Joy in the tough times…

 Joy in the tough times…

I appreciated this short article on Biblical Joy this morning after a rather sleepless, painful night…

There are over 200 references to joy from the Scriptures…

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/reminders-to-help-you-rediscover-biblical-joy-in-tough-times.html?aps=d491a43856e21b587867b447453a930de9780b237aec2d5b87b5802fcc4d8c3d&utm_content=1129189_20241120_267&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lst_bst_daily_bible_living&utm_source=newsletter&bt_ee=xBfBKZnIb2HaypdPxLD8B94voT%2BzYYQvgGXEdlgabyef%2B6Mf4lwnS4Ty1Soirt%2FV&bt_ts=1732100793677

 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

Ps.95.1-2

 Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment,and his favor is for a lifetime.Weeping may tarry for the night,but joy comes with the morning.

Ps.30.4-5

 Praise the Lord!Praise God in his sanctuary;praise him in his mighty heavens! 

Praise him for his mighty deeds;praise him according to his excellent greatness! 

Praise him with trumpet sound;praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance;praise him with strings and pipe! 

Praise him with sounding cymbals;praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150

 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Gal.5.22-24

Thank YOU….

You make everything beautiful…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTSpGn9-N5Q

 

Comfort verses…13

 

Comfort verses…13

I am still accumulating comfort verses….they are still a comfort…and will continue to be …no particular order…personally, I still have blood tests every 6 weeks to watch for cancer numbers…so anxiousness hits and I have to lay it down again and again…what a journey…

Thank YOU…..

When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me (Psalm 42:4 NKJV).

 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.”

Dan.3.24-25

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning (Psalm 130:5-6a NIV).

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised (Job 1:21b NIV).

The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; the Lord accepts my prayer (Psalm 6:9 NIV).

For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV).

Now when he was in affliction, he sought the face of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to Him. And the Lord received his entreaty, heard his cry, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his Kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God (2 Chronicles 33:12-13 OSB).

So we do not give up. Our body gets weak, but our heart gets new strength day after day (2 Corinthians 4:16 WE). 

Hard fought hallelujah…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lN83y32oTjA&pp=ygUjaGFyZCBmb3VnaHQgaGFsbGVsdWphaCBicmFuZG9uIGxha2U%3D

Firstborn…

 Firstborn….

A long time ago, when my oldest was just learning to reach and grab…he was sitting on my husband’s lap during church…my husband had his Bible opened to Luke 2. Our son grabbed a page a ripped it with his tiny little hand…it was the portion Luke 2:23 about firstborn….how appropriate…we carefully pried his little fingers off the paper, and later taped the page back together…

But, we kept that in our hearts…our firstborn “acknowledging “ his place in our family…

Actually, we have three firstborns in our family of four children…because of adoptions…and I have always thought of them as being consecrated to the Lord…as well as our second born…all were dedicated to Him at early ages…all were and are amazing gifts and additions to our family ….so grateful for their lives…

 The Lord said to Moses, “Consecrate to me all the firstborn. Whatever is the first to open the womb among the people of Israel, both of man and of beast, is mine.” 

you shall set apart to the Lord all that first opens the womb.….Every firstborn of man among your sons you shall redeem.

Exod.13.1-2, Exod.13.12a,Exod.13.13b

 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)

Luke.2.23

I pulled the following from “got questions”….

“The New Testament describes Christ as the “firstborn” several times. In an earthly sense, Jesus is Mary’s firstborn son (Luke 2:7), and He was dedicated according to the law (Luke 2:22–24). Spiritually, Jesus is the “firstborn among many brothers and sisters” in the body of Christ (Romans 8:29). In Colossians 1:15, the apostle Paul writes, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” This use of the title firstborn for Christ echoes the wording of Psalm 89:27–29, where God says of King David, “And I will appoint him to be my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. I will maintain my love to him forever, and my covenant with him will never fail. I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/firstborn-in-the-Bible.html

We have earthly firstborns, but we serve and are saved by a “Firstborn”….by his blood we are saved….

 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…

Rev.1.5

Thank YOU….

By his blood…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBSq30RznGY

Thanksgiving medley….

 Thanksgiving medley…

This  article showed up this morning with the following Bible verses…

I have read them over the years, each time rejoicing in their words…but this year they took on new meaning again…

Being ill and recovering is cause to give thanks, even through the pain…being ill and not recovering is cause to give thanks as well…(in all things give thanks, Philippians), just a bit harder…

I tear up as I read them because He chose for me to recover this time… and I am so thankful…

Thank YOU…

 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;make known his deeds among the peoples! 

Sing to him, sing praises to him;tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name;let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! 

Seek the Lord and his strength;seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done,his miracles and the judgments he uttered,

1Chr.16:8-12

 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Ps.7.17

 The Lord is my strength and my shield;in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;my heart exults,and with my song I give thanks to him.

Ps.28.7

 I will praise the name of God with a song;I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Ps.69.30

 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!     

Serve the Lord with gladness!Come into his presence with singing! 

Know that the Lord, he is God!

It is he who made us, and we are his;we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,and his courts with praise!Give thanks to him; bless his name! 

For the Lord is good;his steadfast love endures forever,and his faithfulness to all generations.

Ps.100.1-5

 Let the Redeemed of the Lord Say So, Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,for his steadfast love endures forever!

Ps.107:1

 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Col.3.15-17

Thanksgiving Medley….this was an apropos group of songs, recorded in 2020…the year we “lost” to Covid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v4UQc4z0LA

https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/thanksgiving-prayers-give-thanks.html?aps=d491a43856e21b587867b447453a930de9780b237aec2d5b87b5802fcc4d8c3d&utm_content=1129189_20241117_264&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=lst_bst_daily_bible_living&utm_source=newsletter&bt_ee=218FPAKGH9ma7CnpIuHeRwYJ5El%2B1w%2B2Hvhf8Tfcavj8cE6WQ7BFXO86d6ldiRA%2B&bt_ts=1731841598062

Enriched…

 Watered….

I know summer has passed…but this verse reminded me of these pictures I took….while watering them, they grew, and blessed me with their beauty, intricate design…

As we give, bring blessings, “water” in others lives, we are refreshed, blessed, enriched ourselves….so fitting for this thanksgiving and Christmas season…and year around…

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,and one who waters will himself be watered.

Prov.11.25

Thank YOU…

I am the LORD…

 I am the LORD…

I thought it was interesting in Exodus, how God refers to himself…through the events that no human can duplicate….and even the magicians were finally acknowledging…

First…  Thus says the Lord, “By this you shall know that I am the Lord: behold, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall turn into blood.

Exod.7.17

Second…  And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God.

Exod.8.10

Third…  Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the Lord had said.

Exod.8.19

Fourth…  But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.

Exod.8.22

Fifth…  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.

Exod.9.1

Seventh…  For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.

Exod.9.14-16

Eighth..  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may show these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son and of your grandson how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them, that you may know that I am the Lord.”

Exod.10.1-2

 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. 

And it shall be to you as a sign on your hand and as a memorial between your eyes, that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth. 

For with a strong hand the Lord has brought you out of Egypt.

Exod.12.12,Exod.13.9

Jesus did signs and miracles when he walked here on earth that were not duplicated as well…and people demanded that he do more…although that was not his primary purpose of living as a man…he came to save…the biggest miracle of all…

Pharaoh hardened his heart over and over even seeing the miracles/plagues…people hardened their hearts toward Jesus as well…

It behooves us to recognize that the LORD is God, no matter what century we are living in. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow…

The Israelites were freed from the slavery in Egypt by God, they couldn’t do it on their own……we can be freed from the slavery of sin…only through Christ…we can’t be saved on our own as well, good works or anything…

“  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rom.6.16-20,Rom.6.22-23

Thank YOU…

Saved, saved,..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6TW78_1rBM

Lightens my darkness….

 Lightens my darkness…

These verses just hit me, needed to let them sink into my soul…

Thank YOU….

 And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 

The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people.

Exod.13.21-22

 For it is you who light my lamp;the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

Ps.18.28

 Daniel answered and said:“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,to whom belong wisdom and might. 

He changes times and seasons;he removes kings and sets up kings;he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; 

he reveals deep and hidden things;he knows what is in the darkness,and the light dwells with him.

Dan.2.20-22

 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” 

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

John.8.12,John.9.5

 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. 

The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”….

John.12.35,John.12.36a

 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Acts.26.15-18

 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. 

So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Rom.13.11-14

 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

1John.1.5,7

 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,

Rev.21.22-24

Here I am to worship….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfJSOpCDgUw