joy

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and Christ

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Reflecting on the season and all that goes on in our lives…I have always been a Christmas guy.  As a kid I enjoyed the lights, the music and family gatherings and of course the presents.  As I and my faith have grown I realize that Christmas was the starting point for me to really deepen my faith.  As an adult in mind and a kid at heart I still enjoy the lights, the music and the family gatherings…I now enjoy the giving far more than any receiving of presents.  Where we live I enjoy the snow and even the cold.  The change of season is natural to me it is God showing us his love using nature.  All that was alive in summer has passed on but it will all be reborn in springtime.  With the shorten daylight we set up lights to add color to the white world.  But most of all it seems to be the one time of year that the most people in the world actually recognizes Jesus Christ and his coming into the world.

At Christmas time I pray you see and feel a sense of…

Hope – God made a promise to you and everyone to love you and to never leave you…believe him and trust him with every area of your life.

Peace – Be content when your basic needs are fulfilled and share with others if you have been blessed with abundance…practice patience.

Joy – Wear a smile more often and make an effort to help others find their smile…focus on the positive in any situation.

Love – Life is more about how you treat others than how they treat you…you can’t control what others will think, say or do so don’t waste time worrying about it…do all that you do with love.

At Christmas time put Christ in the center of your life…with Christ you will know Hope, you will know Peace, you will know Joy and you will know that the Love of Christ in your heart will help you overcome anything this world can throw at you.

May you see and know God’s blessings in your life this Christmas and carry them with you all through the New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Life by the Spirit…Self-Control

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It does not surprise me that this is the last thing listed in the Galatians 5:22-23 writing about the Fruit of the Spirit…why?  Because as with all aspects of faith it all comes back to us…our attitude, our perspective and most of all our choices.  We are blessed with free will, free to choose how we will act in this world.

Free to choose Love or hate

Free to choose Joy or sadness

Free to choose Peace or fighting

Free to choose Patience or hurriedness

Free to choose Kindness or be mean

Free to choose Goodness or cruelty

Free to choose Faithfulness or distraction

Free to choose Gentleness or be unbalanced

Free to choose to use the Fruits of the Spirit using Self-Control

Our guide for all of this is Jesus.  God sent him so that reconciliation with God is always available.  He loves us and wants us to choose to love him.  Self-Control is not easy, I know from experience and I struggle with it as much as anyone.

Getting better at Self-Control is a choice in itself…it is choosing to live a healthy life style.  Start by doing devotions in the morning and/or at night every day.  Make those 5-10 minutes a priority and be quiet and calm with the Word every day.  Given time it will help…then look at how you are physically caring for yourself…be sure you are eating regularly, getting rest and sleep and take a walk for exercise.  When you feel things are out of control stop and pray.  All of this is possible for anyone; it does not take a large financial investment just commitment.  I know how the world we live in will try to distract and dissuade you from continuing…don’t quit.  Even when you fall down and feel like you are failing, God is still right there saying “I understand, my own Son experienced frustration and temptation in the world.  You are forgiven.”

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.  Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.  Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.”

                                                                                                                Galatians 5:22-26

I pray we all we seek to live using the Fruits of the Spirit in all we do every day.

Take a look at the picture above one more time…choose to see what is on the other side through that opening…

May God’s Peace be with you

Life by the Spirit…Joy

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What is true Joy?  What does it look like?  How does it feel?  For me Joy is something that results from a sense of hope and peace.  As a simple example think of a the Joy a parent feels when an infant or toddler settles down and falls asleep…before that moment the home was busy with the child eating and having play time.  Depending on the age, the child may have been moving around from place to place in the home finding many things it should not be getting into…so when the moment comes at the end of a day and a child has fallen asleep there is a sense of peace.  As you look at the child sleeping peacefully you may begin to think about the future and what may come…that would be hope…hope for a better tomorrow, hope for what they will become.  The combination of this hope and peace result in Joy.

I use this example because in my experience there usually is more Joy in the world when little children are around…why?  Because there is hope for the future and often, not always, the adults nearby are less concerned about other things and they may be more at peace.  Now I understand that this is not always the case around young children and when there is not Joy it is on the adults to choose the attitude that creates Joy or they can choose the attitude that creates stress.

So how do we find hope and peace to create more Joy?  Let’s start with hope…hope is about goals and dreams.  What are your goals?  What are your dreams?  If you are not sure or you haven’t thought about it much, take some time to identify them.  Author John C Maxwell writes in his book “Developing the Leaders Around You” to fill in the blanks on 2 statements to help identify your dream…

If I had _________________, I would ________________.

The idea is if you had unlimited resources (such as time, money, etc) that you would pursue your dream.  After you figure out what your dream is pray about it.  If you know your dreams then offer them up to God and be open to God telling you he has a different goal or dream in mind for you…don’t worry it won’t be something you don’t enjoy…he made you, specifically for his plan for your life so you will like it if you let him lead you.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

                                                                                                                                Proverbs 3:5-6

The peace that leads to Joy comes directly from trusting that God is in control and no matter what happens in the end he his holding you and if you let him, he will lead you to places you never thought possible.  For me 2-3 years ago a thought about writing a blog about my faith…huh yeah right…yet here I am.  It is not perfect and it doesn’t have thousands of followers but if every post can impact just one person then I have done something he wants me to do.  I pray more of us will choose hope and peace and that we all will choose to experience more Joy.  Amen.

A Place Where You See God

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If you stop and think about it, where is that place in your life?  Is it a physical location or something different?  Is it in an act of kindness you have experienced or seen happening to another person or in a story you have heard about other people?

Sometimes it can be hard to find him…when I think about it and realize I haven’t seen him or been aware of him…I have learned not to ask God to show himself in some way but rather give me eyes and ears to see your work in the world.  For me, the key is where are we focusing our attention…if we are self-focused we will miss just about every opportunity to see God’s work in the world.  As we learn to focus on a relationship with God and others first we begin to acquire a new perspective.  This type of change in focus requires a commitment to change your routines and habits in life.  If we just try to work it all in to our current schedule and life we will fail…I speak from experience.

For many years I was consumed with my work and the company I worked for and my “position” in the social stratosphere.  I would work in “my time” with God on the weekend before getting down to business.  This life created several false idols for me, because deep in my heart I had not surrendered and committed myself to Jesus.  When I finally stopped pursuing my plans, my ideas for how things should be and truly dedicated daily time in devotion and worship…I finally started to see opportunities to connect with the world through God.  Some would argue that I have given up on living my life…my response is…you are correct in that I have given up trying to live my life my way and instead I am trying to live my life the way God has intended for me.  Of course, I am human and still make plenty of mistakes and have trouble with temptations but my life has never had more joy, more peace and contentment.

So where is it?  Where is the one place in your life right now that you see God?  Where is it that God has cracked a door or a window in your life and you just need to open it and step through trusting that no matter what happens God will be at your side and if you commit to meeting with him daily you will begin to experience life in a whole new way?

May God’s peace be with you