Tag Archives: joy

Memories for Tomorrow

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Longing for Yesterday’s Goodness

Yesterday we had so much fun,
the joy that children bring.
To have the laughter never end,
In songs we love to sing.

Days cut short, I wanted longer;
So much joy yet to sow.
Sadly time consumes the love we share—
I turn older as they grow.

At the end of day I can’t keep up,
My strength a fading sorrow.
But my hope is in Jesus Christ.
Who makes yesterday a foretaste of tomorrow.

In Jesus we have a sure hope that our tomorrows will be even better than our yesterdays.

We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone. Psalm 33:20-22

“No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him”  1 Corinthians 2:9

The Joy of My Salvation

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Exuberance

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and make me willing to obey You. Psalm 51:12 NLT

What a wonderful prayer.

I know the verse says Your (God’s) salvation, and I have put “my” in there. Truly it is God’s salvation of me, but now it is my joy also. This joy struck me as I was praying this morning—God’s salvation, my salvation allows me to commune with Him. That when I pray for people, the mighty power of God will be brought to bear for good in all situations, no matter how dire. Prayer with real purpose is part of the joy of Your (my) salvation. How good is that?!

All Creation Jumps for Joy

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Jumping Salmon

Have you ever felt little desire to pray and ask God for help. It happens to me when I am being tempted. I know if I pray then God will expect me to fight the good fight, even though I know I’ll eventually succumb. I think of it as “no desire to desire God.” At these times I occupy my mind with useless thoughts trying to cause a diversion (TV, a video game). Instead of this helping, I am left defenseless against temptation. Addictions are like this—the desire is for the habit and there is no desire for much else. At that moment, the thought of praying seems to tighten the screws of shame.

I know part of prayer is to get rid our desires for the things of this world and be wholly devoted to to Jesus. Easy to say, but frankly beyond my reach.

Jesus ran into a man with this problem:

Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Mark 10:21-22 NLT

Whoa, could I do what Jesus asked that man to do? Being honest, I must admit I cannot…I need help. More than just a little lift, I need a complete transformation. “Yeah, right. How is that going to happen?” I say this as I begin to turn away. Stop! The story isn’t finished, for the Lord knows my weakness and mercifully follows this man’s story with these words.

Those who heard this said, “Then who in the world can be saved?”
He replied, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” Mark 10:26-27 NLT

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13 NLT

God wants to bring forth in us an overwhelming all encompassing desire for Him, and He offers the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this. All we can do is ask for the desire to desire Him above all.

So rejoice along with the psalmist:

Whom have I in heaven but you?
I desire you more than anything on earth.
My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever. Psalm 73:25-26

Heaven Comes Down

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Clouds of heaven invading the darkness

Prayer is one of the great undervalued gifts from God. Think about it—in Jesus, I have a clear, secure channel to talk directly with God.

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Romans 8:34-35

Jesus has made it so easy that often I take it for granted.

So, if the problems of this day have crowded out your praying, stop right now and ask God to restore one of the joys of salvation in Christ—talking with Him, and worshiping up close and personal with the Lord of all.

Oh, one other amazing thing He wants to talk with you right now.

Jewels in the Forest

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What do you see—the moss and dead pine branches, or the jeweled drops of water?

For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 NLT

God desires to give us life filled with goodness, and peace, and joy. But too often we become blinded by trouble that keeps our attention focused on lesser things.

Thankfully, God has provided a way to give us these gifts despite our inability to see.

But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12 NLT

God’s word tells us to believe in Jesus: His forgiveness, and His triumph over death. Then accept Him to rule in our lives for goodness, peace and joy.

These treasures and more are waiting for you to see and receive.

White-Gloved Hands of Praise

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Ponderosa Pines lifting white-gloved hands in praise.

I can read Isaiah 12 over and over and it never loses its power, or joy, or wonder. I can dwell on each verse and my song of praise and thanksgiving keeps building with in me for I know it is just the beginning.

 

Unending Praise, Unending Joy

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The joy of praising God.

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Psalm 36:5 NLT

This morning I stopped to enjoy God’s love for me and my family.
To give thanks for the Lord is good and His love endures forever.
So I wrote this psalm:

Give thanks to the Lord, for creating all things.
They display His goodness, and His love, providing us with enjoyment.

Give glory to God, for His love will prevail against all evil.
His great love gives hope to the hopeless.

Give glory to God for His love will sustain us,
In our weakness He stoops to give us His strength.

Give all your worship to God, for His love will allow no other gods
He is jealous and will come out to find me when I wander off.

Worship the LORD, for He is the source of goodness and love.
And we become more like Him when we worship Him.

Give all praise to God, for His love and goodness are eternal,
And will never diminish nor change.

Give all praise to God for His power is infinite.
And it is always directed by His love.

Give all praise to the Lord, for if we do not the stones will cry out,
And we will miss out on the joy of praise.

Forever Praise

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Joyous wonderful praise to our Creator

The water drops bounce in exaltation to God,
As long as the river runs they sing praises to God.
Day and night they leap about in joyous worship.
Yes, You have given me the gift to praise You forever.
That knowledge stirs in me even greater thanksgiving and praise.

I will exalt you, my God and King,
and praise your name forever and ever.
I will praise you every day;
yes, I will praise you forever. Psalm 145:1-2 NLT

Joy to the Full

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Hawaiian sunrise

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.  John 15:11

Every once in a while I am struck with the joy of life. It is not because of the freshness of the mountain air or the brilliant morning sunrise. It is that these joyous moments are but a foretaste of eternal life in Jesus. When I sit down and contemplate why I have such joy, it always comes back to His love for me. The verses just before John 15:11 confirms it:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 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. John 15:9-10

“As the Father has loved Me,” Jesus says, “so I have loved you.” There it is––Jesus loves me deeply.

Part of that love for me is to tell me how I should be. Jesus uses the word command because what He says next about staying in His love is absolutely essential. It is the difference between looking through the window at the Christmas celebration, or going in to sit down to fully partake in it. Jesus is telling us that to have complete joy you have to join in His love:

Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12

I urge you to let the Holy Spirit pour His love through every part of your existence and join the celebration of joy to the full.

Enjoying Sunrise

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Sunrise 04-04-17

You don’t want to miss sunrise

When I am in a grumpy mood,
I miss out on goodness.
When I am angry,
I miss out on love.
When I covet and filled with discontent,
I miss out on all the gifts I have been given.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

For only when I am right with God can I enjoy all his blessings.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:11-12

How good is God that he wants to clean us up that we might enjoy life.