Practice Joy

Joy is something you've got to practice. It doesn't really come naturally to anyone. But if you get the hang of it, it's kind of contagious, and you can infect yourself with joy!

Nehemiah gave the theory of joy. The Levites gave the command to be joyful. But until the people actually went away and practiced joy, they didn't know it. Until they prepared the feast and actually sat down to taste the food, they had no idea how good the feast could be. Until they tasted the drinks, they had no concept of how delightful that could be. And as they followed the instructions to celebrate, they got the hang of the songs. They realized that the Levites weren't kidding, that the day really, really was meant for celebration. They literally practiced joy.

Life can be tough: Don't give up!

 
In a tough race? Don't quit! Sooner or later, you'll reach the point where your hard work during lean times will pay off. After Nehemiah and Ezra led their people to rebuild Jerusalem, they had a great day of celebration, just 52 days after the work had begun.

Nehemiah's rebuilding project involved everyone. Mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, teenagers – everyone. And all of them knew how tough life could be. They had a rough past, because of the exile, and their worst days were only a few weeks behind them. Their forefathers and mothers had made some choices that cost them dearly. Just ruined them. They had known a lot of discouragement, a lot of disappointment – no doubt they were really numb to the entire experience.

When you get to a point of total exhaustion, it's hard to keep going. This can be so tough – but you must resolve now to never give up.

YOUR STRENGTH COMES FROM GOD

 While I was a Christian, while I would even say God was a big part of my life... I hadn't invited Jesus into my boat. It was my boat. I controlled the boat... had a firm grip on both the oars and the rudder. It was my plan, my time schedule, my route, my decision... but when I went to apply to Seminary, I found out pretty quickly just how far I could get paddling that boat on my own as I heard the response, "Not yet."

Brothers and sisters, we make a very serious mistake when we begin to think that all the things we have... including our gifts... are our own... that we can take credit for them. It is far more important to realize, that we can do nothing... and I mean nothing without the power and grace of God in our lives. And this is the next step that comes to us from our scripture today. It is not enough to just invite Jesus into our boats, we must also come to realize where the real power lies. It does not lie with us but with Christ.

DON’T GIVE UP

 When there seems to be no way, the Lord will create a way.

When there seems to be no present hope, the Lord will give us hope.

When there seems to be no present joy, WITH GOD we will discover new joy.

When there seems to be no remaining strength, we will declare that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.

God has not stopped moving.

 
There are many people who think that God has stopped moving in their midst. They think that God stopped moving a long time ago. But that's not true!!! It's because they don't have their attention on what God is doing today. He said, "I will do a new thing." (Isaiah 43:19)

The fundamental principles of divine activity are changeless, but the outward shape of that activity alters with the changing needs of God's people. We are meant to reflect on the past with gratitude and stimulated faith, but not allow it to stereotype our expectations from God.

God is doing a new thing!! To be able to see what God is doing, we need to follow the instructions in His Word.

Don't live in the past! At times, we can't see the new things that God is doing because we are living in the "good old days," blinded by the past. It's okay to remember the good things, but do not camp there; it's time to move on.

Getting to Where God Wants You to Be

There are very few shortcuts to get to where God wants you to be. You have to go through some things to get to where God wants you to be. When you try to take the shortcut, you are prone to miss some lessons that will be beneficial to you down the road. Maybe during the conversation in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was asking God: “Is there a shortcut to what I have to go through?” But God was saying, no you have to go through betrayal, denial, crucifixion – you’ve got to go through it to get new life.

God is Doing a New Thing

We must keep our minds and hearts open to what God is doing and what He wants to do in our midst. Even in the wilderness he will make a way where it seems impossible and impassable. Remember He has said in HIS Word I will do a new thing. Let Him do a new thing in your in your heart, home, marriage, job, church, school, Community. Let's allow Him to refine us in the desert (fire) that we may show forth His praise, and tell others it’s ok He is doing and will do a new thing. Yes he has done great things in my life. He is doing great things now, but hold on to your hats, He still has more in store.

DON'T BE AFRAID.

It is amazing how much the Bible has to say on this subject. Joshua 1:6-7 says, “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go,” Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” There is a familiar passage in Psalm 27:1-3. “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.” II Timothy 1:7 says, “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” I John 4:18 says, “Perfect love drives out fear.”

Love Will Conquer

God knows us and He loves us as we are. He knows what we are capable of on our own, and He knows what we can do in his power. God knows all of this... even when our own hearts tell us that we fall short and our enemy whispers to us that God wouldn’t possibly want to love us as we witness racism around the world. God is greater than our hearts. God chooses to lavish His deep and overflowing love on us.

This love overflows from God’s heart to our hearts, and it should then overflow into love for those around us. These are difficult times and just holding up a Bible in front of a church speaks nothing, but love will conquer.

Fruitfulness

Perhaps the greatest impediment to fruitfulness is that we are notoriously conditioned to be consumers. It's easy to take for granted just how much we are habituated to consume and how that affects our ability to be fruitful. Consumption, of course, is a normal part of life. We need food, clothing, housing, and many other necessities. What challenges fruitfulness, however, is a preoccupation with consumption that outpaces the corresponding role we are to play as producers. Pray and implement your vision to be fruitful. We got this!

Don't Quit

As we give ourselves to God, he will use us in greater ways than we could ever imagine. We simply need to be willing to continue to do the work God has called us to do and not quit. God can do nothing through us when we quit, but nothing is impossible when we yield to his spirit

God Will Not Let You Drown

Exercise your faith and just do it, and move forward with God. Get out of your comfort zone and let God do something great through you, that you cannot do on your own. Believe that when you step out on the water it will hold you up because God will not let you drown.

Through The Eyes of Prayer

When we see through the eyes of prayer it influences our relationship with time. We are all too busy. Crowded schedules and multi-marked calendars rob us of life's vitality. As one writer has said, "Hurry is not of the devil! It is the devil." From real prayer we gain the proper perspective to see time not as something to be endured or rushed through. Every moment becomes, a moment to be seized, an adventure to be lived, a meaning to be found, and a joy to behold. In prayer we slow down enough to enjoy!

Start Loving Yourself More

The greatest commandment passage has within it the most posing challenge for you and for me; the lesson of learning to love ourselves. The implication is clear there, that before you can love others you must have a healthy sense of self love. If you don’t love yourself and accept yourself for how you have been created, then there’s little hope that you will love and trust your Creator – let alone be able to unconditionally love and accept anyone else.

If you could just come to the place of loving self-acceptance; your life of faith, love for God and love for others would be so much more powerful and effective. Start loving yourself more.

Glorify GOD With a Loud Voice

Sometimes your blessings is in you hands.

After the Samaritan was healed HE TURNED BACK – HE could have kept going; he could have said, I DON’T NEED TO SAY THANK YOU – HE KNOWS I AM THANKFUL!!

But the scripture says, the Samaritan was healed and he turned back and WITH A LOUD VOICE!! Sometimes YOU JUST GOT TO GET LOUD – LIFE, family, friends, can hurt you, BUT when the storm passes – makes you glorify GOD with a loud voice. 

YOU

Yeah, YOU went through hell, but you are still here. Yeah, the devil hit you hard, and you went down; and it hurt and you cried for a while, but YOU are still here.

YOU got your joy back, YOU got YOUR peace back, YOU got dance back, YOU got your praise back.


YOU have been in this fire; YOU’ve been working on your praise; YOU’ve been working on YOUR shout; YOU’ve been working on YOUR dance.

The Power of Our Praise

The first thing the devil wants to do is to bind you, (restrict you, limit you, contain you, take away your liberty, your freedom in God).

One of Satan’s greatest griefs is to see the children of God walking and living in their liberty, expressing themselves in joy and peace, and worshiping and praising God without constraint, without fear or reservation.

So he sends things our way to push us down, to back us up, to quiet us down, to put a lid on us, to dampen our praise, to get us all tangled up in fear, anxiety, and worry; because he knows the power of our praise.

Fruitfulness Marked by Joy

Notice Jesus’ words: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” And then He concludes by saying, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

What a generous gift. What an amazing offer to someone who is exhausted by the consumer treadmill, being constantly manipulated by marketing, and consistently being disappointed by promises made by brands who knew they were only selling the equivalent of sugar water. “Ask whatever you wish.” “Joy.” These are words our souls need.  “God designed prayer to give His disciples the joy of bearing fruit while God Himself gets the glory.” So pray boldly for fruitfulness marked by joy and all for God’s glory.

Wait Patiently

The phrase “wait patiently” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to rest, or to settle down and remain.” It is the same word we find in the Ten Commandments where God tells us to rest on the Sabbath Day. It is the same word we find in the narratives about the Promised Land where God promised to give the Israelites rest from their enemies in the land. Here Habakkuk determines to wait patiently during this time of trial, to rest himself in the Lord.

God promises to give us his peace when we give our worries and fears to him. Philippians 4:6-7 says: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)


How do you exercise faith during the worst of times? Wait patiently for the Lord even when you are afraid. Rest yourself in God.

Have Faith in God

The book of Habakkuk is all about faith in God.  Habakkuk 2:4: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Habakkuk challenges us to put our faith in God even during the worst of times. When Habakkuk reached the end of his journey, he had moved from a place of doubting God to a place of trusting God no matter what. And that “no matter what” was a serious issue for Habakkuk, far more serious than most of the issues we deal with on a daily basis.

God revealed to Habakkuk that his country was about to be invaded and ransacked. Habakkuk and his people would lose everything that they had built up over the years, everything they had worked for. It would all be gone. That is a whole different matter than trusting God even though you got a traffic ticket, or even though you had a bad day at work or at school. The book of Habakkuk challenges you to learn to trust God no matter what.


How do you exercise faith in God during the worst of times? Habakkuk shares with us three things that he did, even when he was facing the worst calamity of his lifetime.