The picture above so perfectly fits and describes my story—uphill, downhill, round and round, exciting, and scary, bright spots and dark spots. My “joyful journey” has sometimes been an amazing thrill ride and sometimes just a big downward spiral! But, the emotional, mental, and physical struggles are all part of the story, and through it all, I see clear reflections of God’s amazing grace.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Joy Comes in the Morning

Despite what our governing authorities decree . . . “those who trust the LORD will be joyful!”  (Proverbs 16:20-b)

“The joy of the Lord is your strength!”  (Nehemiah 8:10)

As genuine Christians (true Believers), our appropriate response to this decree that homosexual marriage is legal in all 50 states should be:
  1. Let us not be guilty of “hateful" or rude remarks/actions (un-Christ-like) behavior or speech toward people who think and live in opposition to God’s Word.
  2. Let us express only what would please the Lord and serve to draw people to HIM.
  3. Let us be mindful that our job, as ambassadors of Jesus Christ, is to help that happen, not to hinder it from happening.
  4. Let's be contagious, rather than contentious, by speaking the truth only in love!
God gave us the Great Commission (“Go into all the world and preach the Gospel”) for a very important reason:  to share His love and truth in a way that would bring people to HIM!  That's it in a nutshell!

NOTE:   According to James 3:18 (NLT), “Those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteous.”
  
Another version says it this way:   “…the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.”

Everyone wants to have true peace, to know true love, and to find true joy (not just circumstantial happiness)   These things can only come through participating in a genuine relationship with Jesus!

Robert Murray M’Cheyne said, “The purest joy in the world is joy in Christ Jesus.”  

Let’s help others find it!  Then, everything else will fall into place in their lives, as the Holy Spirit works in their minds and hearts.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

Joy by Choice

"Peace is joy at rest;
joy is peace on its feet."

I love this quote by Anne Lamott, and this one by Jack Hyles:

"Happiness is untested delight;
joy is delight tested."
Mother Teresa said,
  "Keep the joy of loving God in your heart,
 and share this joy with all you meet."

John Templeton said, 
"If we try hard to bring happiness to others,
 we cannot stop it from coming to us also.
  To get joy, we must give it,
 and to keep joy, we must scatter it!"

Henri Nouwen said,
"Joy does not simply happen to us --
 we have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day."

The bottom line is:  "True joy comes only from God,
 and He shares this joy with those
who walk in fellowship with Him." 
(said by Jerry Bridges)
Well said!