Choose Joy!

I think we have to make a conscious decision each day to be joyful.    I wish I could say that I'm always joyful, but that's certainly not the case.  

There is a woman I know who does seem to be always joyful.  Every time I see her she has a big smile on her face.  I must confess she makes me feel a little guilty and I secretly wonder if she ever has those "down" days.  She is human, so I'm guessing there are those days in her life, but still I've never seen her not smiling.

The Bible tells us the joy of the Lord is our strength.  Lots and lots of days I feel so weak, but those are the days I cry out to Jesus.  I ask Him to give me His strength, because I do not have any on my own.    I have found out when I call on Him to strengthen me, He always does.  Before long I'm worshiping Him and I begin to feel that joy bubbling up from within.  Then I feel His strength and believe that I can make it through another day.

So tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that, choose joy!  

Beautiful Worship Song

This is a beautiful new worship song by Israel Houghton.  I really, really like it.  Listen and enjoy the presence of God, because His presence truly is Heaven.  

Remembering 9/11

On September 11, 2001, I was at work, teaching a small group of special needs children.  My paraprofessional left the room and returned a few minutes later with a worried look on her face.  She called me to the side and informed me of the news that the Twin Towers in New York City had been attacked.  That's all we knew.  We could only presume.  Were we being attacked by another country?  If so, what country?  Why would someone deliberately attack us?  What had our country done?  So many questions raced through our heads, but no answers.  

Every American felt the terror, which was exactly what the terrorists wanted. To inflict pain, death, and terror on America, which had long been the land of the free and home of the brave.  

So many lives were lost that day.  It was horrific to watch the towers burning, people jumping out the windows to their deaths, and then the towers falling to the ground in a pile of rubble.  Not only were the Twin Towers attacked, but also the Pentagon, and then of course, flight 77 which crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.  

September 11 is now called Patriot Day.  Americans will remember the victims and their families.  We will also remember the brave men and women who saved many lives, but lost their lives in the process. 

I remember after 9/11 church attendance went up.  Congress came together on the steps of the Capitol building and were united.  They even prayed together.  American flags were flying everywhere you looked.  America was united after this terrible tragedy.  Patriotism was at an all time high.  In the midst of it all, Americans were rising up.  It was a good feeling, but that feeling is now gone and America has returned to business as usual.  What am I talking about, you might ask?  I'm talking about church attendance dropping.  Why did America quit going to church to hear the Word of God and worship the God of hope and Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life?  We were headed in the right direction, but now we have returned to our old ways.

We are living in the last days before Christ returns.  These are troubled times.  The economy is failing, the government's debt now tops 16 trillion, millions of babies have been aborted, marriage is being redefined and what constitutes a family, many worship at the altars of materialism, prayer has been taken out of our public schools, but is allowed in Congress and in other institutions, pornography continues to rise and threaten our children, crime continues to rise at an alarming rate, drugs have ruined millions of lives, homes, and families, and we continue on as if everything is okay.  

America needs to wake up!  America's homes, families, and churches need an old fashion Holy Ghost revival!  We have been lulled to sleep by the enemy.  Dad's have forsaken their little innocent children and the devil is coming in and destroying them.  We must return to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  We must bow our knees in humble submission to God and cry aloud in repentance before it's too late.  Souls are dying all around us.  We must reach them with the good news of the gospel~ that Jesus saves and in Him our hope is found.  We can turn it around, but we must repent of our evil ways and follow Jesus Christ!

I'm reminded of a song we use to sing in our church when I was a child.  It's called, "In Times Like These."  Listen to these young girls, the Cadet Sisters as they sing this song so beautifully.  This song tells us exactly what we need, and His name is Jesus. 

If you don't know Jesus, you can know Him.  Just repent of your sins, and invite Jesus to take control of your life.  You've made a mess of everything you've tried to do.  You have no hope, but He is your hope today.  He will turn everything around and you can begin again, because you will be born again in Him.

He's My Friend

Have you ever felt totally alone?  It sounds strange, but it is true what they say, you can be alone even in a crowd.  We've all experienced this feeling at times in our lives.  

It's not a good feeling to feel alone, of course, unless we want to be alone.  There are times when I want to be alone, and cherish those moments where I can read my favorite book, paint my toenails, play my piano, or just watch a TV show that I like without any interruptions.  Sometimes, as the song goes, "Silence Is Golden."

There are those times, however, when we wish there was just somebody to talk to, or just be there beside us to help us in this journey called, "life."  That's one of the good things about marriage, you do have that partner there with you through the good times and the bad.  At least, that's the way a marriage is supposed to be, but sometimes it's not, and again you can feel all alone even in marriage.

The good news is we have a friend that Jesus Himself sent to help us and He is, The Holy Spirit.  He is a person of the Godhead, or the Trinity and He was sent specifically to help us.  I've called on Him many times and He's always right there to help me.

One day I was facing a problem and I couldn't find a solution.  I had tried everything I could think of, but couldn't solve my problem, until I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to help me.  Immediately He brought a person to my mind that could help me.  I had not thought of this person before.  I called them and they were able to help me.  

I don't believe I would ever thought of this person.  I believe the Holy Spirit brought this person to my mind when I prayed and asked Him to help me.  I am so thankful for the person of The Holy Spirit.  I don't want to even try to live without Him.  Jesus sent Him to this earth to indwell every Believer and I am so glad He came. Thank you, Holy Spirit for leading and guiding me today.  He will guide you into all truth and tell you exactly what to do.  

A Personal History With God

I listened to this message by Pastor Bill Johnson this afternoon and it was so touching and so good I wanted to share it with my readers.

He gets to the meat and potatoes of what it is to be a real Christian and a real follower of Jesus Christ.

I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did and be stirred to get a personal history with God for yourself.  We can't grow in Christ holding onto the shirt tail of our grandmother, father, or whoever else.  We have to have that close encounter with Christ for ourselves.

IT'S NOT, 'WHAT WOULD JESUS DO'

Okay, your here because you read the title of my blog, correct?  It stirred your curiosity and that's exactly what I intended the title to do.  The reason is obvious, I wanted you to read my blog.  So, here you are, and this is what I have to say.  Just keep reading.

A few years ago someone came up with the idea for a bracelet to wear with the initials, WWJD.  Almost everyone understood the letters were an acronym for, "What would Jesus do?"    This bracelet was to serve as a reminder to Christians to think about this question in any given circumstance or situation in their life where they were unsure what to do.  For example, if the young person were at a party and they were faced with the temptation to drink, or anything else, contrary to the Word of God, the bracelet was to remind them, "now, what would Jesus do in this situation", and then hopefully the person would make the right decision.  

I get this, and I'm not knocking this idea at all, but I offer a counter suggestion.  What, if we, instead of asking ourselves, What would Jesus do, just stop and think: What DID Jesus do?  We can know what Jesus did by reading His Holy Word, the Bible, and see exactly what He did.  That's why the Word of God was written, to show us The Way, The Truth, and The Life~Jesus.  He wants us to follow His example and didn't leave us in the dark wondering what we should do.

Listen to this scripture, "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees His Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does."  John 5:19.   So we see by this verse that Jesus only did what He saw His Father doing.  

It's just like when we're training our children.  They don't always hear what we say to them, but they will do what they see us doing, much to our chagrin, sometimes.  

You and I can follow Jesus' example by reading the Word and seeing what Jesus did.  We don't have to ask ourselves, "what would Jesus do?" We can know what Jesus did by reading and following His example in His Word and then just do it, just like He did. 

The point to this entire blog is simply this:  we really don't have to ask ourselves, what would Jesus do, we can know what Jesus did by reading His Word and then follow His example.