The JOY Of The Lord Is MY Strength!

Hi Everyone,

Sharing my testimony at the Appreciation Dinner for the mentors and Facilitators of the Christ-Life classes was precious! It meant so much to be able to do that, and yet, it wasn't about me at all-It was and still is ALL ABOUT GOD'S GLORY because of what HE DID FOR ME--saving my soul from sin and eternal damnation and bringing me to the place where He gave me the gifts of repentance and trust in HIM---and Him alone!!!

Today I am thinking about how the Joy of the Lord truly is my strength.

Nehemiah 8:10b "The joy of the Lord is your strength"

It is amazing what having joy in the Lord really is. The joy that He gives when one enters into a personal relationship with Him is amazing. Some of you may think that because of all of these positive posts, that I never have challenges or problems. I just want to say that IS NOT THE CASE BY ANY MEANS!! I am BY NO MEANS trying to convey the idea that once God gives the gift of eternal life to you and forgives you sins once you trust in Him alone for salvation that all of your problems go away---THAT IS NOT THE TRUTH!!!

But Let me say that the TRUTH is that there is a true joy that is greater than anything in the world because YOU HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT dwelling in you so that no matter what happens, the TRUTH is that God is with you and that He will be there through whatever you face so that you are not alone!! IT IS SO PRECIOUS HAVING THE LORD AS A COMPANION AND TO REALIZE THAT THERE IS A TRUE RELATIONSHIP AND THAT NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE THE FACT THAT YOU ARE HIS!!

This JOY is what I am experiencing in the midst of a few challenging situations in my life personally right now. But I am not fearful or worried about anything because I know that God is in control and that He is going to work out everything to my good, AND more importantly FOR HIS GLORY, because I love Him. It is a sense of peace-the peace that passes all understanding--NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE IT. NO HUMAN BEING CAN CONJURE IT UP WITHIN HIMSELF. NOTHING WE DO CAN MAKE US EARN THE RIGHT TO RECEIVE IT. The peace is a gift from God-WE Receive it by TRUSTING in what Christ did for us on the cross, dying in our place and-and NOTHING COMPARES TO THE PEACE AND JOY COMBINED THAT OVERFLOW FROM THE DEPTHS OF MY INNERMOST BEING!!! EVERYTHING IS AT REST---truly at rest, because the peace of God guards our hearts and protects us SECURITY--IN JESUS CHRIST!!!

Philippians 4:4-7 puts it this way, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 1:6b says, "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."--

God always completes what He starts in us--It is HIS WORK!!!

I pray that today, and every day after, you find yourself rejoicing---REJOICING IN NONE OTHER but JESUS CHRIST-THE ONE AND ONLY King of kings and THE LORD of lords.We rejoice because there is no other Name by which we can be saved, and we rejoice because of the GIFT OF SALVATION, that He alone paid in full, when He died in our place and rose from the grave, and gave us the gift of TRUST in HIM ALONE and a true change of heart, because we finally UNDERSTOOD what HIS LOVE REALLY MEANT!