Happiness is...

 JOY!  Stop living without it.  Too many of us settle for "OK."  Not me, not anymore.  Nehemiah 8:10 declares: "...Do not grieve for the joy of the LORD is your strength."  So I should be full of JOY.  It's time to learn how to not allow our circumstances and emotions control us.  They are not lasting.  You have to try it, to see the difference it will make.  Are you willing to step up to the challenge?

PRAYER: LORD, Your joy is my strength.  Reveal to each person who seeks to know, exactly what this means.  You said knock and You will answer.  Seek and we shall find.  LORD, I pray that we don't give up on what You have in store for each one of us, due to our present circumstance.   Lead us to make our crooked paths straight and commune in right fellowship with You.  Let us place You in everything that we do.  I pray that our strongest relationship is the one that we each have with You.  Teach us how to truly love and forgive one another.  Praise Your name for shinning the light and for not allowing us to live blind.  I'm blessed to see.  Thank You LORD!  In Jesus' name, Amen.

MATTHEW 16: 21-28

JESUS PREDICTS HIS DEATH: part 3

PLEASE READ THE VERSES DIRECTLY FROM THE BIBLE: 

These verses may be broken up to discuss each point

(Emphasis v. 24-25) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."

I'm sure those of you who have never had these verses explained to you are asking "huh?"  I've had it explained several times and I will admit I have to constantly refresh myself on the meaning of the verses.  This is exactly why we must study the Word, listen to those called to preach the Word, and pray for constant revelation from the Holy Spirit.  I will be in the commercial that confirms that the Holy Spirit ALWAYS comes through.  Anyone casting?

As we focus on joy, really take in the verses above.  When Jesus used this picture of his followers shouldering their cross to follow Him, the disciples knew what He meant.  Crucifixion was a common Roman method of execution, and condemned criminals had to carry their cross through the streets to the execution site.  As Jesus, whom was innocent, did before he was crucified.  

Following Jesus, therefore, means a TRUE commitment; being charged with sin- because we are all sinners.  We are all subject to the power of sin.  Sin is not only an act that we can commit, it is also a power/force-that we cannot fight without Jesus.  Second, you have to admit your sin to God.  As you grow more confident in your relationship with God, you will begin to share with others.  You have to know that secrets are a method of satan.  You do not need to be ashamed.  God forgives, and you sharing your trials and tribulations will help someone else.  Third, you must continually die to sin.  You have to continually make the difficult choices to not indulge- which starts in our thinking.  Once you allow that thought to form and exist, you'll soon accept yourself committing the act.  Satan can be smooth in his temptation, when you're not filled with the Word.  You're not strong enough to resist satan on your own, this is why you NEED Jesus. 

The possibility of losing their lives was very real for the disciples as well as for Jesus.  Real discipleship implies real commitment-pledging our whole existence to His service.  This means in EVERYTHING we do.  Not just on Sundays, not just at home.  But EVERYWHERE YOU GO!  And it's natural.  When you force it, it's an act- it's not true.  But when it's just apart of who you are.  People will see Jesus, without you even saying a word.  

If we try to save our physical life from death, pain, or discomfort, we may risk losing eternal life.  How?  Because you would be doing everything in your own power, instead of trusting the Mighty God.  If we protect ourselves from the pain God calls us to suffer, we begin to die spiritually and emotionally.  How?  Again, by doing it our way and missing the blessing and growth that God desires for us.   Our lives turn inward, and we lose our intended purpose.  When we embark on the pursuit of happiness for ourselves, it eludes us. But when we give our life in service to Christ, we discover the real purpose of living.  When you become absorbed in something demanding and worthwhile, above and beyond ourselves, happiness seems to be there as a by-product of the self-giving.

PONDER THIS:

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR CROSS AND FOLLOW JESUS?

ACTION:

STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU AND FIND WAYS TO SERVE OTHERS.

Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15

Notes from Life Application Study Bible & NIV Women's Devotional Bible-Classic Edition (Catherine Marshall).  Definitions from the New Oxford American Dictionary