Good Morning Peeps! How are you doing this Monday morning, good I hope? Did you have a good weekend, I sure hope so? How is your NCAA March Madness Tournament Bracket looking if you completed one, better than mine I hope LOL!!! Have a good and very Blessed Monday and rest of the week too! - May God Bless You and Yours In 2019 and Beyond!!! And AMEN goes right here….
#SalvationIsOnlyThruJesusChrist
“This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it!”
***Remember, if you haven’t purchased it already, my newly published book “The Third Eye Perspective” book of Devotionals is available at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Xulon Press in Paperback, Hardback, also on EBook. and also in the December 2018 edition of the Christian Book Buyers Guide Catalog on page #7! You can also follow me on Twitter (CCBrown67) and Instagram (Doubletuff99)! Thank you!
Your life should express the fragrance of His presence.
“May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father.”
Colossians 1:11 NLT.
My thoughts and comments today are about, “The Fragrance of Joy.”
By Pastor Allen Randolph
Life is not perfect for anyone, and every moment is not filled with only wonderful things. Life changes dramatically, and for the better, when you realize that your circumstances do not determine your experience of life; your attitude does.
I admire people who have faced more struggles and disappointments than most, but who have nevertheless found grace and grown an attitude that reflects who they are, instead of what happened to them. I have met others who have a fairly easy life with few challenges of any consequence, and yet they find little for which to be joyful or thankful. Every once in a while it is a good thing to ask yourself, “Does my life reflect to others what is going on around me, or what is really true inside me?” That significant and substantial difference is the product of the choices you make.
Since a child, I have loved the dramatic Bible stories in the Old Testament, like Samson finally triumphing over the Philistines and himself, or Daniel in the lions’ den whose quiet trust in God humbles an arrogant King, or the three Hebrews delivered from Babylon’s fiery furnace (modern day Iraq). I find a most intriguing comment, easily unnoticed, tucked into this story of the three believers tossed angrily into a furnace intended to destroy them. Read Daniel 3. When the fire could not destroy them nor even harm them, the amazed, befuddled king calls them out of the fire.
The Bible says, “They saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected – not even the smell of smoke was on them.” Daniel 3:27. There was no discernible residue of their frightening experience, no lingering emotional trauma, nor need for healing of memories. Only their new and stirring testimony of God’s greatness and faithfulness persevered.
If you are not careful, you will allow your past or present circumstances to determine your attitudes, dictate your feelings, and dominate your conversation. When your story could be a persuasive testimony that glorifies God, it will be only about you and your problems. Read Daniel 3:28-29. In Daniel’s story, a king’s heart is changed; God is glorified; a nation is impacted. The simple difference is that they were with Jesus, joyfully in His company and safely in His care. See Daniel 3:24-25. Attitude really is crucial, having the power to change everything and anyone, and that all begins with the choice you make.
Paul prayed for these Christians and for you, ”We pray that you will be strengthened with His glorious power so that you will have all the patience and endurance you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father, Who has enabled you to share the inheritance that belongs to God’s holy people, who live in the light.” Colossians 1:11-12 NLT. Whose job is to fill you? “Always be full of the joy of the Lord!” Like a thermometer, happiness merely measures the surrounding climate and adjusts accordingly. The joy of the Lord resembles a thermostat, regulating and governing the surrounding temperature.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God, Who . . through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved.” Read 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 NIV. Some years ago, I learned to pray, “Let my life express the fragrance of Your presence, not the smell of my problems.”
Today, I pray for your life to be a joyful testimony of God’s grace and sufficiency.
K-Love’s Encouraging Words:
Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means "God is with us."
Matthew 1:23
“Today, choose to “Ride or Die” with Jesus Christ 110%! Afterall, isn’t that EXACTLY what HE did for Us on the Cross?
Can I get an AAAAAAMEN?????
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