The Joy of The Lord is Our Strength/Church signs

The Joy of The Lord Is Our Strength

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. Laughter truly is good for the soul; so many people thinks being a Christian means being serious and boring; I think that there is a time and season for everything and even though we have a purpose as followers of Christ life is meant to be enjoyed. The next posts will be a collection of things that I find funny.

Somebody Prayed For Me

James 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Today out of the blue while taking a nap my cousin came over and said that God had told her to come pray with me. The prayer really quickened my spirit. While she prayed she confirmed things God had already spoken to me. I Thank God for sending me that gift. We must remember how important it is for us to pray for one another.

Distractions

Have you ever noticed that when you set your mind to do something that is positive and is aligned with the will of God all hell breaks loose? In my life when I try to start something crazy stuff begins to happen...the people in my life begin to act a fool;things start to go wrong; even strangers join in and say or do something that makes me upset or takes my attention away from the task at hand. Now when things start to try to hold me back from doing something I just press forward anyway the bible In Phillipians Paul talks about how he handles trouble when it comes Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. I heard that Paul, if God told me to do it and I know it is his will I'm going to keep moving foward and complete whatever it is as unto Christ.

Faith Without Works

The Bible says in James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. Many believers, myself included often expect God to drop what we want in our lap. As I have matured in Christ I have come to realize that if we want God to bless something we must put it into action ourselves. If we want a business we need to do some research and then write a business plan after that we can ask God okay Lord how can I get startup money. Being spiritual minded is good but being so spiritual that we are no natural good is not. Often times we have this fantasy in our head that God will just drop what we want in our lap...sometimes he will but if God hasn't told us to be still and we know what we want is in his will we need to begin the work.

Fellowship

Psalm 133 verse 1 says: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! I do not have a church home at the present. I have visited different churches but I have not been compelled to join any of them. Recently a close friend and I were talking and I told her "you know for a long time I have been saying I can't find a church home but I haven't prayed for God to Lead me to the church I am suppose to join". Even after this revelation I must confess that I still have not been praying as I should to find a church home. I think I became comfortable with saying I can't find a good church and began to use that as an excuse for not going. The last church I went to had prophecy etc. alot of the things I have been looking for but I still have not gone back so I have to face the fact that the problem may be within me.

God Told Me to Tell You...

Has God ever told you to tell someone something that you were hesitant to tell them? The Bible says in: Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness. 2 Corinthians 7:4 Great [is] my boldness of speech toward you, great [is] my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation. Ephesians 3:12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him. Philippians 1:20 According to my earnest expectation and [my] hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but [that] with all boldness, as always, [so] now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether [it be] by life, or by death. 1 Timothy 3:13 For they that have used the office of a deacon well purchase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus. Hebrews 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Still at times I have been apprehensive when it came to sharing a word. Last night I had a dream about my cousin and instead of sharing the dream with her I kept it to myself, but all day I have been convicted about not telling her. In the past I have shared words that God has given me and I have watched people be moved by the truth that the spirit of God revealed to me to share with them and at times I have also not told someone something God told me to tell them, for example while in church one Sunday I saw a vision of a spine and I knew that I was supposed to say something but I didn't; later a lady in the church said please pray for my grandmother she is having surgery on her back;what kind of impact would knowing that God was concerned with how she was feeling and her not even having to ask have had. There have been other instances where I held back and kept what God had given me to myself. You can never get those times back.

Speak Lord

For the first time in a long time I have been hearing the voice of God again. While going through my wilderness some suggested that maybe I was not listening or maybe sin had separated me from God...the theories that people came up with to explain why I had stopped hearing the voice of God were good ones but I don't believe that they were the reason I was not hearing from God. I haven't changed anything but God had began to reveal himself to me again and his welcomed presence is changing me. I have began to dream and see visions etc. and it feels wonderful. My spirit has awakened from a slumber. I have noticed this change in others as well. I perceive that God is calling his people for a work in these days. Speak Lord, Speak!