Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:19-20a

19I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may life; 20that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him,

Moses, the man God chose to deliver His people, reminded them of the covenant agreement that would restore them to a loving relationship with God that they may enjoy the land and blessing God was ready to present to them. Moses called on all of heaven and earth because no one can escape the eyes of God no matter where they go. Love the Lord your God and obey His voice. Sounds simple enough right? But do you really love God? Is He really close to your heart? When you think about all He has sacrificed for you do you weep? When you know you have turned your back on Him do you drop to your knees with tears? Do you obey His voice? Or do you spend your time listening to everyone else? Obeying His voice may mean the opposite of what your friends and family think and say. Do you cling to God or are you clinging to what you think will cause everyone to like you?

Moses spoke what God gave him and the words were to "choose life".  What is life? Merriam-Webster's Dictionary states life as 1)the quality that distinguishes a vital and functioning being from a dead body or inanimate being 2) the physical and mental experiences of an individual 3)biography 4) a specific phase or period 5) the period from birth to death 6)a way of living 7)person 8) animation, spirit 9) living beings 10)animate activity 11)one providing interest and vigor. So if you are living and breathing have you chosen life? But breathing alone simply does not mean you are alive. There are many people breathing who are spiritually dead. Jesus said Himself that He is, the Truth, the Way and the Life. He is the living water. He is the bread of life. Which means you are alive if you have chosen God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit the Counselor. Remember when Jesus called the first disciples in Matthew 8? When the one said, "I will follow you but first let me bury my father." Jesus replied, "Follow me and let the dead bury their own dead." Yes, those that are dead physically are indeed dead. But there are some who are breathing that are also dead. Dead meaning their spirit is dead. So to revert back to what God gave Moses, choosing life means choosing Christ. Choosing life means choosing to obey the voice of God and no other. Choosing life means loving God first and remembering what Jesus did for you. Choose life!! Again I say, choose life!!!

 Baltimore Book Signing Event

You are invited to attend a Book Signing for author

Joy T.J. Riley:

For her newest book: Shh Don't Tell

Sunday, November 10^th at Barnes & Noble (White Marsh)

8123 Honeygo Blvd

Baltimore, MD 21236

4pm-8pm ET

 Join Joy for this special event and invite a friend! 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Please RSVP by Nov 5th to author, Joy T.J. Riley at getyourjoyinthemorning@gmail.com

 Can’t make the event? Click www.getyourjoyinthemorning.com to order a copy

SPECIAL THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who attended the DC Community Book Signing and Q&A Panel! A HUGE THANK YOU to our Panelists Rev. Melvinia Williams who was the Liaison Consultant for U.S. Districts Superior Court, Family Courts Division and Case Aide/DC Specialized Therapeutic Foster Care Program and to Mrs. Teria Powell of Good Life Radio who is a foster parent and administrator at a DC Public Charter School. I was also fortunate to meet a woman who was on the Congressional Committee for Child Abuse before the event started...we're staying in contact!! THANK YOU GOD FOR THE DIVINE CONNECTIONS TO HELP FIGHT CHILD ABUSE!!!

P.S. Details on the November Book Signing Event at Barnes & Noble Coming Soon!

For What You Believe

Esther 4:14

14"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Queen Esther or Hadassah (Jewish name) is my absolute FAVORITE woman of the Bible! I have read it over and over and even bought the re-enacted film, "One Night with the King," which I have played over and over. I did not understand that God was using THIS entire Book of the Old Testament to teach and prepare me for what  to me, seemed like my  most difficult task. Queen Esther is the reason the Jews celebrate the festival of Purim every year. For it was Queen Esther's courage and willingness to die for what she believed that revealed the plans of the wicked and saved God's people from the sword. God used her to correct an act of disobedience committed by King Saul nearly 500 years before. It is also the reason why God's people lived on and the lineage of David continued so that our Savior, Jesus Christ, would be born. In this scripture, Queen Esther's guardian, her cousin, Mordecai, who raised her after she was orphaned, wrote to her as she did fear approaching the King, her husband, on behalf of the Jews. To go unsummoned before the King in Persia meant death. Not only that but no one in the palace knew she was a Jew. Mordecai had given Hadassah a new name, Esther, to hide her identity so that she would live when all the women had been taken in the search for the king's new bride. But when Mordecai put it to Esther so bluntly that if she kept silent her line would perish and that God brought her to the level of authority she was in that He could use her for good, Esther, was willing to confront the king, even if it meant death.

I had no idea when God told me to write my second book, Shh Don't Tell on abuse that it would really become a cause. I had no idea that a major advocacy group in our Nation's Capitol would even consider partnering with me as the director wrote to me, "we have a kindred cause." A representative of a government agency in DC said to me, "while we can not endorse anything, we do understand what you are doing and want to point you in the right direction." All I knew when I started was that I had to get another level of healing and it would mean deliverance and healing in others. The battlefield to get to this place was by no means short. When deliverance is involved, the battle is steep. God was so determined to get this book out of me that you all went without a daily message for 34 days. In that time the majority of the first section of the book was complete. With each step of writing, Shh Don't Tell, the enemy raised up three people, whom I thought were friends and subsequently two understood my cause way more than I can explain. Through the door of envy, they began taking the gift of intercessory prayer and the gift of discernment to see in the spirit realm what God was doing and to deliberately pray against whatever God was doing. And no, I am not exaggerating. For God brought two prophets and one with the gift of prophecy, all three ordained ministers who had not spoken to each other on the matter, to confirm what I perceived the Holy Spirit was saying to me. One of the three perpetrators was so bold as to jump on my home church's Bible Study call after realizing God had cut off information to them. The person really believed they would go unnoticed, by a PRAISE GOD for the prophet of our house, our assistant pastor, who called it out on the call. The Holy Spirit revealed who it was and the person gave themselves away as a confirmation later. The second of the three perpetrators began dabbling with the dark arts as a way to add insult and manipulated the third person who they knew was in a place of depression. I even endured ridicule from other who I thought would understand the cause but they spoke against me as well when they realized my attention was no longer on the common goal we once shared. When I made it clear my focus was on the assignment God said had to be completed they began to say things against me to someone close to them. The closer the book came to being finished the enemy threw more darts. God said I had to move. When one of the three discovered I moved, they started following me and even created an alias on facebook to gain access as they had been blocked. I even silenced a fellow author from announcing the book until it was confirmed it was in print. I endured criticism from one even closer to me because the sensitivity of abuse and it was like a bad rift. That's how bad it was. God said the task must be completed no matter what! See, at sixteen years old, shortly after my confession of Christ, I had a terrible nightmare. I was shown children all over the city on roof tops dying. And I heard a voice that scared me very badly saying, "You cannot save them all!" And the objective was made clear that attempts would be made to take me out. It took 20years and this project to understand the meaning of that dream. It meant I had to be willing to die publicly for what I believe. Now, I PRAISE GOD!! For clearly, I am in the kingdom of God for such a time as this.

What do you believe? What if God told you a task had to be done no matter what consequences and fight you had to go through? How courageous would you be for what you believe if you knew it could save lives?

P.S. Looking forward to seeing many of you tomorrow, Saturday, October 5th from 2-4pm at Caribou Coffee House at 1800 M Street!

It Takes Real Love

Luke 23:34

34Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."

This phrase, this pleading was part of the "seven last words" of Jesus before His death on the cross. It takes real love for someone to die on another person's behalf. It took real love for Jesus to endure each of the 39 lashes. It took real love for Jesus to endure each nail driven into His body. It took real love for Jesus to endure the crown of thorns crushed into His head. It took real love for Jesus to endure as they pierced Him in His side. But yet, one of His seven last words was about pleading for His accusers. It took real love for Jesus to be obedient to God the Father to meet His destiny. Jesus had the strength and power to remove Himself from it all. This isn't just any man, but the Son of God who was actually by God's side when He created the earth and man. For in Genesis it says, "Let us make man in our image." The us was God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

It takes real love for you and I to be obedient to the Lord. Remember, it says in God's word in 1John that God is love. So if God is the very definition of love, gave His only Son for the love of you and I, Jesus gave up His life and shed His blood to save you and I from sin out of love, then how can anyone who calls himself a follower of Christ not understand nor demonstrate what love is? Two words, selfish gain. There are many who will only show 'love" when they are able to perceive what they can gain from it. Merriam-Webster's Dictionary defines love as 1)strong affection, 2)warm attachment 3)attraction based on sexual desire 4) a beloved person 5) unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for others. Now the third definition of love is what Amnon had for his sister Tamar before took her and then no longer wanted her after he obtained the sex. That is actually called lust if you look up the definition as it flees and fades and is not the definition God means for us but I digress. This conversation is about the fifth definition which begins with the word unselfish. So if one word, outside of the name of God and Jesus, could describe love it would be unselfish. Unselfish is still an inadequate word compared to Jesus to and God Himself. Many do not understand what it means to be unselfish or selfless. Love is not about gain. Love is about real concern for others.

Did you know it takes real love to minister to people who have harmed you? Jesus did it. Did you know it takes real love to minister to people who have talked about you? Jesus did it. I know for me, I get it now. There are multiple people on this distribution who have harmed me. And it takes the love of Jesus and regard for your soul and where you will spend eternity to include you. It is not about selling a book. Some of you may never buy a book. The messages were created before there were any books and was on the prompting of the Holy Spirit Himself. But glory to God, I do understand what love is! So many in this world have no clue what love is. To them, it is nothing more than selfish gain.

P.S. Praying for a resolution for the government of the United States as many are affected by it whether government workers or not. My prayer is that the groups involved in decision making would look beyond selfish gain and look at the needs of the people and the country not about their own pockets.

You Can Be Forgiven

Matthew 12:31

31"Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.

No matter what you have done, whether you stole something, committed murder, abused someone, cheated on a test, told a lie to save face, etc, you can be forgiven. If you are sincerely remorseful for what you have done and you confess it to Jesus, He will forgive you. Isn't that good news? The one thing Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery when the Jews wanted to stone her, "Go and sin no more." Jesus meant that her indiscretion had been forgiven but she was not to continue in it. When you and I are sincerely remorseful and confess to Jesus, then He will forgive. He doesn't expect you or I to keep making the same choices to do what has already been expressed to Him as incorrect behavior. At that point, it is considered a willful choice and either the confession wasn't real in the heart or deliverance is needed. But in order to be delivered or cured from a perceived uncontrollable behavior, there has to be a strong desire to terminate the behavior. If you have no desire to terminate the behavior then how can you be remorseful for it? If you have no desire to terminate the behavior and aren't remorseful then what really took place in your confession? Is the confession from the heart? You cannot lie to the Lord because He already knows your thoughts and your heart.

The blasphemy is attributing to Satan what you know God has done. The only reason for someone doing that, like the Pharisees, is to continue in one's own way so they don't have to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God. Again, willful behavior.

Jesus forgives but it all starts with telling the truth, even though He already knows, He wants you to say it to Him. Will you confess today? Will you lay down your ways before Him today?

Share the Daily Message with Family and Friends

Good Morning,

HAPPY SUNDAY!! I hope you are enjoying your weekend! Many of you have been dedicated readers for years. I appreciate and love you!! Some of you are new and I want to extend a warm welcome to you! Thank you so much for your support and I truly hope you will find joy, reflection and growth within the daily messages. There will be times when you do not receive a message because God is ministering to me so that I can then minister to you. If you find yourself craving and looking for the Get Your JOY In The Morning message, then it simply means you are increasing in your thirst for the Living Water and Bread of Life which is Christ. It's a great place to be! That's when you know it's time to dig into the Word of God for yourself. It is the point of the daily message that you will want to develop your own personal relationship with Christ if you haven't already or if you have strayed away from Him. The saved can get lost too sometimes. It's quite alright to share the daily messages with friends, family and anyone God leads you to share with. I know sometimes the messages are candid and even personal but it''s about transparency. Being real in my walk in Christ with you and relaying what He has revealed to me is to encourage you as well. By you sharing the messages with others, you may help someone else come to the feet of Jesus and/or even renew their relationship with Him. Do not Fear! You can help save a life!

GOD BLESS YOU!

-Joy T.J. Riley