Written and Shared by Matt at Almaden Neighborhood Church
Connecticut Shooting
On Friday I was finalizing my thoughts for today's sharing about Joy. Then I heard the news about the shooting in Connecticut. Our hearts go out to the community there. At first the news dampened my mood but upon deeper reflection I realized that the tragedy show a stark contrast between what God had intended for us and what we as a society have fallen to. To me it is clear that through His Grace, God wants us to feel pure Joy as any loving Father would want for his children. But we have stubbornly remain in our sinful nature.
I just accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior a month ago. Yes. And it has been a life changer for me.
All the negative things in my life has become positive! It's not my doing. I'm still the same guy. It's that once I accepted, God has taken charge of me. Jesus is walking with me everyday. I tell you. Jesus is the solution to all my problems. Because it's a perspective change that makes a huge difference. Impossible for me before but with God anything is possible. It took me more than 40 years to realize it but God loves humanity. God loves his creation.
God provided a user's manual. He even gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us. It's a gift. All we have to do is take a leap of faith and accept it.
Once we have accepted, boy a whole new world is opened to us. Then it is just a matter of maintaining our faith keeping it strong and staying close to God. If you feel excessive anger, or sadness, or worries, then I humbly suggest that you read His Word everyday, pray, and go to church regularly and just walk with Jesus. God is so loving, He wants us all to have joy in our hearts. With so much joy in our hearts, there's no room left for negativity. Let me tell you about what Joy means to me. With joy in your heart, all the stimuli that caused you stress in the past. The edge is taken off of them. They are still there but you don't feel the full force of them any longer. They are muted and blunted. It's like Neo in the Matrix. You can see it coming and just take your time and say stop. It's amazing.
You let go and let God. You get your worth from God. A song I heard the Asante Choir sing this summer. Says it all for me. I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my shame. I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord. The visual is this. Take all your anger, your shame, your worries, your negativity and box it all up in a huge UPS box. One of those wardrobe ones you know. Then just lay it down. Say bye bye I don't need you and I don't want you no more. Then just hold hands with Jesus and walk. You'll never look back. Well actually you'll look back but with a knowing smile and just to share what you've been through.
I'll leave you with a verse: Romans 8:5 Don't live under control of your sinful nature. If you do, you will think about what your sinful nature wants. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you do, you will think about what the Spirit wants. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide.
Connecticut Shooting
On Friday I was finalizing my thoughts for today's sharing about Joy. Then I heard the news about the shooting in Connecticut. Our hearts go out to the community there. At first the news dampened my mood but upon deeper reflection I realized that the tragedy show a stark contrast between what God had intended for us and what we as a society have fallen to. To me it is clear that through His Grace, God wants us to feel pure Joy as any loving Father would want for his children. But we have stubbornly remain in our sinful nature.
I just accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior a month ago. Yes. And it has been a life changer for me.
All the negative things in my life has become positive! It's not my doing. I'm still the same guy. It's that once I accepted, God has taken charge of me. Jesus is walking with me everyday. I tell you. Jesus is the solution to all my problems. Because it's a perspective change that makes a huge difference. Impossible for me before but with God anything is possible. It took me more than 40 years to realize it but God loves humanity. God loves his creation.
God provided a user's manual. He even gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us. It's a gift. All we have to do is take a leap of faith and accept it.
Once we have accepted, boy a whole new world is opened to us. Then it is just a matter of maintaining our faith keeping it strong and staying close to God. If you feel excessive anger, or sadness, or worries, then I humbly suggest that you read His Word everyday, pray, and go to church regularly and just walk with Jesus. God is so loving, He wants us all to have joy in our hearts. With so much joy in our hearts, there's no room left for negativity. Let me tell you about what Joy means to me. With joy in your heart, all the stimuli that caused you stress in the past. The edge is taken off of them. They are still there but you don't feel the full force of them any longer. They are muted and blunted. It's like Neo in the Matrix. You can see it coming and just take your time and say stop. It's amazing.
You let go and let God. You get your worth from God. A song I heard the Asante Choir sing this summer. Says it all for me. I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my shame. I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord. The visual is this. Take all your anger, your shame, your worries, your negativity and box it all up in a huge UPS box. One of those wardrobe ones you know. Then just lay it down. Say bye bye I don't need you and I don't want you no more. Then just hold hands with Jesus and walk. You'll never look back. Well actually you'll look back but with a knowing smile and just to share what you've been through.
I'll leave you with a verse: Romans 8:5 Don't live under control of your sinful nature. If you do, you will think about what your sinful nature wants. Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. If you do, you will think about what the Spirit wants. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide.
RSS Feed