Living in Love Archives | Page 69 of 72

January 7, 2016April 2, 2017

The joy of the Lord is our strength!

The Joy of the Lord is your Key! Just read the following words aloud and see what happens to your mood as your spirit takes charge over your soul. Then post your favorites on Facebook.

Discover the Joy of The Lord

You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand. (Psalm 16:11)

Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy are in his dwelling place. (1 Chronicles 16:27)

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

May we shout for joy over your victory
and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the Lord grant all your requests. (Psalm 20:5)

The Lord is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
and with my song I praise him. (Psalm 28:7)

You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever. (Psalm 30:11-12)

MORE UPLIFTING EXERCISES: Be sure to post your favorites on Facebook and Twitter! Then search the Bible for joy (pun intended). What are some of your other favorite verses that contain the word joy? Or – if you want to get carried away – count how many times the word joy (or a derivative thereof) appears. That would be fun, eh?

[callout]Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4)[/callout]

January 6, 2016April 2, 2017

To Abide In Jesus Is Your Number One Priority

What’s your primary concern today? Is it your marriage? Your children? Your relationships? Your finances? Your home? Your job? Your health? If you’re like most of us, you probably spend a lot of time and energy trying to figure out how to change your situation and circumstances. Finding the solution – no matter what problems occupy your mind today – begins with a single step: to abide in Jesus. In fact, abiding will always be Your Number One Priority.

I hope yesterday’s post started you thinking about Who God is for you and helped you remember where your identity originates. There’s a lot more to say on those topics, so we’ll get back to them later. But for today, let’s consider your mental focus.

[callout]Jesus said, “I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. ” (John 15:5)[/callout]

That’s the perfect picture of what it means to abide in Jesus!

Stay attached.
Keep your mental focus on Him.
Remember that He will never leave you.

How do you do that? It takes work to be sure. But it’s pleasant work.

Start your day – even before your coffee – by thanking Him for being with you.
Whenever your thoughts wander to something troubling, bring them back into focus by recalling Scripture that addresses your situation.
Thank Him that it’s His pleasure to instruct you, to bless you and keep you, and to provide for your needs.

QUESTIONS

What is your Number Once Concern today? Right now. This very minute.
What Scripture comes to mind for your situation? If nothing pops up, you can do a quick keyword search here.

Post your comments here or send me a message > mail@drdebismith.com

January 4, 2016April 2, 2017

Is there more to being a Christian?

I’ve always believed that being a Christian should make a real difference – not only in terms of where we spend the hereafter – but also in the here-and-now of our daily existence. So how do we connect the dots between what we believe about our relationship with The Trinity and what happens to us in “real” life? Or do we?

As you may recall from Genesis 3, the serpent started up a conversation with Eve back in The Beginning. The most crafty of beings, he got her to question …

God’s goodness and
her own identity.

If you’re going to connect those dots …

… between what you believe and what you experience, you need to know the Truth about those same 2 Things!

[callout]“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” ― A.W. Tozer[/callout]

The enemy probably tries to do the same thing to you he did to Eve – virtually every day. He plants doubt to get you to question God’s care and personal involvement in your life.

But mostly, he distracts you with what’s going on in the physical realm – what you can know with your five senses. He wants to keep you thinking the spiritual realm is just something that happens in the movies.

He doesn’t want you to know who you really are in Christ because he knows he wouldn’t stand a chance against you. So he does the only thing he can do: confuse and intimidate you with everything that’s going wrong – to keep you living your life in the flesh.

My Prayer for You (Purloined from Paul)

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

~ Ephesians 3:14-19, NIV

Category:Living in Love