Love is JOY

Galatians 5:22-26 (NET)  ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NET)  ¹⁶Always rejoice, ¹⁷constantly pray, ¹⁹in everything give thanks.

It is easy to picture Jesus full of joy as the children gathered around him. It is easy to imagine the smile on his face as he blessed each one. At the other end of the spectrum, how could there be joy knowing that he would soon be beaten, bloodied, and hanging on a cross for the sins he did not commit but for sins that belonged to us? How can we reconcile these thoughts in our mind?

Not all of life’s experiences are joyful. Some bring pain, suffering, and grief. How do we demonstrate the love of Christ to others even in the midst of circumstances that are not at all joyful? I think we must understand that it is impossible to be joyful in all circumstances as long as we are dependent upon our definition of joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 (NET)  ...“For this day is holy to our LORD. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Philippians 4:4 (NET)  Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!

Our ultimate source of joy is not our own; it comes from the LORD. The joy of the LORD is our strength. Yes, we can easily express joy when good things happen, but we can also express a joyful (i.e., non-grumbling, non-complaining) attitude even during difficult or stressful times. Why? Because no adverse circumstance can rob us of the joy we have in Christ.  Knowing our Heavenly Father and being confident in salvation through Christ brings a source of joy that cannot be diminished by adverse circumstances. And this type of joy will speak volumes about who we are in Christ. This type of joy demonstrates a depth of love to those around us who desperately need something beyond what the world has to offer. Yes, it is the joy of the LORD that becomes our strength. We can be joyful for others during their happy experiences; but we can also demonstrate our love to them by sharing with them the strength of joy that comes from knowing Christ as Savior. Helping others discover a Heavenly Father who loves and cares deeply for them can be a way for us to love others.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

We thank you for times of joy when life’s events are happy. Teach us to rely on your joy to be our strength in difficult situations. Let those around us see that we find our joy in You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scriptures quotations marked NET are taken from the New English Translation Bible^® http://netbible.com copyright © 1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Fruit of the Spirit is LOVE

Galatians 5:22-26 (NET)  ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. ²⁴Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. ²⁵If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. ²⁶Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

Today we are embarking on a two-week series of mini devotionals regarding what we familiarly refer to as The Fruit of the Spirit passage. However I would like to encourage you to do something; namely, I would like you to resist the urge to skim over or altogether skip reading the text each day thinking it to be “too familiar”. I encourage you to read every word carefully, thoughtfully, and prayerfully each day for the next two weeks. I am convinced the net value of repetition will be well worth your time.

Perhaps the first place to begin is separating the word love from the word like. We say we love that movie, we love that color, we love that décor, we love that pie; when of course we do not love those items, we merely like them because we are pleased with them or prefer them, or enjoy them. Love is very different. Love carries with it a strong affection or attachment. Love is deeper than like. God does not merely like us; God loves us. Which, of course, is a very good thing since we are so often unlikeable creatures.

John 13:34-35 (NET) ³⁴I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.

Sometimes we gloss over Scriptures with which we are familiar. For the next two weeks I want to explore what it means to love one another in the manner in which Jesus Christ demonstrated love to others. There is a little note in my NET Bible (New English Translation) regarding the Galatians text. The NET explains another accurate way to punctuate verses 22-23 would be to use a colon after the word love...  ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control.  By using this form of punctuation, the word love is defined by the following eight characteristics. It may seem like an insignificant detail, but perhaps this is a new approach to explore what it means for Christians to demonstrate the kind of love Jesus Christ showed for others. Loving others as Christ loved us is not a suggestion, it’s a commandment.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

So often we use love and like interchangeably, yet we clearly see the difference when we realize your deep love for us. We are commanded to love each other, and in our human weakness we tend to gloss over or minimize what that means. Please forgive our weakness. Open our eyes that we might read your Word with clarity. Lead us and guide us to a better understanding of how we are to show the love of Christ to others.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scriptures quotations marked NET are taken from the New English Translation Bible^® http://netbible.com copyright © 1996, 2019 used with permission from Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Five Days of Prayer - Day Five

 

Hebrews 13:15-16 (NLT)     ¹⁵Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. ¹⁶And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

Romans 12:12 (NLT)    ¹²Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Colossians 3:17, 23-24 (NLT)     ¹⁷And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father. ... ²³Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. ²⁴Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

James 1:5-8 (NLT)     ⁵If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. ⁶But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

At first glance, this may appear to be a random selection of verses. However, when taken as a collective, these verses can be powerful reminders to continue in prayer with praise and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father as the priority. Remember that God has given to each one of us some gift, ability, or talent to use for his purposes; be faithful in using what he has given you. When you are uncertain, unsure, or lack understanding; ask God to allow his Spirit within you to guide your understanding.

I humbly believe that God has given me an ability to encourage others through the writing of short devotionals. That is why I “Write From My Heart”, although to be honest, sometimes the intended reader is myself as well as others. The following prayer is my daily prayer before I sit down to write. I do not know what God has asked you to do or what talents, gifts, and abilities he has given to you. Perhaps my prayer might inspire you create your own daily prayer; that is my deepest hope. Blessings to you, Dear Reader.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

Help me to be obedient to whatever nudgings You place on my heart. Guide me in the diligent study of Your Word. Provide the measure of understanding You trust me to handle correctly. Provide the thoughts You want me to write for others to read, even if the reader is me. Open the doors You want me to use, and give me peace about the doors You close. I pray that in all things You receive all honor, glory, and praise. May Your will be accomplished and may I be useful to You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Five Days of Prayer - Day Four

Isaiah 55:6, 8-9 (NLT)     ⁶Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. ... ⁸“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. ⁹For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

Psalm 62:8 (NLT)     ⁸O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.

Daniel 3:16-18 (NLT)     ¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. ¹⁷If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.

One of the most devastating teachings about prayer is that you do not receive what you asked for because you apparently did not have enough faith. Teachings of this sort typically misuse the “grain of mustard seed” scripture. Nothing could be further from scriptural foundations regarding prayer. The truth is that God does want you to pour your heart out to him – the good things, the bad things, the questions, the concerns – all of it, in daily communion with him. But true faith is recognizing that God’s ways are always best. His solutions are flawless; His timing is perfect. You may see responses that are in line with your thoughts, but even when you don’t; true faith is still trusting in your Heavenly Father.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

You are God; I am not.

You know what is best; I do not.

I haven’t come to tell You what to do; I’ve come to ask you to do what is best.

I don’t know what that will be; but I know it will be the right thing.

I trust Your wisdom. I trust You.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Five Days of Prayer - Day Three

John 17:20-23 (NLT)  ²⁰I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. ²¹I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. ²²I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. ²³I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.

Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John records the most wonderful words of Jesus’ prayer for himself, his disciples, and for all generations to follow. I encourage you to take a moment to read the entire prayer. My heart tells me this is a wonderful reminder that we not only pray for ourselves and our families, but for generations to come. The ladies’ Bible study group at our church has a wonderful tradition each year of dividing up the names of all students in our children’s and youth Sunday School classes, and each of us takes a card with a few names on it—to remember those young lives in prayer (and their teachers) throughout the year. One of the ladies made beautiful cards with prayer suggestions, and although I am unsure of the original source, I share with you 14 Ways to Pray... for all the young lives you know as well as for generations to come:

·         Pray that they will come to know Christ as Savior.

·         Pray that they will love God with all of their hearts.

·         Pray for their parents and families.

·         Pray that they will choose the right kind of friends.

·         Pray for spiritual stability during tough times.

·         Pray for the needs of their hearts that you may not know about.

·         Pray for physical protection in their lives.

·         Pray that they will love God’s Word.

·         Pray for their continued connection to the body of Christ.

·         Pray that they will find their identity and worth in Christ and not in our world.

·         Pray that God will give them compassion for others.

·         Pray that they will have integrity in all areas of their lives.

·         Pray that they will look for ways to serve the Lord.

·         Pray that they will learn to pray too!

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

Five Days of Prayer - Day Two

Ephesians 6:18-20 (NLT)     ¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. ¹⁹And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. ²⁰I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

Colossians 4:2-4 (NLT)     ²Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. ³Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains.  ⁴Pray that I will proclaim his message as clearly as I should.

Yesterday we embarked on a week-long exploration of favorite prayers and scriptures regarding prayer. The apostle Paul reminds us to be alert and faithful in prayer, especially remembering to pray for others. There are times when we know specific concerns to voice on behalf of others; yet there are also times when there is a name on our heart, but we don’t know what to pray. My uncle once shared with me suggestions for “What to pray, when you don’t know what to pray.”

Gracious Heavenly Father,

Today I come to you in prayer for __________, and although I am not aware of their specific needs, I trust Your Wisdom. I pray you grant them strength and courage to cope with whatever they may face today. I pray that they may be aware of Your Presence around them. Grant them grace for every spiritual need. Grant them guidance in setting direction. Grant them wisdom to discern Your Will. Grant them courage and boldness to live according to Your Way. And Lord, in the words of an old hymn, I pray you grant them “strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow.” 

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Five Days of Prayer - Day One

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)     Never stop praying.

There is an old, falling-apart, Webster’s Dictionary (1965) sitting on my desk. Every now and then I take a moment to look up a definition of a word...sometimes an unfamiliar word...but as in the case of today, it is the transitive verb and noun form of a word frequently used; pray, prayer.

pray (v.t.);   to implore; beseech; to ask for; to make supplication (e.g., to make a humble request)

prayer (n.);  a humble entreaty made to God

Prayer is talking with the God who created you, loves you, saves you, comforts you, restores you. He always listens. He always responds in his perfect timing and in his perfect way. I often wonder why we make prayer such a difficult task. We have no trouble chatting or texting with our friends; why do we leave our Gracious Heavenly Father in the distance? Why do we only seek him when we have a problem?

This week my heart wants to share some of my favorite prayers and scriptures with you. My hope is that something will inspire you to develop a deeper prayer life with your Gracious Heavenly Father. He already knows your heart, your needs, your concerns, your joys, and your hopes...but he longs to hear from you, personally.  Blessings to you, dear Reader.

Gracious Heavenly Father,

For what I am, that I ought not to be; Forgive me.

For what I am not, that I ought to be; Forgive me.

Be with my mouth in what it says.

Be with my hands in what they do.

Be with my mind in what it thinks.

Be with my heart in what it feels.

Work in me – through me – for me – in spite of me.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

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Write From My Heart at https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com

Email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.