"JOY, LOVE, AND THE DAY OF JUDGMENT"

A Joyful Return to Zion

Those who trust in the LORD
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, So the LORD surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.(Psalm 125:1-2)

According to the Reference in the NKJV, these verses refer to it as in the other songs of Zion
(Ps. 48), there is a deep belief in the invincibility of the city of Jerusalem because of the LORD's choice of Mount Zion (1 Kings 11:36). Likewise, the psalmist proclaims that those who trust in the LORD will endure. "the mountains surround Jerusalem": Jerusalem is built on one of seven mountain peaks in the region. The mountains provide some protection for the city, since any invading army would have to march through arduous and dangerous mountain paths. Yet the city's true protection comes from the LORD.

This passage gives me assurance of how safe I am with the LORD surrounding me with His protection against all evil. It helps me to know that all I have to do is call on the name of the Lord and He will save me.

The Outworking of Love

By this we know love, because He (Jesus Christ) laid down his life for us. . Here is a correlation I have never noticed before. John 3:16 says "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The Day of the LORD

For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that , whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

Paul states that God did not appoint us (believers) to wrath (see 1:10.) There will be wrath at the day of the LORD, but it will be God's wrath on the unbelieving world that has spurned and mocked Christ (Rev. 6:12-17). When we think about divine judgment, we should offer thanks to Christ for saving us from that horrible fate by dying for us (and send back the Holy Ghost) to guide us on our journey of living for God and receiving our salvation). Whether we are still living at the second coming, or whether we have died and our bodies are asleep in the grave as long as we are serious about our relationship with Christ, as long as we live for God, read and study His Word, it will be assured that we will live together with Him forever.

*Statements in Parenthesis within the reference are mine, not from the reference.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"JOY and the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT"

Good Evening To All!

Have you ever thought about the word Joy? Here is some of what the Bible says about it. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. (10) If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love ; even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (11) These things I have spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
John 15:9-11 KJV

The Message Bible says it beautifully as well. (9-10)I've loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you'll remain intimately at home in my love. That's what I've done -- kept my Father's commands and made myself at home in his love. (11) I've told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature.

Webster's Dictionary defines it as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something good or satisfying; keen pleasure. 2. A source or cause of keen pleasure or delight. It goes on to state definitions along these same lines. This type of "joy" in the Bible is called "rinnah" it means a "shout of rejoicing; shouting, loud cheering in triumph; singing. It describes the kind of joyful shouting and singing at the time of a great victory such as in Proverbs 11:10 at the jubilation of righteous when the wicked are eliminated. Zephaniah 3:17 literally says that God will dance over His beloved people with singing or a shout of joy. There are many other examples of elation or "joy" in God's Word.

Of course these are all true. Even God says He will dance at the The joy that God's Word talks about is much deeper. When people use the word "joy" what's the first thing that pops into your mind? Happiness, the sound of laughter, and excitement, right? Having joy in our heart doesn't mean we have to be giddy and giggly all the time.

While I am the first to admit that I would think the same thing. God's joy goes much deeper than just an emotion. It is a deep sense of contentment, and fulfillment in the Lord. That is why "joy is one part of the fruit of the Spirit.

My Pastor brought up a point last night that I had never thought of. When I speak of the Fruit of the Spirit, I never realized it but I have always misspoke. I always ended it with an "s", because there are 9 of them. NOPE! I have been wrong all these years. God's Word specifically says "FRUIT of the Spirit. He (my Pastor) explained it as an orange or grapefruit with all those little "compartments", but it is ONE thing.

He also made another observation. Of course I understand that not every one believes in the use of the "gifts of the Spirit today, but just for a matter of information, a person can be saved without having used the "gifts of the Spirit", but we ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE SAVED without having the Fruit of the Spirit in our lives and that means ALL compartments. They are: love, joy, peace, long-suffering (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

(I love the end of that verse). It says, Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. It could not have been stated more plainly as to what we need to be to enter into His Kingdom.

Last night our when our Pastor was "teaching on this subject, he would call out a part of the fruit and say how are you doing in this area. Of course he didn't really expect us to answer out loud, but he came to "long-suffering", and I being my hardest critic spoke up and said "I flunked". There are several of these that I truly need to work on if I am going to be ready for my Savior when He comes. I definitely do not want to be the one left of the two in the field, or sleeping or whatever else we will be doing. I definitely want my spiritual eyes to be looking upward and be able to hear the sound of the trumpet when it sounds. If I am not constantly working on becoming more Christlike (developing the fruit of spirit better), I'm afraid I will miss it.

I hope this will give everyone something to think about, because this is so important. Not just because His time is drawing nigh, but tomorrow is not guaranteed. I learned that last Saturday attending those two funerals. Granted, they were all up in age, ( the husband of the couple in the car accident died a couple of weeks before), but they were "still alive and well until the accident took their lives. The other lady was ill, but still we never know when our time will come to leave this earth, and we won't be able to tell God to wait while we "repent", or change our ways.

Well, I'm about ready to see cross-eyed, as I have been typing pretty much all day on a Fundraiser Business List for my church. I hope this post gave you some things to ponder and even maybe look up. If you want to read more about the Fruit of the Spirit, it is in Galatians 5:22-25. Really I love the whole passage of "Walking In the Spirit" -- Galatians 5:16-25.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"CHRISTLIKENESS OF CHARACTER Part 4

< Good Evening to All!

Well, I would imagine, if I would just stick to the lesson, I could be almost done, but unfortunately, as I type I think of tid-bits I want to include, so it adds to the length, thereby lengthening the series. I promise tomorrow will be the conclusion. I may even get froggy and type two posts tomorrow so be sure and check both posts out. I might go ahead and conclude this lesson tomorrow afternoon, and then do my Bible Seed lesson tomorrow night. That way, I can stay on schedule and do the Bible Challenge Sunday. I have something new I am starting Monday. I belong to a site call Faithful Bloggers. Courtney, who is the owner of the site is starting something called "Faithful Blogging Prompts". This is where she comes up with a different post topic idea every Monday and we write about it sometime during the week and link it back to Faithful Bloggers. Sounds like it might be fun!

Now On With the Post: "Christlikeness of Character" Part 4:

6. "Compassion": "But when He saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."
(Matthew 9:36) Truest compassion is only found in the nature of god, because only God knows the full depth of an individual's pain, need, or suffering. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15) Jesus is seen in the essence of His feeling human weaknesses, fully sensing the ravaged condition of human brokenness.

Christlikeness calls us to learn Jesus' heart of compassion, a dept of sensitivity that can be worked in us through the Holy Spirit, reconditioning our hearts to be able to sense the pain of human bondage and to weep with those who weep. Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
(Hebrews 13:3) Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
(Romans 12:15) Jesus tears over the city of Jerusalem and His tears at the tomb of Lazarus reveal more than either a sense of rejection by the people of one city or a grief over the death of a personal friend. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, (42) saying If though hadst known, even thou , at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto they peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. (43) For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass the round. and keep thee in on every side, (44) And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:41-44) His tears at the tomb of Lazarus reveal more than either a sense of rejection by the people of one city or a grief over the death of a personal friend. His compassion brought tears for the hardness of all hearts that were blinded by their sin and for the tragedy of all mankind's vulnerability to death. Love sees beyond the immediate and the personal and compassionately relates to the lost, the hurting the needy, the distressed. It moves more and more into the dimension of discipleship that discovers the compassion of Christ flowing through a person to care for and serve others. Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

If you think about it in my earlier posts I discussed about the attributes of Christ being the "Fruits of the Spirit" one of which is Love. I've also talked about faith, hope and love. According to 1 Corinthians 13:13, And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. To have love is to have compassion.

7. "Fullness of Joy"- These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11) Jesus points the way to joy, a divine quality of character that is possessed and given only by God. It is rooted in relationship with the Holy Spirit, not in earthly or material things. Christlike joy is seen in the description of His, (Hebrews 12:2) Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Joy is derived from the confidence that ht e price of dying to our will holds the inevitable certainty of eventually realizing the triumph of His. For Jesus, bring sons and daughters into fellowship with the Father was his delight, though the Cross was the means to that eventual joy. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (2:10) This very trait was prophesied of Messiah: "He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied." He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.(Isaiah 53:11) Thus the Savior's food (that is, His fulfillment) was to do the will of God and accomplish His work. Jesus saith unto them, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
(John 4: 34)

I never really thought about it until a while back, but did you know there are two different kinds of joy. There is earthly joy which is when we are happy about the temporal things of this earth, and then there is the "joy unspeakable" that we can know through the love of God and the Holy Spirit. This joy is deep within our souls. It is a kind of joy that is impossible to explain. As earlier explained it is the kind of joy that Christ felt as His Body died on the Cross for us. He didn't want to die, but at the same time He knew what His death would mean for us, so He felt the "joy of satisfaction" knowing that God's will had been accomplished. It a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicD6OTILgMM2zGFn_T2WxFHgrKutvgdKWBf8AWK6QDRly6OtGQ01mEftkajvtyZdAToze7Fx_tjj0jghQ-Z8HHSHJv-Im2SVyi_1Dje2M3zes0Cd_XDE-vfWcqo5Je10mQPWS5-D9ZR3U/s1600/Joy+unspeakable.jpg">was a joy He felt knowing that mankind had a chance to be saved and spend an eternity in heaven with Him when the time comes. Once He had done His part, it is now left up to us. Whether we do our part by living for God and loving him as required. This should be our joy. The joy of Living for God and knowing that His will is being accomplished and that we are doing our part to end up in eternity with Him.

Tomorrow Afternoon's post will be the conclusion of this series. The last to topics are Peace and Sacrifice.

Tomorrow night's will be a Bible Seed Lesson.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

Spin With Joy

Good Evening to All!

A quick announcement before we get started. As of Monday, I have signed up along with Families Again.com to read the complete New Testament in 3o days. I have Never read this much at one time in my life. I have read the Bible through in a year several times, but I'm the type of person who will start something, quit for a few weeks and then work like crazy to get caught up. This CANNOT BE DONE with this particular endeavor. I will actually have to stick with it no matter what. Please keep popping in with your encouragement. I will definitely need it.

The picture in the upper left is a new fun thing that I've joined into . It's also been introduced by Tim. Actually, I started from Redheadriter, but I think she started it from Tim. Anyway, it's also through Families Again.com This one is husband's being interviewed by their wives asking certain questions. Check it out ! It's pretty neat!

Tim, I want to thank you for inviting us to join you to sign up. This will not only increase my knowledge, (as every time I read the Bible I get a deeper meaning of everything), but it will also teach me discipline. So again I thank you.

If there is anyone else who would like to sign up, just go to Families Again.com and it will lead you to where to sign up and print out your reading schedule.

Also, I wanted to apologize if I have written this specific devotion before. While learning the ropes of blogging, I forgot that I should keep a record of the devotions I use so I wouldn't be redundant. Hopefully, there are some readers out there like me with short memories and won't remember reading this before. LOL! I will keep better records this year, I promise.

With that said, let's move on to :

Devotional: Spin With Joy

***I have a special announcement as of this a.m. (Friday) . I have been worrying and aggravated over my blogfrog widgets Recent Visitors and Community. For some reason, for about the last 2 or 3 weeks they wouldn't show up on my screen. Every one else could see them, but not I. All of a sudden, this morning I checked my blog and there they are! I had written to blog frog over a week ago and had gotten no reply. I checked after seeing the widgets on there this morning and there was still no e-mail. I don't know what happened in the natural world, but I think God saw how upset I was getting and fixed it. I didn't want to lose any of y'all who might have been trying to participate in my blog frog discussiions, I couldn't even participate because I couldn't see them. Anyway, ALL IS WELL with my BlogFrog! Yea! Redheadriter, I'm back in the "game"! Thank you Lord!

OK, I'm calm, I was dancing around, but I'm calm now. On with my message! Thank you.



Today's Seed: "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24

What a glorious day! What? It's raining? The forecast is for the rain to turn to sleet? Then to freezing rain? with a possible tow feet of snow by morning? So, what's the problem? What a glorious day! God mad this day. Let's embrace it and be joyful.

There are days, however, when we just don't feel like rejoicing. Our lives are out of sync, and we just want to crawl into our cave and hibernate. But that's the perfect day to reread today's seed, and know that God is always here for us.

Psalm 118 is a hymn of thanksgiving, rejoicing, over all God has done. It begins and ends with a call to praise, repeating this verse---"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever" (Psalm 118:1, 29). Repetition is always a clue that the repeated phrase is important.

The psalmist used this chapter to praise God for his many blessings. He thanked God for past blessings, for God's help with past struggles, for God's might, for God's love,m for everlasting life, for his salvation, and for God's light that shines on us all. The Psalms show us a great way to approach life.

With a little effort we can always find something fort which to be thankful. And thankfulness has a way of developing into joyful celebration. We'll be enveloped in God's love, and then we'll rejoice in that love like the psalmists. sun, rain, sleet, or snow, we can rejoice.

Dig Deeper: The Hebrew word for "rejoice" is guwl, which means to spin around under the influence of an emotion such as exceeding gladness, to be joyful. Allow your joyfulness to show.

Weed & Water: Each day is a gift from God. It's like a beautifully wrapped present, tied with a bow, just waiting for us to open and see what's inside. Children opening presents Christmas morning spin around in glee. It's so easy as adults to become self-conscious and to stop ourselves from expressing enthusiasm and joy. When no one is looking, try spinning around as you praise the Lord. You 'll probably end up laughing-- and that's the whole idea.

Sprout & Scatter: Perpetually pleasant people can be annoyingly fake. But the psalmist wasn't fake. He acknowledged his troubles, and then chose to focus on God's blessings. Next time things aren't going well or the weather isn't what you had hoped for, acknowledge your difficulties. Then try humming or singing this seed. Your joyful spirit can bring joy to others.

Think about it:

How can you show that you are rejoicing in the day God has created?

What can you do on those days when you just don't feel like rejoicing?


Prayer Pot:

Lord, I praise and thank you for.... ( insert your own praise and thanks)



Take Away Idea: Spin Around with Joy!



Good night and May God Bless!

Love & Prayers