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The Strength of Joy

7/28/2021

What is Joy?

In the Greek, the word is xairo, which is a cognate based on the word, “xaris,” which is the word for grace. Grace is God’s “favorable leaning toward” us to deal with us in His kindness and goodness. It's not something we can ear or deserve; rather, it is a free gift of God to us based on Christ's death. “Xairo,” then, means to be glad and delight in God’s favor and goodness that we never earned or deserved.

I like to think of it this way:

Joy is a beautiful mystery. It co-exists with painful sorrow. In fact, present sorrow is the basis for joy because it is only through present work that we obtain future reward.
  Some Christians believe that joy is not happiness: that joy is only a mental or spiritual decision. I think that perhaps they believe this because the circumstances in which we are called to be joyful are so grief inducing. It is the idea that we can only experience one emotion at a time.
There are other Christians who say you should only feel happy because of what Jesus has done. That any other sad emotion would be a lack of character, a wrong attitude, a lack of Christ-likeness. Conversely, there are Christians who believe that, as Christ was the Man of Sorrows, so we should be sorrowful. This is the mystery!
While Joy is a decision, we can sometimes be mistaken in the idea that we cannot be both happy about what will come and simultaneously sad about the painful and present circumstances which bring the good benefit. But because God created us to be like Him, He has created us with the ability to experience multiple emotions at the same time. Paul said that he himself was “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing!” (2 Cor. 6:10)
I don’t enjoy being pregnant. I don’t enjoy the joint pain, the morning sickness, the heartburn, the weight gain, the constant fatigue, and the painful labor. I don’t enjoy the insomnia before the birth, or the waking up constantly after. I didn’t enjoy the c-section, or the ear-splitting newborn cries through the long nights. I didn’t enjoy the process of healing.
But I can tell you this: after having six biological children, I can’t help but smile with absolute delight when I get a positive pregnancy test! I can’t help but get a rush of happy adrenaline when I feel that first contraction hit. For me, the prospect of having a child for the rest of eternity, whether through miscarriage or a live birth, far outweighs the pain and suffering of the pregnancy, birth, and child-raising that is to come. It is a joy that cannot be taken away.

It is HOPE that enables us to have this happy joy. Paul stated that we are to be “joyful in hope, patient in affliction” (Rom. 12:12a). He reminded us that “we do not sorrow as others do, who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Though we experience every bit of pain and suffering that our counterparts in the world experience, even our sorrow is not the same as the world’s. We know it isn’t the end. We know that these painful circumstances produce immeasurable good in our lives (Rom. 8:28).
We are in the long process of a kitchen remodel due to the Beatchie Creek fires. Severely limited in our budget, it is still very much in the beginning stages, though it has been nine months.
In my mind’s eye, I have envisioned many times what it will look like, down to every detail. I imagine what I will do in that kitchen. Vases of wildflowers from the hill. Morning coffees with Jeff. Cooking with my son, Cyrus. Family gathered. Laughter. Relationships formed and maintained. An oasis for the weary. A place where the word of God is shared. A place of hope, light, rest, and refreshing.
What does fixing my thoughts in joy on the finish do?

When I know that this trial, this season, is producing a wonderful thing for me and for those I care about, it produces the strength to continue to complete each part of the task in front of me.
As we work through our remodel, there are many small and large tasks to complete. It can feel overwhelming if I sink into the them. Each day there is another small piece to finish. Each task really represents a multitude of smaller tasks.
I was talking about this with my mom (if I’m honest, it probably sounded more like complaining. 😉 ) and she gently reminded me that this would not be for the rest of my life. In the scheme of things, a year spent in remodeling would be followed by many years of enjoyment.  She reminded me to keep putting my perspective on the hope of the end result, not on the present.
That perspective, though only an earthly and shallow one—it's just a kitchen—helps me to get up each day and work a little more on its completion.

Focusing on the hope at the end gives us the strength to work a little more with Jesus every day until the completion of our life.

Friends, this life is momentary. It is fleeting. From the perspective of eternity, life's timeline doesn’t even make it on the page. We need to look “unto Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Heb. 12:2).

Looking away from all else to the joy of the Lord produces a happiness that cannot be mitigated or reduced by our present circumstances.

...............Read the previous blog in the Fruit of the Spirit Series: "The Harvest of Love"

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The Harvest of Love

7/8/2021

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Those who sow in tears shall reap with
Shouts of Joy!
Psalm 126:5 ESV

One night I had a dream. In my dream, I was in a large house, full of family and friends. As I walked around this house, I was trying to find ways to share Jesus with them; loving them, having conversations, talking about what the Lord was doing in my life, sharing my story.
At some point, I looked in my wallet, and noticed that some investments I had been spending into had multiplied. One in particular, in just a few short months, had tripled. I got excited! I started thinking about all the ways I could save money in other areas, coffee, food, outings...and funnel that money into this one investment. If this investment was so very profitable, it would be well worth my time and money to put as much in now as I could!
As I woke up from my dream, I could still feel the excitement. My mind was still churning with ways I could save, ways I could invest more. And then as the dream receded and I realized it was only a dream, the realization began to come to me that it was more. That that investment that was multiplying so quickly-- not ready yet for harvest, but very ready for growth-- that investment was the gospel and people.

Sharing my story. Loving people.

I realized if I could save my time, energy, resources, and funnel them into people: relationships, serving, discipling, teaching, then that investment would be the most important and valuable investment I could ever make in my life. It would have the most return, and bring the most joy.
But these investments, they come with a price, don't they? If I took my money away from coffee, it would mean that I couldn't have that coffee that day. If I took the money from what would have been our vacation to invest in a return later, then we would miss out on disneyland, or camping, or other fun, right? Now, coffee and vacations are great, and we would love to have them. But some investments cost more.
Sometimes the investments of love for Jesus and others cost us much more. Tears, grief, sorrow. We may lose friends because we love them enough to tell them truth that they need to hear. We might be rejected by the ones we are trying to help.
In foster care, which many of you may have experienced, the heartbreak can be very real and painful. You know you must fully open your heart and love these children, because they desperately need love. Love that does not hold back. Love that does not put up a shield. Love that opens wide (2 Cor. 6:11-13). But you know they may reject your love. They may be torn away from you. There are no guarantees, and as often as not, or perhaps more, your heart is broken, and the pain may be carried for a lifetime.

This love that Jesus calls us to is painful. It's a cross. It's suffering.

People joke that you shouldn't pray for patience, because then God will send you difficult experiences that require you to grow in patience. I think they pick patience out from the group of the fruit of the Spirit, because there is a feeling that joy is more of an easy, happy feeling. That love is a natural affection for others. That peace is just given. But each of these characteristics of the fruit of the Spirit are born and grow through suffering.
Just like with patience, our love for people grows when we have difficult people to love—when it costs us something because our love is not being returned.
There have been really difficult people in my life, where, honestly, my attitudes were really sour. I found that the feeling of natural affection just wasn't there for that person. I found that the only way to show love for that person was to go daily back into my room and cry out to Jesus to give me His love for that person; to give me the grace to show them love when I didn't feel it. I cried out to Him to change my hard, selfish heart.
Jesus heard my cries, and gradually my heart became softer, more loving, more gentle. Over time, some relationships became beautiful and such a blessing to me. That outcome, however, hasn't always happen. Sometimes I have loved, and my heart has been broken.

We love most when we love those who may never give love back.

Jesus said it this way:

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.
But love your enemies, do good to them,
and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.
Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High,
because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.
Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Luke 6:32-36

Have you ever experienced the sacrificial love of others into your life? How did that change your life and heart? How did that experience inspire you to give love in the same way you had received it (without expectation of repayment by them)?

What experiences of costly or painful love have you had that brought a harvest of joy? What life changes have you seen that were worth the costly investment?

How can you love in a way that would cost you something small?

How could you love in a way that may bring potential tears, heartache, and suffering for Jesus' sake?

As we invest in love, we will find that the next fruit of the Spirit—Joy—becomes a natural follow-up. When you know that what you are doing will, by God's unbreakable promise, bring life, healing and beauty to you and to others, then even in the midst of the painful relationship or circumstance, even as you carry your cross, you can look forward with joy to the reward and harvest that will be waiting: "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Heb. 12:2

..................Read the next blog in the Fruit of the Spirit series: "The Strength of Joy"

”If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.
1 Corinthians 13

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40 Days with Goliath - Final

7/1/2021

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For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and
took his stand.

1 Samuel 17:40-54

This week we took our fluffy, white puppy to a geology camp with our kids. They got to learn about dinosaurs, handle real fossils and petrified dinosaur eggs, be awed by a plethora of fluorescent rocks, and dig in the dirt to find their own fossils.
The owners of the camp had three large Great Pyranees, who nightly scouted their 180+ acre farm in the desert of Washington for grizzlies, wolves and cougars who regularly frequented the ranch. Last fall, their pyranees had attacked and treed a cougar on the property.
During the day, as we watched from a distance, our small bundle of fluff, about the size of an Australian Terrier, would crawl on her belly toward these giant dogs. Her nose running along the ground, she would inch and pause, inch and pause, positioning herself as close as she dared to them. As soon as she reached them, she would flip her belly into the air, pleading for their mercy, and then snuggle up close for their protection.
Bedtime, however, was another story! As we would settle in for the night, spanning the length of a log bunkhouse with our kids, we would give our dog her food next to her crate on the porch. Next to us, she had all kinds of courage. In her mind, though not in mine, we were much more powerful than these pyranees! As the other dogs would advance, tails wagging, to check out the smell from her dog bowl, she would bristle, bark, and growl at them. It was hilarious to watch her challenge them from the vantage of the porch, with her family behind her!
As I watched her take courage based on her faith in our abilities, it reminded me of little David's courage as he fought Goliath. A courageous faith, that, unlike our dog's, was not misplaced.
In Part 1, we studied the place and stance of our fight, and who our Goliaths are. In Part 2, we looked at some of the first problems David encountered before he even had to stand up to his Goliath, and how he rooted himself firmly in his identity and future. In Part 3, we focused on how David negotiated closed doors, discrimination, and how to maintain an effective defense in a new battle situation. Today, I want to dig in to the Covenant relationship we have with God, how to gather our resources, estimate the cost, and how to turn the enemy's weapons against himself!

COVENANT
Let's declare our loyalty and love for God above all!

Goliath appeared “morning and evening,” when the Shema was to be declared. The Shema was Israel's affirmation of faith in God as their Covenant King--the Covenant authority Goliath was trying to replace by usurpation:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord [YHWH\ our God [Elohim, plural for God\, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
Deut. 6:4-7 NKJV

God's people were commanded to declare vocally that the Lord was their God, in all of His triune, plural Godhead. They were to declare the command to love God with everything that was in them. Morning and evening, they were to rise and make these declarations over their lives and that of their families and nation. It was and is the quintessential statement of their faith in God.
It was their enemy's goal to make Israel, God's people, omit this affirmation of faith and to transfer their faith and obedience to his mastery over them.
Our enemy wants to take God's place in our lives in order to imprison and destroy us. It has been his goal from the very beginning, when he challenged the Godhead! (Isa. 14:12-21)
But God has not left us without resources.

COMPILE
Let's gather what we need!

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself
five smooth stones from the brook,
and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had,
and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Sam. 17:40

As a shepherd, these are the typical things David would have already been using regularly. David gathered his staff, his bag, and his sling. The staff he brought to the fight would have been a smaller, blunt, club-like stick. This stick was different than the rod, or shepherd's crook, that he would have used to guide, discipline and rescue the sheep. This particular staff would have been what David used to beat away predators, wild dogs, lions, and bears. The sling would be slung with a stone at a predator from more distance: efficient and deadly.
God wants us to be resourceful. While He is the God who creates everything out of nothing, He still chooses to participate with us so that we can join Him in the pleasure and reward of victory!
What do we have in our hand today? It is enough.
It is enough because we have a God who multiplies. He multiplies our time, energies and resources. He just wants a willing and giving heart. “For if there is first a willing mind, [the gift] is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.” (2 Cor. 8:12)
It is enough because He is the One who is our strength. He is the God of angel armies. “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him (2 Chron. 16:9a).
David gathered five stones.
At first glance, the five stones seem like backup plans. If the first stone failed, he would have more to try again. But that wasn't the purpose. Just as Jesus died once for all, (1 Pet. 3:18) so David would defeat the giant with one blow.

No, these extra stones were a preparation for David's future. You see, Goliath had four more brothers, all giants. They ruled with the Philistines, their allies, in the five cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and Gath, which was situated within the southeastern shore of Israel's border along the the Mediterranean Sea.1
These giants were descended from Anak, of the giant ethnic group of the Nephilim, which began pre-flood, but whose lineage continued post-flood. The descendants of Anak had settled in the best, most fertile land of Canaan, in the mountainous and well-watered region of what would be called the land of Hebron. (Gen. 6:4; Deut. 9:2; Josh 15:3)
God knew that His people would be tempted to fear the giants. God never denied that His people are unequal to the giants. Rather, He wants to change our perspective to see the giants in juxtaposition to His own might!

Just as God's people were to cross over to occupy the Promised Land, God gave them this promise:

Hear, O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today, and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, a people great and tall, the descendants of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’ Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has said to you.
Deut. 9:1-3

When the twelve spies were sent by the Israelites before they were to go into conquer the land, only two men, Joshua and Caleb(from the tribe of Judah), came back with a good report of the land.
After 40 days of spying out the land—40 days of seeing the goodness of what God had promised to give them and 40 days of witnessing the intimidating power of the giants—Caleb and Joshua alone saw the power of the giants in relation to God. They saw the immense benefit of the land. The rest of the spies could only focus on the giants in relation to themselves: We were as grasshoppers in their sight!” (Num. 13:33)
As an old man, it was Caleb of the tribe of Judah who would ask to inherit the specific region of the giants, Hebron, that he might drive them out. Many years later, it would be in Hebron that David would first occupy as reigning king (2 Sam. 5:3).
David knew that once he took on this fight with Goliath, it would necessitate an all-out war against the rest of the giants in the land of Philistia (2 Sam 21:18-22). David was making a commitment with the Lord to participate fully in walking in victory over everything that God had promised him. The gathering of stones was an act of faith--not only for this day of battle, but for a lifetime with God.
Like his aged ancestor, Caleb, the youth David wanted to have complete victory with God. At either spectrum of weakness, they two showed us the power of God to empower us in our weakness!
What are those battle areas in our lives that we know will follow on the heels of victory? Where are the strongholds that you can identify today, that you know you will need to deal with in the Lord-- Those places of defeat, of family history, or intimidation?
While God doesn't ask us to fight every battle all at once, we can still make some preparation now. What steps can you take in faith now, to prepare for when those battles will come to you?

COMPARE
Let's assess the situation from a right perspective!

So the Philistine came, and began drawing near to David, and the man who bore the shield went before him. And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking. So the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!” Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.
1 Sam. 17:41-47 NKJV

David took stock. He inventoried what his enemy had, and of what he himself had. His enemy had formidable, real, and powerful weapons and stature. He himself had the Name of the God of angel armies. David compared the two, and declared his side to be the more powerful. He knew that the One within us is greater than the enemy (1 John 4:4).
Jesus showed us in Luke 14:28-32 that as His disciples, He expects us to first sit down and weigh the cost of discipleship. Is our God big enough? Is the reward worth it? Are we willing to invest all that we have?
Since the investment of ourselves in this battle is very costly, God wants us to know that this battle is important enough to Him to commit all that He has to the battle with us.
There are two reasons why God is committed to work with you to defeat your giants:
God wants to be glorified in the entire earth as the only true and all-powerful God, with nothing and no one comparable to Him.
God wants all the people who know you personally to have a deeper understanding of how God works for His people. He wants them to respond to Him in faith in their own lives.
Once we have weighed the balances, once we have made up our minds whose side we are on, there must be no hesitation. It is the time to run into the battle!

CHARGE!
Let's wield the weapon the enemy uses with confidence!

So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. Now the men of Israel and Judah arose and shouted, and pursued the Philistines as far as the entrance of the valley and to the gates of Ekron. And the wounded of the Philistines fell along the road to Shaaraim, even as far as Gath and Ekron. Then the children of Israel returned from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their tents. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
1 Sam. 17:48-54

David didn't start into the fight with a sword to kill Goliath--it was the sword Goliath carried that David used to kill him! It would be the sword that David used again and again throughout his fighting battles against the Philistines and any who would encroach upon the territory he was commissioned to guard (1 Sam. 21:9).
Goliath's sword stands for the Word of God (Eph 6:17). It is the Sword that the enemy uses to accuse us to God night and day, morning and evening (Zech 3:1; Rev. 12:10). God's Word contains the law of commandments, the handwriting of ordinances, under which we, as lawbreakers, stand condemned before God as the Righteous Judge.
The devil uses God's own words to declare us guilty—to declare that we have no help from God because of our sin. It is that same Word of God that we must use to shut down the voice of the enemy. We can acknowledge the accusation---”Yes, by God's standards I was guilty of that sin. Yes, by God's Word I had no standing on my own with God because of that guilt. But that is why the blood of Christ was so important. He paid the penalty for me, and I have been brought near into covenant relationship with God through the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13)!
This Sword, the Word of God, also contains the Promises of God for us as the People of God. The devil tries to use the Promises of God to derail us from our purposes in the Will of God.
In Jesus' temptation in the wilderness after His baptism and anointing by the Spirit--Jesus' own battle with Goliath--we see three Promises of God that Satan wielded to try to derail Jesus from His purpose in Luke 4:1-13:

“God promised to provide for you.”
“God promised to give you the kingdom.”
“God promised to protect you.”

In each of these temptations, there was a legitimate and real promise of God found in Scripture for God's people that Satan tried to persuade Jesus to obtain outside of the Will of God. In each temptation, Jesus wielded the Word of God back to the devil to declare the larger and more complete purpose of God. Because Jesus had a complete understanding of God's greater plan of redemption, Jesus left these promises unfulfilled in His earthly life. Even though Jesus had the actual power to make these promises happen physically at that time, He chose to give them up to God's better will for His life in order to bring us into His joy along with Him.
Jesus gave up His provision (Matt 8:20), his kingdom (John 18:36), and His protection (Matt. 26:53) in a temporal setting in exchange for a lasting and eternal Promise (Phil 2:6-11).
Ultimately, as Jesus died on the cross, he fulfilled the promise of redemption for us from the enemy found in Genesis 3:15 AMP “And I will put enmity (open hostility) between you[the devil] and the woman, and between your seed (offspring) and her Seed [Jesus]. He shall [fatally] bruise your[the devil's] head, and you shall [only] bruise His heel.”
Just as David used the sword of Goliath to render the enemy in his life powerless, so Jesus used the very weapon Satan tried to use against Himself to destroy the devil and to render him powerless. Jesus' own death resulted in Satan's destruction: “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction!” (Hos 13:14)
It was this laying down of Jesus' rights under the Word of God for our sake that reconciled us to God:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities[all evil spirits\, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Col. 2:13-15 NIV

When you take courage and find these battles in your life, people around you will see that God is able to deliver them. Many of them will take courage and come to the battle as well. Not only did the Israelites join with David in the battle, but they were also able to plunder the Philistines, securing their border and taking home a reward.
David, however, knew that there was something else he must do. He must place physical reminders--memorials--of the victories he had with God, in prominent locations. The head of the giant went to Jerusalem, and the armor David placed in his own home.
These memorials would be not only be for the present, placed in his current dwelling place, but also in Jerusalem: the future of where he would ultimately reside as King of Israel, and the location where Satan's head would, one day, be crushed by Jesus Himself as Jesus gave His own life on the cross.
What can you do to establish memorials pointing to the victory of Christ for yourself and for successive generations?
How will you point to your reminders and tell your story?

Reference:
Palestine-David-Solomon.jpg (912×1600) (britannica.com)1

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The Strength of Joy

What is Joy?

The Harvest of Love

Those who sow in tears shall reap with
Shouts of Joy!
Psalm 126:5 ESV

40 Days with Goliath - Final

For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and
took his stand.

1 Samuel 17:40-54

COVENANT
Let's declare our loyalty and love for God above all!

COMPILE
Let's gather what we need!

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself
five smooth stones from the brook,
and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had,
and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Sam. 17:40

COMPARE
Let's assess the situation from a right perspective!

CHARGE!
Let's wield the weapon the enemy uses with confidence!

Author

Archives

Categories

The Strength of Joy

What is Joy?

The Harvest of Love

Those who sow in tears shall reap withShouts of Joy!Psalm 126:5 ESV

40 Days with Goliath - Final

For forty days the Philistine came forwardevery morning and evening and​​took his stand.1 Samuel 17:40-54

COVENANTLet's declare our loyalty and love for God above all!​

COMPILELet's gather what we need!​

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook,​and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had,and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.1 Sam. 17:40

COMPARELet's assess the situation from a right perspective!​

CHARGE!Let's wield the weapon the enemy uses with confidence!​

Author

Archives

Categories

Those who sow in tears shall reap with
Shouts of Joy!
Psalm 126:5 ESV

For forty days the Philistine came forward
every morning and evening and
took his stand.

1 Samuel 17:40-54

COVENANT
Let's declare our loyalty and love for God above all!

COMPILE
Let's gather what we need!

Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself
five smooth stones from the brook,
and put them in a shepherd’s bag, in a pouch which he had,
and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.
1 Sam. 17:40

COMPARE
Let's assess the situation from a right perspective!

CHARGE!
Let's wield the weapon the enemy uses with confidence!