Reasons to Rejoice

There are many reasons to rejoice. The list is extensive,  but I have chosen just a few reasons that I hope will resonate with you if you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

• Salvation through Christ – I have the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 2:8-9 (Amplified) – “For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]”

• Sins are forgiven – Psalm 103:12 (Amplified) “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

• Justified through Jesus – Romans 5:1 (Amplified) “Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).”

• Access through Jesus – Romans 5:2 (Amplified) “Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.”

• There is security in Jesus – John 10:27-29 (Amplified) – “The sheep that are My own hear and are listening to My voice; and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand. My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater and mightier than all [else]; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of the Father’s hand.”

• The Lord Forgives – Psalm 130:1-4 (Amplified) “Out of the depths have I cried to You, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If You, Lord, should keep account of and treat [us according to our] sins, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You [just what man needs], that You may be reverently feared and worshiped.”

• The Lord is my Shepherd – Psalm 23:1 (Amplified) “The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.

Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 (Amplified)

Praise

Psalms 150:6 – “Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.”

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P ~ Pray without ceasing.

R ~ Rejoice in the Lord always.

A ~ Acknowledge that you are a sinner saved by God’s abundant grace.

I ~  Praise Him because you are created in His image.

S  ~ Salvation. Praise Him because He has given you salvation (you are saved by faith it is the gift of God)

E ~  Eternal Life – you have eternal life because God gave His Son Jesus. St. John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

The angels praise God all day and all night. They cry holy, holy, holy, holy.

 Psalm 34: – “I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak His praise.”

Birthday Blessings

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Today is my birthday and God said Happy Birthday Betty and because I love you so much Happy Birthday Faye. He smiled at me and told me that I am the love of His life and He gave me another year.

I woke up in good health, breathing, moving, talking, and walking, all without the help of another. My God is an awesome God. He is my friend, my father, and my all.

B = Blessed – I am blessed with all spiritual blessings. Spiritual blessings are eternal blessings. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,…” Ephesians 1:3 (NKJV)

 I = Image of God. – I am created in the image of God. “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27

 R = Righteous – I am made righteous through Christ. “Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous. Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:18-21 (NKJV)

T = Thankful – I am thankful for all that God has done and been in my life. “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:15-16 (NKJV)

 H = Happy – My joy and happiness are in the Lord. “All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].” Proverbs 15:15 (Amplified)

 D = Day – Psalm 118:24 (NKJV) “This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”

 A = An Abundance – God desires us to have an abundant life. He wants us to have an abundance of love, joy, peace, forgiveness, guidance, mercy and grace. John 10:10 (NKJV), “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

 Y = Yoke – God wants our yoke and burdens to be given to Him. “Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle (meek) and humble (lowly) in heart, and you will find rest (relief and ease and refreshment and recreation and blessed quiet) for your souls.” Matthew 11:29 (Amplified)

Thank you Lord for a wonderful and blessed birthday!

30 Days Of…Day 17 – “Rejoice”

Today I was listening to a tv pastor talk about rejoicing in the Lord, so I chose to write about rejoicing.  Many times when we experience difficulties and hard situations, we wonder how are we supposed to rejoice in that situation. We may say things like this doesn’t feel good, or I’m in too much pain to rejoice. But in the bible, the writer Paul says in Philippians 4:4, “Rejoice in the Lord always [delight, gladden yourselves in Him]; again I say, Rejoice!,” (Amplified). Rejoice means to be full of joy, to be delighted, and to be glad.

 

The question is how do you rejoice when troubles are knocking on your door, flying in through the windows, and chasing you down. Most of are not saying, “ok Lord, thank you for these troubles I’m having, or I’m so happy this is happening to me.” Most of the time if we are honest with ourselves, we are saying, “why me Lord” or “what did I do to deserve this.” We might even say something like, “I don’t think I can make it through this.” But God desires that we remember when we are “in” Him, we can always rejoice because He is there to carry our burdens. When we are “in” Him, His presence shines through even in our difficult times.

 

When we are in Him we can rejoice because:

1. He is our shepherd. “The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me], I shall not lack.” Psalm 23:1 (Amplified)
2. God gives us what we need. “And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (Amplified)
3. His grace is enough for us. “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully];…” 2 Corinthians 12:9a (Amplified)
4. We can be of good courage because we know He’s got out back. “Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 (Amplified)

I can rejoice because I know that He has been there with me through the death of several of my loved ones. I can rejoice because I know that he has seen me through many nights in the ER room with my mom. I can rejoice because He saw me through 2 years of unemployment. I won’t say that any of these things were easy, but I chose to continue to rejoice in Him. The choice to rejoice made my time of going through difficulty easier to handle.

So I say to you rejoice, but don’t just rejoice, rejoice in Him!

30 Days Of…Day 16 – “Today”

Today I am just over the half way mark of my 30 day challenge to write. Today finds me a little tired from all the weekend things that I have to do. But today just like every other day I find myself thanking God throughout the day. When I give thanks, I find myself getting energized and I am able to move on to the next thing I have to do. Thank you Lord for this writing challenge.

So today, I say, “This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (Amplified).