Friday, January 25, 2013

You Are Important

Good Morning Everyone,

I want to take this time to thank each and everyone of you for your continued support and encouragement. Get Your JOY In The Morning is approaching the fourth anniversary mark in just a a little over two months! Can you believe it? Many of you have been with me from the beginning. Some of you are new to the family. New or old, you are important to me. I want to thank you so much for allowing God to have your ear and your heart as He speaks to me. I truly value your time and do not take it for granted. I want to hear from  you! I want to know where you stand on the messages. Some of you don't read them everyday but you read them when it's time for you see what you need to see so that's okay.  I want to know if you are forwarding on what you are reading and how it has affected you.  You can email me back directly. If you haven't already done so, check out the facebook fan page and like Get Your JOY In The Morning (Get Your Joy in the Morning). Comments are welcomed.  If you have a twitter account, let's connect on twitter. I'm @GetJOYnTheMorn. May you be blessed beyond measure and see God's glory in your life this year.


With the Love of Christ,

Joy

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Beyond the Eyes

1Peter 1:8

8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are fill with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

How can you love and believe in what you cannot see? This is often a question a non-believer will ask of a believer in Christ. But real love and belief is in the heart not the eyes. The whole premise of faith is defined by what you cannot see. We have faith that when we take a breath there will be oxygen there to fill our lungs. We cannot see oxygen but we know it's there. And that's exactly how our Lord demonstrates himself in our lives. We may not be able to visibly see Him but He shows up in various ways. We love Him though we cannot put our physical arms around Him but we can feel His presence through the Holy Spirit. God is spirit first and foremost. So spirit doesn't need to be seen to be felt. When Jesus walked the earth He told Peter in John 20:29 that he believed because he's seen him but blessed are those who have not seen yet believe. We don't have the advantage of having Jesus the man in front of us. But we do have Jesus in the presence of the Spirit and the power in His name. The miracles are still being done but He uses the Holy Spirit within us to carry out His miracles. Jesus was God the Son, in human form. How can you love what you cannot see? Beyond the eyes is the heart and soul from which everything about us derives. It is in these crevices that the Lord speaks to man and captures them if he is open and willing.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A Selfish Way to Make War

Judges 20:46

46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjamite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters.

Did you know that one of the tribes of Israel was nearly wiped out? And it all started because a Levite and his concubine (live in girlfriend who was not legally married to him) had been raped and abused by the Benjamite men. So the Levite cut up the concubine and sent pieces of her body to other tribes to make war on the Benjamites. But just as the NIV Study Bible states, the Levite didn't see his own selfish act. He murdered her because they took advantage of a woman he didn't even see fit to marry himself. Especially when he was the one who sent her outside. He didn't have the courage to face the Benjamites. He didn't think the Benjamites would take her. War ensued and so all but 600 men of the tribe were slaughtered. A series of selfish acts turned the Israelites against one of their own tribes.

We don't always see how our own selfish acts cause problems but they do. So many people suffer because one refuses to own up to their own mistakes. They would rather hide behind someone else. Selfish ways always lead to others getting hurt. But how many and for how long all depends.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Your Destiny Is Victory

John 12:27

27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

Can you imagine knowing that the whole purpose of your life was to die for someone else? Can you imagine knowing that your physical life would be short? Can you imagine the amount of courage it took for Jesus to walk into His destiny for the sake of the world? Satan actually thought that he was defeating God when Jesus went to the cross. But the story didn't end there! THANK YOU JESUS! Three days later, Jesus got up from death, walked, talked and ate with the disciples before going back to the Father to send us the Holy Spirit. His destiny wasn't failure. His destiny IS victory! Guess what?  Your destiny is victory too. Many shy away from fulfilling their destiny due to fear of failure. But you cannot fail when you are walking in the direction Jesus has left footprints on. You cannot fail when in Jesus because His very DNA is victory. How can you fail with the one who stood at the right hand of God and created the world we live in? Your destiny is greater than any stone anyone can throw, including the enemy himself. Your destiny is greater than your past. Your destiny is actually, even greater than you. Why?Because your destiny, like that of Jesus, is never fully just for you. Your destiny is meant to impact others. Your destiny is meant to leave a mark. You don't have to have your name in lights to be a light when you're in Jesus. All you have to do is be who He said you are and go where He tells you to go. Your destiny is victory! WALK IN IT!