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Thursday, October 15, 2009

In Search of Joy


copyright Millie Plastaras 9/4/2002

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In God's great mercy He has caused us to be born again
into a living hope, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead!
Now we hope for the blessings God has for His Children.
These blessings, which cannot be destroyed nor spoiled or
lose their beauty are kept in heaven for you.
God's power protects you through your faith until salvation
is shown to you and the end of time.
This makes you very happy, even though now for a short time
different kinds of troubles may make you sad.
These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure,
This purity of faith is worth more than gold, which can
be proved to be pure by fire.
1 Peter 1:5-7

Joy does not come from looking at our circumstances.
Joy does not come from trying to fix everything
and making it work.
Joy does not come from hoping for the best.
Joy does not come when we say, I am doing
the best I can under these trying circumstances.

Joy comes from the heart of God.
It comes when we have faith that our prayers
are heard, and the answer is on the way and we rest in
that thought. Really rest, not pretend, not hope, but simply
lean on the Lord and rest in his promises and love for you.

Joy comes from trusting God.
It is called Faith.

No wavering.
No doubting.

Joy comes when we don't allow our circumstances to
control our thinking.
Joy comes when we refuse to be defeated.
Joy comes when we take a stand, and say Jesus is
on the throne, He is handling my problems, I am
going to go out and enjoy this glorious new day.

Does this mean everyday will be an over the rainbow day?
No, we are not promised trouble free lives, but how
we face them, our perspective makes all the difference
in the world on how our day goes.

Jesus said we would have trials. He said these
trials, temptations, sorrows, losses, produce purity of
spirit and mind in us. They teach us of our need for God.
They teach us to depend on Him.
Not ourselves, Not others.

They teach us to go to God first in prayer, not last.

If you have no joy, it is because you are focusing
on your problems, not on your possibilities.

God is still a God of miracles.
He has not changed.
He is not defeated, He conquered hell, death and the grave.
He is the great overcomer, He is the great Physician.
He is the Great I Am, I Am all you will ever need.
He is the king of Kings. The Lord of Lords.
Nothing is too hard for Him!

If you think all of this is just words, and will not
receive it, then you are allowing your circumstances
and problems to defeat you. You are focusing on things
that will rob you of hope, and joy will be far from your thinking.
This is something we all battle with, it is common to mankind.

If you think Jesus or prayer is a last resort after you
try every trick in the book to control or change your situation
you are missing the whole point.

Jesus said to Come unto Him.
To Cast our burdens on Him.
He said, He could defeat the powers of darkness,
and change the situations in your life.
We, my friend, are flawed, and limited.
God is not.

Casting your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7

God is still God.

He wants to see you joyful, that is such a testimony to
those around you, that you are victorious during any
situation because you know how to Go to God in prayer.
You know how to believe no matter how the storms
rage around your soul that Jesus is the conqueror.
Jesus is the master, Jesus is our hope.

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes
in the morning.

Jesus wants you to come to Him first thing each morning,
and receive joy for your day. By resting In Him.

Jesus wants you to come to Him at night before you lay
down, and cast your burdens on Him, and He promises
His beloved sleep.

Receive this joy. And leave the sorrow in His hands.
Do not dwell on your problems, dwell on the possibilities
of God's promises and provision.
Stop looking at things in defeat, and look at them in Faith
so that your joy may be full.

Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe
also in me.
John 14:1

Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou will revive me,
thou shall stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of
mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
Psalm 138:7

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which
also ye are called in one body, be ye thankful!
Colossians 3:15
(take time to be thankful for what you do have)

Father God we thank you today for the many blessings
you give us daily. For our food, shelter, clothing,
for the company of friends, for your precious word
which restores our thinking and is so powerful.
We thank you for your salvation that offers us not
only hope of the future, but deliverance from sin and
oppression. We thank you for your joy which you promise
to those who rest in your ability to solve our problems.
We release our burdens to you, and will do it again and
again until we feel relieved and no longer carry our own
burdens. We know You are in charge, you are the Father,
the comforter, the guide, and you are Still God.
Nothing is impossible. We agree that our problems are
being solved even now. We agree that Satan the loser
has no place in our lives, and we rebuke him and the powers
of darkness from our homes our family, our finances and
our health. We cast down every thought every oppression
and rebuke them to hell where they come from the Father of lies.

We receive your peace. We receive your health.
We receive your provision. We speak hope to our homes.
We speak healing to our families. We speak deliverance
to those who are lost, or in bondage. We speak healing
to those who are so desperately ill in the name and by
the power and authority of Jesus Christ.

We not only rest in your promises we shout victory
because we know the answer is on the way.
We praise You God for your mercy, for your son Jesus,
for your salvation, and for the answers and deliverance.

We give you all the glory and honor.
In Jesus Name,
Amen

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