Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Joy

"I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ." Philippians 3:8 NIV


I have a serious question to ask. Do you know my Jesus? No wait. Are you intimate with my Jesus?


You see, there was a time in my life that I knew about Him, but I didn't know Him. After I came to know Jesus, the neverending journey for intimacy began.


Now, I'm not here to judge anyone, but I do want to make people think (my kids at school hate that!). I know people that say they are Christians, yet, their lives are filled with worry and anger. They have no joy in their lives. I know others that say they are Christians and everything about them is a shining example of love and joy. Whether they are suffering or not, they strive to show they are intimate with Jesus.



By now, you know that I am not perfect and will never claim to be.
I am human.
I get upset and sometimes furiously angry.
I get disappointed and feel let down sometimes.
I have my struggles and my flaws.


Yet, I don't want those to rule my life. I want to experience the full JOY of being INTIMATE with my JESUS. If I allow bitterness or anger to control me, I can't experience that. If I allow my disappointment and my struggles and flaws to control me, I can't experience that intimacy.


Over and over again, I read that I may be the only Christian that someone will ever meet. What seed shall I plant then? Hopefully a seed that will bloom into an intimate relationship with my Jesus. If that person meets me and I am bitter, angry, and negative, what seed am I planting then? More than likely, not a seed that will lead that person to Jesus.


With today being Carson's birthday, I want him (and all of us) to know that life is a series of choices. The most important choice is whether or not we choose to believe in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. If you haven't chosen to believe that, I pray that you do. I pray that you would open your heart to Him and surrender you life to Him. Then think about how many decisions you have to make throughout your day (some little, some big, but all important). Because I have been transformed by the love of Jesus, I have every reason to make wise choices.

Remember my post At the End of the Day? We have to remember that at the end of the day, we should be able to look back and not have any regrets, that we made the most out of the day that our Father blessed us with and that He is proud of us. We have to make the choice at the beginning of each day to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness."

Sometimes, my boys don't like their punishments for disobeying or breaking a rule so we talk about making better choices. As adults, we have to ask ourselves if we made the best choices for that day because we have to live with our consequences and we may not like them. In the times I have not been happy with the outcome of my choices, it was because I seeked my selfish needs and desires and not His kingdom and righteousness.

I want to be a woman filled with the JOY of being INTIMATE with JESUS. Don't you?

Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you so much for the many blessings you have bestowed upon me this day, the gifts of life, health, and family. I thank you for allowing me to be the mother of these 3 precious boys. Lord, as their mother, I have to make choices not only for myself, but also for them. I ask you, Father, to help me consider your will in all choices that I have to make each day. I want my life to glorify you, Lord. I want my children to see you in me. I want to plant a seed within them so that as they grow, they will seek you in all they do.

Lord, I thank you for the opportunity and ability to keep up with this blog. I pray that it would be a blessing to all that read. Father, if there is anyone who frequents this site that does not know you, I ask that you reveal yourself to that individual and that she would open her heart to you. Lord, if there is someone that knows you, but that is not intimate with you, I pray they would seek that intimacy.

Lord, thank you for all you do for us. Thank you for loving us and providing for us only they way you can, as we are so undeserving. Father, I thank you for the gift of salvation through your son, Jesus Christ, that because we choose to believe in the miracle of is death, burial, and resurrection, that we may have eternal life. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope in some way I have blessed you. I look forward to reading your comment. I may not always get the chance to respond, but I do read every comment.