Author: eMarie

“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8.)

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg , TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, ‘I hope he doesn’t come over here.’ But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.
‘Where are you folks from?’ he asked in a friendly voice.
‘ Oklahoma ,’ they answered.
‘Great to have you here in Tennessee ,’ the stranger said.. ‘What do you do for a living?’
‘I teach at a seminary,’ he replied.
‘Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I’ve got a really great story for you.’ And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.
The professor groaned and thought to himself, ‘Great … Just what I need ….another preacher story!’
The man started, ‘See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, ‘Hey boy, Who’s your daddy?’ Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’
He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad. ‘When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’
But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd.
Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, ‘Son, who’s your daddy?’
The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, ‘Who’s your daddy?’
‘This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy.. ‘Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.’
With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.’
‘With that, the boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, ‘Who’s your Daddy?’ he’d just tell them , ‘I’m a Child of God..”
The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, ‘Isn’t that a great story?’
The professor responded that it really was a great story!
As the man turned to leave, he said, ‘You know, if that new preacher hadn’t told me that I was one of God’s children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!’ And he walked away..
The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over & asked her, ‘Do you know who that man was — the one who just left that was sitting at our table?’
The waitress grinned and said, ‘Of course. Everybody here knows him. That’s Ben Hooper. He’s governor of Tennessee !’

Someone in your life today needs a reminder that they’re one of God’s children! Go share the Good News!  🙂

(DISCLAIMER: This was a FB post from an anonymous source)
Author eMarie

To leave a comment, please click on the title above, WHO’S YOUR DADDY?, and scroll down.  Thank you for subscribing, leaving a comment, and sharing this site with friends. See you next week for more encouraging posts. God bless you!  🙂

More than two years ago, I set a course to write a weekly blog. I am so grateful  you’ve subscribed, and I enjoy getting to know you through your kind words and comments. THANK YOU!!

I imagine you looking into your computer screen while reading these blog posts, sometimes laughing, sometimes tearful, but always filled with awe because God loves you!

Mind if I share a secret? Here are two more reasons for each blog post:

• God is our Encourager. I can’t fathom a time when we’ve had a greater need for Him and His words of encouragement. When we share His word, we encourage and build each other up in the faith. (Those are Paul’s precious words in 1 Thes. 5:11.)
• My time with the Lord. Here’s a visual for each post … a brief glimpse at the person whose fingers hit the keyboard, heart-pounding, reveling in the presence of the Lord. Quiet and humbled before Almighty God—Him searching my heart, me chasing after Him like a thirsty beggar—then plunging deeper into that time where He takes captive every thought. Where He burns away my foolishness, examines every motive, and lightens my burdens. Where I come away knowing in my knower, if not for His loving kindness, His life-giving Word, His forgiveness where would I be?

Isaiah 40:12 tells us that God can measure the oceans in His hand! Do you know anyone else who can do that? He’s created the Heavens and the Earth. He’s named and placed the stars in the sky, and yet He knows the number of hairs on our heads! How awesome is our God!  🙂

Though we cannot comprehend all that God is, we get what David says in Psalm 113:5. “Who is like the Lord our God…”

David hit the nail on the head again when he penned these words:

When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? (Psm. 8:3-4, NIV)

Today, let’s consider who God is! Let praises flow to him for the love He lavishes on each of us. Because that’s who He is!

Isn’t that reason enough to share His fame with others?

by author eMarie

To leave a comment, please click on the title above, “WHO IS LIKE HIM?” and scroll down. Thank you for subscribing to this website and for sharing it with friends. Please come back next week for more encouragement! God bless you!  🙂

God calls David “a man after my own heart” (Acts 13:22). Wait a minute. Didn’t God know David’s sins? That, among other transgressions, he killed a man to cover up the adultery he committed?

What about Paul? Wasn’t he responsible for the deaths of many first century Christians? Yes. Yet he went on to author at least thirteen books of the Bible.

Peter denied knowing Jesus, Jonah chose a cruise in the wrong direction, Moses broke God’s handwritten tablets… And there are more examples of sinners, imperfect people, from Adam and Eve until today.

People meant to suffer the consequences of their sins. Eternal separation from God in hell.

But Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross changed that!

You see, long before mankind breathed our first breaths, God knew we would sin. And because He longed to have a relationship with us, a perfect, sinless sacrifice was needed. Jesus.

A while back, a coworker told me that she thought the forgiveness God offered was “way too easy.” Something else . . . some type of penance or punishment had to be meted out. No way could the simple act of repenting—turning and asking God for forgiveness—remove her sins.

Why does it need to be harder than that?  After all, this is God we’re talking about.

So why do we have a hard time accepting God’s forgiveness, forgiving ourselves, and living guilt free?

Why do we choose to live like those without a loving God?

As in ancient times, some still live under the misguided concept that droughts, disease, and famine come because people have angered the gods. To appease these stone or bronze statues, they burn their babies, bleed to death, etc. Yet nothing changes. No rain, no crops, no end to sickness. And no peace in their lives.

Let’s go back to David.

David accepted the Lord’s forgiveness with a glad heart. In fact, he said, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psm. 103:12). That’s something to shout about!

I love that David included you and me in that verse! Our sins are removed. There’s no doubt, no need for self-mutilation or torture of any kind, no human or animal sacrifice. And no reason to carry the weight of sin and guilt.

Here’s the truth about our sins: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us (our) sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). No guilt required. Just acceptance and a glad heart because of what the Lord has done for us. His pure Grace!

Next time you’re outside, search the horizon. Can you see from one end of it to the other? You’re not alone – no one can. Now, stop looking down and look up. Thank God for removing your sins beyond anything you can see or imagine. Accept His grace and go share the good news!

By author eMarie

To leave a comment, please click on the title above, GUILT vs. GRACE, and scroll down. Please subscribe, share this site with friends, and come back next week for more encouragement!  Thank you and God bless you!

 

 

 

And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight (Numbers 13:33, KJV).

Behind my childhood home runs an alley. From this alley, stray cats often wandered onto our property where my mother always fed them. Alley cats they were, in the strictest sense, so it’s no wonder that I adopted a stray who wandered onto my lawn in Kenner, Louisiana.

A beautiful gray kitty with a gentle temperament, she was the perfect pet. I named her Koshka, Russian for a female cat, I’d learned in my college’s Russian class. One day, though, a neighbor looked down at her and said to me, “Your cat looks pregnant.”

Pregnant! The word gripped my throat. That was the last thing I needed. I could afford Koshka, but care for a litter of kittens? Oh, no! For several days, I studied Koshka’s swollen belly. Mews and meows of imaginary kittens wreaked havoc on my brain’s “movie screen.” What would happen after she gave birth? Happen? To her? To her kittens? What about me? My bank account? My money?

Every day, visions of dwindling finances dominated my concerns. Anxieties intensified. I wanted to scream: “Koshka, girl, why are you doing this to me?”

Finally, I took her to the veterinarian to verify her pregnancy.

After his examination, he announced the verdict. “She’s not pregnant. She’s been spayed. She’s just fat.”

Whew! All my nervous tension broke at his announcement. Peace swept over and through me like a gurgling stream.

But isn’t this what the enemy does to us if we let him? After Moses’ twelves spies returned from scouting out Canaan, panic seized ten of them. They couldn’t take the land. Giants were there, “and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” First Satan planted doubt in their minds, then faithlessness supplanted faith, and finally, an overactive imagination produced an overwhelming terror. Because they believed what they saw and listened to the enemy’s lie, they missed God’s blessing.

Not so, two other spies, Caleb and Joshua. God told them He’d given them the land, and they believed it. They listened to His word. When the day finally arrived, they marched into the Promised Land, the last survivors of Moses’ generation.

Because I listened to the authority regarding Koshka, I gained peace of mind. Likewise, when we listen to and heed God’s authority, His word, the Lord will lead us to victory through every battle just as He did Caleb and Joshua.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I believe Your word, Your holy Scriptures, the only authority for how I live my life. Thank You for it, and for the peace You give me when I listen to and obey You. May I continue heeding Your guidance. Help me to ignore the enemy’s lies. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Brief Reflection
When we listen to Satan’s negative thoughts, we allow him to steal our faith. Do we believe God’s promises and walk in faith like Caleb and Joshua?

By Author John Cunningham, Jr.

This excerpt is taken from Reflections of a Southern Boy: Devotions from the Deep South. Published by Ashland Park Books, it is available at amazon.com in both paperback and Kindle. To purchase a copy, visit the Bookstore page on this site.

All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2018 by John “Jack” M. Cunningham, Jr.
Website: www.theauthorscove.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Author-John-M-Cunningham-Jr-205753212967651/?pnref=lhc

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God is faithful, and He calls us to be faithful, as well.  Even when the way is rough, and the storms come, or when the way is easy, and we’re tempted to forget our purpose. He calls us to be faithful even when it is bittersweet.

Barren, Hannah in her grief cried out to the Lord for a child. When the Lord answered her prayers, she fulfilled her vow to turn the boy over to the Lord to serve Him all of his days.  It must have hurt Hannah’s heart to leave her precious Samuel, so young, newly weaned, at the tabernacle in Shiloh with Eli the priest. She must have kissed his chubby cheeks and run her hand over his silky, dark hair before hugging him tight with tears in her eyes.

But I believe there was joy in her voice and in her heart, as well. The Lord had been faithful and answered her prayers. And she determined to be faithful, as well. There were probably moments when she wondered if she’d be able to do it. Nights of her boy cuddled close in her arms, when she never wanted to let go. But when the time came, she followed through on her vow. She turned Samuel over to Eli, saying “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now, I give him to the Lord.” (1 Samuel 1: 27-28a). The next chapter records Hannah’s prayer, a song of joy and victory, “My heart rejoices in the Lord; in the Lord my horn is lifted high…” (1 Samuel 2: 1a).

Every year Hannah returned to Shiloh with her husband to worship and to visit her boy. Every year, she made Samuel a little robe and brought it to him as a gift, a mother, faithfully looking after her child and faithfully serving the Lord.  Eli the priest blessed her, and so did the Lord. Previously barren and bullied by her rival, Hannah went on to have five more children, three sons and two daughters. And Samuel followed his mother’s example of faithfulness. He grew to be a man of integrity, having favor with both God and man, serving the Lord with all of his heart as a judge and prophet.

God calls us to be faithful. Faithful to serve, obey, and love him. Faithful to fulfill His calling on our lives and to work with what He has given us in our hands. If He has called you to write, then write with energy and heart, and keep on writing even when the road is rough, and you feel like giving up. Or if He has called you to serve in another way, then do so, putting one foot in front of the other, walking, running, or even stumbling at times if need be. He has called, He will not forsake us, and He has given us His Spirit and everything we need in order to run the race He has laid before us, keeping our eyes upon Jesus.

By Sherry Shindelar

https://sherryshindelar.com/
www.facebook.com/historylitgirl

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Words flew out of my mouth like sparks from a wood burning stove. Not pretty words. They carried the heat of my anger from the deepest root of my hair down to the tip of my longest toenail. Good thing I live alone so the wrath of my venomous mood fell on no one else’s ears.

God heard. He heard me utter His name. He did not hear me speak it in prayer. I mumbled it in vain, in frustration, in self-recrimination for my bad choice. My foolish oath to an inanimate object left me feeling ridiculous, embarrassed, defeated.

I toss the necessary items into my shopping cart at the grocery store, paper products, household cleaning agents, pet food, vegetables, fruits, meats, and grains. I should head to the check stand and on out the door. However, I cave to the temptation to top off my haul with all those non-nutritious foods that satisfy my unhealthy cravings but contribute nothing but calories to my already obese body.

A week later, I’m lamenting the fact that the number on my scales has crept up and my clothes are gradually becoming a little snugger.

A friend calls and after a few minutes of chit chat, I find myself gushing out that tidbit I heard about so and so that I promised I would not share. After all, she knows I’m telling her in confidence, so she won’t pass it on. Never mind that the information was provided to me with a vow that I would not repeat it.

When the facts come out of what really happened, I’m backtracking, apologizing, and promising myself that I will never pass on another piece of gossip.

All of these scenarios reflect lack of self-control.

Our self-control or lack thereof affects those around us as well as ourselves. A spouse who succumbs to alcohol or drug abuse, infidelity or extravagant spending tears a family apart.

A co-worker who ignores his or her health costs the company decreased productivity through poor concentration on the job, sporadic attendance, and extra work for other employees.

A gossip creates insecurity within organizations, weakens friendships, and inflicts emotional pain on others.

Self-control is one of the fruits of the spirit for a reason. A person who possesses self-control demonstrates an even-tempered character, a healthy respect for his or her body, and a trust others can rely on. Without these traits, we can’t expect others to see the light of Christ shine through us.

A tree cannot produce fruit without the sustenance of water. Likewise, we can’t develop the fruit of self-control without the living water of Jesus.

Our sinful nature is so strong that it fights for dominance in our spirit because the one who feeds our selfish desires is relentless. He embeds his lies so deep into our minds that their poison festers in our heart and blinds our spirit to the healing power Jesus offers.

We can’t overcome the temptations that beckon to us in the daily challenges of life without the strength of Christ in us. Like a thief who waits for the opportunity to rob an unsecured home, the moment we turn our eyes from Jesus, we let down the barrier that protects us from Satan’s destructive influence.

Moments after uttering those venomous words, I speak God’s name in reverence, praying for His forgiveness, asking for help to meet the next situation with calm and common sense.

I pray for the wisdom to make good choices the next time I enter the grocery store.

I implore the Lord’s strength to speak only words of kindness and encouragement and to keep my mouth shut when I should.

Here are a few Bible verses to help build self-control:

For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it – Romans 7:18 (RSV).

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age – Titus 2:11-12 (NIV)

For this very reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these things are yours and abound, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ – 2 Peter 1:5-8 (RSV)

God didn’t give us a spirit that is timid but one that is powerful, loving, and self-controlled – 2 Tim 1:7 (CEB).

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful  he will not let you be tempted^[ beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,^[ he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it – 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV).

By Patti Shene

https://pattishene.com/theover50writer

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“Let all that you do be done with love.” (1 Cor. 16:14, NKJV)

Not so long ago, I was going through my 45-year+ recipe box I received for a wedding shower gift. You know, the kind with tabbed dividers that hold three by five lined cards and you actually write out recipes! I had not browsed through it for quite some time, and I was hunting down a specific recipe. My fingers stumbled upon “Life’s Recipe” on a piece of paper that was nestled in with other cards behind my “Meat” divider.

I recognized it from years long gone by. Before continuing my specific recipe search, I paused a moment to read it. And then I drew a breath and pondered on the ingredients and instructions for “baking” this recipe. I have never discovered the author. I am thinking someone never got credit for how this life recipe has traveled around to thousands of readers all over the world. But then again, when I read it, I’m sure the person who wrote the recipe would not even want the credit.

As we start a new year, I thought I’d share this recipe with all of you. Maybe you’ve never seen this, or maybe you have, but a re-read could be beneficial for many of us. Enjoy!

Life’s Recipe:
1 Cup good thoughts
1 Cup consideration for others
2 Cups sacrifice for others
3 Cups forgiveness|
2 Cups well-beaten faults

Mix these thoroughly and add tears of joy and sorrow and sympathy for others. Flavor with little gifts of love and kindly service. Fold in 4 Cups of prayers and faith to lighten other ingredients, and raise the texture to great heights of good living. After pouring all this into your daily life, bake well with the tear of human kindness. Serve with a smile!

By Author Becky VanVleet

[email protected]

To leave a comment, please click on the title, FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: A RECIPE FOR LOVE, and scroll down. Thank for subscribing and sharing this site with family and friends. God bless you!!  🙂

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. (John 14:27a, NIV)

What wonderful, good news the Lord gives us—especially because a few chapters later, He warns that in this world we’ll have trouble.

But let’s be honest –  we’ve had trouble lately! COVID, empty grocery shelves, financial instability, rumors of wars… These problems might lead us to question why the Lord doesn’t answer our prayers. Why we’re waiting for the next foot to drop. In the midst of our troubles, where’s the peace Jesus promised?

Could it be that peace is not the absence of conflict but, as some have suggested, how we handle chaos?

While Horatio G. Spafford isn’t a household name, the lyrics he wrote amid heart-wrenching pain speak of peace that passes all understanding.

After losing a fortune in the Chicago fire of 1871, Spafford and his wife planned a family vacation to England.

He finished urgent business while his wife and their four daughters set out across the Atlantic. A short time later, he received a telegram from his wife. A tragic shipwreck claimed the lives of his four girls.

One account asserts that as the ship carrying Spafford to England neared the place where his daughters perished, the lyrics to this song welled inside him. He didn’t give in to a season of trouble and despair. Instead, he gave us a song in the night. A song of victory. Of “peace like a river.”

Borne from grief I pray few of us will ever know, Spafford’s lyrics ring as a testament to peace only the Lord can give.

After suffering such loss, we’d prefer to think this man’s life went on in an idyllic manner. Heaped with blessings he couldn’t contain. . .

Several years later, his three-year-old son died of scarlet fever. Financial loss compounded unbearable grief. Then the community of believers Spafford worshipped with turned their backs on him.

What did he do in the absence of peace?

He pressed closer to the Lord, initiating prayer meetings in his home. In fact, he and his wife were dubbed “the Overcomers.” He then established an American colony in Jerusalem, adopted a boy there, and by the time Spafford died of malaria, he was loved and respected by the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish community.

From seasons of devastating trouble and suffering, Spafford proved that with faith in the Lord, we too can have peace. We can say as he did, It is Well with My Soul.

By author eMarie

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As water reflects a face, so a man’s heart reflects the man Proverbs 27:19 (NIV)

Thank you, God, for the lesson I seem to need once again.

On a summer morning last year, I stopped at Starbucks before heading to pick up my dad for an oral surgery appointment. As I walked toward the store, I crossed paths with a homeless woman. All the obvious clues were there. Mis-matched clothing, worn in layers. House slippers for shoes on her shuffling feet. Crazy hair. Quiet muttering, speaking only to herself.

Coffee waited for me inside, and I had an appointment to meet. I didn’t pause as I walked past her. The woman was youngish, between 30-40 years old. A frown creased her face, and her jaw clenched with a belligerent jut.

She paid me no attention and arranged her collection of plastic bags on a table on the outdoor porch.

Waiting in line for my coffee, I watched the reactions of the people inside. The barista kept glancing outside, worry in his eyes. Was he wishing she hadn’t set up camp at his store? She was dirty and didn’t present a welcoming presence to customers arriving for their morning pick-me-up. Two women seated inside at a small, round table eyed her avidly, whispering to each other as they laughed, shiny nails glittering on their fingertips, lipstick kisses on the lids of their coffees.

I should talk to her on my way back to my car. Homeless people feel invisible, ignored by the world bustling past them. I should take the few seconds required to ask her a question, say hello. Would she be argumentative if I spoke to her?

She looked angry. Many homeless suffer from mental illness and can be combative. I glanced at my watch. I had time to stop for coffee. Did I have time to stop for her?

She walked off of the porch and around to the drive-thru. My eyes widened, and I stepped back so I could watch her progress. What was she doing now? What were the people waiting in line in their cars thinking, watching her approach? She startled me by climbing right into the landscaping. The leaves of Asian jasmine still dripped from their early morning spraying from the automatic sprinklers. The water droplets would soak her clothing.

The crazy thing she did? She plucked trash from the bushes, then climbed back out and deposited it into a waste can.

God, forgive me.

The homeless woman cleaned the debris tossed aside by a careless person paying $5.00 for a cup of coffee.

I picked up my coffee and turned to leave. I passed the two smirking women, resenting their privilege, resenting their beauty, feeling disappointment burn inside. Disappointment at myself.

Was I so different? Disappointment at them. It’s so easy to judge, especially from our oh-so-comfortable lives. I pushed the door open to head outside, calling a greeting to the woman as I did. I said it loudly enough for the ladies with the beautifully manicured nails to hear.

The woman outside looked up. She was someone’s daughter. Someone’s sister? Maybe someone’s mother. Our eyes met, and I smiled at her.

The change was amazing. A wide grin creased her face, transforming her angry, belligerent look into beauty. I stopped, struck.

I glanced at the McDonalds 20 yards away. “Have you had breakfast?”

Her smile broadened. “Oh, yes!” Her voice was sweet, childish, high-pitched. “I have bagels!”

What a beautiful, grateful spirit. Shame flooded me.

I touched her on the arm as I passed, a fingertip on her sleeve. “Have a good day.”

“God bless you.” Her reply was fervent.

She called down God’s blessing on me for speaking to her, for recognizing her as a fellow human being. For seeing her.

Jesus taught us to do this. He led by example, repeatedly. He spoke to the lame man waiting by the pool of Bethesda. He spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well. He spoke to the tax collector, to the leper, to the demon-possessed men in Gadarenes.

Today I learned—again—I want to live my life like Jesus. Help me, God, to see this world and Your people through Your eyes, not mine. Help me to always ask, “What would Jesus do?”

By author Paula Peckham

paulapeckham.com
Her debut novel, Protected, comes out March, 2022.

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At a recent party, a friend shared something her father practiced. What she said reminded me of the words inscribed on a plaque in my childhood home: Jesus, Others, and You

A long time ago (in a place far, far away!), a date took me horseback riding on a trail around a beautiful lake. I didn’t tell him, but this was my first time on a horse. Everything went as smooth as glass until my horse got spooked, bucked up, and down I fell. Guess my date wasn’t all that experienced either, because the same thing happened to him. Only problem was that when he fell, he landed on my stomach and knocked the wind out of me.

I can honestly say that wasn’t a joyful experience! My lungs didn’t reinflate until several sharp blows on my back. As you might guess, the date went downhill from there.  🙂

The Bible gives us fair warning that we’ll have trouble in this fallen world. Adversity might come in the form of bruises, maybe even a sucker-punch. We can be riddled by friendly fire—blasts from those closest to us. There are times when we’ll be rattled or even shaken to the core. We might even lose everything … except what’s at the core.

Then, how do we count it all joy as these things happen and even rejoice like James and Peter?

When we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us, we become more like Jesus. His love and joy and peace dwell inside. Outward circumstances – financial, relational, physical, or spiritual – cannot touch or disturb what’s at work, what God’s cultivating in us. His joy.

So, what does this have to do with Jesus, Others, and You? Jesus first in our lives helps us see Others as He does. We don’t have to fret about how to escape life’s troubles or worry about ourselves. If we’ll but trust Him, He’ll care for us like the flowers of the field. He stands beside us in the fire and on the mountaintop.

If we’re honest, we all need a little more J.O.Y. I’ll take two helpings, please.  🙂

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain You; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22, NIV)

By eMarie

To leave a comment, please click on the title above FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT: THE JOY OF J.O.Y. and scroll down. Thank you and God bless you!  🙂