Even Cartwheels

Who says only kids get to have fun? The joy of the Lord makes is absolutely impossible for me to obey a sign such as this. When I’m with the Lord I can barely contain the joy deep inside me; my heart skips a beat and my feet do as well. Despite aches and pains and the threat of new sprains, cartwheels call my name. My joy just abounds; running through green grass and sprinkles of rain sounds enticingly delightful. I sing and I dance with silly abandon. The joy of the Lord takes over and renews my strength, and it keeps me young… at least in my mind. His Spirit revives me and gives me new life. I hope never to outgrow fun or stop playing in the joy of the Lord. His countenance is joy and it's quite contagious.

Psalm 89:14-16, “Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance." NKJV

Your Glory

Lord, this is the day that You have made and I want to take notice of Your Presence everywhere. I’m going to be mindful of the fact that wherever I go today, You are already there. Your glory speaks through all of creation. The heavens declare Your handiwork; the oceans roar Your Fame; the mountains proclaim Your grandeur; the winds gently whisper Your Name. Your heart is spoken through Your children, as Your love and mercy are passed on. When I open my eyes and my ears, and simply pay attention, I can’t help but notice that You are all around me. And Lord, I want to take it a step further from being merely be an observer, but also add my voice to the heavenly chorus of praise.

Let all of creation rejoice for the sake of Your glory today and every day…

Psalm 118:24, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. "NKJV

The Door

Each of us has a door to our hearts. We have a choice as to what and who we let enter in. To often we shut our hearts completely for fear of being hurt. Or we hesitantly keep the door just slightly ajar, cautiously inspecting the one on the other side of the threshold. The prospect of opening the door completely is one that leaves us vulnerable and exposed. Jesus stands outside the door; He is knocking and beckoning us to open our hearts to Him. There is no need for apprehension, no reason to delay; swing the door wide open and invite Him in to stay.

Revelation 3:20, “Here I am! I stand at the door and Knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me." NIV 

Reassuring Peace

Anxieties and fears cloud our vision of reality and crowd out our blessings from God. They blow circumstances up to seem bigger than they really are, but once we remember that our God is bigger than anything we could possibly face they quickly fade away. God replaces our anxieties and fears with His reassuring peace and grace.

1 Peter 5:6-7, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." NIV

Just Believe

It is such a huge relief to know that I don’t have to earn my way into Heaven, I don’t have to work for my salvation. I don’t have to be perfect in order for God to want a relationship with me. I simply have to believe in Jesus and receive the free gift of grace. He lifts the burden of inadequacy and insufficiency from my shoulders. He fills in the gaps of my flaws and my failures. The moment I believe, God receives me as I am and makes me His child, and as my Heavenly Father He begins the tender process of helping me more closely resemble Him.

John 1:12, “Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—” NIV

Home at Last

Home. What a beautiful word! It represents a place where we belong and matter; a place where we retreat to find safety and security; a place where warmth envelops us and love abounds. Jesus is preparing such a place with us specifically in mind. It will be a home where we finally find perfect peace and rest as we actually dwell with Jesus.

John 14:1-4, ““Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.” NIV

Thankfully Aware

Occasionally other folks come along and snatch our blessings right out from under us. They grab our joy, peace, and hope and carry them far away. More often than not though, we are the real culprit who steals our own blessings. We hinder and deny ourselves much of the goodness that God wants to pour into our lives. We let circumstances dictate our contentment, we let our own bad attitude steal our joy, we let interruptions disrupt our peace, and we let obstacles squash our hope. The key words in all of these statements is, “we let.” You see, we have a choice on whether we remain filled with joy, peace, and hope, or not. It’s our own choice to lose sight of our blessings, or remain thankfully aware. God is continually pouring out blessings, but it’s our choice as to whether we let them be eclipsed by our difficulties, or continue to let His light shine in us. Let’s be alert and on the lookout, ready to thwart the times of doubt, by continually being thankfully aware.

Hebrews 12:28, “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,” NIV