I have the greatest confidence in you!
How proud I am of you!
I am fully comforted!
After all My trouble, I am overjoyed!
2 Corinthians 7:4 Goodspeed
Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen the Lord!” And she told them what He had said to her. On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked in fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After He said this, He showed them His hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord (John 20:18-20).
For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2b). Jesus saw you and me and the many people who tell the world what our faith means – we are His joy.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, “Now I am coming to You, Father, I have given them Your Word, and told them many things so they would be filled with My joy. I say these things while I am still in the world, so that My joy may be made full and complete and perfect in them.”
“Father, that they may experience My delight fulfilled in them; that My enjoyment may be perfected in their own souls; that they may have My gladness within them, filling their hearts though they will be hated, for like Myself they do not belong to the world,” John 17:13-15 AMP. “Father, they too will give You first place in their heart and will live as You want them to” Matthew 6:33 TLB.
Yes, the thing we should want most is God’s kingdom, and doing what He wants (Matthew 6:33 NCV). For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure. He hid it again and was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned and bought the field (Matthew 13:44 ERV).
If we are serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, then we will set our sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where our Lord sits beside God in the place of honor and power. We shouldn’t be spending our time worrying about things. Instead, we should be investing it by allowing ourselves to be filled with thoughts of heaven.
Our old self, the old way of life, is dying off, and our real life is hidden with Christ in God. And When Christ, Who is our life, is revealed to the whole world, we will share in all His glory (Colossians 3:1-4 NLT).
So, don’t fret or worry. Instead, pray! Let petitions and praise shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life!
Friends, we will all do best by filling our minds and meditating on things true and noble and compelling and gracious – the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse, by putting into practice what we are learning from God’s Word, and the God of peace will be with us (Philippians 4:5-9 Message).
How precious is this faith given to us by our God and Savior, Christ Jesus. How just and good He is to give this same faith to each of us. Faith that reveals the Way to engage in life-changing experiences with our heavenly Father.
Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God is miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One Who invites us to God. The best invitation we will ever receive! (2 Peter 1:1-3 Message).
Yes, if we want more and more of God’s kindness and grace, then we will learn to know Him better, and through His great power the Lord will give us everything we need for living a truly good life. For Jesus shares His own glory and His own goodness with us.
And by that same mighty power He gives us all the other rich and wonderful blessings He promised; for instance, the promise to save us from the rottenness and lust all around us and giving His own character to us (2 Peter 1:2-4 TLB).
Yes, the Lord earnestly waits to be gracious to us! He allowed Himself to be lifted-up, so that everyone who comes to Him could experience His mercy and loving-kindness. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed – happy, fortunate, to be envied – are all those who earnestly wait for Him! Who expect and look and long for Him – for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship! (Isaiah 30:16 AMP).
The amazing grace of Christ Jesus,
The extravagant love of God,
The intimate friendship of Holy Spirit
Be with us all!
2 Corinthians 13:14 Message