It’s Shoutin’ Time today…
I want to especially write todays post and give God all Glory and Praise that only He is due… My co-worker is being sent home today with a report that no aneurysm, no surgery needed. Its only an extra blood vessel…when for months she has lived with this impending doom of a report… God has run His finger print on her life and given her new hope, new peace and a new life in Him… Pray for her to come to know Him fully and completely as her Lord and Savior… Hallelujah!!!

To all who prayed faithfully for my co-worker - thank you…

I want to encourage you today to not give up when all looks impossible… God is faithful…

I want to say there is Hope and Peace… Jesus Christ Lives and Breathes… He loves you….Come to Him today and love Him….

Psalm 8

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field,the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. O
LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Let all who are spiritually mature agree on these things. If you disagree on some point, I believe God will make it plain to you. But we must hold on to the progress we have already made. (Philippians 3:15-16)

Is there a decision you need to make or a problem you need to solve? Have you been wrestling with making the right choice? When something is unclear you can always go to God. Ask Him to make it plain for you.

As His child, your Heavenly Father delights in you coming to Him in prayer. He wants to be the source of our wisdom; He wants to guide and direct us. If you will seek Him - His guidance and directions - He will answer you and He will make it plain. Just ask!

Blessings,

Joyce

Blessings,

Joyce

When you came down long ago, you did awesome deeds beyond our highest expectations. And oh, how the mountains quaked! For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! You welcome those who gladly do good, who follow godly ways. (Isaiah 64:3-5a)

When God works, He does things beyond our highest expectations. He works for those who wait for Him. That is the prerequisite for experiencing God in His greatness: wait for Him, cheerfully do good, and follow godly ways. As you do these things, expect the unexpected!

-Diane Ebie, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-filled Divotions

Blessings,

Joyce

Mark 6: 1-6  

“Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

      Mary was Chosen by God; the mother responsible for bringing forth the Christ Child, raising Him and nurturing Him so that one day He would bridge the gap and die to save all mankind. Miracle after miracle many were amazed, but yet many still walked in disbelief as they only saw Him as the Carpenter’s Son. Today the same Jesus who was born of a virgin was sent to earth to die for our sins, and yet we all too often walk in unbelief. Turning away from our faith and allowing the world and its ways to entice us away from the Call God has placed on our lives.

• Have you come to a crossroad in life where unbelief has become an idol?
• Have you walked away from your faith in Jesus Christ?
• Have you allowed philosophy and criticism to enter into your life, becoming disappointed with God? 
• Have you become disenchanted with the One who died for your sins?
• Have you forgotten how much He loves you and wants you to live in freedom?

If so, it’s time to come back as you did once before and return to your first love (Rev. 2:1-7)!      If we repent and return to our first love; that all consuming fire, a passion birthed out of a surrendered life of loving Jesus with all your soul and might!

If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (1 John 4:20)

Have you ever met someone, then later one of their siblings, and wondered if they grew up in the same home? That happens to my youngest brother and me all the time. He and I have a lot in common - similar interests, values and world outlook - and we share the same faith.

Our brother, on the other hand, marches to a very different drummer. Over the years, we’ve had our difficulties and our relationship hasn’t always been an easy one. At times, neither of us liked the other very much. And to be honest, sometimes loving each other has been a struggle.

But love him, I must. I am a Christian and God makes it clear that I am called to love him - whether I feel like it or not and no matter what he does or doesn’t do. And if I can’t love him, then just how much do I love God? (1 John 4:20)

Is this always easy? Of course not, but with the help of the Holy Spirit, we can do this. How?

Be Thankful.

It’s easy to thank God for the people in our lives who are easy to love. However, we are called to love everyone, including our enemies. (Luke 6:27) Thank God in all circumstances. He uses difficult people to change us and to draw us closer to Him. Be thankful for the opportunity to know God better.

Be Prayerful.

Patiently and persistently pray for the difficult people in your life, knowing that God hears your prayers. Place them and the situations they may have caused in God’s hands. By praying for the difficult people in your life, you acknowledge that you are not in control, but God is. Ultimately, it’s not about you; it’s all about Him. Your part is to be an intercessor. Matthew 5:44 says that you should pray for those who persecute you. Pray for the strength to be obedient. (Philippians 4:13)

Be Patient.

God teaches us lessons and He often uses difficult people and circumstances as learning tools. When we learn the lesson, He can heal the difficult person and move them out of our lives. When we change, our circumstances often change as well. Use this time as an opportunity to show Christlike love. It may not happen today or tomorrow, but your patience will pay off. The testing of your faith produces patience. (James 1:3)

Most difficult people don’t try to be difficult and usually don’t enjoy being difficult. Remember that old adage that says, “Hurting people, hurt people.” Many difficult people have unhealed hurts that causes them to lash out at others. The people around them then want to avoid them. As a child of God, you have the key to breaking this cycle - show them the love of Christ, pray for them and be patient.

The next time you find yourself dealing with a difficult person, take your focus off the person and the problems he or she is causing you and identify ways that you can be more Christlike when dealing with them. It’s not always easy, but, Jesus lives in you and you can do all things with His help.

Blessings,

Joyce

John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Thank you Jesus for giving us true freedom that only comes from knowing You…

As we spend time and celebrate today let’s take time to remember the vision of those who paved the way so many generations before seeking freedom, liberty and justice. We must not too forget that true freedom only comes by knowing the Truth, and that is only found in Jesus Christ. Take time today to ponder life and lessons learned, seeking the Lord and sharing that true liberty and freedom with others.

“O God, don’t stay away.

My God, please hurry to help me.

Bring disgrace and destruction on my accusers.

Humiliate and shame those who want to harm me.

But I will keep on hoping for your help;

I will praise you more and more.

I will tell everyone about your righteousness.

All day long I will proclaim your saving power,

though I am not skilled with words.

I will praise your mighty deeds, O Sovereign LORD.

I will tell everyone that you alone are just.”
(Psalm 71:12–16)

What to do when you’re facing trouble, opposition, tough times? First, ask for God’s help, presenting your current needs. Second, persist in the hope of his help. Third, praise God for who he is. Fourth, focus on what he has done for you in the past. Fifth, tell others about God—his goodness and his mighty deeds, especially in your own life. This will put you in a position for receiving the help you desperately long for. Take these steps, and take hope!

—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

Blessings,

Joyce

Blessings,

Joyce

I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, and have not let my foes rejoice over me. O LORD my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. (Psalm 30:1-3)

Several years ago, I went through a period of time that seemed like a long dusty desert with no water in sight. I poured my heart out in prayer and fasting and still there was no light at the end of the tunnel. And, then one night, I heard from the Lord and He told me that He very clearly let me know that He would deliver me.

Wow - praise the Lord! My praise time became more joyful. My prayer time became more peaceful. Every day I expected my deliverance to be complete; but, it didn’t happen that way. It was several more years before I saw God’s deliverance in my life; three years to be exact. But when it happened, I knew it was the Lord’s fulfillment of what He had promised me.

I was reminded that God’s time is not like ours. Psalm 90:4 says, “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.” That means that three years in God’s eyes are practically no time at all. The important thing that should have always been my focus is that God always keeps His promises - whether that’s today, next month or next year. We live in a “microwave drive-thru Kind of world.” But God doesn’t.

If you have been praying and waiting for deliverance in some aspect of your life, keep right on praying and waiting until you can say like the psalmnist: “You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.” (Psalm 30).

Blessings,

Joyce