I am not ashamed to be a part of the fellowship of Christ.  He chose me and I have made my choice.  I am not satisfied and cannot be happy unless I am serving Him.  I am a disciple of Christ and I have much to learn.  I will forget the things that are behind, because I do not have time to waste.  I will make the most of everyday by doing as the Spirit leads, rather than as man expects.  The path I am on is the one that God has laid out for me and I will not vary from the left or to the right.  I am working, moving, sharing, serving, ministering, learning, teaching, preaching and loving with all that I’ve got, because that is what I was created for.

My past is forgiven and not held against me, so I will not hold it against myself, just as I will not hold your past against you.  I have been redeemed, bought and paid for by the precious blood of my sweet Savior.  Where I am at this very moment, is the place that God created me, Jesus saved me and the Spirit leads me to be.  I am more than confident that I have a future and enjoy the security that only my high and holy God can provide.  I will not live the simple, by what I can see and know for a fact life.  I am done with what can be explained, understood and accomplished with human understanding and manipulation.  I cannot find any satisfaction in the small goals, superficial giving, limited vision and pretend dreams of this fantasy world that it built more on talk than walk.

With each breath I breath, I am looking forward, moving faster toward the goal of living forever in the presence of my most high God and King.  This is not a wide gate that I have chosen to enter.  This is not an easy path that I’ve picked to roam.  The challenge is real, the journey is lonely and the enemy is powerful.

But my God is real, my Savior is sure and my Spirit is the trustworthy guide.  I know where I am going.  I know what I must do. I will not give up or give in.  I will not shut up or sit down.  I will continue to lift my prayers, store my blessings and fight the good fight, until my Jesus comes to take me home.

Whatever I have is His.  Wherever He leads I will go.  With every breath I breath, I will preach the glories of His love, so that at least one more might experience His grace and discover His hope.  This is not so that I can earn my way, but because He has given me that which I could never earn – a relationship that changes my today, my tomorrow and my forever!  May my life honor and glorify Him!

We started a new series at Northwood today.  The series is called “Journey To Joy!” and it’s all about discovering who we are and what we have in and through our relationship with God.

As we began our conversation about joy at church today, we discovered that joy is a work of God, not a work of man.  Man can manipulate outside circumstances, which will lead to happiness, but the gift of joy that God gives to us flows from within.

Joy flows out of our life, when we learn to yield to the things of the Spirit.  The Bible says that we sow to the flesh or to the Spirit and our choice will directly impact what we reap.  God has an amazing harvest that He wants to bless us with, but we have to make right and wise choices.

Our heart is filled with joy when we allow ourselves to experience genuine worship of our Creator.  This God-centered worship is founded and grounded in spirit and truth.    Genuine worship is not about our entertainment, it is about God’s glory, which allows us to walk in incredible and amazing faith.  This walk in faith gives us hope, which allows the joy to flow from deep within us.

Take some time to think about the joy of the Lord and take some time to thank Him for such an amazing and wonderful gift!  Blessings!