Tag: Joy

Rejoicing in Trials

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Psalm 66 caught my eye because it is a song of praise to God that is filled with thankfulness. When was the last time you thanked God for testing and proving your character? James 1:2-4 says we should rejoice in trials, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James says trials help us to grow and have our character refined by God. The psalmist would agree.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!
2     Sing the glory of his name;
    make his praise glorious.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you;
    they sing praise to you,
    they sing the praises of your name.” Praise the Lord for who He is and His preeminence.

5 Come and see what God has done,
    his awesome deeds for mankind!
6 He turned the sea into dry land,
    they passed through the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice in him.
7 He rules forever by his power,
    his eyes watch the nations—
    let not the rebellious rise up against him. Praise the Lord for His wonderous deeds on our behalf.

8 Praise our God, all peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
9 he has preserved our lives
    and kept our feet from slipping.
10 For you, God, tested us;
    you refined us like silver.
11 You brought us into prison
    and laid burdens on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and water, Praise the Lord for the trials of life that
    but you brought us to a place of abundance. refine my character.

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings
    and fulfill my vows to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats. Come and worship the Lord!

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God;
    let me tell you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;
19 but God has surely listened
    and has heard my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected my prayer
    or withheld his love from me! Praises to our God who listens and answers my prayers, who forgives my sins and accepts me with His unfailing love. He has not rejected me but sent Jesus to save me! Thank you Father God.

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can know joy in trials, changed character and lack for nothing through faith in Him. We can rejoice with the psalmist over who God is and what He has done for us.

Linda

3rd Sunday of Lent, Prayers Heavenward

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This Sunday I want us to look into Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. As before in Ephesus, Paul prays for the saints to grow and persevere in the Lord. Paul has never been to Colossi but has heard of their faith and wants them to know He is praying for them. Here are verses 1:9-12 in the Message translation.

9-12 Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you’ll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

He reminds us that praying for others and their growth and work for the Lord Jesus needs to be ongoing not just a one time thing. He wants them to be wise in the Lord so they can understand His ways. How true this is. The ways of God, His thinking and plans are not of this world. Isaiah 55:8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. The only way to get to know God is through His word and prayer. We need to be about this continually. As we grow in God, the Holy Spirit transforms our minds and hearts to more reflect Jesus. This ‘sanctification’ is a life long process. Paul also prays for endurance for the believers in Colossi. They will need endurance and perseverance to live sustained and fruit filled lives for Him. Paul says that enduring will bring Joy and make their future bright in Him.

Which of these things can you pray for fellow believers? Do you know someone who is struggling to understand God’s Word and the nature of God? How about someone that is discouraged and not seeing growth in their life? Everyone needs wisdom from God, endurance and joy so be sure to pray for those too.

Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we have the privilege and obligation to pray for our fellow believers. Let today be one of prayer for those around you. Also, do you know someone who does not know Jesus? Pray for their hearts to be softened and their eyes/ears opened to the gospel. Pray for them to listen to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Linda

Keeping Eternal Pleasures in Mind

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Today we are looking at the remainder of Psalm 16 verses 7-11. I read this in various translations but I really felt the Message was the most direct.

The wise counsel God gives when I’m awake
    is confirmed by my sleeping heart.
Day and night I’ll stick with God;
    I’ve got a good thing going and I’m not letting go. Do you ever go to bed with a problem and think you’ll sleep on it and maybe in the morning you will know your mind and decided what to do? The psalmist is identifying with this, saying God is directing him during the day and then confirms his directions while he sleeps. So night and day, God is his guiding light. I find this both comforting and encouraging and it reaffirms Deuteronomy 31:6 “ Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” That means God is with us day and night!

9-10 I’m happy from the inside out,
    and from the outside in, I’m firmly formed.
You canceled my ticket to hell—
    that’s not my destination! David, the psalmist, was convinced that God had his eternity secure and that he had a heavenly home with God. His faith in God had cancelled his sin and assured him of a heavenly home. We can be assured of this too as faith in Christ and his work on the cross confirms our gift of eternal life with Him. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

11 Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
    all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
    I’m on the right way. David knows his pathway is assured and it is lifelong. He is on the right pathway in life walking hand and hand with God.

We too can say we have a heavenly home, God is our light and guide, and we do not need to fear death and punishment in Hell. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, I can be assured of life eternal and walking with him day by day. Thank you Jesus.

Linda

Christmas Blessings for You!

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Merry Christmas! I found this Christmas Blessing while blogging year and really loved the sentiments it contained. May you know the blessings of Peace that Jesus brings, John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” May you see your Hope in Him, 1 Peter 3:15 “but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,” May you feel the Sprit of His Love, 1 John 3:23 “And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.” May you have the Comfort of Faith in Jesus, 2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort.”

All of these gifts complete the circle of our Advent Wreath as we light the Christ candle on Christmas Eve or morning proclaiming His birth. May you find His Love, Comfort, Hope and Peace in Jesus. May you rejoice in the arrival of Jesus and claim the JOY God has for you.

Linda

Third Sunday of Advent, Shepherd’s Candle

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Today is the lighting of the third candle in the Advent wreath. It is called the Shepherd’s candle and represents joy. During the lighting the story is told of the angels appearing to the shepherds announcing the birth of the Christ child and where He could be found. Joy is contagious and once the arrival of the Messiah was proclaimed the shepherds wanted to find the child and worship Him. May you feel that same joy today and may it draw you closer to the Savior.

This next week we will be riding to Bethlehem on a donkey, be looking for room at an inn, seeing shepherds in their fields and rejoicing with angels. Here are some words of JOY for today as we worship.

Psalm 5:11 “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you.”

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Luke 2:10 “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Romans 10:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

May we be filled with the joy of the Lord today as we continue to anticipate the coming of the Christ child who brought freedom from bondage to sin through His life, death and resurrection.

Linda

Choices- Life with Peace or Death?

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The Lord has Isaiah end his book of prophecy with both a glimpse of reprieve and hope for believers and the reality of judgement and eternal punishment for unbelievers. Throughout the book the Lord has been reaching out to believers to follow Him. In verse 2 God declares who He is and what he desires of each believer. “Has not my hand made all these things,
    and so they came into being?”
declares the Lord. “These are the ones I look on with favor:
    those who are humble and contrite in spirit,
    and who tremble at my word. Do you believe that God is the creator of all things? If so, do you weigh His power and seek to humble yourself before Him? Are you sorry for you sins, remorseful and contrite seeking to follow His plans for you in His Word? Plainly do you believe in Who He is and if so are you willing to humble yourself before Him?

God promises peace, comfort, joy and judgement on evil for all those who believe and follow Him. vs12-13 “For this is what the Lord says: “I will extend peace to her like a river,
    and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
    and dandled on her knees.
13 As a mother comforts her child,
    so will I comfort you;
    and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”

vs. 14 “When you see this, your heart will rejoice
    and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
    but his fury will be shown to his foes.” vs 16 “For with fire and with his sword
    the Lord will execute judgment on all people,
    and many will be those slain by the Lord.”

Isaiah does not water his message down so that people like it better. He lays it out for us clearly that God desires our obedience and humility and our rewards will be great. The alternative is grim and filled with pain and desolation.

Jesus gave this message too in Matthew 11:18 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” In Him is rest and peace but apart from Him you have nothing. John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” James 1:15 “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Sin leads to death when one is apart from Christ. Hear his plea and come to Him. He has rest for all of us. Because He created us with a free will, the choice is yours. Which will you choose- life in Christ or not?

Linda

A Great Promise, Plus more…

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After a bit of a hiatus from my blogging during Lent, I am looking forward to continuing and finishing the book of Isaiah. The passage for today is Isaiah 55:10-13. God has been telling the Israelites, who will be exiled to Babylon, that their days there will end and that they again will flourish.

“The rain and snow come down from the heavens
    and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow,
    producing seed for the farmer
    and bread for the hungry. The seasons will come and go replenishing the earth and providing fruit. It is like God is telling them- things will return to normal and go on as before your exile. You will live, enjoy the land and flourish- just like I planned. Like my land and seasons God continues in verse 11, my Word will be sent out and will always produce fruit! It will do exactly that which God desires it to do among men.


11 It is the same with my word.
    I send it out, and it always produces fruit.
It will accomplish all I want it to,
    and it will prosper everywhere I send it. This is an amazing promise we can claim in our lives. We can trust God to produce results from giving out His Word. We don’t have to worry about where it is going or to whom, our job is to give it out. I claimed this verse for my first book, Fearless Living. I can trust God to fulfill His promise and use His Word in the lives of men. Praise God!


12 You will live in joy and peace.
    The mountains and hills will burst into song,
    and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
13 Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow.
    Where nettles grew, myrtles will sprout up.
These events will bring great honor to the Lord’s name;
    they will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.” Isaiah’s words of prophecy were to be like a balm to the exiled Jews. They were given hope and reassurance that God’s love and power will remain and bring forth good things for them again.

Where do you need that hope today? Are you thinking things are futile and the cycle you are caught in is endless? The Jews must have thought that too, but God gave them hope by looking at the seasons and reassuring them fullness of life would return. Look around and see where God is sending encouragement into your life. Are you concerned about ministry and where you are giving out God’s Word? Be encouraged and don’t fret over the who and where, just trust God to bring the harvest when the Word is given out. He is a Promise-Keeping God! Are you looking for times of joy and restoration? Look to Jesus as He alone can and will restore us. Pray for restoration and pray for the faith and restoration of other Christians as Peter asked in 1 Peter 5:5-9 “Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.” Pray, pray, pray.

In accordance with Isaiah 55:11-13: live with and in hope, continue giving out God’s Word and pray for restoration for the areas of weakness in your own life and in the lives of others.

Linda

Waiting with JOY!

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The birth of a child always brings joy! New life, a new start, a new beginning are all positive events and worthy of JOY! John’s arrival was joyous and mysterious too. As was the custom of the day, the boys were named and circumcised on the 8th day of life. Both were significant events for the birth parents. Their child had survived the birth process and was ready to enter the world with a permanent name. From the text, we can see that boys were to be named after their parent or grandparent or some relative in the past. New names were unheard of, except for John. Elizabeth knew that God had ordained that their son was to be named John and that he had a special mission to fulfill. He would call people to repentance and ready the way for the coming of the Savior. Here is how the scene unfolded.

Luke 1:57-66 “When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”

62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

Is it any wonder that the first words out of Zechariah’s mouth were words of Praise? He had been silent for 9 months knowing he was being held accountable for his doubt. His waiting period transformed his doubt into praise. I love the way scripture describes it, “Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free“. It was as if his tongue had been held captive and his mouth closed. It reminds me of the salvation process. Once you encounter Jesus your mouth is opened to praising God with knowledge of who He is personally to you and you are set free from the bondage of sin. I would imagine Zechariah wanted to praise God because he was overcome by God’s power and goodness. He had not been able to speak those long months and now he could. Has God ever kept you waiting for something you knew would be wonderful? Zechariah knew his son would be just who God wanted him to be and that he was to have a part in it. He was going to be able to have input into the raising of this special child. The waiting increased his faith and caused him to spill over with joyous praises.

One such time of waiting in my life was when God had me waiting to become a mother. I knew that God had a child for me, and that we were going to be a family. Our journey from infertility to adoption was a long one with many twists and turns, but I held to the belief that God had a child for me. After many years of waiting, our daughter arrived from Korea on December 1 and my life was never the same. That first Christmas was one of great blessing and joy! It was wonderful, terrifying and yet so glorious. The waiting increased my joy and strengthened my faith.

Think back to a time when God had you wait. Did the waiting increase your joy? Was your patience rewarded with peace and hope in what you received? If we got everything right away, we would begin to lose the joy and anticipation of what was to come. God’s plan is always for my good and brings Him glory. If you are in a waiting period, take heart and let praises be on your lips. Trust in the goodness of God and let joy be in your heart as you rejoice in the coming of your Savior.

Linda

A Sunday to Celebrate Joy, Advent’s 3rd Sunday

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Today is the lighting of the third candle in the Advent wreath. It is called the Shepherd’s candle and represents joy. During the lighting the story is told of the angels appearing to the shepherds announcing the birth of the Christ child and where He could be found. Joy is contagious and once the arrival of the Messiah was proclaimed the shepherds wanted to find the child and worship Him. May you feel that same joy today and may it draw you closer to the Savior.

This next week we will be diving deep into Elizabeth and Mary’s parting, John’s Birth, Zechariah’s Song of praise after being muted for 9+ months, and Joseph’s story. Here are some words of JOY for today as we worship.

Psalm 5:11 “But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may exult in you.”

Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

Luke 2:10 “And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”

Romans 10:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

May we be filled with the joy of the Lord today as we continue to anticipate the coming of the Christ child who brought freedom from bondage to sin through His life, death and resurrection.

Linda

Shared Joy!

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When was the last time you shared a joyous moment with a friend or relative? I hope it has not been too long as those are moments to be cherished. My sister and brother-in-law just celebrated their 70th Wedding Anniversary! At dinner, we asked them to share their favorite trips, funny stories about their children, things growing up that impacted them, etc. It was a wonderful time of sharing. In today’s verses we see the joyous reunion of Elizabeth and Mary as they meet for the first time since they both were visited by the Holy Spirit’s power in a special way. Elizabeth in now 6 months into her pregnancy and Mary’s has just begun. We see Elizabeth’s joy at realizing her baby recognizes the mother of the Lord. This causes Elizabeth to be filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaim the coming of the Lord.

 “At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40 where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:39-45

One of the things I cherish about this encounter is that it shows normal people engaging each other in normal ways. What is unusual about this encounter is the intervention of the Holy Spirit in their midst. We engage with people all the time, but have you stopped to think that you being indwelt by the Holy Spirit through your faith in Jesus bring the Holy Spirit with you into each encounter. As with Elizabeth and Mary, we need to let the joy of the Lord be with us in conversations and actions as we meet and greet others in our daily lives. God’s power within us has the power to effect and influence others for His good.

What words of praise do you give out? Ours will not be words of prophesy but can give life changing words of encouragement and hope. God has us where we are for His purpose, and we need to take opportunities to speak of Him as often as we can. You can speak words of hope by being a friend, listening with an open mind and heart, praying for the other person even as you speak with them. Look for the God opportunities today and share your joy!

Linda