Everyday Joy

       Have you ever thought about the things that bring you joy?  Some would immediately answer grandchildren, while others may say getting a compliment or taking a bubble bath!  Personally, I do take great joy in my grandchildren, but there is also remarkable joy in giving a hug or compliment; sharing a smile with a stranger and seeing the smile returned; saying I love you; sunshine and conversely a horrible, cloudy, rainy, curl up by the fire kind of day; holding a baby or smelling a flower; even taking a detour!  This list can go on and on!  Much of it has to do with perspective!  ….kind of whether you see your cup half full or half empty! 

       I think a lot about the coming Rapture of the church.  It will be a time of indescribable and unbelievable joy for all believers.  Yet, while we live here on Earth, I wonder about the joy we project as Christians, sometimes, even while in a sanctuary.

       I have been in churches where the service was rhetorical and without feeling, leaving me to wonder if those in attendance were joyful at all.  I have been in congregations where many people spoke at once in prayer, with apparent joy and exuberance as they spoke with their Creator.  There have been services where the music dripped of worship and joy while the sermon seemed dry and dissatisfying.  And I have been in services where joy in the Spirit of the Lord was so tangible “Christian goose bumps” rippled over my body! 

       There are many ways to worship.  People find worship through music, reading the Word, prayer and praise, a walk in the woods, looking at a night sky, the ocean and a variety of other means all in an effort to commune with God.  It’s a very personal experience.  And this experience strengthens our relationship with God.  It is here we find peace, understanding and complete acceptance.  Our hearts are bare before him and in that clearness, find nearness.  We are in awe and fall down and worship Christ. 

       We have reason for joy even now.  We can project the love of Christ to believers and unbelievers alike.  Our joy can and should be in the many small things of our daily lives, like friendship, the smell of Spring rain and fresh bread!  I suggest, however, our joy should be so apparent to whoever is near, that the observer will want to know the source of our joy.   It is then we can explain that our ultimate joy is and is in God.  Sharing this joy is what we are to do even while we wait for His return!

And the secrets of his heart will be laid bare. So he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, "God is really among you!"   1 Corinthians 14:25   

Reason For Celebration!

       Holidays are wonderful and nearly every month has a holiday worth celebrating.  January boasts New Years, February hosts Valentines, March offers St. Patrick’s Day, etc.  And even the month without a “real” holiday like August can be celebrated with “happy summer!”  Each month includes birthdays and anniversaries to celebrate, as well.  Other celebrations children often enjoy are summer camps and Vacation Bible School.

       Although it’s only April, our church is getting ready for a new year of Vacation Bible School.  Last summer our little town offered, to about 160 children every day, the opportunity to hear and learn about Jesus.  What a thrill!  Thirty-nine of those children made first-time life changing decisions to follow Jesus.  Their enthusiasm is amazing….and contagious!

       Do you remember when you first received salvation?  The joy and full heart you felt nearly made you want to shout from the roof tops.  That’s not to suggest you can’t accept Christ as your Savior and it be a quiet, revered time.  That is true, as well.  But when there is any form of good news, you usually want to share it!  If you received $100 in the mail just because someone sent it to you as a free gift, wouldn’t you call someone, anyone, to let them know how excited you are?

       That’s the way these children are.  They are excited about their free gift.  It is reason to bow down and worship.  It gives purpose to their lives and motivation to shout with joy the intention of their spirit!  Jesus becomes the object of their lives.  It isn’t about them anymore.  It’s about Him!  It’s about Jesus dying on a cross so that we can live eternally with Him one day.  That is cause for celebration.

       The thirty-nine children who made the decision of allowing Christ in their hearts is just the beginning.  They, with their new purpose and passion in life will share their gift with their friends and family!  Their joy will then be doubled, tripled or quadrupled!  It is exciting! It is Jesus!

       Perhaps you don’t know Jesus as your Savior.  Pray a simple prayer of confession with me.  Admit that you are a sinner and your need for Jesus.  Ask Him to be Lord of your life.  Then find a Bible believing church and connect with others who have received him and watch your life change as your heart overflows with His love and your joy!

If you have a Bible you might begin your new journey by reading the book of John in the New Testament.  I would love for you to write me, letting me know you’ve made a life changing decision. I will pray for you as your world changes in His care.

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.  Psalm 95:6

Who Do You Worship?

            A pastor friend of mine recently posted on face book the ages of his small children who were growing up much too fast!  Another person posted in reply to consider her own children who were in their 20’s and early 30’s!  If I were to add mine it would be from the mid-20’s to late 30’s!  I have grandchildren in their teens!  Where does the time go?  It seems as we get older time passes even more quickly!  

All that being said, my husband and I, along with the rest of our church family had the opportunity to have a relationship with a lady who just didn’t seem to be aged even though she was 104 years old.   This special lady had a way of lifting the heart of each person who visited her.  She has since left this earth and gone on to be with Jesus, but not before she shared her heart at one of our visits.

This wonderful 104 year old Christian lady shared a story with us in a visit not long before she passed on, that she shared with her Sunday school class nearly 70 years before.  She told of the spider who caught the fly and hard as the fly tried he could not escape the web.  Each time the fly would buzz in an effort to free himself, the spider would crawl down the web and inject a bit more poison into her prey until finally the fly died.  Our friend looked at my husband and me and asked, “Isn’t that just like Satan with our young folk?  He takes little bites and injects just enough poison to keep the young person captive, until at last he claims him as his own.”

            Her story sounds a bit like the story in Matthew 4 where Satan tries to entice Jesus to look past the will of the Father and inspect his immediate needs of food and thirst and then his future kingdom.  Satan promises what he cannot give because he wants Jesus to worship him.  Jesus sees through the deceit and soundly instructs Satan to leave him; that only God would receive his worship.

            Our young people are bombarded with unimaginable sins and temptations every day.  The truth is, however, we adults face temptations, as well.  It may be to tell a white lie, leave work a little early without letting anyone know, do personal things while at work including playing games on the computer or other technological device, take an item or two home with us that does not belong, use foul language in given situations and on and on.  We are as susceptible to Satan as our youth!  Those “little bits of poison” have a way of turning into full blown issues and sometimes into situations we never thought we’d find ourselves. 

            There’s an old adage of wisdom coming with age and I’d like to suggest it certainly should, but Satan is lurking in even the most unsuspecting situations.  He has a way of infiltrating every part of our daily life, and that can age you quickly!  We can make it through, however, if we keep our focus on Jesus like my friend who lived to be 104 years young!

Matthew 4:10 Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.' "

Human Wisdom

Tax season is upon us and honestly, I am completely unable to comment with any amount of knowledge to any of the massive math problems and supposedly logical “fill in the blanks” on the forms in preparation of the filing process.  I am totally intimidated by the whole process, yet can’t escape it!  Thank goodness there are those who honestly can master the “beast” and those who even enjoy being the “tax beast slayer!”

Another area where I feel entirely lost is on the subject of UFO’s.   I was reading recently about a person who questions, yet leans towards the belief of UFO’s.  I admit, I’ve never seen one, and won’t claim to be wise enough to even have an intelligent comment on the subject!  I do know, however, that regardless of how wise any of us is, whether it be taxes, UFO’s or any other subject matter, compared to God’s wisdom it pales pitifully!  This includes how the world was made (I just know that God created it!), how our bodies are so intricately made, how seeds can grow into just the right plant, how the planets, stars and sun know just where they belong in outer space so our Earth doesn’t freeze or fry making it inhabitable, or how as humans we are filled with emotion, have a need to nurture, and desire our children to know of a great God.  

            Our daily lives require we use our minds to fulfill the needs that are necessitated by simply being alive and taking care of ourselves and our loved ones with the greatest care possible.  Yet often, even in this environment many people have difficulty.  The means may be available but our capabilities to tap into the means escape us.  Yet there are some who have amassed great wealth and seemingly have the means and capabilities and still fail at relationships causing their entire world to fall apart.  

            So where does this leave our “human wisdom?”  This knowledge, or lack thereof, leaves us with a great need for wisdom greater than our own.  We need God’s wisdom.  We are weak and even in areas where we seem to have strength we are fragile and frail compared to the strength of our Lord.  He is the great Creator who knows what we have done and where we’ve been and further, knows who we really are and where we’re really going!  

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.  1 Corinthians 1:25

To Much To Do

            I just looked at my to-do list for today and it’s ridiculous!  It seems there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished I need to, not to mention the things I’d like to do.  Do you ever feel like that?   Today I feel a little like Martha in Luke 10, in God’s word.  Mary, chooses to sit at Jesus feet, Martha is distracted by all the things she has to do!

            This makes me think about my friend who starts many projects and then doesn’t follow through to completion.  We’ve talked about why she does this and it usually comes down to she is fearful.  She’s smart, has the means and know how, but the fear of rejection and insecurity causes her to back away from the project when she is about half way there!

            Sometimes, as Christians we do the same thing.  We are excited about the Lord and want to become involved in activities that will enable us to further his kingdom.  We consider getting involved in the various tasks before us, decide we should help out and just as things start getting complicated we abruptly stop.  We fear if we complete this project before us successfully, will we be asked to do something even a little more taxing?  Will we be asked to do something we don’t want to do?  How would we say no?  What if we fail?

            This doesn’t just apply to activities.  It extends into our prayer life and Bible reading.  We may find ourselves in a situation requiring much prayer and then become afraid of the answer.  So we stop praying and reading his Word!  It may even be we feel God speaking to us through prayer or his scriptures and we become afraid God will ask us to do something we are sure we could not complete.  Or worse, something we wouldn’t even enjoy!

            God knows all things, including our thoughts, strengths and desires.  It is his strength on which we need to rely.  God is not going to bring us to something without bringing us through it!  We have much to learn in every challenge we face.  God has a way of teaching (and reaching) us even when we don’t expect it!

            As for my list of the day, it probably won’t be finished before the day is out, but God knows my limitations and my abilities and it is through him I can accomplish those things I must and those things that I purely enjoy!  Isn’t that just like God?  He knows me better than I do!  How wonderful!

            I’d like to add with Easter Sunday fast approaching, I wish each of you the joy of his love as we celebrate His resurrection!  

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."  Isaiah 12:2