Tag: Joy

You Are Loved!

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The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:

I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness, ~Jeremiah 31:3.

You mean the world to God! You were chosen to be the object of His affection. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, the value of something is determined by how much someone is willing to pay for it. Jesus paid for us with His life. He didn’t just die, He was beaten, humiliated, mocked, abused, rejected, scorned, and He suffered. You were worth dying for.

So, today, no matter what you face may you rest in the truth that God loves you!

God loves you and it’s not with a blanket love. It’s personalized and on full blast aimed at your heart! He adores you! He will never leave or forsake you.

No matter the problem, God has a solution.

No matter the pain, He offers His comfort.

No matter the joy, He always has more available in Him.

You are beautiful, set apart, a holy priesthood, a holy nation, the apple of God’s eye, deeply loved and cherished. There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more or less.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Love in Christ,

Erin

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A Greater Yes

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Last post I wrote about when God says no. It’s easy with Christianity to focus on what God says no to instead of what He says yes to. If we entered into a relationship with God only to be given a list of rules, it would not be a blessing. So, today I want to talk about the blessings that come from being with God.

Redemption in Christ

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him, Ephesians 1:3-10.

The Blessings of God

Forgiveness. God gives us forgiveness of sins. All of our sins have been paid for on the cross. Jesus paid the penalty for all sin. Why is this a blessing? It’s a blessing because the wages of sin is death. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, Romans 6:23. If we are not forgiven, we are not saved from eternal separation from God. We cannot save ourselves. We need God and His forgiveness.

God is not like us. We forgive and cannot forget. God removes the stains of sin forever. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us, Psalm 103:12. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more, Isaiah 43:25. God gives us a clean slate. Not only does God forgive us our sins, He gives us freedom from being slaves to sin. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness, Romans 6:18.

Relationship. God is after a relationship, not our rule keeping. He invites us to have a fruitful and blessed relationship with Him. Jesus paid the price so we could have full access to God.

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me, John 14:6.

In Him (Jesus) and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence, Ephesians 3:12.

Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me, John 15:4.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need, Hebrews 4:16.

This relationship comes with so many benefits. God is our Provider, Advocate, Helper, Healer, Wise Counsel, Wisdom, Redeemer, Friend, and so much more. We have the opportunity to have a personal relationship with the Creator of the Universe.  Also all the things He asks us to do, He gives us His Holy Spirit to enable us to do those things. He only asks us to do things that will lead to blessing. He invites us to know Him. He is the greatest reward. We don’t have to go through a bunch of rituals to get to Him. We can go boldly to Him with confidence.

Eternal Life: God offers us life eternal in paradise. This life is just a blip on the screen of life. Eternity is so big and vast beyond measure. Our minds cannot fully fathom what awaits. Heaven awaits. There will be no sickness, death, evil, fatigue, pain, suffering, poverty, no bad news, and we will reign with Christ forever and ever. For God loved the world so much that he gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life, John 3:16.

But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled:

“Death is swallowed up in victory, 1 Corinthians 15:51-54

The only alternative is life apart from God in eternal damnation. God invites every person to bypass hell which was created for the devil and the angels who rebelled with him. He says, “Come to Me and find life.”

Spiritual gifts: God gives us His Spirit and the Holy Spirit has numerous roles in our lives. He is at work to transform us into the image of Jesus. He also is at work so that we can operate in the gifts of the Spirit and have the fruits of the Spirit in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other, Galatians 5:22-26.

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues.All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11.

This post does not even begin to capture all the benefits of saying yes to God and His will. He withholds nothing good from us. The world has many things to offer, but saying yes to anything outside of God’s will leads to bondage and death. God is good. Everything He does is good! If He says no it’s because He has a greater yes.

Bless you friends. You’re in my thoughts and prayers, Love Erin.

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I Will Never Leave You (Poem)-The Perfect Father

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One of the problems we face in our world is the lack of fathering. The family unit is not the way it would be if Adam and Eve never sinned. I am not simply picking on fathers as mothers have issues as well. I did want to write something for all the people with “daddy” issues. All the people in the world who have been hurt, abandoned, rejected, and negatively impacted by an earthly father, this is for you. For some it may be you feel  as though God abandoned, neglected you, or a feeling God is angry with you…so here goes.

I Will Never Leave You (Poem)

By Erin Lamb, all rights reserved.

Woven through the interior of My heart is everything there is to know about you.

I know you.

You were My grand idea.

Oh, how I would put My creativity on display.

I smiled the day you entered the world.

I said, “That’s My child, the one I love. The one I have made.”

Oh, what joy!

What a glorious day.

You can search the world over to find out who you are,

and who you are meant to be.

What you will find is

your true identity can only truly be found in Me.

Before the world was made,

you were a part of Me;

an extension of My thoughts,

a perfect idea of beauty.

You were and are My child,

and there is no step I would not have taken;

to save you,

to rescue you,

and to show you,

that I will never leave or forsake you.

My love and committment to you is steadfast,

and sustained by a covenant seal of My Son’s blood.

The invitation is always open

for you to know Me, to be with Me, and experience My love.

I want to be with you for all of eternity.

This world will bring you sorrow.

This world will bring you pain.

This world will bring you disappointments,

but My love for you will remain.

Draw near to Me.

Lean on Me.

Find safety and security in Me.

Encounter a love that will set you free.

Though I know all of your shortcomings,

I choose you to be with Me.

My love is relentlessly pursuing the ability to abide in the deepest corridors of your heart.

I long for you to know the height, the width, and the breath of My love.

It is a love that will change your life

in ways you never thought you’d know.

My love is here for the taking.

It’s a love I want you to know.

Take a leap of faith!

Trust that I love you.

Believe that I am for you.

Cling to the truth that I want the very best for you,

and I desire a relationship that makes your life truly whole.

My dear friends, God loves you. It amazes me that in spite of who we are and who we are not, God daily pursues His children for relationship. Despite what anyone has told us about Him, there is no greater love in the entire world. His love is not dependent on us, it’s who He is. Like a human parent loves their child despite their behavior, God loves us. He doesn’t give us a license to live as we wish, as He is holy. There are consequences for our actions. So, He offers us this gift of salvation through His Son Jesus. The opportunity to have every past and present sin completely forgiven forever, an eternity with Him in paradise, a friendship with a Perfect Friend, an Advocate to help us live an abundant life, and so much more…  

Even if my father and mother abandon me, God will take care of me,~Psalm 27:10.

 

 

Put Your Umbrella Down

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“You were created to be blessed.”

By Erin Lamb

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ (Ephesians 1:3-10)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

You and I were created by God to be blessed. In Christ we are blessed and highly favored. Do you believe that? Deep in your heart do you believe that you have access to everything that Jesus paid to give you?

What we believe we empower. If we do not believe we are blessed, loved, cherished, set apart, favored, accepted, forgiven, and the apple of God’s eye, then we are essentially standing under the downpour of God’s love with an umbrella. Yes! We stand under a waterfall of God’s goodness, love, mercy and grace with an umbrella of unbelief blocking us from receiving. We see others dancing in the waterfall of His goodness and we are often upset. Where is my blessing? Why do they have joy or (fill in the blank)? Often it’s because they threw their umbrella down.

I have noticed that joyful people don’t have less problems. They simply trust God to work out their problems. They do their part and know God will do His part.

I have noticed that people who believe they are blessed, are blessed. People who believe that the world is out to get them and God doesn’t care, seem to have circumstances that validate their beliefs. What we believe is powerful. How we view God and ourselves will determine our actions. Our belief doesn’t stop God from being God. His love is still raining down, day after day, hour after hour. We, however, miss the opportunity to bask in it if we refuse to believe it’s for us.

We are His children. We are His beloved children. He has amazing plans for our lives. He doesn’t want to give us junk. He wants us filled to overflow so we ooze out the blessings of God. What a great representation of His Glory. When people can look at God’s kids and say, “They are blessed (filled with joy, love, peace, abundance, and hope) in the midst of a crumbling society, God must be better than we think.” I am not talking about monetary blessing or a prosperity message. Certainly, God wants to bless us with finances, but that is not the only indication of being blessed. We are truly blessed when we know who we are in Him, accept His love and purpose for our lives, and when we overflow with the fruits of His spirit! Then not only are we blessed, but anyone who comes into contact with us is blessed. Where His Spirit is, there is life and life more abundantly.

So here’s my prayer for us.

“Father I pray that every day we wake up looking into Your eyes as our mirror. May our view of You be transformed into the true likeness of who You are. Abba remove any obstacles to believing that You are good, we are loved, and You have great plans for our lives. Fill us to overflow. More love, more faith, and more hope in You. In Jesus mighty name, Amen.”

 

Joy! God is filled with joy

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Joy in His Presence
By Erin Lamb

You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand, Psalm 16:11.

You have endowed him with eternal blessings and given him the joy of your presence, Psalm 21:6.

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law, Galatians 5:22.

Joy definition: the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.

Have you ever had a friend that you couldn’t wait to spend time with? You just knew you were going to have a good time. You knew there would be laughter, fun, and you hated leaving because being with them was so pleasant. Well, being with God is a million times better than that.

God fills us with joy. You may say, “I spend time with God and I don’t feel joyful.” Yep, been there. Been in that place where quiet time was more like nap time. You knock on heaven’s door, eyes heavy with sleep, and leave just as tired as when you came. Ever been there? Well, follow me on this navigation to finding joy in God.

∙How are we meeting with Him?

In our time with God are we seeking to get to know Him or meeting with Him out of obligation? Anything done out of obligation is not fun. It’s like, “Let me get this over with so I can do something else.”

∙Are we trying to control what happens?

Okay God we are going to meet up and I will do this and then you will do that…Mostly God wants the ability to radically change our agenda. If we are seeking to control what happens, where we go, when we go, and all the details, it will be boring. When we show up and say, “God let’s enjoy today?” that’s when it gets really fun.

∙Are we too serious?

I have found that God laughs and enjoys our laughter. We become so regimented in our worship and time with God. We treat Him like a stranger or boss or dictator. He is not stern or cold. God is a lot of fun! Did you hear me! FUN! God likes to do fun things. He longs to do fun things with us. Whatever we like to do, He longs to do those things with us (unless it’s illegal or immoral). So if you like nature, He wants to go on nature walks with you. If you like spending time with kids, He wants to do that with you. If you like painting, dancing, playing an instrument, even cleaning the house, He longs to be with you. He is not restricted to our Bible reading time and worship gatherings. We are the temple where His Spirit dwells. Therefore, we don’t just commune with Him on the weekend and at small group. He wants 24/7 access to our lives; to be invited into every day activities! That’s where the joy comes in. Knowing that no matter what we are doing, He is there. The Creator of the Universe is with us and His Spirit is filled with love, joy, peace….We have a built in best friend and built in Advocate/Helper.

I can honestly say I never want to go back to life without Him, not just for the sake of missing out on heaven, but for losing the best thing that’s ever happened to me. He’s more fun than anything I have ever done without Him.

∙Are we cultivating relationship?

God wants to be know by us and at first the journey is awkward. I used to feel like I was talking to myself or dead air. But that’s when you keep talking to Him and open your ears to listen. He never intended for us to have a one sided relationship with Him. God wants to be wanted by us. He wants us to seek Him out and keep seeking. He wants a friendship. He wants to be first in our lives. The more time we meet with Him, inquire of Him, ask Him what He is like, open our hearts and lives to Him, the more we get to know Him. And knowing Him is the greatest joy!

∙Have we decided we need God + something else to be happy?

If we are going to God with the idea that we must have something other than Him to be happy we will not find lasting joy. It’s sort of like being invited to a banquet that is filled with delicious treats and delicacies and we decide that we will not be content unless they have a certain dish. We cannot fully enjoy the feast if we are determined to not enjoy what is there. So if in our hearts it’s, “God I will only be happy when I get a better job, or better car, more money, or my spouse changes, or I get a spouse, or have a kid….,” then we will never be satisfied. We must come to Him seeking to enjoy Him and whatever He has to offer, trusting that He keeps nothing good from His kids. He longs to bless us and give us great things. So we ask and enjoy Him as well.

Final Notes:

Life will present challenges that come to rob us of joy. The good thing about God is that He knows He is the storehouse of joy. He is not asking us to pretend to be happy or manufacture joy. He says, “Come to Me those who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” He says, “Come to Me those who have numerous troubles and sorrows and I will give you joy.” We don’t have to make joy happen. We simply have to go to Jesus. How awesome is that. Sometimes you have to stay in His presence for a long time until the sorrow turns to joy. He does some healing, mending, restoring, and internal work. I promise that anything we give to God He will make it better than before. He always keeps His promises. So let’s trade our burdens for His peace. Trade our sorrows for His joy. Let’s upgrade to life abundantly and enjoy a blessed life.

“Abba I ask that You would increase the fruit of joy in our lives. Help us to laugh, to play, and to enjoy life. We want and need more joy. There are so many mysterious You hide for us, not from us. Fuel our desire to seek them out. Help us to have heaven on earth and not simply exist for heaven to come. Help us to be instruments of joy wherever we go, so people can see how joyful You are. Remove any obstacles to knowing You, being with You, and enjoying You. You are awesome. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit. We love You. In Jesus name. Amen”