Joy

John 10:10 "The thief cometh not, but that he may steal, and kill, and destroy: I came that they may have life, and may have [it] abundantly."

What is the devil trying to steal? He is trying to steal the Joy that Jesus has given us, He comes like a thief undetected and in disguise.

Nehemiah 8:10 "Do not grieve, for the Joy of the Lord is your strength."

If the joy of the Lord is my strength, then no wonder why the devil wants to steal my joy, he wants to destroy me, because he does not want me to experience what Jesus has for me.

Today the Lord wants us to stand and recieve our strength from Him, not of our own will, not of our own strength, but to receive what Jesus has given us. Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance (forgiveness), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." If Jesus has given all of this to us, no wonder why the devil wants to steal it from us with the lies he talks to us, with the little things he loves to tell me. I have heard him say Geoff you are not worth it, you are fat, you are ugly, you will never make it, you can't do it, you are nothing, no one loves you, how could they love a freak like you. I hear these lies and that is what they are.

It is written James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." God calls us to submit to God and resist the devil, 2 portions there, not just resist the devil, but submit myself to God, turn from my wicked ways and say Lord I am yours and resist the devil. I didn't realize that until now, Submit and resist.

God I am standing firm in your teachings, I submit myself to you. Your will in my life and your way, for you are holy and I love you. I resist the lies of the devil, he has come to steal the joy you give me each day, he has come to steal the peace, but in You I find my resting place. Lord I know you are the one true God, You love me for who I am, for You created me. The devil has no place in my life, I am resisting his lies, he can go to hell and stay there. I stand firm in your word. Help me to hear you and hear what you have to share with me. Your love me, You chose me, You picked me and I am the apple of Your eye. Thank you Lord for Your freedom. In You is hope.

A Thought

I am in a men's club, it is called Fight Club. The verse of scripture is Nehemiah 4:14 " After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”"

God has given us each as task, if not one, but many. Are we doing all that it takes to make sure we honor God first in all of them? Are you putting God first in all you do? When we follow the teachings of the Bible, we stop looking at ourselves and look at what God calls us first to do. We put Him first, then our wives/husbands (marriage and we do what it takes to make it work), our children, our homes, then work and then friends, but I don't see it in there that we put ourselves before others. In fact, if we want to have JOY, we have to put Jesus first, then others and then ourselves. Are you lacking JOY, are you lacking the fruits of the spirit? If so, who is coming first in your life? If I want to have those things, I have to accept that I can not be the center of everything, that I must put Jesus first, I must be willing to stop thinking poor me and start thinking how would Jesus want me to be. It is not about me, a Christian life can't be about how I feel, but how I make Jesus feel, do I bring Him Joy, or do I cause Him to feel pain. Jesus died on the cross for me, He died to wash me clean from the ways I was and set me free to be on a path for Him. In that, am I walking in His freedom, or am I focusing on my self.

It is time to change my focus, more of Him and less of me. He is the way to find what I have lost, He is the way to find true JOY and so much more, but I have to put away my childish things and grab hold of what He has for me. It has to be about Jesus, others and me.

When we say we don't have time for God, but have time for other things, who are we putting first? It is high time we stop making excuses and start honoring God in our actions and words. He sees all, if we are watching TV all day, but have no time for God, who is coming first? If we play on a computer or social media, but have no time for God. Who is coming first? What things are you putting before God? Are they idols? Good way to check, can you live without them? I was spending countless hours playing games on my phone, instead of spending time praying or reading the Bible, it was hard to get rid of them, but it changed how I spend my free time.

Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 9:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
Psalm 111:10 "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise."

My thought for the day. If we stop worrying so much about how to please others and started working on pleasing God each day and worked on Matthew 22:37 "Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'" Maybe the way we deal with everyone would change. I am reminded of a story in the Bible 1 Samuel 2:12-36 . It is about a priest and his sons, he was so worried about provoking his sons, that he did nothing to change the way they acted. Instead of correcting them, he allowed them to defile God and His people and in doing so God brought down wrath on his family and him. He did not fear God and turned a blind eye to the actions of them. 

When I worry more about how God will interrupt my actions, how He will feel if I say something then what others think, I am seeing the real meaning behind fearing the Lord. It is time to realize that Jesus is right there with me, He hears and knows all. He sees my thoughts, He hears my words and are they uplifting, or are they crushing someone? It is time for me to stand up to be who God calls me to be, no matter who is watching, because Jesus is watching. That word of hurt I was going to say, God knows it, the attitude I was going to give, is it a reflection of God or of my lack of fear that God is going to hear it. I must have a humble heart, willing and ready to learn. We are to be as little children, able and ready to learn, deal with correction for it is what helps me be more of the man I need to be, not in the worlds eyes, but in God's eyes. Isn't it time to stand up for what God wants of us, fear the Lord, for He is with us always. He wants us to love Him more than anyone, put Him first, seek Him and we will find what we have been looking for, for He is the way.

Today who are you trying to please? If I am trying to please God, who will benefit?