Tag: joy

How to Have Steadfast Faith and Joy No Matter What!

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Hebrews 11:1,6

How does one have a Faith that is fearless to face all of life’s trials, a hope that sees beyond the storm clouds, and a steadfast, abounding Joy no matter what life brings? Throughout the book of Hebrews, we see these huge warning signs for all those who are “lukewarm” toward Jesus. Warning! Do you really know Him as your Savior and High Priest? Or do you only half-heartedly use His name? Warning! There is no other way to stand before God’s Throne except to have been sprinkled with the blood of Jesus for atonement of your sins. Yet, for those who believe and who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior by asking Him into their heart; the book of Hebrews reveals the magnificence of the Grace we have been given. It gives us also the fundamental keys to unlocking a life of fearless faith, everlasting hope, and steadfast joy that is undaunted by the storms of this life.

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There are three keys to living this Christian life while soaring above all of life’s storms. These are:

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Awaken to Joy-

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13

Have you ever been Amazed by Joy?  I mean really Amazed!!  If you looked deep within your own heart or you looked at the storms that surround your life there was no reason for you to know this much joy; yet, there it is pulsating through your veins.  That, my dear friends is the power of Christ in you.  In Christ you have everything you could ever need to be a never ending spring of joyous living water to a dry and thirsty land.  Despite that, how many years did I waste searching for counterfeit joys to fill my heart and spirit; only to discover that perfect love and perfect joy had been abiding there within me ever since the moment I first accepted Christ as my Savior.  My greatest desire is that  God molds a beautiful mosaic of Jesus for you to see from all the shattered pieces that were my life. I pray that when all the pieces of this my life are fitted together by God’s hand of Grace that the portrait of my life becomes an echoing reflection of God’s Mercy, Grace, Love, Joy and Glory.  My prayer is that you find God to be your greatest treasure and all your desires are met in Him.  I wrote this poem many months ago; but, wanted to share it with you today.

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Awaken to Joy

Awaken, Awaken Oh heart of mine

Today has arrived so rich and Divine

Such Joy overflows into a new song

“By Grace I am Saved and By Grace I belong”

 

Wherever I go—whatever I do

Let Your Glorious Hope be all that I view

Such wonder and awe you place in my path

While never your anger– never your wrath

 

Oh Marvelous Grace that fills me with glee

Before your dear throne I have this one plea

Let your love flow forth to all whom I meet

Seeing Your Glory they fall at Your feet!

 

Lord let me be a reflection of You

In all that I say and all that I do

Let the Grace that You freely gave to me

Be the Grace that I give to those I see

 

Let Love guide my feet wherever I go

Your joy and Your hope be all that does show

And one day, Dear Lord, when this earth I leave

Don’t let those who knew me one moment grieve

 

Because they know that you are my treasure

And being with you my greatest pleasure

Let the life that I lived be an echo so true

Of the Grace and the love that I found in You

 

Awaken, Awaken Oh heart of mine

Today has arrived so rich and divine

Such Joy overflows into a new song

“By Grace I am Saved and By Grace I belong”

The picture “ Only In Christ I AM”  above was created by Ronald Barba  and is protected by copyright laws.  I am using with full permission of Ronald Barba.  Prints are available at http://fineartamerica.com/featured/only-in-christ-i-am-effie-darlene-barba.html

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post.  I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned with the exception of the portrait above and any money received will be given to the artist from whom I commissioned this piece.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

3 Truths That Will Catapult Your Life into Joyous Victory

Jesus Christ “his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: Hebrews 1:2-3

As I go about my days along this life journey, why is it so important that I recognize the magnificence and glory of Jesus as King, seated upon His throne? How would that change my view of life’s struggles? How can that affect my relationships with friends, co-workers, and family? My life is filled with dreams, desires, decisions, work, and activities. We must constantly think about our health, our car, our house, our finances, our relationships, and our jobs. Even when it comes to our faith, we fill our lives with the “activities”; yet, in all that do we truly stop to realize the importance of seeing Jesus upon His throne.

Christ Holds together

The writer of Hebrews wants us to realize that Jesus is already the King. He is the obedient son who died upon a cross at His Father’s bidding; yet, He is also the express image of the Father and the bright radiance of His Glory. Not only was Jesus the humble sacrificial lamb who died to save the world; but, Jesus is also the one through whom the Father spoke the world into being and the one who holds everything in place by the word of His power. This is the same truth that John expressed when he wrote,

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Joy Pours Over Me

The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.  Zephaniah 3:17

Out of the darkest valleys or sorrows that life can bring, God remains Sovereign and His Plan is always to bring us good.  It all goes back to Faith is 1. Knowing that God is and 2. Believing that God richly blesses those who seek Him.  My journey to discover the truth of love and joy took me down a lot of winding roads.  Some of those roads seemed at the time very treacherous indeed; but, God had a plan for my good.  That plan never depended on my figuring it out or my getting it “right.”  It depended 100% on God’s Grace, Love and Sovereignty to complete the work He began in me.    My life is filled with peace, joy, hope and love.  Oh, don’t get me wrong; there are trials as well.  The difference in my response is how I view the trials.   I have learned to embrace each trial as a precious gift that once unwrapped will reveal to me some precious aspect of God’s Glory that I had not seen before.  As I concluded the series, In Search of True Love; my prayer is that I have helped you to see the magnitude of God’s Grace and Love toward you.  Tomorrow, we will begin a new series through Hebrews (at least that is my plan for now, unless God chooses otherwise).  I wrote this poem today and hope it touches your heart with joy, peace and hope.

Joy Pours Over Me

JOY POURS OVER ME

by Effie Darlene Barba

Every Step of my journey here

Through the darkest nights

That were filled with fear

Or the mountaintops

Clothed with laughter’s cheer

Your voice called to me

Your heart drew me near

 

Through pain and tears You taught me how

To seek your face Be-

Fore your throne to bow

Where You my heart would

Grace and Love endow

Your wondrous Strength to

Soar above the now

 

The scars from all the years gone by

Were healed because Your

Tears You chose to cry

As on a Cross You

Sent your son to die

And pay the price for

Someone such as I

 

And then I saw the value, worth

Of all the sorrows

Pains upon this earth

Travailing pains

That brought new birth

To life eternal

Filled with Joyous mirth

 

For purest gold to truly shine

It must endure the fire’s

Flames which do refine

Or pressed beneath the

Darkness in a mine

A diamond forms so

Precious, rare and fine

 

Your truth revealed this mystery

Pain is a gift that

Helps my heart to see

Glimpses of You

Spectrum of Glory

Dimensions of Love

Until

Joy pours over me

[tweetthis]Each trial is a gift; once unwrapped reveals a new aspect of God’s Glory [/tweetthis]

Please feel free to post a comment, share a story or just say Hi.  Hope you can join us tomorrow as we start a new series.

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2016

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post.  I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

What Happens When You Are Awed by Grace?

 

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:14-16

As the year 2000 came to a close, I was newly divorced, my children were both gone off to college, I was healed from the surgery, and my boxes were all packed as I headed off to Springfield, MO. There I was going to be the first Nurse Practitioner in their hospitalist program at St. John’s Hospital. Once more, I was starting over. I had no idea what lay ahead; but, I was overwhelmed by Grace. All of my Christian Walk, I had so wanted to please God—to make Him proud of me. Every step of the way I had stumbled; yet, His Grace was fresh and new every morning. Like a fresh spring fed brook, His love poured forth new every morning upon me no matter what!

awed by grace

 

No matter how big had been my failure; God still loved me. Sometimes, I would bow my head with such sorrow, pain realizing that once more “I had gotten it all wrong.” Each time, my heavenly Father would look down from heaven and with a gentle smile, reach out His hand to pick me up, dust me off, and start a brand new day. Years later I would discover, that in the midst of it all; God had used me for His Glory. How? Despite my failure in the marriage to Terry, later his son would confide that “because of me, he had found Christ.” Me? God used me in the midst of all my bumbling mess? That, my dear friends, is Grace upon Grace. I cannot fully explain how or why God would have chosen me to be His child; yet, He did.

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