Category: joy

Strength in Construction

When it appears that destructive forces enter into your life, it is only an illusion.

Meditation Thought: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

“When you must reach to build another up, it stretches your own muscles and builds you up at the same time. What may appear to be difficult for you, and a sacrifice for you, is actually the means of perfecting and purifying you and accomplishing My plan for you. With this knowledge held in your heart, you will be able to reach further, to work harder and give of yourself more than you even thought possible.

My will is always to build – not destroy – when it appears that destructive forces enter into your life, it is only an illusion – for all forces are at My command to build, to work good, to complete My plan. Your view of some of the forces is not the same as Mine and therefore you must trust that from My view they are building and not destroying. Their force to build is variable, however, according to your ability to cooperate with Me in the applying of the forces in the proper places at the proper time.

To work together to use the forces speedily and properly, you must become adept in My methods of work. These are not the methods used by the world. These are the methods revealed to you through My instructions, and only as you study these instruction and understand them and obey them can you become a competent builder. The more quickly you learn My methods, the more building you will accomplish. Do not dawdle and slowly read the instructions – grasp them quickly and firmly in your hand, and devour them with your eyes – then quickly get to work to use them to accomplish My will in your life and in other lives which you are helping to build. I want a whole city – a whole Kingdom – of beautiful edifices, not just an edifice to My glory here and there.

Picture yourself as creating a beautiful, sparkling area wherever you are working, whatever you are doing. That is exactly what I do, and precisely why when apparently destructive forces appear that they are needed: they are clearing out the decay which has accumulated so that the new beauty will be unmarred!”

Gourmet Cooking

It takes time and effort to learn to cook God’s gourmet meals – but the results are so outstanding that we can be only glad that we spent our time and effort in learning to cook in this manner.

Meditation Thought: “Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].” (Colossians 4:6 AMP)

A good cook is accomplished because they have had experience. Just pouring ingredients together in any mixture or any proportion does not make a tasty dish, and in fact, can make on that is actually harmful or wasteful.

We can become good cooks with the ingredients God provides for us (His Word, His Spirit, our minds, our bodies, our spirit) – only if we follow His recipes and advice as to how to use and mix these ingredients. Even then, the more time and effort we spend in “cooking”, the better we will become at producing tasty, nutritious and attractive dishes for ourselves and for others. We must learn that perfect proportion and method to produce the best result for the particular dish we are preparing – for no salt can make a dish too bland to be interesting, and too much salt can make it unpalatable.

It takes time and effort to learn to cook God’s gourmet meals – but the results are so outstanding that when we are enjoying the dish, and others are enjoying it, we can be only glad that we spent our time and effort in learning to cook in this manner.

God is thinking about… You!

What are some of those thoughts the Lord is thinking about me?

Meditation Thought: “How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly!” (Psalm 139:17)

What are some of those thoughts the Lord is thinking about me constantly? Perhaps His promises give me a clue: (Insert your name into each ____)
“I love ___.
I will help ___.
I will teach ___.
I will make ___ joyful.
I will make ___ peaceful.
I will allow ___ freedom, but provide the opportunity for him/her to find the ways of love, peace and joy – therefore “making” him/her these ways if he/she is willing.
I will help ___ to find Truth, to see wide vistas instead of narrow canyons.
I will help ___ to feel needed, appreciated, accomplished, enthusiastic, grateful, willing, and loved.
I will give ___ hope and justify his/her faith in Me.”

Prayer of response:
Dear Lord,
Just as you think about me constantly, I want to think about You constantly – I ask Your guidance in helping me bridle my ego and my worldly desires that more and more this thinking makes itself apparent in my life.
Amen.

Finally: Real Health Food!

This food will keep you in good health, good spirits, and enthused about life.

Meditation Thought:  “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

“The Word of God needs to become more and more delicious: develop a hunger for the taste of it – a craving that is satisficed by no other food. For this food is the perfect nourishment for your total being: body, mind, and spirit. It will keep you in good health, good spirits, and enthused about life.”

Golden Moment

Treat yourself as kindly as you attempt to treat others.

Meditation Thought: “Be gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient.” (2 Timothy 2:24)

‘To everyone’ – including myself! “Treat yourself as kindly as you attempt to treat others when you are really concentrating. If you think gentle thoughts about yourself, you can relax and absorb apt teaching more readily. And do not be impatient when you do not learn the lesson immediately: practice is needed – and there is a purpose in practice. Practice gives the opportunity to choose to grow, or to be slothful and neglect practice and miss the goal. It is a way of separating again the choice of good and evil, God’s way and Satan’s way, the Kingdom way and the world’s way.

Be diligent – but forgiving, set your standards high – but be merciful, step out in faith – but lovingly, not overbearingly. As you see Jesus’ qualities in those around you, note each one of them and picture them all incorporated into one person: this mage will help keep man made in the image of God more of a reality to you. Search out the commandments and the manner in which Jesus lived out these commandments as the model for your life.

Look at each moment of your life as a door to a new beginning – clean, fresh, unmarred by sin, by selfishness, and an opportunity to bring glory to Me and peace and joy to you. Condition yourself to react to each moment – not each circumstance – as a believer in faith, in hope, in love, in charity, in mercy and in My power and My grace that each moment will be considered a ‘golden moment’ unconnected with any circumstance, but standing apart as a covenant time between you and your Lord.”

A Delighted Worker

As the workman takes hold of the Truth, the Truth sends out rays of peace, which are absorbed and then released as joy.

Meditation Thought: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)

Search for the word of truth, nurture the word of truth, share the word of truth, and live the word of truth. A workman approved is one who is committed with his whole heart and his whole being to the task at hand; he becomes skilled in his tools, and delights in his work and the results of it. He listens to instructions and carefully follows them.

As the workman takes hold of the Truth, the Truth sends out rays of peace, which are absorbed and then released as joy.

Do as I Do

My people must be as lightening rods – raising themselves up to draw My Spirit unto themselves.

Meditation Thought: “Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.” (Proverbs 16:3)

“Although you may chafe at the variety and number of your duties [you have not seen that because a wife and mother does fulfill so many roles that she is able to spread My Love, My Mercy and My Compassion to many more people than most persons are able to do], when you do your solitary tasks, absorb My teaching – when you do your public tasks, teach My Way by your example:
– Sacrifice as I sacrificed
– Love as I love
– Adapt as I adapt
– Be joyful as I am joyful
– Be understanding and kind as I am compassionate
– Communicate with your spirit – not just your mind.

My people must be as lightening rods – raising themselves up to draw My Spirit unto themselves.”

Infused with Enthusiasm

The key is in the knowing that the harvest will come.

Meditation Thought: “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

We get weary when we are really not interested in what we are doing – we are doing it out of duty, of necessity or inertia. But when we excitedly choose to do a job – even if it is not especially pleasant in itself – because we can hardly wait for the results – then we get so enthused that we forget to become tired, or if we do eventually tire, we have the will power to continue because of our anticipation.

God wants us to catch such a clear picture of the elements of His Kingdom that we can hardly wait to appropriate them in our lives. Once we can picture that luscious harvest, we can hoe in the hot sun without being discouraged. In fact, when we do become weary, if we will share our feeling with God, He will give us clear, cool water to quench our thirst, and new strength to our muscles, and even hand us better tools for doing the job. The key is in the knowing that the harvest will come, and that we will be greatly blessed when it does. This enables us to ignore distractions, ignore tiredness, ignore set-backs – and to concentrate happily on the job at hand.

Word Farming

What joy it is when the harvest comes.

Meditation Thought: “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15)

“Honest”, “good”, “patience” – 3 keys to the knowledge of the spiritual kingdom. The kingdom is true – real, though perceived by the mind and the heart rather than by one of the 5 senses.

If our heart is dishonest, we deal in illusions and will flounder, never being secure and sure and at peace. Our heart must be good to be the nutrient that grows good fruit. If it is hard, hoarding its life-giving blood, it does no nourishing to that which it should feed. If it is soft and flexible, and pumping out pure, clean blood – nutrients – it feeds new life – new ‘fruits’. But it takes time for growth. We do not plant the seed one day, nourish it for a day and harvest the fruit the following day. We must take the seed-word and feed it and care for it, giving of ourselves, sacrificing other interests and activities, before we can harvest that fruit. What joy it is when the harvest comes – wonderful fruit to enjoy ourselves, to share with others. All the toil and sacrifice is more than worthwhile. After we harvest our first crop of fruit (the God-works completed), it is so exciting and fulfilling that we eagerly cultivate more seeds. Oh, there will be problems in the tilling – but we must not give up because of them, or there will be no harvest. In overcoming the problems, we may even learn new, better methods of tilling – resulting in a faster harvest, or a more abundant harvest.

Dear Father, I ask this day to be a starting point to be a better farmer of Your Word – that I learn new, better methods to bring Your seed to abundant harvest. Amen.

Automate It!

You will obey all laws automatically if you obey these two.

Meditation Thought: “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:3)

“Love God – love your neighbor.” If you set your mind and your heart on these two commandments and seek to live according to them, all else will fall into place: all things will work together for good – for everyone, including yourself. You need not be concerned about any other “laws”.

You will obey all laws automatically if you obey these two. You will also astonish many who are unable to understand the simplicity of living according to the laws in the kingdom – and thus are not able to understand the happenings in the world or what to do about them.