Have you found a little more joy in your heart since yesterday. I have. I have had more peace and more joy than I have had for a while. I kept in His presence all day as I contemplated the things I had to do and what I had studied yesterday morning. Remember the text: Psalms 16:11 "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."?
In Exodus 33:14 God told Moses "My presence will go with you." That's the promise that we need and want. We want His presence to go with us wherever we go or whatever we do. It is a vital concern of mine to have His presence with me.
In Psalms 140:13 "Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence." So, again, we need to dwell in His presence. It is really not hard to do, it sounds like it could be but if you think of it this way, as you go about your day and your duties, just offer up a little prayer now and then asking Him to keep you in His presence and He always keeps His promises. Your day will be so much smoother and really joy starts filling your heart just being in His presence.
Here's the promise. Acts 2:28 "You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence." Can you find a better promise than that? As far as joy goes and being in His presence.
He will make us full of joy in His presence. I love that promise.
Do you need joy? I know I do, it is no joy living without His fullness, no joy at all. I am talking about the joy of being filled with His fullness. Read Ephesians 3:14 - 21 again and see how to be filled with the fullness of God. Don't worry about whether you are deserving or not, none of us are really deserving of the gifts of God, but that is why Jesus gave up His life for us because He was deserving and when we accept Him we accept His worthiness as ours.
Be filled with joy today in His presence and be blessed with abundant joy. Grandma Joan
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Friday, June 14, 2013
Fullness of Joy
How many of us find ourselves empty of real joy? I think I would be safe to say that there are not many that have that real deep abiding joy in their hearts. And for good reason, sometimes life hits us pretty hard and it is hard to be joyful. Believe me, I know it by experience. I thought all the joy of living went out the window when my husband passed away. Yet here I am a Christian of some sort and not much joy, so this morning I felt I needed joy and lots of it so maybe you are in that situation too. Let's see if we can do something about it.
In Psalms 16:11 it says, "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Is this the reason there is not much joy in this world? Because we do not keep ourselves in His presence?
I thought I was doing that but lately I have seen that I am not what He really wants me to be. If I were I am sure that I would find that joy that it is speaking of in Psalms 16. And it also says that at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
I am sure of one thing, and that is, it is not speaking of giddiness or funny jokes and that sort of thing, it is speaking of real deep down joy in the heart, joy of living for Him, joy in serving others, joy in just loving others and bringing joy to their heart. That has been hard for me since my husband passed away, but now I see that I need to keep in His presence every minute of every day. What a revelation to me, how about you?
I said to the Lord this morning, why do you want me to study joy when I don't have any, what in the world would I say? Well, you can see how He answered that prayer for me and I am pleased to know that in His presence I can find fullness of joy. How about you, will you try this good biblical advice. Thank you for listening and letting me share my worship time with you. Grandma Joan
In Psalms 16:11 it says, "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Is this the reason there is not much joy in this world? Because we do not keep ourselves in His presence?
I thought I was doing that but lately I have seen that I am not what He really wants me to be. If I were I am sure that I would find that joy that it is speaking of in Psalms 16. And it also says that at His right hand are pleasures forevermore.
I am sure of one thing, and that is, it is not speaking of giddiness or funny jokes and that sort of thing, it is speaking of real deep down joy in the heart, joy of living for Him, joy in serving others, joy in just loving others and bringing joy to their heart. That has been hard for me since my husband passed away, but now I see that I need to keep in His presence every minute of every day. What a revelation to me, how about you?
I said to the Lord this morning, why do you want me to study joy when I don't have any, what in the world would I say? Well, you can see how He answered that prayer for me and I am pleased to know that in His presence I can find fullness of joy. How about you, will you try this good biblical advice. Thank you for listening and letting me share my worship time with you. Grandma Joan
Thursday, June 13, 2013
For My Name's Glory.
Have you ever wondered how you might honor someone in a special way? Sometimes they have done us a very special favor and we wish to honor them for their kindness. Sometimes their kindness is so over powering that it is almost impossible to let them know how much you appreciate it.
That's the way it is with trying to honor God for all His goodness and blessings He passes on to us day by day, but I found a way. Would you like to know how to make God happy and know that He appreciates your efforts to do so.
John 15:7,8 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples."
These are Jesus words to us and He is telling us that when we abide in Him and He abides in us, we can ask for things that will glorify His Father, and it will be done for us. What can we ask for? Anything that will glorify God and be a blessing to others.
If we are abiding in Christ, we will be living for Him and doing His will and if He is abiding in us, He will be living His life in us doing the Father's will and of course that will glorify His name before others that they may see we serve a living God who cares and blesses us day by day.
What a world we could be living in if everyone practiced abiding in Christ day by day and letting Him abide in us and make us like Him as He dwells in us. We know we can't change the world but we can change our own lives and by doing this we can change the atmosphere around us and make our homes a little heaven on earth and bless those in our homes.
Let us honor God and glorify His name with our lives this day and make our dwelling places a little heaven on earth to glorify His name. We can do it, by His grace we can. Grandma Joan
That's the way it is with trying to honor God for all His goodness and blessings He passes on to us day by day, but I found a way. Would you like to know how to make God happy and know that He appreciates your efforts to do so.
John 15:7,8 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples."
These are Jesus words to us and He is telling us that when we abide in Him and He abides in us, we can ask for things that will glorify His Father, and it will be done for us. What can we ask for? Anything that will glorify God and be a blessing to others.
If we are abiding in Christ, we will be living for Him and doing His will and if He is abiding in us, He will be living His life in us doing the Father's will and of course that will glorify His name before others that they may see we serve a living God who cares and blesses us day by day.
What a world we could be living in if everyone practiced abiding in Christ day by day and letting Him abide in us and make us like Him as He dwells in us. We know we can't change the world but we can change our own lives and by doing this we can change the atmosphere around us and make our homes a little heaven on earth and bless those in our homes.
Let us honor God and glorify His name with our lives this day and make our dwelling places a little heaven on earth to glorify His name. We can do it, by His grace we can. Grandma Joan
Monday, June 10, 2013
Why not ask?
Is it hard to ask a favor of someone, like a friend, family member or even an acquaintance, some maybe harder than the other? We can be so independent that it is really hard to depend on someone else for a favor. Or it may be that we fear a rejection of what ever the favor is that we are asking. I am one of those that fear rejection and so it has been hard for me to ask for help with anything. A poor place to be for sure.
I know that I love to give favors and why I fear to ask is something that I cannot figure out but some day I am sure I will understand my fears. All my children love to give and I am so thankful for that, but even then they may have the same fears that I have, I have never asked them.
In my study this morning I am going to talk about asking and without fear. In James 4:2 it says in the last part of the verse that "you do not have because you do not ask." And in verse 3 it says, "you ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." So we need not fear if what we are asking for is something that He has promised to give.
Would you ask a friend or family member for something that was frivolous just to have fun with or something nonsensical? You might because of our worldly nature but again you might fear to ask, depending on who
you are asking.
Well, we need not fear when we come to God for favors, but it says not to ask for something to just spend upon our pleasures. It is not that God doesn't want us to have a good time, I am sure He does, but what is the good time that we are asking for.
Some conditions to our asking: We must ask in His name. John 16:23. We must ask not only in His name but we must ask for things that glorify the Father and the other condition is that we keep His commandments, John 14:13-15. And James 1:6 we must "ask in faith" We may ask for wisdom, James 1:5, we may ask for forgiveness, 1John 1:9, We may ask for the Holy Spirit which is the best gift God can give us, Matthew 7:11.
I have an assignment for you this day. Get out your Bible concordance and see how many things you can ask for that God has promised to give. You will be blessed beyond belief. So ask Him and without fear that you will be rejected, He has promised that "He who comes to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. He may not give us exactly what we are asking for but many times it is something better and then sometimes we have to patiently wait awhile until it is the best time to answer our request. Remember we are dealing with an all knowing God who knows what is best for us at the time of our request and we must let patience have it's perfect work that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:4.
So don't be afraid to be asking God for the blessings of a lifetime, He will answer in time, so be patient and remember to come before Him without fear of asking. He loves us to come and ask. See how many promises you can find today that you can ask for. Send me your list on the comments. I would love to hear from you. Grandma Joan
I know that I love to give favors and why I fear to ask is something that I cannot figure out but some day I am sure I will understand my fears. All my children love to give and I am so thankful for that, but even then they may have the same fears that I have, I have never asked them.
In my study this morning I am going to talk about asking and without fear. In James 4:2 it says in the last part of the verse that "you do not have because you do not ask." And in verse 3 it says, "you ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." So we need not fear if what we are asking for is something that He has promised to give.
Would you ask a friend or family member for something that was frivolous just to have fun with or something nonsensical? You might because of our worldly nature but again you might fear to ask, depending on who
you are asking.
Well, we need not fear when we come to God for favors, but it says not to ask for something to just spend upon our pleasures. It is not that God doesn't want us to have a good time, I am sure He does, but what is the good time that we are asking for.
Some conditions to our asking: We must ask in His name. John 16:23. We must ask not only in His name but we must ask for things that glorify the Father and the other condition is that we keep His commandments, John 14:13-15. And James 1:6 we must "ask in faith" We may ask for wisdom, James 1:5, we may ask for forgiveness, 1John 1:9, We may ask for the Holy Spirit which is the best gift God can give us, Matthew 7:11.
I have an assignment for you this day. Get out your Bible concordance and see how many things you can ask for that God has promised to give. You will be blessed beyond belief. So ask Him and without fear that you will be rejected, He has promised that "He who comes to me I will in no wise cast out." John 6:37. He may not give us exactly what we are asking for but many times it is something better and then sometimes we have to patiently wait awhile until it is the best time to answer our request. Remember we are dealing with an all knowing God who knows what is best for us at the time of our request and we must let patience have it's perfect work that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:4.
So don't be afraid to be asking God for the blessings of a lifetime, He will answer in time, so be patient and remember to come before Him without fear of asking. He loves us to come and ask. See how many promises you can find today that you can ask for. Send me your list on the comments. I would love to hear from you. Grandma Joan
Monday, June 3, 2013
More Promises to strengthen your faith.
I hope the promises that I posted yesterday have helped you in your walk with the Lord. I have some really good ones for today that have really meant a lot to me. I hope they do the same for you.
I am going to start with my husbands favorite verse. It is found in the book of Jude which only has one chapter and it is verse 24. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." One of the nurses at the nursing home where he was memorized it so she could say it to him each day. I thought that was sweet of her. It kept his destiny before him each day.
Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." God's gift to us is His grace which was given to us at the cross, so that all may be saved in His kingdom if they so wish.
1 Thessalonians 5: 23,24 "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." Notice that it is God Himself that sanctifies us and preserves us blameless at His coming. It is really a choice that we make whether we want to be a follower of His and let Him cleanse us from sin or whether we decide to go our own way.
Colossians 1:13,14 "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins." He is the One who delivers us from darkness into His kingdom through Christ's death for us on the cross.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." There is nothing we can't do with His strength, He says in another verse that "His strength is made perfect in our weakness." That is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9,10. In light of these verses, what is our excuse for not living for Him each hour of the day? Really, there is no excuse.
"
Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Another verse that gives us no excuse for not living the Christian life.
Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." So who does the work in us, is it us? or is it God? How easy can it get if we just surrender to Him all our troubles and sins.
I think I have given you plenty of verses of victory for today, now just apply them to your life and live for Him. May the God that works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, work in your life the same way and may you be blessed abundantly. Grandma Joan
I am going to start with my husbands favorite verse. It is found in the book of Jude which only has one chapter and it is verse 24. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." One of the nurses at the nursing home where he was memorized it so she could say it to him each day. I thought that was sweet of her. It kept his destiny before him each day.
Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by Grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." God's gift to us is His grace which was given to us at the cross, so that all may be saved in His kingdom if they so wish.
1 Thessalonians 5: 23,24 "Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it." Notice that it is God Himself that sanctifies us and preserves us blameless at His coming. It is really a choice that we make whether we want to be a follower of His and let Him cleanse us from sin or whether we decide to go our own way.
Colossians 1:13,14 "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins." He is the One who delivers us from darkness into His kingdom through Christ's death for us on the cross.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." There is nothing we can't do with His strength, He says in another verse that "His strength is made perfect in our weakness." That is found in 2 Corinthians 12:9,10. In light of these verses, what is our excuse for not living for Him each hour of the day? Really, there is no excuse.
"
Philippians 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Another verse that gives us no excuse for not living the Christian life.
Philippians 2:13 "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." So who does the work in us, is it us? or is it God? How easy can it get if we just surrender to Him all our troubles and sins.
I think I have given you plenty of verses of victory for today, now just apply them to your life and live for Him. May the God that works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, work in your life the same way and may you be blessed abundantly. Grandma Joan
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Favorite Promises
My very favorite promise is 2 Peter 1:2-4 "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."
The reason this is my very favorite is because it shows us how to become a partaker of His divine nature and to escape the corruption in the world. I think this is a very vital text of Scripture. And the promise is sure
James 4;7 "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
James 1:3 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
Ephesians 3:14-21 "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations."
Just these promises that I have shared with you tonight are enough to put you on the path to heaven if you earnestly desire to have a close relationship with Christ. And I sincerely hope that you do and will strive with all your might to walk with Him today and every day. Tomorrow I will share more but I don't want to weigh you down too heavy. If you will take the time to memorize them then when you are brought into dire places you have a weapon against the devil to cause him to flee from you. This is my prayer for you tonight.
Grandma Joan
The reason this is my very favorite is because it shows us how to become a partaker of His divine nature and to escape the corruption in the world. I think this is a very vital text of Scripture. And the promise is sure
James 4;7 "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you."
James 4:8 "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."
James 1:3 "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."
Ephesians 3:14-21 "For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height--to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations."
Just these promises that I have shared with you tonight are enough to put you on the path to heaven if you earnestly desire to have a close relationship with Christ. And I sincerely hope that you do and will strive with all your might to walk with Him today and every day. Tomorrow I will share more but I don't want to weigh you down too heavy. If you will take the time to memorize them then when you are brought into dire places you have a weapon against the devil to cause him to flee from you. This is my prayer for you tonight.
Grandma Joan
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Promises from the Scriptures
I love to hunt down promises from the Bible, because that is how we become partakers of the Divine Nature. And it is true, if you read the promises and even memorize them it helps you be so much more contented and happy because as 2 Peter 1:4 says, 'God has given us these exceeding, great and precious promises so that we may become partakers of His Divine Nature.
I know it is hard for some people to believe in something they can't see, actually most people have a hard time believing something they can't touch or see. It takes faith in a power outside and above ourselves and it takes the power of God to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure so that we can actually claim the promises of God for ourselves.
I always like the illustration of driving across a bridge and the fact that it does take faith to cross a bridge, we just had a bridge collapse here in Washington and two cars went into the river, so glad no one was really injured, but thinking about that tonight, I wonder if it doesn't take a little more faith now than it did before it collapsed. I would be a little bit skeptical about crossing there if it were me, after seeing what happened.
But if you keep reading the promises of God and try memorizing them, I know your faith will grow and the promises will become personal to you and you will grow in your walk with God. It is almost a proven fact that the more time we spend in the scriptures, the more our faith will grow and the closer our relationship will become with God. Try talking to God about His promises and taking them personally.
God's promises are His gift to us in this sin ridden world and we can have them free of charge and rely on them. For example in 1 John 1:9 He promises to forgive us, we can rely on that when we ask. Another promise is for comfort in Psalms 23:4. Tomorrow I will try to share some special promises that I really like.
So until then, trust in God He really is all that we can really count on. Grandma Joan
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