Joy
Eternal
Savior
Universally
Sovereign
Joy Eternal
Eternal Savior
Savior Universally
Universally Sovereign
Sovereign Joy!
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Tag Archive | joy
All My Heart
Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. — 1 Samuel 12:24
When I consider all the Lord has done for me — relocated from on high to a dark world of sin; endured extreme pain, ridicule, being mocked; experiencing rejection and ultimately on the cross loneliness, shame and sin — how can I not believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ.*
He has given me life worth living filled abundantly with love, peace, joy, contentment and a journey beyond all my expectations. Let me make it clear that I am not perfect and make many mistakes while the Lord conforms me to His will. I still have freewill and that “will” many times has a hard time trusting. But I will continue to return to God with all my heart.«
I choose to fear and serve Him with all my heart. I choose to seek Him, love Him, observe and keep His law, hold fast, walk in His ways giving thanks and doing it with all my heart. The more I practice these the more my trust toward the Lord increases so that I trust Him with all my heart.
As I trust my Lord I rejoice and exult Him with all my heart!»
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
*Acts 8:37
«Joel 2:12
»Zephania 3:14
Our Hope Is God
Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him For the help of His presence. — Psalm 42:5
So it seems that all at once things get out of your control, you lose your grip, all your plans seem to come falling down around you. This can’t be!!! I am walking with the Lord. He knows the plans I have — I shared them with Him. How could this be happening?
Sounds like life, doesn’t it? Well, how are we to react? Anger? Tears? Retaliation? Uncontrolled tongue? Emotional reactions are okay if they do not make us sin. Let us remember that we have Someone who loves us, cares for us and wants the best for us. So doesn’t it make sense to humble ourselves and go directly to the Lord?
Our hope is God. Taking it to Jesus in prayer we are ushered into His presence. There we praise Him because we trust that He is God and believe that He is in control. In the presence of the Lord our perspective can come under review of the Holy Spirit and change our hearts to God’s will and perspective. We have no idea what God’s plan is. All we can do is draw near, trust and hope in the Almighty God of the universe who works in us for His glorification. Remember it is all about Him but also remember He loves us and wants the best for us.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I have hope in Him.” — Lamentations 3:24
How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord, they walk in the light of Your countenance. — Psalm 89:15
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Great is Thy Faithfulness
Prayer has been the subject of my devotionals the past three days and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this old hymn that supports prayer so well. If not for God’s faithfulness we would not know compassion, mercy, provision, love, peace, guidance, strength, hope, salvation, contentment, joy and blessings. All this from a God who is, was and forever will be. The more we talk with Him the more we enjoy His presence and experience His faithfulness.
Great Is Thy Faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.
Refrain
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Refrain
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Refrain
The heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord, — Psalm 89:5-6
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Word of Comfort
Remember [fervently] the word and promise to Your servant, in which You have caused me to hope. This is my comfort and consolation in my affliction: that Your word has revived me and given me life. — Psalm 119:49-50 When I have [earnestly] recalled Your ordinances from of old, O Lord, I have taken comfort. — Psalm 119:52
Where do you turn to for comfort? Your best friend? Mom? Dad? Brother? Sister?
The Psalmist here prays to God for comfort. He reminds God to remember (or was he reminding himself) His word and promises given to him, His servant. “Your word causes me to hope”. For those with no hope, there is no comfort.
God’s word is able to comfort and revive. It gives life. The Word encourages, inspires, guides, and gives us hope. It tells of a faithful friend who is always there for us, listens to all we have to share with Him — our pains, struggles, anger, hurt, as well as our joys, triumphs, and dreams. He gives us life.
Go to Jesus first. He knows what you need and when you seek comfort He finds just the right way and time to bring you comfort. It may be with a phone call or a visit from a friend. He cares for you more than anyone you will ever know. Let us trust Him with our lives and He will bless it. We will be comforted.
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Unquenchable Joy
You have endowed him with eternal happiness. You have given him the unquenchable joy of Your presence. — Psalm 21:6
This verse was shared on Facebook this past week by a dear friend and I immediately thought of my Dad. God, You have endowed him (my Dad) with eternal happiness. You have given him the unquenchableable joy of Your presence. My Dad is in His presence enjoying the unquenchable joy of being right there in the light of His countenance, enjoying a joy that we could not possibly grasp this side of heaven.
These words were actually written of a king. He was endowed this side of heaven with this unquenchable joy. We can experience this joy by simply trusting in the Lord. How is your trust in the Lord these days? Easy when things are good and going your way or even when things are tough and not going your way? At what level is your joy?
One day my joy will overflow, when my faith becomes sight, but in the meantime “I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.” — Psalm 43:4
Trust and rejoice in the Lord our God starting right now and continuing throughout eternity. Eternal happiness, unquenchable joy. Wow!!!!!
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Shine Jesus Shine Pt. 4
Shine Jesus shine
Fill this land with the Father’s glory
Blaze, Spirit blaze,
Set our hearts on fire
Flow, river flow
Flood the nations with grace and mercy
Send forth Your word
Lord and let there be light.
— Cliff Richard —
[Glory of the Lord] Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. — Exodus 40:34
but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. — Numbers 14:31
The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. — Exodus 3:2
And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top. — Exodus 24:17
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” — John 7:38
and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. — Romans 5:5
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13
You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. –Acts 10:38
And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, — Matthew 28:19
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” — Acts 1:8
And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. — Acts 11:15
for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. — Acts 11:24
And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness. — Acts 4:31
He sends forth His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. — Psalm 147:15
He sends forth His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow. — Psalm 147:18
Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. — Psalm 51:11
For thus says the high and exalted One Who lives forever, whose name is Holy, “I dwell on a high and holy place, And also with the contrite and lowly of spirit In order to revive the spirit of the lowly And to revive the heart of the contrite. — Isaiah 57:15
Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. — Matthew 13:43
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
The Word
You have ordained Your precepts, That we should keep them diligently. — Psalm 119:4
God has ordered (commanded) us to keep His precepts (order, guide, instruction) diligently (done or pursued with fervent effort).
With great focus we need to search the Scriptures for our own good. Within the pages of His Word are the instructions for life, our guide for contentment and peace. He commands us to follow and keep His instructions because He loves us and wants the best for us. God “came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven”. He came down — says to me that He wanted to be sure we got the message. He “gave them just ordinances and true laws, good statutes and commandments.” God’s word is just, true, and good.
The more we persue God’s holy Word the more diligent we are to study because His Word becomes alive right before our eyes. We see God in all His glory. We see His unconditional love for all mankind. We see forgiveness and salvation. We find love, peace, joy and a God who is faithful and trustworthy. To God be the glory forever and ever through His Son Jesus Christ.
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone. — Deuteronomy 4:13
Then You came down on Mount Sinai, And spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. — Nehemiah 9:13
Consider It ALL Joy
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, -James 1:2 mms
The path of life is tough. It is filled with various trials that test us, our faith. Trials are not a joyous occasion. They can be scary, painful, hurtful, trying, challenging, etc. So how am I expected to consider it all joy? By spending time with Jesus because in His presence is “fullness of joy”. (See devotional January 3, 2014) Keeping our focus on Him, seeking Him.
Spending time with Jesus is praying,reading and studying His word and worshipping Him. That is how to seek.
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Joy
You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever. – Psalm 16:11
Life is tough. I personally can no longer imagine living, walking the path of life without Jesus. In His presence is the fullness of joy in my life. In His presence I can know the path of life. Unless I spend time with Jesus I cannot know the path He has for me or experience the fullness of his joy. When we don’t walk daily with the Lord, we are missing out on the eternal pleasures He has for us. Don’t miss out – seek Him today and every day.
The tools we use – the Holy Bible and prayer.
Continually seeking Him,
Sharon
Continually Seeking Him 