JOY,...From God,...Through Jesus

Good Morning,...And Joy To the World!! We've all experienced moments of joy that words cannot begin to express,...a joy that is supernatural and divine.  God wants us to experience that kind of joy in our lives much more often than we do. Most of the time we experience only a small amount of the joy that God truly desires for us. We receive only a taste and think we are satisfied..

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.—John 15:10,11 (NIV)

Jesus wants His joy to occupy every part of our being, all the time. Joy that breathes fresh life into us, wakes us up, fills us, and will sustain us. It is only in His presence where we will find and keep this joy,...in the best and worst of times

Joy is a result of right relationship with the Father.

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Jesus' desires has always been to impart that same joy in us. Joy that will satisfy and joy that will make us complete.

 

" In the end, the only thing that will matter is;
Did we take the road God provided,...at the cost of His Son's Life."

There Is Not Christmas, Without Christ

Good Morning!! I just love this time of year, because it seems as though believers and none believers alike, work to fill the commandment of Jesus,...to love one another as He loved us. Most people seek to meet the needs of others, without any strings attached. Hope is revived.

Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.—Revelation 12:10 (NRSV)

Let us pray for a world Pentecost, when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit all over the world will transform the kingdoms of this world into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And let us each commit to acting where we are to make our world more like God dreams it to be,..not just this season, but always.

Live asking for and, expecting the embrace and power of the Holy Spirit.

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Come, Holy Spirit, come! Empower us in this day to witness through word, deed, and sign. In the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.

" In the end, the only thing that will matter is;
Did we take the road God provided,...at the cost of His Son's Life."

Keep The Christ, In Christmas

Good Morning, Think About This As We Move Through This Week,...With Each Year, There Seems To Be Less CHRIST In CHRISTMAS. "I gotta have that!", "I want that!" or even better,..."I need that!" Have you said any of those recently? Maybe you exhaled those words while gazing breathlessly at some chic clothes or a new computer or that latest hot car as it rolled by. If so, you would not be alone. But if you had them would you really be any happier? Probably not. We have more stuff than ever, yet we are more unhappy than ever. Avoid getting caught up in the buy now, cry later season.

All who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.—John 1:12 (NRSV)

The apostle Paul lived out some great insights into this paradox. In Philippians 4 he provided these thoughts on more and less:

• "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances" (v.11) — Note that his expectation was not to be happy. Paul was simply satisfied and content with whatever God brought his way.

• "I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" (v.13) — By acknowledging that God is the source of everything he needed in life, Paul was prepared to face the daily grind with a sense of gratitude and wonder. With a perspective like Paul’s, we’re bound to seek less stuff and find more true happiness in Jesus. We all Gotta have that, for real!

Know the REAL reason for the season;

We join with God's children around the earth, to declare our faith, that the world may know and be saved, by Jesus Christ.

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The REAL key to Happiness is not in Collecting,...but rather in Sharing.

" In the end, the only thing that will matter is;
Did we take the road God provided,...at the cost of His Son's Life."

Salvation, The Gift

Good Morning!! God promised, a child of the woman would crush Satan's head. Jesus Christ is that child. Jesus was not some crackpot who got Himself nailed to a cross. He purposely went to the cross to defeat death and the devil. Christ died to pay the penalty due, for people like you and me for bad behavior and evil deeds. We must turn away from all known evil. We must trust in the sacrifice of Christ as the supreme act which renews a positive relationship with God.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.—Romans 5:10 (NASB)

The word enemies refers to hostility or enmity. It goes back to Genesis 3:15. God said to Satan, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel." The additional requirement for heaven is a perfectly good life. Jesus Christ met this prerequisite. On His way to the cross, Jesus Christ lived that perfect life free from all sin, evil, and error. We must trust in the perfections of Christ, His faultless life, to gain us access to heaven. We are saved by His life.

"You saw me before I was born and scheduled every day of my life before I began to breathe.  Every day was recorded in your Book!"(Psalm 139:16, LIVING BIBLE)

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 "No mere man has ever seen, heard or even imagined what wonderful things God has ready for those who love the Lord!"(1 Cor. 2:9, LIVING BIBLE)

" In the end, the only thing that will matter is;
Did we take the road God provided,...at the cost of His Son's Life."

Can You Hear Him, Now

Good Morning!! When you hear someone say, "God told me …" do you wonder if God spoke to them audibly,...and why that never happens to you? While there are instances recorded in the Bible of God speaking audibly,...and maybe it still happens,...but this is not a common occurrence. But there are other tangible ways God speaks to us, like through the Bible,...and in a still small voice in our hearts.

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.—John 10:3 (NIV)
The Bible is the logos of God,...the authoritative, infallible, inerrant, eternal Word of God. And it is forever settled in heaven. Second Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed." As we read the Bible, every word is God speaking to us. We need to spend regular time in God's Word,...listening and growing. ",…people need more than food to live, they need every word that the LORD has spoken" (Deuteronomy 8:3 CEV).

As we learn to listen and respond, we will become more and more familiar with his voice.

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Father God, help us to commit to spending more time in Your Word,...listening as You speak to us through the scriptures. Help us to become more familiar with Your voice. In Jesus' name, Amen.

" When we affirm actions and attitudes, we reap more of them.
Wise people know to reward the behavior they want to see more of."

Talk It Out, To Work It Out

Good Morning!! Open, honest, loving communication is vital to all healthy relationships, and to getting through conflict. People's inability to reach a resolution to an angry disagreement can usually be traced to poor communication. Tempers flaring, and hateful words spouted, can quickly block any productive communication.

A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.—Proverbs 15:18 (NIV)
Anger: Our Master or Our Servant by Larry Heath. This study offers a clear explanation of anger, what causes it, and how to recognize when you are sinning with anger. It not only ministers to church members, but serves as a powerful evangelistic tool.

Learn to be more sensitive to the needs of others, and less demanding about your own.

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Father God, teach us to stay calm in tense situations, help us to not get in the way of meaningful communication. Help us to be less demanding about what we want, and more sensitive to others needs. In Jesus' name, Amen.

" When we affirm actions and attitudes, we reap more of them.
Wise people know to reward the behavior they want to see more of."

Power To Overcome

Good Morning!! We all have disappointments in life. Many of us have experienced unfair treatment by someone, the loss of a job or business, or even the traumatic death of someone we love. Some have experienced a serious personal illness or injury. Many godly heroes have had setbacks, handicaps or poor family dynamics. Numerous people in history could easily have settled for being a victim, but chose not to.

The Lord is my strength and my defense; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.—Exodus 15:2 (NIV)
One such godly hero of the Bible, was Gideon. He was called by God when Israel was suffering from the oppressive rule of the Midianites. An angel appeared to Gideon,...declaring, "The Lord is with you." Gideon saw his family as being the weakest in their tribe, and himself as the least of his family. But when the Lord declared him a mighty warrior, Gideon made a choice. He chose to be a victor, not a victim. Following God's instructions, he became a mighty leader and eventually ruled as judge. (Judges 6-7)

In every difficult circumstance we face, there is a simple choice.
We can choose to be a victim, never overcoming and moving on with our lives,...or we can trust God to show us the way to victory.

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Father, we thank You that we have a choice. We don't have to be a victim in any situation,...if we trust You for victory. Help us remember that even when we go through difficult situations, You are with us, and will help us find the victory. We don't have to be victims,...with Your help, we can become victors,...and move on with our lives, stronger. In Jesus' name, Amen.

" When we affirm actions and attitudes, we reap more of them.
Wise people know to reward the behavior they want to see more of."