9 Ways to know the Joy of the Lord

 I named this blog 'to know His joy', because I seriously want to be on a path that pursues joy, which is found in the presence of God. (You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures.. Psalm 16:11).  

Being in His presence means, praying, calling on His name, and being in His word.  

Here are 9 ways to know the Joy of the LORD: Matthew 5:3-12

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven 

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they all be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for my name sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

These words...these promises are GOLD.  Straight out of the mouth of Jesus Christ Himself over 2,000 years ago!

They are not promises that we will be happy. The definition of 'Blessed' here means divinely or supremely favored; fortunate. Happiness is in the eye of the beholder, but Joy is a filling of the soul from His Spirit. They are promises of a life with God Himself!  A life eternal! They are promises from our Jesus that tell us that He sees us, He sees our tears and will comfort us. We are not alone! He gives us rewards for following after Him, seeking Him, and loving our neighbors. 

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it; 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 22:37 & 38.

Reading His word and meditating on these scriptures has brought me much joy today. My inheritance is the kingdom of heaven, I will be filled.  If I am merciful to others, I will obtain mercy from the forgiving heart of God. If I seek Him, He will make my heart pure, then I will see Him! If I pursue peace with others, then I will be called HIS child! I will be called HIS! and it's not 'if', but 'when' I am persecuted for His Name sake, I should rejoice.  Not only do I get to partake in His suffering, but great is my reward in heaven! and Yours can be too! 

I pray this scripture brings you joy as well. 

Until next time,

Reb 🌹

Honor Him

Sitting in my Bible Study class, listening to so many ladies telling testimonies of the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross, I was struck with an epiphany.  Asking Jesus for forgiveness is actually honoring to HIM!  That is right... it is honoring to Him and the faster we do it the more honor we show Him. 

No one else around me connected it.  The meeting was moving so quickly that my chance to chime in came and went.  'That's alright.' I told myself, 'maybe I will just sit and ponder this and even relish in this for a minute with me and my Lord'.  

The scene can be found in Genesis chapter 3.  Eve was in the garden, and the serpent starts speaking to her. She decides she wants to eat the fruit, and disobeying God's one rule: "And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Instantly when she ate the fruit she knew she had done wrong and felt the guilt.  The gnawing, aching guilt that made Eve and her husband so ashamed, they actually tried to hide from God. They hid because they didn't want to deal with the confrontation or the disappointment God would have with and in them. 

They hid and they waited.

They waited until God came looking for them...(spoiler alert: He already knew where they were) and even then, they didn't want to come out of hiding.  Shame...Guilt....SHAME...GUILT.  It weighed on them.

Is that a familiar feeling? Do you ever feel so ashamed and guilty after sinning that you wait? Maybe it will be less uncomfortable if you just wait awhile...you know, until it kind of blows over...?? Or try to ignore it? Don't ask me how I know about all these things...ahem. I am tired of my joy getting stolen!

That is what the enemy (Satan, that serpent of old) does. The Bible says 'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;" John 10:10.  He comes to steal our joy, kill our hope, and destroy our faith. He and his minions tell us, when we sin, we are worthless and it is better for us to hide.  "Stay away from the Lord", they say, "you are not good enough, and you never will be." Or how about this one..."You call yourself a Christian??? You have no business breathing! God is disgusted with you!".  Another lie from the pit of hell. 

You see, Jesus came down to earth, took on the form of a human..baby (and God).  He grew, and ended up dying on the cross in our stead and took our sins, onto His shoulders and paid the price that we owed (which is death, Romans 6:23).  He went through excruciating pain, so that we don't have to. He was the only one that could. How is it honoring to Him and the blood He shed to run and hide from Him when we sin? No, my friend.  Honor Him.  Honor Him by running to Him as soon as you know you have sinned. Ask for forgiveness! 'If we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness' ~1 John 1:9.

We all have sinned (Romans 3:23).  We all have the opportunity to be forgiven, if we ask. Just like with Adam and Eve in the garden, God knows where we are, yet Jesus says "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." ~Revelation 3:20. 

God is a gentleman.  He will not force Himself on you, He calls on you, and it is up to you to answer.  Don't wait! RUN TO JESUS! Whether you know Him or not...RUN TO HIM! Call on His name, He will hear! So honor Him, as fast as possible. When we ask for forgiveness the shame and guilt...go away and we are set free! The void in our souls gets filled up with Him! It is truly amazing!

Until next time,

~Reb

If you have never asked Jesus into Your life, now is the time.  It's as easy as A-B-C!

Admit You are a sinner: We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory. (That is why, if you don't know Him, there is a huge empty void in your soul you have been trying to fill.) Romans 3:23

Believe: Believe He is who He says He is! Creator and Savior of the world.  The One who loves you so, so dearly! Romans 10:9 'that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved'.

Call up on the Name of the Lord: Romans 10:13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved." Just say His name in sincerity of heart.

Pray (call on His Name):  Jesus, please forgive me of my sins, I need You. I believe that You are Lord and want to know more of You. Come into my heart and life. Amen.

If You want to know more of Jesus, please contact me through this blog. I would love to help you seek Him and know Him!