I think this picture says it all
The time has come for it's seeds to fall
A Sonflower bold and beautiful, for all the world to see
Must die to enter eternity
Leaving behind seeds of life to grow
Through which all the world will know
The beauty of the Son

In loving memory of a faithful friend and beautiful woman of God
Kathy Wagner
who left this world February 12, 2010
to be with our Lord in Heaven

She will be greatly missed by all who knew her!
<3

IS the JOY of the Lord YOUR Strength?

So,

have you ever felt like you were needing

"Strength".... Spiritual strength?....Physical strength?

I know I have....The SONG,

"The Joy of the Lord is My Strength"... comes to mind at the moment.

Perhaps you are familiar with it?



I know I have been in a place more times than I care to admit, where I have felt weak both spiritually and physically.

The word of the Lord tells us that .... the "Joy of the Lord is our strength."

Nehemiah 8:10
( Where the ever famous song is inspired)
Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

What does that mean?

Does that mean that if we are happy in Jesus that we should feel strong in any given situation....both spiritually or physically?

Actually......as nice and "easy" as that would be....Uh.....no.... I do not see that in the word of God to be so.

But rather.......I read in Isaiah 58, the chapter where God himself speaks to Isaiah about what true fasting is all about, God also at the end of this chapter very pointedly says what it takes to obtain the "joy of the Lord" in your life.

13"If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.


If I may, I would like to stress, only because the Lord himself did first, the words highlighted in yellow. As they draw attention to "us" and "our will".
I grew up (the last 30+ years, my life as a child of God) thinking all this time that the "joy of the Lord" was simply something that came to me by way of Holy Spirit as I pondered on the love of God and the Grace of God and all the he has done for me; all that I have in and through God and his son Jesus.
As honorable as that sounds, that just isn't scriptural. To be honest, finding this out by way Holy Spirit revelation has been very liberating!

Why? (you might wonder) Simply because....for so many years I have TRIED and failed on many occasion, to obtain on different occasions, the JOY of the LORD and wondered what the heck was WRONG with me!
I have asked the Lord, "Where is my joy? I love you beyond even my comprehension and with a passion that has cost me so very much! Yet I can not seem to muster an ounce of joy at this time in my life when I need it most! WHY, Lord? I NEED STRENGTH...to carry on.....help me to carry on...to understand...please!"
Well, he did. He showed me this scripture. You may have noticed that I posted it just a few weeks ago and I have been studying it since.
The Sabbath was made for man.Going back to even the VERY beginning, God created the world in six days on the seventh day he rested. I am not going to go into a long dissertation on the Sabbath. However I will say a few things that I think will make my point...God is LOVE...everything he does he does out of love for us.

God made a point from the very beginning, knowing we would need help in this area (the area of of us needing rest), to put in place for us one day out of seven for us to rest. He did so in such a manner so as not to take away our free will; as he will never invade our free will; but instead offered us an insurmountable joy and blessing if we obeyed him. (this is the key here....to the "Joy of the Lord". vrs 14)

Like all of his laws if we obey we will reap blessings we cannot contain.
If we rebel and do things our own way we will also reap according.

So many of us have been brain washed through the centuries, unfortunately, that the laws of God are restrictive and bad and mean. When in reality they are completely the opposite
They are liberating, holy and created out of love by our loving Father.
When we follow them we find life and blessing abundant to follow us through out a thousand generations.

So are YOU tired?........Weary?..........Need some strength?

Take a day off.....set it aside, make it Holy. Rest in the Lord.

Let the Joy of the Lord over come you and Be Your Strength!

****

Okay fine, I give up. I am sitting here and I can’t think of any eloquent words to put to my feelings. None the less my feelings are here and unrelenting. Seems I must pound away at this key board to try and give vent to them or something as my heart feels as though it is about to explode out of my chest if I don’t do something.

It has been so long since I have felt this way. Or perhaps I have never felt this way before. Come to think about it, I don’t believe I ever have felt quite like this. How could I? I have never been here before….in my life. Not at this exact spot. I could never have experienced these exact disappointments….feelings.

Try as I do, I come up short in the verbiage category for labeling my whereabouts emotionally. I am usually so good about this sort of thing. What has gone wrong?

Seems all I can do is tap my foot and start to cry - then make myself stop - but WHY? - Why do I always make myself stop? - Is it because I feel that I am not allowed to cry because “I know” all that God has promised to me and “in this” I must “stand firm” and if I cry - what???? – if I cry – what??? Am I afraid I will melt or something??

Isn’t even the warrior allowed to become a child in the presence of the King….once in a while?

Well….okay enough already. I know I can hear you now.

If you don’t like the post then you don’t have to read it.

Honestly, there always seems to be a reason, other than simple self gratification, for my postings.

Someone else out there is probably going through a similar situation; struggling with overwhelming disappointment and not understanding why the Lord has not intervened on your behalf. Well, I don’t have the answer, specific to your situation, but I would like to share the following with you and hope it speaks to you.

Also remember ~ we are never alone!

"My Grace is sufficient my Child."

My sweet child, I want you to know, I understand it's not easy to let go.

To open up and trust again; to let the hurt take it's mend.

I judge you not. I see your heart. From you my Spirit will not depart.

I know where you came from; the dust of the earth. I know, I am your self worth.

In your faithfulness, Heavenly Daddy delights. Seeing how you long to please him with all of your might.

All the while missing the voice you so long to hear, saying ever so sweetly,

"My Grace is sufficient my Child."

"My Grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in your weakness you see.

So rise up child. Take hold of my hand. Trust in my grip. I will see that you stand.

Open your heart to the body of Christ, for together, not separately, you will be my bride.

Know that I am always watching ore thee; that my love for you lasts for eternity.

Take the time to listen so you will hear, when I say ever so sweetly,

"My Grace is sufficient my Child."

I love you.

Jesus

True Fasting

Isaiah 58

True Fasting

¹ "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
² For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
³ 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
⁴ Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
⁵ Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?

⁶ "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
¹⁰ and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
¹¹ The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
¹² Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

¹³ "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
¹⁴ then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.