I am Rich, I am Poor

 “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today. Deuteronomy 8:11 New Living Translation Bible

I am rich, I am poor.

That pretty much sums up my life.

When the times were materially good my spiritual relationship with Jehovah was as cool as a corpse. The funny thing is though that even though I was living a life of comfort and ease there was something missing. I could not put my finger on it.

Then, when the good times came to an end and the material hard times came I found I was close to Jehovah spiritually.

From a lot of experience I greatly prefer the spiritual wealth over the material ones.

There is a saying that when the times are good the church is empty but when the times are hard the church is full.

Why wait for the hard times when you can be blessed with a daily close loving obedient relationship with Jehovah. Then when the hard times come, they are not so hard because of your closeness with Jehovah.

When we arrogantly turn our back on Jehovahs commands, decrees and regulations we pay a very severe price for it. Just read the history books of any country to confirm it.

I have found that this verse is oh so very true to be blessed with a contented, grateful life:

Give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. Proverbs 30:8 New Living Translation Bible

“We can stand affliction better than we can prosperity, for in prosperity we forget God.” Dwight L. Moody

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah El SIMCHAH GIYL (God my Exceeding Joy) for the most wonderful of gifts and that is the never ending joy that comes from nurturing an eternal loving relationship with You. I revere You in the name of He who brings me ecstatic joy when in His wonderful presence Jesus Christ. Amen

May you be blessed with peace and joy every day.

To You, O Lord

 

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence],
Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed;
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed). Let me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.
Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your loving kindnesses, For they have been from of old.
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your loving kindness remember me, For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord. Good and upright is the Lord;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in justice, And He teaches the humble His way.
All the paths of the Lord are loving kindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great. Who is the man who fears the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and worships Him with submissive wonder]? He will teach him [through His word] in the way he should choose. His soul will dwell in prosperity and goodness, And his descendants will inherit the land.
The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him, And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning.
My eyes are continually toward the Lord, For He will bring my feet out of the net. Turn to me [Lord] and be gracious to me, For I am alone and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are multiplied; Bring me out of my distresses. Look upon my affliction and my trouble, And forgive all my sins.
Look upon my enemies, for they are many; They hate me with cruel and violent hatred. Guard my soul and rescue me; Do not let me be ashamed or disappointed, For I have taken refuge in You. Let integrity and uprightness protect me, For I wait [expectantly] for You. Psalm 25 The Holy Bible Amplified Version

This pretty much describes my attitude and behaviour towards my all knowing, all delivering, all encouraging, all loving all forgiving incredible Heavenly Father, Supreme King and Wise Teacher.

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Heseh (God is love) for being so loving towards me in that You always supply me with the right amount of what I need, when I need it. You are so amazing. I exalt You in the great name of He who always supplied His disciples Jesus Christ. Amen

The gift of love, the gift of joy, the gift of peace, these are the greatest gifts that can be given. They are given in abundance to all those in Christs family by our Heavenly loving  Father. May you be blessed with plentiful opportunities to share these with those around you today.

The Highlands of Affliction.

For our momentary, light distress [this passing trouble] is producing for us an eternal weight of glory [a fullness] beyond all measure [surpassing all comparisons, a transcendent splendor and an endless blessedness]! 2 Corinthians 4:17 The Holy Bible Amplified Version  

Those who say that being a Christian is easy are definitely not a Christian.

Being a Christian means a lifetime of suffering. We will be rejected, mocked and be going through constant trials and tribulations.

This is good because it makes us dependent upon Jehovah which draws us ever closer unto Him.

As well, it strengthens our Christian walk.

It is also good because when we encounter hurting folks we can share with them the amazing things Jehovah has done through our tough times.

The other benefit is that we will not desire for this world but rather for the home in which our Heavenly Father has prepared for us.

“The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction.” — Charles H. Spurgeon

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah ‘Uzam (The Lord is our Strength in Trouble) for blessing me with Your Divine strength to make through the tough times and for using those tough times to strengthen Your loving child and well as the life changing lessons learned through these fiery times. I exalt You in the name of He who suffered the worst affliction for me Jesus Christ. Amen

May you be blessed with the gift of love, the gift of peace, the gift of joy. May you be blessed with numerous opportunities to share these gifts with others today.  

Only to Learn That

 They were shaken because He was indignant and angry. Psalm 18:7 The Holy Bible Amplified Version

Many times in our walk with Christ we have the wrong foundations. Because of this our house is unstable and pron to destruction when affliction, trials, trouble and sorrows come unto us.

In order to prevent this from happening Jehovah must tear down those foundations.

Working in construction building houses I learned that everything must be lined up in building the foundation. If it does not the house is faulty and pron to demolishing when storms hit. That is why most houses built about a hundred years ago are still solid while new houses have so much problems. Those a hundred years ago built the houses to last so they took extra care in how they were built. Many today just slap houses together as cheaply as they can get away with to make profit. When they storms hit we see the end results of who was the better builder.

Jesus is the builder of our house (our spirits) and will not allow faulty construction of it. When we start to stray from the masters architects plans He shakes the house to reconstruct it.

He has shook many of my foundational beliefs to get rid of them because they were hampering my walk with Him. I praise Him for doing it.

“We turn to God for help when our foundations are shaking only to learn that it is God shaking them.” — Charles West

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Kanna (The Lord is Jealous) for being so jealous as to never allow another architect to alter the plans You have for this child’s building You so loving built. Thank you for destroying any layers which will cause this building to collapse into complete and total destruction. I praise You in the name of the master builder Jesus Christ. Amen

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love fill your heart today and every day. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Labour to Grow Better

 “Indeed, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested and chosen you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10 The Holy Bible Amplified Version

He loves you too much to allow it to grow.

That is why Jehovah refines us in the furnace of affliction. When there are (and there always is) ungodly behavior, belief or dispositions in a Christians life.

Jehovah first bring it to His child’s attention and inform them of the way to correct this disease.

When the child stubbornly refuse to obey our Heavenly Father, then He brings afflictions to them to encourage them to reform their ways.

The longer the child refuses the Fathers disciple, the stronger the discipline becomes until it crushes the disobedience in the child. It is not pleasant but it is what is best for us in the walk to Heaven.

I have been through it and every Christian will go through it as well. Sometimes we learn quick, sometimes (like me) we learn slow so we endure a lot of afflictions until the lesson of obedience is learned in every aspect of our life.

“Labour to grow better under all your afflictions, lest your afflictions grow worse, lest God mingle them with more darkness, bitterness and terror.” — John Owen

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Bara (The Lord Creator) for patiently creating this child of Yours into a obedient, loving child through many afflictions when I was a stubborn and obstinate child. I pray I never have to hurt Your precious heart by forcing You to discipline me in such a manner every again because I love You so much. I exalt You in the name of He who disciplines those He loves so dearly Jesus Christ. Amen.

Wishing you a house full of sunshine, hearts full of cheer and love that grows deeper each day of the year. Welsh blessing

Every Generation of Christians Has to Learn

 “Take heed and be careful, do not turn to wickedness, For you have chosen this [the vice of complaining against God] rather than [learning from] affliction. Job 36:21 The Holy Bible Amplified Version

Have you ever been around a Whining Wendy? You know the type, they only cry baby about how hard their life is. They can suck the joy out of you faster than a vacuum cleaner.

If you think that is a terrible experience for you, think of how it feels to Jehovah when those who are supposed to be His children are always complaining to Him and never thanking Him.

Here is the thing though, when you are a whine puppy you have nothing but dark clouds around you and infect those around you. No one wants to be around you, do you think Jehovah does?

When you are grateful for even the smallest of blessings you have the sunshine of joy in your heart no matter what your circumstances are.

That sunshine will guide others to the source of the brightest sunshine of joy of all, Jehovah. Take time every morning and evening to thank Jehovah for every blessing you can think that He has shared with you. As you develop this habit you will find yourself thanking Jehovah more and more throughout the day. It takes practice and commitment but after a while it becomes as natural as breathing.

“Every generation of Christians has to learn that whining is an affront against God’s sovereignty and goodness.” D. A. Carson

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Jireh ( God provides ) for Your unlimited grace You have abundantly provide for me every day. May my heart be filled with gratitude towards You every moment of every day. I heartfeltedly thank You in the name of He who always had a heart of gratitude towards You to show how it was done when He walked amongst us Jesus Christ. AMEN

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love fill your heart today and every day. Joseph a son of Jehovah 

He Blesses Us by Sending

 “I am with you always [remaining with you perpetually—regardless of circumstance, and on every occasion], even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 Holy Bible Amplified Version

This truth has taken me years to believe ( not learn, I learned it but did not truly believe it).

It is when we are in the furnace of affliction and upon our knees crying out unto Jehovah in agony that He blesses us with the calming and strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit to encourage us on.

It is in the desert when our souls are parched dry and everyone has deserted us that we call out in desperation unto our Beloved for help and He blesses us by sending the Holy Spirit to quench our parched souls with the life giving Divine Holy waters that refreshes our spirits and allows us to not only continue on but to flourish in this inhospitable place.

It is in the raging storms when we believe we are sinking in the crashing waves that we desperately call out unto our Abba in Heaven to rescue us that He blesses us by sending the Holy Spirit to take our hand ever so gently but firmly and will not let go that we walk on the waters through the tumultuous thundering waves with Him.

It is in the firestorms when flames of fire are constantly piercing our hearts that we call out unto our Heavenly Father to protect us that He blesses us by sending the Holy Spirit to heal our wounds and in times carry us through when we no longer have the strength to battle the intense flames.

It is in the storms that Jehovah reveals the most of His love, strength, wisdom and peace that He abundantly blesses us with the most. Joseph a son of Jehovah

Prayer: Thank you Holy Spirit Uzam (The Lord is our Strength in Trouble) for always being present through the numerous trials, tribulations and sorrows that is a part of every life. Thank you for the Divine strength You bless me with. I praise you in the name of He who walked through so many difficulties with His disciples Jesus Christ. Amen

May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.

We Are the Work of His Hand.

O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand. Isaiah 64:8 New King James Version

As Christians we are constantly put on the potters wheel. We are the work of His hand.

Now from my experience first you must go through the furnace of affliction and then the potters wheel.

 

The furnace of affliction is the most difficult and painful time of a Christians life. This is where Jehovah allows circumstances to happen that will burn off your bad attributes.

For me it was stubbornness, unforgiveness and spitefulness. It was a slow process that took two years.

 

Once this was accomplished then and only then was I put on the potters wheel. It is a process that lasts a lifetime.

 

Sometimes with clay there are parts of it that are very hard and must be pounded to make it soft and moldable.

 

So too it is with us.

Here are times when we are stubborn and difficult. In those times the Lord will allow difficult times to come to us to pound out that stubbornness and make us moldable again.

“We must allow the Word of God to confront us, to disturb our security, to undermine our complacency and to overthrow our patterns of thought and behavior.” John Stott

Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Elohim (God our maker) for the painful experience of burning off the dross. Thank you for sticking with it in molding this lumpy piece of clay into the vessel You desire me to be. I extoll You in the name of the greatest molder of them all Jesus Christ. Amen.                                                                                                             

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day

How is Your Tests Coming?

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4New King James Version

“The long dull monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the Devil.” — C. S. Lewis

Have you ever experienced the furnace of affliction?

You know, the tough times.

The older you get, the more you will experience it.

My worst one lasted two years. In all that time, even though at times it was so overwhelming it felt as if I was going to explode in agony and distress I never lost faith. It seemed as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel but the faith in Jehovah, that He loved me and would never desert me was rock solid. It was one of the best occurrences to happen, it taught me to be patient, and dependant upon Jehovah.

On the other hand I have experienced times of great prosperity. Then my fellowship with Jehovah was as cold as ice. Now I am in the middle and greatly appreciative.

The devil knows our weaknesses and will use them to destroy our Heavenly relationship. That is why it is important to daily commune with our Heavenly loving Father.

Prayer: Please Jehovah Pryyand (God my friend) always bless me to be patient and accept your timing in my life and the gifts You so richly shower upon me. I humbly ask this in the name of the most patient and grateful of all Jesus Christ. Amen

May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day