless of other’s response to your love. You see, it isn’t about bending to others to make them happy, it is about obeying the one true God of this universe: To emulate His love to others. You never know, your loving attitude and emulation of love may just bring some lost soul to Jesus.

Refuge and Strength

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

 

If you’re like me you need refuge and strength in these end times. The devil and his minions are working hard to snuff us out, exclude us from society, and keep us from our Lord Jesus.  Satan is working mighty hard at this. Even though he seems to be winning, he will lose, but in the mean time, the fight is against us and we must battle in mind and spirit to keep him at bay so we stay on the path of righteousness with Jesus.

 

Satan, his minions, and the world will do their best to keep you from Jesus. If Jesus is your Lord, then Satan will do his best to trick and deceive you to get you to let go of Jesus. He will put lies out there, will try to influence you with the world, and will work in your mind to get you to sin; anything he can do to get you away from Jesus.  If you aren’t saved, then he already has an upper hand and will work hard to get you to not turn to Jesus and be saved for life eternal in heaven.  This is why we need the strength of the Lord in us so when faced with adversity; not only can we can get strength to resist the evils of this world, but we can take refuge with our Savior.

 

Psalm 62: 8. “Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.”

 

We all face times of despair. We face adversity. We face temptation.  In times like these we must put our trust in the Lord. He will be our refuge.  Can’t find a job so you are tempted to start drinking? Don’t. Put your trust in the Lord for He will make a way.  Tempted by that nice looking coworker who flirts with you time and time again, gentle at first, but more aggressive as time goes by? Don’t fall for the temptation to adultery.  Not feeling happy so you begin to think of drugs to take? Don’t do it, for Satan will capture you and work to get you to let go of the Lord.  Trust in Jesus in these times of despair, adversity, or temptation.  He is a refuge for pain and will hold you to His righteousness, just hold on too.

 

It’s hard to avoid temptations. Temptation is all around us.  Everywhere you turn there is something tempting you that is not in agreement with the life Jesus wants you to live. Satan uses temptation to draw you from the Lord. He will temp you in small things and when you do it, more temptation will come and grow until finally, Satan has a grip on your wrist and you’re off the path of righteousness, not looking to Jesus anymore for Satan will use sins to create guilt and make you think you are not worthy of Jesus anymore, not worthy of salvation. He will use that guilt to pull you further and further from Christ until you feel so guilty, you no longer believe you can be saved.

 

We all fail. That is why we have grace, but more importantly, that is why we have Jesus. Remember he died for your sins, all of them, from the small thing to the worst thing, you are already forgiven, you just need to ask for forgiveness and keep moving on the straight and narrow path to Salvation. Keep your heart on Jesus and you’ll be stronger and strengthened by Him.

 

2 Samuel 22: 3 “The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.”

 

Jesus is my rock. Is He yours?  What do you turn to first when you face troubles? Yourself? A friend? Drugs? Alcohol?  Maybe you should turn to God first.  We will all face troubles in our life and how you deal with those problems is where your heart really is.  I turn to God.  He is my rock, my salvation, my grace, my Savior. 

 

When I face adversity or troubles, I turn to Him and pray, even if it just a little prayer like “God please help me now.” Does this mean we won’t face troubles or a test of our faith if we believe Jesus is our rock?  No, but it shows where your heart really is.  Where your heart is, is where you take your refuge.  Think about this for a moment. Where your heart is, is where your refuge is.  Mine is with Jesus. Where is yours?

 

It isn’t really hard to change your refuge to Jesus.  It takes commitment to live a life for the Lord. It takes a heart that is cemented to Jesus.  It is a change in the way you react, what first comes to mind when adversity comes to you. If Jesus doesn’t first come to mind, it is time to re-train yourself to focus on the Lord of your life.  You must read, ponder, and study the Bible.  You must trust the Holy Spirit and let him guide you and your life. You must fight against the world and Satan’s attacks on you to take you off that path of righteousness.  When troubles come, make Jesus your refuge. 

 

2 Samuel 22: 31 “As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.”

 

Proverbs 30: 5, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”

 

You’ve got to trust Jesus.  I have a plethora of health problems. It would be so easy for me to blame God for my bipolar, or my fibromyalgia, my Crohn’s, and all the other things wrong with me. Yet… I don’t blame Him. I was known before I was born. I was not a mistake. God know who I would be in this world. He know what would become of me. He knew what sorrows I would face, how I was raised, and how I would be as a disciple of Christ. He know me before I was born and made me to be part of His perfect plan for me.

 

God made me the way I am for a reason, for a purpose larger than myself.  Even though my health issues surround me and overtake me sometimes, I trust in the Lord. I trust Him fully that, like Paul had a throne in his side and asked God to relieve him but God said his grace was enough ( 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10), I to take pleasure and know there is a reason for my suffering.  There is a reason for yours too.

 

You may not have health problems, but you may have other issues, physical, mental, or whatever, but remember that God made you and fashioned you to be who you are.  Take comfort in that Jesus has a grander plan for each of us than we think when you accept Him as your Savior. Yours might be writing like I do. Yours might be evangelism.  Yours might be comfort for people or a leader for Christ, and on and on. Don’t limit yourself to yourself, but let your heart open for the Lord to do the works he has planned for you that are larger than yourself. Trust the Lord.

 

Trusting the Lord was hard at first, but as my walk with Him continues to grow, my trust in Him grows too. You need to trust Jesus as well. No matter how bad things are, they could be worse. No matter how bad things are going, trust that there is a reason and an outcome of stronger faith on your part once you overcome. Your faith will be tested by Satan and the world, whether from temptations, sin, health issues, etc., but trust that Jesus is allowing it to happen to strengthen your faith in Him, to lean on Him for strength and refuge. Put all your troubles on Christ and the Holy Spirit will guide you to where you need to be. Seek Him daily and he will respond. His promise is to never leave us.

 

1Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.”

 

I like this verse. It reminds me that I must seek Jesus daily, at all times. I’ve walked a long and hard road to be where I’m at with the Lord. I’ve failed miserable and still do, but His strength encourages me to be strong. His love makes me want to seek Him all the time. And I do.  I love Jesus with my heart and soul. We all still make mistakes but by seeking and getting strength from the Lord helps us to avoid our past errors again and helps us to avoid future troubles as well. We will fail and face them, but the strength of the Lord will be there for us.

 

Be strong in Jesus and He will be there for you. Seek Him and the Holy Spirit will be with you to guide you.  Don’t try to be strong by yourself, but let Jesus be your strength.  Rejoice in the fact that you will face troubles and will be tested. By being tested and by facing adversity, with Jesus as our strength, we can overcome all things and stand up stronger in the Lord than we were beforehand.

 

Remember to always seek Jesus. The more you seek, the more you will find. The more you seek Jesus, the stronger you’ll be with Christ when troubles and adversity come your way. When you seek Jesus as your strength and refuge, who can beat you down? Who can sever your ties with Jesus? Who can steal you away from the Lord? Not a person, thing, or situation can, for if your strength and refuge is with the Lord; honestly and simply, you’ll be okay and will come out stronger in your faith.

 

Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

 

I absolutely love this verse (well I absolutely love a lot of versus) and this one is laid solid in my heart.  I CAN do all things through Christ.  I CAN overcome adversity through Christ as my strength. I CAN overcome temptations. I CAN win the battle between the world, Satan, and my all the troubles that try to get in my way with Jesus. 

 

When we face things opposite to Christ and what He wants from us, we can take refuge in the fact that Christ will strengthen us so we can resist and overcome. Know again that we will fail, we will stumble, and we will fall at times. Yet through Christ and the strength He gives us, we can stand back up, get back on track, and move forward in our walk with Jesus.  He is a great and might strength for us.

 

If you are seeking Jesus at all times and have faith in Him as your Savior, then nothing can keep you down, nothing at all. You can overcome addiction, temptations, sin, and Satan’s efforts to snatch you from the Lord.  With Christ all the negative in the world came be overcome and you will come out of each negative situation stronger as a follower and warrior for Christ.

 

Keep Jesus as your refuge and strength. He will be there for each one of us, all the time. Continually seek Him every day and you will grow in your relationship with Him and become stronger in your walk with Him. You will be able to face troubles and adversity with the knowledge that Jesus is there for you and will help guide you to salvation.

 

God bless you all and all glory to our Lord and Savior, Jesus.