Good Morning Happy Ones! Are you happy? Are you able to choose joy in the hard times? We get to choose our attitudes. We are not manipulated robots and we are not left on our own when hard times come. Choose joy always is a command. And so choose joy and be happy. Enjoy life as you trust God to lead you and help you. Can you whistle while you work? Or while you rest? Start with whistling or singing, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy..." where? Down in my heart. Sometimes we just need a heart adjustment or refocusing? Sometime we need God or others to lead us out of our funk and to redirect to Him and joy. Where's your focus ? I'm choosing joy and going out to enjoy this great day in the Lord! Maybe whistle could be changed to worship while you work...do, da, do! Chose joy! Worship. And enjoy this day. God made it just for you and us and He has a perfect plan for this day! Amen! Rejoice and be glad in this day and keep your focus upon our good, good Father!
Then share your joy with some others. Joy can be contagious. And often, we have to choose joy despite hardships and circumstances. But PTL because we get to choose our attitude . My focus is on God and I am able to choose joy because I trust Him and know that He is working all things together for good--even if I have to endure some things. So rejoice and choose well as you trust God and keep focused on Him.
So, besides me, who needs and attitude adjustment? Don't make God get your attention. Turn off the noise. Focus on Him and choose joy . Yes rejoice! Then share how God blessed you by this. Someone needs to hear about your trust and ability to choose joy always. pray for someone to encourage and share the goodness of God through your story of His faithfulness always. I'm praying for you!
Happy , Happy Ones! Joy comes in the morning and it's morning! Share your hope and joy ! Amen and shalom!
Connection:
- Quality of Life
There is much talk about the quality of life in various nations. The communists said that the West had a poor quality of life because of high crime, drug abuse, and the breakdown of the family. The West said that the quality of life in a communist country was poor because of the lack of consumer goods, religious and intellectual repressions, and alcohol abuse. But my experience has found miserable people in both communist and capitalist countries.
Quality of life is not derived from circumstances, cultures, or political ideologies. Quality of life is found in the kingdom of God. Romans 14:17 states, “For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Quality of life can be found in the inner man. God will not only provide us with daily bread for our basic human needs, but He will become the Bread of Life to our souls. The greatest need of our lives is God himself. He will feed us with manna from His kingdom— righteousness, peace, and joy.
Bread of Life, so often I judge the quality of my life by the quality of my possessions or the peace in my surroundings. You have provided me with everything I could ever want through my relationship with You! You are shaping my heart day by day as I learn how to enjoy simply being in Your Presence. May the circumstances of my life never interfere with the recognition that You will always provide for my needs, fill me with peace in times of struggle, and give me wisdom when I don’t know what to do. Thank You, Abba!
--Adapted from The Prayer Factor by Sammy Tippit.
Prayer Points
Praise God that he sweeps away your offenses like the morning mist (Isa. 44:22).
Give thanks that God is not unjust and will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you help others (Heb. 6:10).
Confess to him those secret things you do which you know are wrong but just haven’t been able to confess (Ps. 44:21).
Commit yourself to building others up with encouragement and ridding yourself of bitterness and anger, forgiving others as God in Christ forgives you (Eph. 4:29-32).
Ask God to help you be an imitator of him, living a life of love (Eph. 5:1).
Pray that God will give you his strength to “right some wrong” that you have committed against a family member or friend.
Prayer Points taken from Patterns for Prayer by Alvin VanderGriend. This book is available at prayerleader.com. Use the code CONPSP3 at checkout to receive an additional 10% discount.
It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. - Philippians 2:13 (NRSVUE)
I found myself in a hospital bed, recovering from a stroke and thinking, If I can just get through this. Thankfully, I had no paralysis or changes in my speech, but I did lose some peripheral vision. After eight days, I was able to go home. But there were many changes. I was bumping into things and had to teach myself how to maneuver all over again. But I got through it.
When we experience challenges, often we immediately think, I just have to get through this. We always want the trial to end and a good, carefree life to resume. But as I reflect on the trials of my life, I notice that the toughest times are typically when I can focus on God the best. I think of life’s hardships as construction zones in which we can rely on God in greater ways than we ever have before. My stroke affected me physically, but it also helped me spiritually. I have learned to thank God in all circumstances.
God is always with us, and what a joy it is to experience God’s peace in the trials we face! We need not fear the construction zones of life because they are opportunities for our faith to grow firm in the One who created us.
's Prayer
Dear God, thank you for being at work in our lives. Help us to trust that it is for our good and your glory. Amen.
ODB:
Being a Blessing
Always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else. 1 Thessalonians 5:15
During a heated game between two long-standing local high school soccer rivals, the Eagles and the Pioneers, the Eagles kicked the ball into the goal. The ball went into the net but exited the back of the net through a hole. The referee didn’t see the ball enter the goal, and seeing the ball outside the net ruled it was not a score. The Pioneers’ coach saw the goal and voluntarily confirmed the Eagles coach’s claim, even though he could have remained silent. The referee counted the goal. The Pioneers lost the game 3–2.
While it’s easy to speak up when it’s for our benefit, the Bible encourages believers in Jesus to “always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (1 Thessalonians 5:15). Going beyond our normal inclination to do good for our friends, the difficult aspect of this command is working to do good for even our rivals without benefiting from our actions or “expecting to get anything back” in return (Luke 6:35).
Doing good for a rival or competitor may mean speaking up for a coworker’s effort to complete a sale even if that means she might get the bigger bonus. Doing good might mean raking a neighbor’s leaves even if he’s unlikely to say thank you.
As we actively make an effort to do good toward others, we demonstrate that God’s love extends to everyone.
By Lisa M. Samra
REFLECT & PRAY
When have you helped the opposing team even when it meant a loss for you? How does this display God’s love?
Dear Jesus, please help me to strive to do good for others through the power of the Holy Spirit, even when it’s difficult.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
In his final exhortation to the Thessalonian believers in Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:12-28), Paul isn’t just giving unrelated, random instructions but is still instructing believers “how to live in order to please God” (4:1). They’re to “encourage one another and build each other up” (5:11), admonish the troublemakers, comfort the disheartened, strengthen the weak, and be patient with everyone (v. 14). Believers are to be radically different from non-believers when responding to those who’ve wronged or hurt them. Instead of pursuing retribution, believers are to “always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else” (v. 15). The church is a forgiven community, and a forgiven person is a forgiving person. Elsewhere, Paul writes, “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:10). Doing what’s good for each person and the community is pleasing to God.
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