The Joy of the Lord
Has life been hard enough to sap your energy, ambition, and sense of well-being? Worse, sometimes the sense of the Lord’s presence seems to dwindle. It’s times like this we need to REMEMBER God’s favor and goodness and speak truth to our own hearts.
Overwhelmed by trying circumstances, like King David, I recently cried out: Awake, O, my soul! Look into the eyes of your Savior. He is the joy of my heart and life. God is my joy and truth. He gives me hinds’ feet on high places.
Jehovah Jireh is my Provider. El Shaddai sustains, nourishes and protects me. El Roi is the God who sees me and all that involves me. In Him I put my trust, faith, hope, and affection. I worship Him! I adore Jesus, my Beloved. He rescues and redeems me, lifts me up. He is HESED (all merciful, abundantly kind, and good).
Three scriptures pre-printed at the bottom of my prayer journal pages today were wonderfully apt:
1. “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91:1).
2. “I will NEVER FAIL YOU. I will never abandon you” (Heb. 13:5).
3. “The joy of the Lord is your strength!” Neh. 8:10.
Amen!
The next FIRE journal is in the making. https://burningheartforgod.com – a free online publication for keeping the fire going in your heart.
You can be sure I will include an article about this in the upcoming theme “Present to God’s Presence” because, really, habitual, unceasing prayer is to stay focused and in communion with the Lover of our soul, no matter what happens in life.
Read MoreO, Beautiful Jerusalem!
We are living in exciting times, friends of God. We’re on the cusp of the climax of God’s real-life love story. God’s eyes have turned to Israel in these days.
I am thrilled to have been given eyes to see and ears to hear what God’s Spirit is saying and doing at this time in history, to be awake and aware as His beloved Bride. All is being made ready: hearts, nations, and the timing of events.
I’d like to share a wonderful newsletter with you. This will help you stay “in the know” in a global and intimate way of what is on God’s heart today concerning Israel.
And, because we are living in the Last Days, remember the Lord! He’s truly always near and with you. No matter what hard trials and trouble you are enduring, know that the Lord sees you and will take good care of you. And, above all, be of good cheer, for the fullness of God’s Kingdom is drawing nearer every day.
Be sure to sign up and get this newsletter by email:
I had the chance to go to Israel and capture this photo of the Sea of Galilee at sunrise. What a treat from the Lord!
Be Still
Our world is so noisy. Even what we see is noisy. We are looking at flashing lights, images and words on signs, constant ads and messages come at us at every turn. When we turn things off we’ll find quiet within. We’ll hear God and feel His love.
Open to God, we need to reflect, dream, and think with Him. Silence soothes our minds and souls.
Why are we so addicted to our cell phones? We set notices so we don’t miss anything on our feeds. We’re lost if we are away from the internet, live streaming, email, social media, etc. We’re constantly occupied with something to do, to see, to hear. We can’t be still for long because we’ve formed the habit of preoccupation.
In one of John Eldredge’s newsletters from Ransomed Heart Ministries, he said, “It is as though we are looking, always looking, for something . . . someone. What is it we are craving all the time? Why do we put ourselves out there for attention?”
Some of us are not that hooked up in the ways I’ve described, but what about other distractions? Bingeing on television episodes?—(which I finally stopped doing.)
God is our constant companion. Shekinah is in our hearts. The Lord of glory is being ignored.
The first thing God did after Adam and Eve sinned and hid themselves from Him was to search for them while calling out, “Where are you?”
In the book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster says God continues looking for us.
Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to Him. He grieves that we have forgotten Him. He weeps over our obsessions with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence.
I urge you to stop whatever you are doing for a minute, breathe deeply, and be still in God’s presence and receive His affectionate love.
The featured photograph here is by Sharon Brisken. She has such an artist’s eye for beauty. Check out her work at Burning Hearts for God’s – Featured Artist’s page.
Read MoreKairos – An appointed “Time”
You know how it is when God says something to you three times in a row? Kairos popped up first in my writing, the next day at a conference I attended, and then the day after that in a sermon at church. It isn’t even an English word. It’s an ancient Greek word that isn’t really used all that much.
Kairos is a special time an artist might experience when creating art. At the conference I attended, we celebrated the 70th birthday of Israel. The topic of kairos came up there. Specifically, Jerusalem is part of the major end-times prophecies and we are in a kairos time. Are we truly aware of the exciting days we live in? As if that wasn’t enough . . . The following day after the conference, kairos was mentioned in the sermon.
What are you doing in your daily walk with God? Are you living as Jesus did, aware of His kairos times? Jesus spoke of it once in a conversation with his brothers. In John 7:6, He said: “My time (kairos) is not yet here; for you any time (chronos) will do.” His words were spoken in Nazareth concerning His brother’s sacarstic remark that He should go to Jerusalem for the feast and show Himself to the world instead of staying in Nazareth. His brothers later believed in Him but not at that time. The point is, Jesus knew His “kairos time” (appointed time) was not yet. He ended up going to Jerusalem, but He went alone and in secret.
I decided to look up the word to be sure I understood what God wanted me to see.
According to Wikipedia:
The moment Jesus was baptised was a kairos moment in history and in His life as a man. The moment I heard the call to write for God was a kairos time in my life. The days we are living in, prophetically speaking, are kairos days — especially this year — at least that is what many prophetic people are saying. Kairos speaks of the spiritual dimension that exists at the same time as our natural dimension. We must be keenly aware of God-in-us to discern “Kairos times” and respond accordingly.
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