7 DAYS OF GUEST BLOGGING [DAY 3]: Finding Joy in God

Joy noun \ˈjȯi\: a feeling of great happiness: a source or cause of great happiness

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls “ – 1 Peter 1: 8-9

Peter speaks volumes in this verse. He talks about faith, joy, and salvation all in one. How powerful is this verse? What I can say is that once I received God, I felt the joy that Peter speaks of. I love God so much and by getting to know him and developing a relationship with him, and by being obedient to his word, I discovered this inexpressible joy. This is what happens when you seek him and you give yourself to him whole-heartedly in addition to putting your faith and your hope in Him. Nothing can steal your joy when you do all things with the joy of God. When you have true joy, you smile even in the mist of bad times. It’s a feeling like no other. But how did I find my joy?

There was a time in my life when I didn’t understand what it meant to have joy. Prior to me giving my life to Christ I always felt a sense of emptiness. I was always sad, and hardly ever satisfied. As the days went by I slipped further and further away from myself. I became lost. I became confused. I became indifferent about all things; letting no feelings out and no feelings in. Where I would pray now, back then, I would get drunk, I would party, I would do all kinds of things to alleviate the emptiness that I felt inside; anything to numb that pain momentarily.

I longed desperately for happiness. I thought that being in a relationship would solve this issue. My thought process was “if I am in a relationship with someone, I will be happy because they will make me happy”. Not realizing that I was putting my happiness in the hands of another human being. Instead, I found nothing but HURT and PAIN and HEARTACHE.

The last relationship I did enter, I thought this person was my SOUL MATE, someone that God sent just for me. I even thanked God for him often because I felt that he would be the solution to my emptiness, to my pain, and to my happiness. Disclaimer: I always believed in God. A grew up in the church when I was a child. During my adult life, I went to church but not all the time, probably once every 6 months. I seldom read the bible. And I didn’t have much of a prayer life.  So I entered this relationship with the hope that this was forever and that I’d finally be completely happy. But I wasn’t happy. He did make me happy sometimes but when he didn’t my happiness ceased. When he wasn’t making me happy, I felt like I wasn’t happy with my life. My entire happiness was based off of the status of that relationship as opposed to me just not being happy with the relationship in general. In this relationship, I slipped the furthest from myself and I found myself being completely out of character. I got lost. This was all because I was looking for happiness in all of the wrong places.

Happiness and joy does not come from another human being; I soon discovered this.

“59 I pondered the direction of my life and I turned to follow your laws. 60 I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. 61 Evil people try to drag me into sin, but I am firmly anchored to your instructions “ – Psalm 119: 59-61 NLT

So like the verse says, I pondered the direction of my life and I decided to make a shift. I realized that I did not like who I was becoming. Who was this girl that NEEDED someone else to define her happiness? Who was that girl who looked for happiness at the bottom of a bottle of alcohol? WHO WAS THIS GIRL????? I didn’t know this person at all. I stopped being able to recognize myself.

I decided then to take some time and to reevaluate my life. I needed to figure out what would make me happy. So I finally turned to GOD and I gave my life to him in order to find salvation. I repented for all of my sins and I asked for forgiveness and I began to seek him daily. This is when I began my Christian walk and my relationship with God.  This was a little over year ago when I made a commitment to remain obedient to God and to follow His word and to live for HIM!

THIS IS WHERE I FOUND JOY !!!

HALLELUJAH!!!!

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” – James 1:2-3

But change does not come overnight. It was hard. The Lord tested my faith tremendously in the beginning of my walk. I had a very terrible scare to my health immediately after I gave my life to Christ. But I stayed faithful to him and I PRAYED. And even during this trying time I stayed prayerful. I stayed obedient. I fasted. And I had unwavering faith that my God would HEAL me, because he IS a healer and we must remember this. God is not only good when things are going great for us: He is ALWAYS good. And despite what the doctors said, I soon found out that I was healthy. PRAISE GOD!

So many things, Good and Bad, have happened to me during my walk with Christ but through the Good and the Bad I still praise him in the same exact way. The bad was only a test of my faith and with each bad day, my faith grew stronger. We have to remember that things will not always be rainbows and butterflies: that is far from realistic. But just because you have a few bad days, your faith in God and your love for God should not change! He tests us to not only to make us stronger but to see if we will still remain faithful and obedient to Him; and we must!

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

The Lord was and is my strength through it all. And I must testify and say that I have not felt a greater joy than what I feel now that I have found JESUS. I have never been happier and more fulfilled. My life has purpose. My mind has peace. My heart feels happiness. He completes me. It is truly an indescribable joy! I truly feel like this was all that I needed all along. Everything that I was searching for, I found it all in Christ Jesus. Of course there a bad days and I am definitely not where I want to be in life or in my Christian walk but I have come so far and I will never go back. Not knowing what I know now. Not feeling what I feel now. I broke the chains that bounded me to emptiness. I chose God, I chose happiness, I chose mental freedom, I chose JOY and so should you!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” – Romans 15:13

With God by my side I have accomplished so much this year. I got accepted into Graduate School at Seton Hall, I got a new car, I got a new place, I am traveling out of the country for the first time, I got much closer in my faith, my family is still alive and well, I found myself, I found happiness, I found love, I found joy, I found peace of mind, I found forgiveness and I found the me that I was destined to be all along. I am truly blessed!

In 2014 I look forward to continuing to excel in Grad School, to grow closer and stronger in my relationship with God, to continue to grow and mature as a woman, and whatever else the Lord will bring into my life.

And I will end with this …

As Christians we strive to be more like Christ. As apart of this desire to be more like him, we should carry the essence of Jesus, which is joy.  When we carry this essence around, just like negative energy can rub off on us, as well as positive energy, the same holds true for joy. We should spread joy wherever we go: affecting others positively. I encourage you all to seek God if you haven’t already and if you are to continue to seek him. I promise you there is nothing greater than this feeling. Our father that is in heaven loves us dearly and he has proven his love so why not prove our love for him in return and spread his joy: the joy which will encourage others to also seek him. Let’s light up the world with JOYYYYYYYYYY <3

GUEST BLOGGER FOR DECEMBER 27TH: SHAHEDA

7 DAYS OF GUEST BLOGGING [DAY 2]: Teaching Your Heart To Love Christ

duality 

|d(y)oōˈalitē| noun an instance of opposition or contrast between two concepts or two aspects of something; a dualism

ORIGIN late Middle English : from late Latin dualitas, from dualis

All day, every day we battle. This battle isn’t physically seen or at most times, not even physically felt.  This is because the soldiers in this battle are not men, but spirits, thoughts.  The battlefield is not a geographical location, but the mind itself.  Right vs. wrong.  Spirit vs. flesh.  God’s will vs. our own will.

When I made the decision to follow Christ, God replaced my “heart of stone” with a “heart of flesh,” (Ezekiel 36:26); a heart that desires after and craves for the things that He desires after and craves for. At that crucial point in time, the old had passed away, behold the new had come (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Awesome!  So this means that now life will be easy!  No more worrying about the devil, doing the wrong thing, facing any more difficulties, right?  Right?  Unfortunately, this is sometimes the message preceding an altar call or a plea to accept Christ.  People figure it sounds good, repeat the prayer, and afterwards when faced with adversity, decide that this “Christ thing” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and abandon ship.  In actuality, the acceptance of Christ is not an “easy fix.”  A genuine self-awareness of our own sin nature and how we not only want but need Christ will bring us to true repentance and understanding.

So back to duality.  I can’t think of anyone who said it better than Paul in Romans 7:15:  “For I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate […] Wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?”  I want to serve Christ.  But what if I miss out on fun?  I want to treat all people with respect.  But what if they disrespect me?  I want to glorify God in all that I do.  But what if it’s at the cost of my popularity with others?  These thoughts all come in our own voice, but in reality, the thoughts we entertain either come from God or they don’t.

DC TALK - IN THE LIGHT

In Ephesians 6, Paul lets us in on a little secret when he shares with us the “armor of God.”  He reminds us that it isn’t mom, dad, siblings, a co-worker, teacher, or random driver on the road who is the problem.  We don’t war against flesh and blood, but against spiritual wickedness in high places (the mind).  In James 3, James also reminds us of another weapon that we possess:  the tongue.  Unfortunately, we find ourselves using our tongues for a dual purpose.  “From the same mouth come blessing and cursing.  My brothers, these things ought not to be so.  Does spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?  Can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs?  Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water” (v. 10-12).

·      Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23).

·      Out of the abundance of the mouth, the heart speaks (Luke 6:45).

·      He that keeps his mouth keeps his life (Proverbs 13:3).

The heart is the key to all of this.  We must guard it, protect it, and most importantly teach it to love the things of God.  Attempting to overcome this feat alone would be impossible, but with God all things are possible!  Through Jesus, God has already given you the heart of flesh that you need and a new spirit.  Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all else will be added unto you.  This won’t be easy.  Our flesh will not like it.  In Galatians 5:24, it says that those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Doesn’t sound too pain-free.  But always remember that you do not walk alone, and that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is with you every step of the way.  And His name is Jesus Christ.  Lean not unto your own understanding, and trust Him with all your heart.

GUEST BLOGGER FOR DECEMBER 26TH: AMANDA

7 DAYS OF GUEST BLOGGING [DAY 1]: Giving With A Purpose -- The Intention of Christ

Merry CHRISTmas !!! Don't forget the Christ in Christmas!! 

When thinking about Christmas the main theme for this time of year is giving and receiving. We purchase gifts and make sure to enjoy our time of gift exchanges and having a good time, but Christ's focus is giving -- giving the way Christ intended.

My scripture: 

"TAKE CARE not to do your good deeds publicly or before

men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you will have no reward [reserved for and awaiting you] with and from your Father Who is in heaven. Thus, whenever you give to the poor, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites in the synagogues and in the streets like to do, that they may be recognized and honored and praised by men. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full already. But when you give to charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, So that your deeds of charity may be in secret; and your Father Who sees in secret will reward you openly." (Matthew 6:1-4 AMP)

I found that Christ looks at giving in three manners: 
1. We must give, for he states in verse 2 "Whenever you give" not if you choose to give, implying that this is what he expects from us
2. Our intentions when giving must not be to seek personal praise from man 
3. Our giving should be in secret so that we can gain Gods' public reward. (This is ensure that our intent of giving is not to seek mans praise)

This path of giving has been my walk this entire year. I needed to gain a better understanding of the reason god would shape me with such a giving heart. I needed to gain an understanding because I was truly growing weary in my giving. I gave to everyone and anyone including church, never seeking praise or return but still seemed to be in need myself. I was in desperate need of a car and was about to graduate so I needed a job as well. It seems that nothing was happening for me but I remained diligent in my giving.  As time when on it turns out that God was not overlooking diligence and was testing my faith because two months before graduating I got a brand new car and 3 weeks after graduating I got a great job! He was truly rewarding me publicly for all the things I gave in secret! 

I am truly challenged by this and will continue to follow this walk with giving all the way through 2014 as I grow closer to Christ. Will you join me?!?

Grace and Peace!

GUEST BLOGGER FOR DECEMBER 25th: CIERRA

TRANSFORMING TUESDAY: God's Arm Is Always Out Stretched For Us To Hold

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE TO ALL!!! REMEMBER JESUS IS ALWAYS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!

Have you ever been so caught up in sin? Sin isn't limited to just a few things. Sin encompasses so much! Today's reading in Isaiah 59 spoke directly to my heart because it was something that I was struggling with. This past week I finished up yet another semester in law school (GO ME!!!) and so I had a few events planned so that I could celebrate.

The day following the end of my exams, I went to a concert to celebrate. The concert was great and I enjoyed myself. The day after the concert I was invited to celebrate a close friend's birthday. Initially I was sooooo excited about celebrating because I figured it would be a dinner party, but to my surprise it wasn't. The celebration was to be held at a club and for all of you who do not know, I have not set foot into a club since maybe May 2012. Personally, preparing for the celebration aroused a lot of anxiety inside of me. I know that my decision to no longer party was a personal decision -- not because I thought it was necessarily a sin, but because I felt it did not benefit my life because so many things came with it. I did not want to attend the celebration because I felt like I would be erasing all of the progress that I had with my walk with God by going. It was a struggle to go but in the end I realized that by attending, it strengthened my relationship with God.

While at the club for my friend's birthday, I realized that the club was exactly the way that I left it over a year ago. Everything was still the same -- the music was there, the drinks were there, the people were there, and the same behavior was there. In that moment I knew that by attending, that my feelings of "missing out" were slowly leaving me. That's the thing with sin…when we refrain from sin we often times feel as though we are missing out on something great. The truth is, when we actually sin that's when we're really missing out! We miss out on growing closer to God and we miss out on what could have been our blessings. What I realized over the weekend was that by me "clubbing" (although it isn't necessarily a sin, for me it was an activity that I no longer wanted to involve myself in) it would have been the same as you or I lying. The Bible tells us that no sin is greater than the other (James 2:10). It is society who places these different degrees of offenses on the law.

As the night when on I realized that I no longer had a desire to be there although I was extremely happy to see everyone. At one point my friend leaned over to ask if I felt "convicted" for being there. After careful thought and consideration I realized that I wasn't convicted at all; I felt closer to God in that moment than I had prior to going to the club. I even received numerous text messages while in the club stating, "Church girl is in the club?" Ironically enough I didn't take offense to any of the messages at all. I thought they were actually thought that they were clever -- as long as people knew that I was a "church girl" they couldn't question my love for Christ. I knew I had initially stopped clubbing for a reason and because I attended that event I knew in my heart God had me right where he wanted me. See the issue is, as people we get so consumed with what people will think of us instead of focusing on our own salvations with Christ. My walk is not your walk and your walk is not my walk. MY walk with Christ is MY walk with Christ and YOUR walk with Christ is YOUR walk with Christ. None of them have to be explained as long as God knows that's it. I was so concerned with what people would say if they saw me that I almost missed out on my lesson: "You truly miss out when you are sinning. However, God's arm is never too remote for you to reach after you have sinned."

The Bible states, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear" (Isaiah 59:1). That just goes to show that God is always there and ready to stretch his arm out when we need to be saved from sin. And when we need to be heard because we are asking for forgiveness, he too hears us. So don't get so consumed with the degrees of sins because they are weighted equally in the eyes of God. And remember that when you are tempted to sin, the only time you'll be missing out is when you're actually sinning.

Prayer:
Dear Lord we come before you to thank you for all of your blessings in our lives and for constantly keeping your arm stretched out long enough enough for us to grab. We pray that you continue to keep us in your grace at all times and that you stray us away from temptation. We ask that you remind us that the only thing we are missing out on when we are sinning is your love and your blessings. Thank you for always being there and for always listening. Keep us focused on you and lastly, we ask that you solidify our individual walks with YOU. Thank you for everything and we love you. Amen. 


IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO TRANSFORM YOUR TUESDAY :)
TRANSFORMING TUESDAY: JAMERA

Merciful Monday: “With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible”

“With God Nothing Shall Be Impossible”

That phrase sounds good, right? But it is often hard is it for us to completely believe that NOTHING is impossible, not matter how difficult, ridiculous, unlikely or implausible, NOTHING is impossible. Mary knew this.

When the angel Gabriel appeared to her to let her know that she was pregnant with the Son of God, she showed that she believed in the impossible. She asked how this could happen since she was a virgin, but then immediately resigned to the fact that it was possible and it would indeed happen. After her initial question, her next statement was one of affirmation. She said “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:38). 

The amazing part to me was that she almost immediately believed that God would make the impossible possible.

Imagine someone calling you and saying, “Hey I am a representative for Bill Gates and Mr. Gates wants to give you $100,000 for Christmas if you agree right now to fly out to his home in Los Angeles.” How many of us would actually agree in that moment and immediately book a flight??? I’m going to guess, not many. You most likely would not have enough faith in the message giver or the alleged source to take any type of action to meet them. Most of all you would probably consider the source and whether they are who they say they are. You would speculate about the legitimacy of the caller and their connection to the person in power.

The same could be said of Mary’s situation. If I were her I would mostly have been thinking about whether the angel before me was real or if I was just seeing things, then I would wonder if this was some sort of test or joke. And even if I did get to the stage of acceptance I would be anxious in anticipation of how I would be received by others (friends and family), especially when I claimed to be a virgin. In spite of so many unknowns, Mary immediately said yes. She believed that God would do the impossible without hesitation, although she hadn’t even heard it from him directly. Her heart, mind, and soul said yes, and her body followed. She spoke of and acted on her “yes.” And because of this, she was blessed.

Until reading this, I never fully comprehended the extent to which Mary was required to have the utmost faith and determination and longsuffering to uphold that faith throughout. Next time you feel that God is leading you to do something, just say YES no matter how impossible it seems, because we have already been promised that with him NOTHING shall be impossible. Not now, and not ever. 

Merciful Mondays: Jael

^“For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.” Deuteronomy 4:31

Salvation Sunday: Walk in YOUR Purpose!!

^"3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;

⁴ Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.

⁵ He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.

⁶ But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.

⁷ So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me."
(Ezekiel 33:3-7)

This passage talks about how God places a watchman over His people. This watchman is supposed to be on the lookout for any troubles that may come. The purpose of this watchman is to warn the people when there is trouble coming. However, when the watchman does not walk in his purpose or is not walking into his season, then God's people are not going to be able to stay safe and fulfill their purposes. God has placed watchmen over His people presently. These watchmen are our shepherds or our pastors.

"And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." (Jeremiah 3:15)

  

In Jeremiah, we see that God will give us pastors or watchmen who will feed us and take care of us. Therefore, they have to walk in their purpose in order for us to be fed and to be taken care of. So, if our pastors and watchmen are walking in their purpose, then we have to make sure to walk in our own purpose.

 

Looking at Luke 1, we see that John is getting ready to be born. He is being born through the work of the Holy Spirit and through him walking in his purpose or walking in his season, he is preparing the way of the Lord. Through this, you do not know what will happen when you walk in your purpose. Someone may need you to walk in your purpose to become free or to know Christ. Someone may need you to walk in your purpose so that they can understand their purpose and what they are supposed to do. Therefore, we need to make sure that we are walking in our seasons so God can have His way throughout the world. What would happen if our pastors did not walk in their purpose? What would happen if someone was not feeding us with the Word? What would happen if John never walked in His purpose or prepared the way for Jesus? We have to make sure to walk into our season and our purpose because it is preparing for greater to come. No time for excuses!! We are getting ready to go into the new year. We have to make sure to continue to walk in our purposes because God is going to do some crazy, AWESOME things this year. In order to activate it or receive it, we have to WALK into our Season and purpose. It is time, so WALK!!!

Stay blessed!!!

Salvation Sundays: Steven Gable

 2 Chronicles 6:41 "Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness."