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September 20, 2014

4 Simple Ways to Experience Joy in Life

God designed us for His joy and has promised an inner supply of joy by His Spirit. God fills us with joy that is separate from any circumstance.

Jesus Christ lived without much of the stuff we associate with temporal happiness. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2) and never lost His joy despite betrayal, loneliness, slander, pain, suffering, and even death. Christ displayed joy on earth and wanted His disciples to experience joy for themselves. Jesus said, “”I have told you these things so that you can have the SAME JOY I HAVE and so that your joy will be the FULLEST POSSIBLE JOY.” (John 15:11 NCV)

C. S. Lewis wrote of this joy beyond the pleasures of earth. “You might as well offer a mutton chop to a man who is dying of thirst as offer sexual pleasure to the desire I am speaking of. … Joy is not a substitute for sex; sex is very often a substitute for Joy. I sometimes wonder whether all pleasures are not substitutes for Joy.” (Surprised by Joy)

Joy in suffering is observed as Paul and Silas are in a Philippi jail, praying and singing hymns at midnight (Acts 16:25). Later in life while in prison chains, Paul writes, “Rejoice in the Lord always and say it again rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4) God’s clear command is joy. To not rejoice is sin against God’s distinct directive.

“The bottom line for you and me is simply this: grimness is not a Christian virtue. There are no sad saints. If God really is the center of one’s life and being, joy is inevitable. If we have no joy, we have missed the heart of the Good News and our bodies as much as our souls will suffer the consequences.”
(Bruce Larson, “There’s a Lot More to Health Than Not Being Sick”)

How can we have God’s joy invading our lives?

1. Experience God for yourself.

If you want joy, seek to have a genuine encounter with God. In God’s presence, there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Once you have been with God, your world is transformed. You can experience God’s presence on a daily basis and keep yourself from melting down. Put yourself in a position where we can meet Him – read the Bible, pray, listen to God-honoring music, attend a worship service.

Enter into His presence. How about this? Spend five minutes in authentic worship – right where you are, right now. Why delay? Our joyful attitude is harnessed to the Lord’s unfailing presence. The Psalmist praised, “The One enthroned in heaven laughs.” (Psalm 2:3) Joy is a by-product of life with God (Psalm 9:2; 16:5-11).

“Joy is the surest sign of the presence of God.” (Pierre Teilhard Chardin)

2. Allow God’s promises to change the way you think and and the way you live.

Find one verse to memorize, meditate, and live out. Apply God’s Word every day. Let God’s Word be the stable foundation for your life. Make the Bible the solid bedrock for your life, a stable foundation for successful living. The Bible provides security and strength for your life, but I am not suggesting just reading as a daily discipline or a historical exercise. The goal of Bible reading is NOT just to read the Bible to look good or because its expected. The ultimate goal is to let the WORD and God’s presence transform me. God’s Word produces joy.

  • “The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.” (Psalm 19:8a NIV)
  • “Your covenant laws are your gift to me forever. They fill my heart with joy.” (Psalm 119:111 NIRV)
  • “I find joy in your promise like someone who finds a priceless treasure.” (Psalm 119:162 GW)
  • “When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.” (Jeremiah 15:16 NLT)

3. Pursue your purpose, the reason you are alive.

Be who God made you to be. “Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for?” (Leonard Ravenhill) Uncover the reason God put you on this planet.

Louis L’Amour was an American author famously known for his many western novels. He revealed his secret to writing so many stories, “Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” There is wisdom in that. Practice God’s plan for your life. Do something bigger than the mess of your current circumstances.

If you need joy in your life, tell another person of who Jesus is. Soulwinning is part of the work Christ has appointed you to do, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” (Mark 16:15 NLT) If you aren’t a fisher of people, you’ll miss out on the joy God has in mind for life.

Life is tough, but you have something in your life that is BIGGER than all your JUNK. If you don’t discover why you are breathing on this planet, you won’t be fulfilled or satisfied with life.

“The Christian owes it to the world to be supernaturally joyful. In this day of universal apprehension when men’s hearts are failing them for fear of those things that are coming upon the earth, we Christians are strategically placed to display a happiness that is not of this world and to exhibit a tranquillity that will be a little bit of heaven here below.” (A.W. Tozer)

4. Lift up your eyes beyond the trial and trust God’s process.

Allow the Lord to change your perspective. God uses dark days to develop our character. Impossibly difficult circumstances are the setting for amazing God-sized miracles that release joy.

  • “Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we CONFIDENTLY and JOYFULLY look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” (Romans 5:2-4 NLT)
  • “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
  • “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28 NLT)
  • “And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. “And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. So BE TRULY GLAD! There is WONDERFUL JOY AHEAD, even though the going is rough for a while down here.” (1 Peter 1:4-6 TLB)

Guess what? Earth was never designed to be your stopping point. If you are thinking life on earth will bring you joy, you surely will be disappointed. You are passing through with wonderful joy ahead! There is joy still waiting for you. There’s hope for you. There’s freedom for you. There’s healing for you. There’s peace for you. There’s JOY for your life.

January 31, 2014

You Can Persevere in God’s Strength

It’s human nature to feel tired when trouble comes our way or when we haven’t had enough rest or when we have selflessly given out to serve other. We’ve all had moments when our bodies just don’t want to put out any more energy. We’ve even had days it seems like everything is working against us. If we’re not careful, those days can turn into weeks and weeks into months. Next thing we know, we’re tired, discouraged, angry, and burning out.

I certainly enjoy ministering around the world, but even ministry can be tiring. God can still use us – even when we are physically drained – but we do need to take time to rest.

We may be stretched, but God doesn’t want His followers to lead exhausted lives. God wants to give us strength to live every day to the fullest. The apostle Paul asked God to strengthen every follower of Christ with an inward spiritual strength “through His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16).” In 2 Timothy 2:1, Paul compelled Timothy to “be strong strengthened inwardly in the grace that is to be found only in Christ Jesus.” Just as Paul encouraged Timothy to rely on God for physical and spiritual strength, you can rely on the Lord and to preserve in His strength.

“Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power.” (Ephesians 6:10 GNT)

Throughout Scripture, God reminds His people that we need to run to Him when we feel weary. “The Lord is like a strong tower; those who do right can run to him for safety (Proverbs 18:10 NCV).” In Psalms, He refers to Himself as our “refuge” and as a “very present help” (Psalm 46:1). These images are strong illustrations of God as a safe haven for our immediate problems – both spiritual and physical, large and small. Even when troubles flood our lives God promises, “I am with you: do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you (Isaiah 41:10 NIV84).

Isaiah 40:31 is another promise from God’s Word that has sustained me:

But those who wait for the Lord and expect, look for and hope in Him, shall change and renew their strength and power, they shall life their wings and mount up (close to God) as eagles (mount up to the sun); they shall run and not be weary:  they shall walk and not faint or become tired (AMP).

God has promised we can run the race of our lives with Him and with much strength, advancing from glory to glory and from strength to strength.

Refresh yourself in God’s strength by spending time in His Word. Using your own Bible or biblegateway.com, read the many Scripture references I have listed in this article. Take time to think about them. Meditate the Word of God (John 6:53-66). Keep yourself free from sin that drains away your strength (Ephesians 5:4; Colossians 3:8; Hebrews 12:15). Drink from the living water of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-38).

Don’t let bad days become bad weeks. Don’t grow weary in well doing (Galatians 6:9). Don’t burn out. Set time aside to rest (Matthew 11:29). Stay connected with the Holy Spirit and discover rest in His grace and mercies because they are new every morning. As we pay attention to God’s Word and trust His promises we’ll become stronger each day.

September 16, 2013

God Keeps His Promises

I may have been young, but I truly meant the promise I made on June 20, 1987. The promise I made was significant. The promise I made was genuine. The promise I made I plan on keeping to Patti for all of my years to come.

More than twenty-six years ago, I made a marital promise to the most amazing woman in the world. When I consider my daughter Rozy’s age, I realize just how YOUNG I was when I knew that Patti was the ONE for me. (Rozy and Kimberlyn, you don’t need to rush!) But, marrying Patti is a decision I have never regretted and a promise that want to fulfill.

A promise is a pledge to fulfill a specified act. The Bible contains numerous promises. Some promises are made by God to a specific person. Some promises are given by God to His children (ex. John 14:13). Some are crafted by God to Jesus (ex. John 13:3–5). Some are composed by one individual to another (ex. Neh. 5:12), and some are spoken by a believer to God (ex. Eccl. 5:4–10).

The home remedies for vertigo can help a person to reduce the attacks of vertigo, and it can also help women overcome orgasm problems. cheap cialis for sale One needs to consume the pills through the normal water; do not crush or break the tablet, as the cialis prescription pharma-bi.com active drug may lose its efficacy. Much should be possible to counteract or overcome a hefty portion of the levitra professional online conditions that aggravate the psyche. viagra 100mg prices It manages the disintegration of the molecule cyclic guanoyl monophosphatase (cyclic GMP) is boosted. God’s Word invites us to claim promises related to forgiveness, heaven, the Holy Spirit, guidance, comfort, protection, and so much more. “Jesus has now obtained a superior ministry, and to that degree He is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been legally enacted on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6 HCSB). You can trust God’s promises!

“God is the God of promise. He keeps His word, even when that seems impossible; even when the circumstances seem to point to the opposite.”  (Colin Urquhart)

 

March 12, 2013

Seek the Peace and Prosperity of the City Where You Live

Obedience to God’s directives ensures God-promised hope and future.

As Judah spiraled into sin, popular opinion assumed the fall of Jerusalem impossible. False prophets gave false hope, but God’s true prophet Jeremiah declared, “Those prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They have been prophesying false visions, idolatries, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking.” (Jeremiah 14:14 NCV) Jeremiah’s audience ignored his true message.

The Jewish people didn’t think God would judge them, but they were wrong. Near the end of the 7th Century B.C., Nebuchadnezzar and his brutal Babylonian army besieged and destroyed Jerusalem. The army carried away thousands of Judah’s best and brightest as slaves and deported many thousand more into exile in Babylon.

God loved His people too much to allow them to continue in their wicked ways. He loved them too much to abandon them. He loved them so much that He allowed the cruelty of the Babylon to discipline His people. He loved them so much that even at the moment of chastisement He had good plans in mind for His people.

Because of sin, God sent His people into captivity. They were refugees forced to start over from nothing. Removed from their Judean homes, they were banished to Babylon – a different climate, a different language, a different culture. The exiled people must have felt like life would never return to normal. But God wasn’t done with them; He promised a hope and future.

As the exiled Jews struggled to support themselves in strange new surroundings, prophetic lies began to surface. Jeremiah once again proclaimed God’s unadulterated message (chapter 29). The Lord censured the false prophets, “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them” (Jeremiah 29:8-9 NIV). Apparently, some were trying to foster resistance and rebellion to the Babylonian regime, but God had other plans for His people. Jeremiah’s letter provided welcome comfort and clear advice for the remnant eking out existence in exile.

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” (Jeremiah 29:4-7 NIV)

God told them to settle down, build houses, plant gardens, invest their lives, and create a growing presence in their new locale. Gardens provided food and provided a source of income which allowed the exiles to serve others, not just take from others. God wanted His people to marry and have kids, even in the midst of difficult times.  “Increase; don’t decrease” was His command. Pray for the city in which God had placed them. Their prosperity was dependent upon the city’s prosperity.

The event also aims for educating public about the issue that is causing the viagra no prescription cheap sexless marriage. A female’s anatomy to sensual zones is different than men. online viagra have a peek at this page The quality of erections is a cheapest viagra Go Here matter of proud in men of all age, especially in young men. What is a Vasectomy? A vasectomy is a procedure that blocks sperm from buy viagra online combining along semen. Jeremiah 29:7 offers four prayer targets (Philip Graham Ryken, Jeremiah and Lamentations: From Sorrow to Hope):

  1. Pray for the economy of the city.
  2. Pray for the safety of the city.
  3. Pray for the politics of the city.
  4. Pray for the people of the city.

No doubt the Jews in Babylon were surprised to hear Jeremiah echo the vocabulary of Psalm 122. Psalm 122 had been used for hundreds of years to inspire prayer for the prosperity of Jerusalem.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you.” For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your prosperity.  (Psalm 122:6-9 NIV)

Now, they are commanded to use the same prayer for Babylon.

More revolutionary still was the advice to seek the welfare (s?a?lo?m) of the Babylonian regime, to pray for its welfare and not its downfall. Jeremiah by these words cast the people completely adrift from all those things on which they depended and which they regarded as essential to their own well-being, a nation-state, kingship, an army, national borders, the temple. Without all these Yahweh could give the nation new perspectives and a new understanding of their calling. For the present the action lay in Babylon. Such advice would not have been easy to accept for people who had been carried off from their homeland by those for whom Jeremiah was asking them to pray. (The Book of Jeremiah, 1980, Jeremiah 29:1-32)

“This is what the Lord says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29: 10-11 NIV)

Could the directives God gave to the exiled Israelis help you to walk into your hope and future?

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