Walk in Awe of God's Love and JOY

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  I fear that if you have not, you will miss out on the joyful wisdom God has in store for you!

            Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Does that mean we should be afraid of God? “Fear” in this context refers to reverence for God. When we “fear” God, we stand in awe of Him. He is all-wise, all-powerful, ever-present and all-loving. We should see Him through eyes of wonder…a God so amazing Who reaches out and touches our lives in a very real way.  Charles Stanley puts it like this: “To fear God is not to fear God’s judgment; it is to stand in awe that God has all authority to judge and to forgive, to show mercy, and to grant His grace in overflowing abundance.”

             Often when we talk about fear we refer to things like bad weather, the dark or the unknown.  Some people have the fear of heights and flying, of snakes or spiders or going to the dentist!  The “fears” referred to in these instances are NOT the same kind of “fear” Proverbs is talking about.  “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”

            In Charles Stanley’s book Walking Wisely, he writes, “Wisdom is the capacity to see things from God’s viewpoint. A child was asked if he knew the meaning of the word ‘omniscient’.  He said, ‘Yes’! My mom taught me that word.  It means that God knows everything about everything.’ I can’t beat that definition.”  Can you?

           Let’s walk in the “fear” of the Lord JOYFULLY, knowing that God knows everything about everything and we are under His watchful care!

Pursue Godly Wisdom....Find JOY in Jesus!

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  It’s a wise thing to start your day with a healthy serving of joy in the Lord!

          In Ephesians 5:15 – 17 we read:  ^“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”  We are instructed to live in wisdom….to not be foolish, but understand and follow God’s will.  How do we do that?

·        We must choose to pursue wisdom. We are not puppets on a string doing what God MAKES us do.  We have choices about how we walk through this life. We must seek wisdom--GODLY wisdom--and make it a priority.

·        We must also seek God’s plan for our lives. It is important to recognize that we have three enemies: the world system, the flesh, and the devil! Staying in an attitude of sincere prayer will keep us on guard against these enemies.

·        We must apply the wisdom we receive from God to our daily lives. We have all been given a certain amount of time. Let’s use that time in the most productive way to accomplish the most “good” to further God’s purposes here on earth.  But let us caution ourselves against mere “BUSYNESS”! We can choose to be so busy that we miss God’s best plan. Godly wisdom is what we need!

Allow God to take you by the hand and lead you along the path of wisdom.  And along that path, pick the many blossoms of JOY!

 

 

 

Walk Wisely and Joyfully...with Jesus

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  The joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus, also brings with it spiritual wisdom.

            Do you desire wisdom?  I’m not speaking of intelligence or being smart by the world’s standards—which is great! I’m not knocking that!  How often I wish I were smarter in many areas.  But what I’d like for us to focus on today is the wisdom that comes from seeing things from God’s perspective…and then responding to them according to scriptural principles. This is how Charles Stanley explains wisdom: “Seeking heavenly opinions on earthly circumstances.”

            In Stanley’s book Walking Wisely, he suggests that there are five reasons God desires for us to walk in wisdom:

1. God desires for us to become all that He created us to be.
2. God desires for us to accomplish all of the work that He sets before us to do.
3. God desires for us to receive, to experience and to enjoy all the blessings He desires to pour into out lives.
4. God desires for our lives to bring glory to Him.
5. God desires that we avoid all the pitfalls associated with foolish living.

If these 5 reasons are accurate, then we have one choice if we want to “walk wisely”.  James 1:5 tells us: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”

      Let’s make it a daily part of our routine to go before the Lord asking for a generous serving of wisdom AND joy!

Healthy, Wealthy and JOYfully Wise

            Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  I’m convinced that a healthy diet of joy in the Lord makes you “healthy, wealthy and wise”!

            Ben Franklin was convinced that: “Early to bed; early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise!”  There is a big difference in the word’s view and God’s view on this subject!  I have witnessed first-hand strong Christians who endure sickness, pain and many kinds of physical attacks on their bodies, yet they are radiant because of the love of Christ and their faith that He is in control, regardless.

            And let’s talk about the “wealth” aspect of the subject…..it seems so many people in our world today are persistently pursuing wealth: money, possessions, a life of luxury.  But “enough” is really never enough! Ben Franklin had something to say about that too. He wrote: “The poor have little, beggars none; The rich too much, enough not one.”  In other words, if we focus on becoming financially wealthy at the expense of what is truly important, then we will never be satisfied. 

            We can learn a great lesson about spiritual wealth from Paul in Philippians 4:12: “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Do you know Paul’s “secret”?  It’s the JOY of relationship with Jesus Christ!

            Today I pray for spiritual health, wealth and wisdom for you! Begin by spending time with the source of true JOY! His name is JESUS!  

FRIDAY'S SERVING: The Lord is Near...Ready to Serve You His JOY

          Have you had your JOY JUICE today? And as you sip on that JOY JUICE this morning, are you perhaps praying?

          Author R.A. Torrey reminds us that prayer is one of the most highly esteemed privileges of life.  He confesses that before he began to view prayer in this way, he found himself thinking, “How much time must I spend in prayer?”   But now he thinks: “How much time may I spend in prayer without neglecting the other (responsibilities) of life?”

            Talk about a change of perspective!  How do you view prayer…as another task on your “list of things all good Christians should do”?  Or do you see it as a gift?   Is it a duty that you must perform and check off your “to do” list? Or do you understand that prayer is, indeed, one of the highest privileges that we can ever have? 

            Take advantage of that privilege often….the Bible teaches us to “pray without ceasing”!  “Pray continually.”  That means to stay in a spirit of prayer. Why?  Because as Psalm 145: 18 says: “The Lord is near to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth.”  I urge you to call upon the Lord today…no matter what your situation.  He is listening and will JOYfully come near to you!

As you sip your JOY JUICE today, why not thank the Lord for the serving He generously pours out into your life?  Then, get ready to share His love and JOY with others!

How Great Is The Love (& Joy) of God

       Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  Pour a nice serving for yourself this morning! And as you are pouring…..

       Think about all the times you have poured your heart out to God in prayer. Have you ever been so touched by God’s goodness that you can’t believe that He gave you such “an exceedingly, abundantly” wonderful answer to your prayer?  When God blesses like this, you may ask, “Lord, what did I do to deserve your goodness?”

            Well, the answer is: NOTHING!  There is NOTHING we can do that will make God love us any more or any less.  According to author and pastor David Jeremiah, “Let us not forget that our prayers are heard, not because we are in earnest, not because we suffer, but because Jesus suffered… The mystery of why God answers prayer is all wrapped up in the mystery of why He redeemed us; just like the Cross, it points to an infinite love that is far beyond human explanation.”

         In 1 John 3:1 we read: “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”

            It is because of that great love that we can ask, seek and knock on the door of God’s heart today;

             Bask in His love…and feel the warmth of His JOYful embrace that you have never had to “earn”, but He gives freely to each of us. 

Ask! Seek! Knock! Find JOY in Him!

             Have you had your JOY JUICE today?  In Matthew 7: 7 we find the words of Jesus: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you”.   

As we pray, we are given these simply guidelines to ASK, SEEK and KNOCK.  And then verse 8 gives us an unconditional promise: “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

            Doesn’t it fill your heart with JOY to know that when you ask, seek and knock, God hears your prayer?  These verses are promises to the Christian. But we must remember that he may not always answer the way we think He should.  Sometimes he does say “Yes”; other times he says “NO” or “Not yet”.  What about those prayers that you and I have prayed for YEARS and still have do not have an answer? That is when He says: “Trust Me”! Isaiah 55:8-9 reminds us why we can trust:

^8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. ⁹ For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

 We can trust that God is always going to answer our prayers in HIS best way! And that should fill us with peace and assurance…..blessed assurance, packed full of JOY!

Drink your Joy Juice faithfully! Trust that God will answer your prayers in His perfect and joy-filled way!