Category: joy

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Scars of Victory

Last night as I was falling asleep, I began thinking about Jesus’ nail scarred hands. In the natural we often see scars as ugly, unsightly, something that needs to be covered but in reality, scars are a sign of a battle and a victory.

“It was evening of the first day of the week. The followers had gathered together with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, ‘May you have peace.’ 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.” John 20:19-20 NLV

Jesus’ scars showed the disciples the battle He had faced. They had been there, at the foot of the cross. They had seen the nails pierce His hands and His feet. They saw the spear cut through the flesh of His side. They saw Him die and their hearts filled with fear and defeat.

But now He stood before them and with His words He banished fear and with His scars He showed victory and brought joy.

“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.” I Peter 2:24 NLT

His wounds, inflicted in the battle of His life, now have a testimony of healing.

“21 Then Jesus said to them again, ‘May you have peace. As the Father has sent Me, I also am sending you.’ 22 When Jesus had said this, He breathed on them. He said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you say that people are free of sins, they are free of them. If you say that people are not free of sins, they still have them.’” John 20:21-23 NLV

Once again Jesus speaks peace over them. He knows that fear tries to force out faith. Jesus didn’t start His ministry until the Holy Spirit descended on Him and now He is commissioning His disciples for the work ahead with the same Spirit.

“24 Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. He was one of the twelve followers and was called the Twin. 25 The other followers told him, ‘We have seen the Lord!’ He said to them, ‘I will not believe until I see the marks made by the nails in His hands. I will not believe until I put my finger into the marks of the nails. I will not believe until I put my hand into His side.’

26 Eight days later the followers were again inside a house. Thomas was with them. The doors were locked. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, ‘May you have peace!’ 27 He said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger into My hands. Put your hand into My side. Do not doubt, believe!’  28 Thomas said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ 29 Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you believe. Those are happy who have never seen Me and yet believe!’”

Jesus is saying that to us. “Blessed are those who haven’t seen Me and believe”. We are blessed because we believe the message of the cross; we have heard that the scars are a sign of our salvation. They are scars of victory!

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Growing Joy

I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Where?

Down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Down in my heart to stay!

That’s a chorus I remember singing as a young girl in Sunday School. Little did I realize that the stories I was learning about Jesus and His love for me were planting seeds of joy in my heart.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

Joy: to experience great pleasure or delight : REJOICE.

I can hear someone asking, “Kristi, do you expect me to be happy all the time? That’s just not possible.”

Let’s let the Bible answer that question.

“Be full of joy always because you belong to the Lord. Again I say, be full of joy!” Philippians 4:4 NLV

“Or the one who hates me will say, ‘I have power over him.’ And those who hate me will be happy when I am shaken. 5 But I have trusted in Your loving-kindness. My heart will be full of joy because You will save me. 6 I will sing to the Lord, because He has been good to me.” Psalm 134:4-6 NLV

“Our hope comes from God. May He fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLV

“ The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. See! I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people. 11 Today, One Who saves from the punishment of sin has been born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 NLV

“You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.” Psalm 16:11 NLV

“ The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song. ” Psalm 28:7 NLV

We can be joy-full when people hate us or when they treat us badly. Joy is not predicated on our outward circumstances. It is a condition of the heart.

“ For every tree is known by its own fruit. Men do not gather figs from thorns. They do not gather grapes from thistles. 45 Good comes from a good man because of the riches he has in his heart. Sin comes from a sinful man because of the sin he has in his heart. The mouth speaks of what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:44-45 NLV

When we plant seeds of joy because we belong to the Lord and dwell in His presence, our heart will produce joy no matter the circumstance.

I looked up the word joy in the NLV, New Living Version, this morning and found 444 verses on joy. That’s a lot of seed and it will produce a big harvest. Time to start planting.

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Much Fruit

Today will end our month-long teachings on love. That doesn’t mean I will no longer be teaching on or talking about the love of God. It’s not possible to talk about our heavenly Father without mentioning love because that’s who He is.

God is Love.

Our verses for today find us in John chapter 15. The foot washing of John 13 is over, and Jesus is getting ready to head to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. These are His words of encouragement to those He knows will be heart-broken in just a few short hours.

“If you get your life from Me and My Words live in you, ask whatever you want. It will be done for you. 8 ‘When you give much fruit, My Father is honored. This shows you are My followers. 9 I have loved you just as My Father has loved Me. Stay in My love. 10 If you obey My teaching, you will live in My love. In this way, I have obeyed My Father’s teaching and live in His love. 11 I have told you these things so My joy may be in you and your joy may be full.

12 ‘This is what I tell you to do: Love each other just as I have loved you. 13 No one can have greater love than to give his life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do what I tell you.'” John 15:7-14 NLV

The life of Jesus was one filled with compassion. It was a fruitful life, He followed all the Father had instructed Him to do. His life was joyful. He found great joy in making others’ lives better. His final act was His most loving – He laid down His life for His friends.

He wanted, and still wants, those who follow Him to live joyful, compassionate, loving lives. He wants us living by His word; His words are life. His words are our firm foundation. They will keep us steady through the storms.

You will notice that Jesus was asking his disciples to lay down their lives, not on a wooden cross but on a cross of obedience to His word. He asked that we do what He has asked us to do.

“Love the Lord our God with all our hearts and love our neighbors as our self”, then our lives with be productive and we will bare much fruit!

Have a fruitful day my friends!

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Happy Tears

This morning’s blog will be personal!

Like many of you I made Christmas ornament collections for our children and when they moved into their own homes each of them was given a box of ornaments for their Christmas tree.

One year I purchased a set of ornaments, J – O – Y.

I asked the kids if they would bring those ornaments any time they were all together and hang them on the tree. I told them, having the three of them together at Christmas would make my “joy” complete. Over the last two decades we have only been with all three kids and their families a handful of times. In 2002 we had a family Christmas in Canada, in 2009 we were in Lake Stevens WA. Kaci was only present via Skype since she was in China, and the third time was yesterday.

Unbeknownst to me, Kaci had contacted her siblings and asked them to bring their ornaments when they came to our granddaughter’s house. All the presents had been opened when the kids disappeared into the kitchen and came back into the living room holding their ornaments.

Of course, I cried! Big ugly tears.

This morning my heart is so full – filled with the Lord’s love and filled with J-O-Y.

“Be happy in the Lord. And He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Give your way over to the Lord. Trust in Him also. And He will do it.” Psalm 37:4-5 NLV

Sometimes there are those prayers of a parent’s heart that no one hears but the Lord. When the Lord brings the answer it goes beyond your expectations. Your heart is overwhelmed, and you can hear the Father quietly say, “I did this just for you”.

Last night family began leaving, heading home. Some to Washington, some will stay here in California and some of us will head to Arizona.

I want this to be a message of hope. Life gets busy and families are pulled in so many different directions, to so many different locations. Some by choice, some by necessity.

“I pray that you will be able to understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep His love is. 19 I pray that you will know the love of Christ. His love goes beyond anything we can understand. I pray that you will be filled with God Himself. 20 God is able to do much more than we ask or think through His power working in us.” Ephesians 3:18-20 NLV

Our Father’s love goes beyond imagination. He dries our tears in our darkness times and fills our hearts with hope and joy. Thank you, Father, for happy tears!

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Advent

Yesterday our great granddaughter announced to me that “Christmas is 3 days away”! She was very excited.

I asked how she knew that and she said she had opened her calendar.

Advent. The looking forward to or anticipation of the birth of Christ.

Did you notice that “advent” is the root word for adventure? And what a heavenly adventure it was.

Yesterday we were together with family; the rest of them will be arriving today. I’m so excited for this time to spend with them.

Thinking of our Heavenly Father and how He must feel as He brings each of us to mind. His love is overwhelming, His peace reassuring and His comfort beyond comparing!

I can hear Him saying:

“I love you with an everlasting love” Jeremiah 31:3

“My peace I give to you; peace, be still.” John 14:27

“I will send the Comforter that will abide with you forever” John 14:16

“Let my joy be your strength” Nehemiah 8:10

” I know the thoughts I have for you; thoughts of peace”. Jeremiah 29:11-13

Yes, in the quiet of my morning I can hear my Father speaking to me and He’s speaking to you as well. Enjoy your time with Him. Each day is an amazing advent-ure!

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Weather Report

This morning we are in California. Had a safe, short flight yesterday from Arizona. All of our family will be at our oldest granddaughter’s home for Christmas. What a joy! I hope you will be understanding if I miss posting a couple of blogs over the next few days.

One of the things we did when packing for the trip was check the weather report. Long sleeve/short sleeve, polar fleece, rain wear, long pants, shorts, hikers or tennis shoes. All these were considerations for our wardrobe.

When we lived in Montana, we always had to look at the weather report, consider any possible storms and plan accordingly. Most anywhere we went we would have 3 passes to go over and winter travelling could be treacherous.

I’ve often wondered what the weather must have been like travelling to Bethlehem all those years ago.

I know it wouldn’t have been subzero but it can get cold in the desert regions or was there rain? Ladies, imagine this, 9 months pregnant, riding a donkey, sleeping under the stars. Regardless of the weather, it may have been perfect, but that’s not the time you want to try out the new tent and sleeping bags you just got from BassPro, right?

What was Mary thinking, this was certainly a “memory maker”? Did the trip affect her disposition? What questions did this young woman have, after all, it was her first pregnancy?

” So they went running and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the feeding box. 17 When they saw the baby, they told what the angels said about this child. 18 Everyone was surprised when they heard what the shepherds told them. 19 Mary continued to think about these things, trying to understand them.” Luke 2:16-19 ERV

As a mother, I sit here this morning remembering different Christmas mornings with my children and grandchildren. I pray that the significance of that first Christmas morning stays as the focal point in their lives long after I am gone.

Your Christmas celebration may not be perfect, Mary’s wasn’t. Don’t be sidetracked if things don’t go as planned. Keep your focus on the “reason for the season” and even if the weather is cold and gray, keep your heart merry and filled with love.

There are no words of gratitude that can possibly express my heart’s joy over the events of that first Christmas morning and how it’s changed my life.

Thank you, Father for loving me enough to give me the gift of Your Son and relationship of eternal life with You that first Christmas day.

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A Joy Filled Life

How’s the Christmas shopping going? Have you purchased all the gifts you intend too? Are they wrapped and under the tree? Are you excited about seeing the faces of those you are giving too?

I really think that’s how God feels. He has given us so many perfect and wonderful gifts. I think His heart is filled with excitement and anticipation as He waits for us to discover each precious gift.

I know my heart is filled with gratitude this morning; God’s amazing love is overwhelming; His peace passes all understanding (that means I can’t figure out how I can have so much peace when things seem anything but peaceful) and His grace (giving me what I don’t deserve) is so marvelous!

Each one of these wonderful gifts are waiting for us. They are wrapped in gold wrapping (the color of my kingly inheritance) and topped with bright red bows (the color of the blood He shed for me). Each day I have the opportunity to receive these gifts anew; each day I have the opportunity to share these gifts with others; each day I have the joy of saying thank you to my wonderful Father who has given these gifts to me!

“But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7 KJV

“May you have more and more of His loving-favor and peace as you come to know God and our Lord Jesus Christ better. He gives us everything we need for life and for holy living. He gives it through His great power. As we come to know Him better, we learn that He called us to share His own shining-greatness and perfect life. 4 Through His shining-greatness and perfect life, He has given us promises. These promises are of great worth and no amount of money can buy them. Through these promises you can have God’s own life in you now that you have gotten away from the sinful things of the world which came from wrong desires of the flesh.” II Peter 1:2-24 NLV

Through our relationship with Christ we have become God’s children. Through our knowledge of God’s word we learn about the inheritance and the blessings, gifts, He freely gives to each one of us.

“Faith in Christ Jesus is what makes each of you equal with each other, whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a free person, a man or a woman. 29  So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.” Galatians 5:28-29 CEV

The gifts we receive from our Father have no expiration date; they don’t need batteries or a charger. They are powered by His unconditional and everlasting love.

Merry Christmas!

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The Gift of God

When our children were little, we began a tradition of passing out the gifts, after Dave had read the Christmas story from Luke 2.

The kids would work together taking presents from under the tree and passing them to their intended recipients. Once all the gifts were distributed, the youngest family member got to open the first present. Then each one of us would open a present, all the time observing the succession of youngest to oldest. And we still do that today.

Even in our leanest years financially there would be more than one gift for them to open. There were gifts!

That was the scene that filled my mind this morning. The gifts.

“God does not change His mind when He chooses men and gives them His gifts. 32 God has said that all men have broken His Law. But He will show loving-kindness on all of them.’ Romans 11:29 & 32 NLV

God has given us His gifts and He doesn’t change His mind. What a thought! It would be cruel to promise a gift and then withhold it. God doesn’t do that.

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching to see that My Word is completed.’” Jeremiah 1:12 NLV

“For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will look for Me and find Me, when you look for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 NLV

I didn’t title this morning’s blog “The Gifts of God” but instead “The Gift of God”, for a reason. Our heavenly Father has many gifts waiting for us – forgiveness, joy, peace, grace, strength, His abiding presence but the many gifts come through “The Gift of God”, Jesus.

“Men become right with God by putting their trust in Jesus Christ. God will accept men if they come this way. All men are the same to God. 23 For all men have sinned and have missed the shining-greatness of God. 24 Anyone can be made right with God by the free gift of His loving-favor. It is Jesus Christ Who bought them with His blood and made them free from their sins.” Romans 3:22-24 NLV

Once we receive the gift of His Son and our forgiveness of sins we are reconciled to God; adopted by Him and become heirs of His promises.

“The yes to all of God’s promises is in Christ. And that is why we say “Amen” through Christ to the glory of God. 21 And God is the one who makes you and us strong in Christ. God is also the one who chose us for his work” II Corinthians 1:20-21 ERV

It’s time to open our hearts to the gift of God, to His Son, Jesus!

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I’ve Got Joy

For the past hour, as I was waking up, the lyrics of a song we sang Sunday morning have been on a continuous loop in my heart.

“I’ve got joy in the morning

Joy in the evening

You keep me dancing

In every season

No matter what comes my way

I’ve got joy”

Joy – it’s greater than happiness. Happiness is conditional. If everything is going well – all the bills are paid, the kids are fed, I feel strong and invigorated, the boss likes my work, my favorite sports team won – then I’m happy. But that’s not joy.

No, joy is different. Joy isn’t dependent upon circumstances.

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:2-5 NJKV

Joy in trouble and trials? You can’t be serious. Oh, but I am. This verse was written during a time when Christians were being arrested and severely persecuted. Some were facing death because of their faith and James tells them to consider it joy.

The first thing that comes to my mind, after reading that, is this:

“And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. 24 Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.” Acts 16:23-26 NKJV

Paul and Silas had just been beaten and they had joy. I don’t imagine they were happy about the beating they took or that they were in prison but at midnight, in their darkest hour, they had joy. In fact, they were overflowing with joy and could pray and sing.

Now I don’t know, if they had been sitting their complaining about their situation and bemoaning the fact that they had been beaten for preaching, if there would have been an earthquake that would have broken their bonds. But I do know that they counted it joy when they were in a difficult circumstance.

Their joy came from knowing they had done the will of God and they also knew they had His promise to never leave them or abandon them. We have that same promise.

King David said in Psalm 139 that even if he went to hell God would still be with him. When we come to that realization, that God has chosen to be ever-present in our lives, we will know true and abiding joy.

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 NKJV

“Then the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.'” Luke 2:9-11 NKJV

The Lord has given us a wonderful gift – the gift of joy!

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Take A Break

Yesterday Dave picked me up at work and we headed to town. After all, how busy can it be? It’s just December 1st.

Well, it was busy. We stopped long enough at our favorite Mexican food restaurant to enjoy our dinner and visited with our waitress. It was a nice repose before we headed to the grocery store.

Oh my!

Only a few things on our list but some were necessities so it was a stop we couldn’t skip. Busy, busy, busy.

Home. Put things away and then it was time to sit down and enjoy the quiet. You realize that you don’t have to go anywhere to get caught up in the hustle and the bustle of keeping up with life. It can happen anywhere, especially this time of the year.

The holidays can be so hectic – planning for friends and family to visit; making those favorite treats, decorating, parties, finding the perfect gift – all good things – all things that come from a heart of love but all things that can stress you out and fill your days with things that can test the temper.

A good way to keep your day on track is to start it with a short prayer, thanking God for “The reason for the season, Jesus” and then having an afternoon coffee break to focus once again on things above. Bedtime is one more opportunity to be thankful for the wonderful people in your life and for His love.

A sure-fire way to keep your life on track.

“And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Colossians 3:14-17 KJV

I’m praying that each of you have a day filled with blessings.

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