Reciprocal Delight

• 516 Churches
• in 8 Countries
• from 45 States
• including Multiple Armed Service Locations
• = more than 95,000 People with open hearts, listening for a word from God, directly to their hearts.

What a blessing to attend the Living Proof Simulcast, 2009 from one of the 516 locations around the world. Travis Cottrell and the worship team were incredible. Beth Moore was a vessel doing nothing more than speaking Jesus to us and over us. As she taught us from Psalm 37, these two verses truly stirred my heart:

4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

23 If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm;
24 though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

This just blows me away! I was created to delight in a God, who delights in me!
It's a reciprocal relationship. the more I delight in Him, the more He delights in me.

In the Christian life we often talk about joy. It is a fruit of the Holy Spirit that lives within the heart of a believer. But delight is like taking that joy to a whole another level. Beth said that man's delight is a feeling of extreme pleasure or satisfaction coupled with a sense of wonder. "Delight is us laughing over the sheer wonder of Him". Does that describe your heart?

God's delight is what we were created for. We bring delight to God when we do some of the simplest of things like:

• a little boy at the flag pole, praying for his school.
• a mother singing Jesus loves me to her sweet little baby.
• a woman who stops what she's doing to help a sweet saint put her groceries in the car.
• a little girl telling her friend how much Jesus loves her.
• a man who clears the snow from his neighbor's drive, expecting nothing in return.
• any time we open up His Word, asking Him to speak to our hearts.

Can't you just see God inclining Himself, bending down and taking notice, and a sense of delight just filling the throne room of Heaven. Imagine Him saying, "That's my girl". "She's doing it!" "Look at the family resemblance!"

In a world so full of negativity, it's so much easier to think of maybe disappointing God or even frustrating God at times. I'm certain I have done both of those many times over.

But as God has changed my heart and my focus, my goal today is to bring Him delight. I want to bask in His delight like a puppy dog laying in the sun. I just want to just drink in His radiance.

How about you? Did you delight in Him today? Did you cause Him to delight in you?

Lord, Grant me a heart to delight in You! Be my greatest joy. Bring out the person in my who can't hold back any longer. I want to sense your delight in me every day. I LOVE You so much more today than even yesterday - and it was a record breaker in itself. Draw me into the deep places, far from shallow living. I want to be a true reflection of You.

My Foot is Slipping

I love these words from The Message translation of the Bible:

If God hadn't been there for me, I never would have made it.
The minute I said, "I'm slipping, I'm falling,"
your love, God, took hold and held me fast.
When I was upset and beside myself,
you calmed me down and cheered me up.
Psalm 94:17-19

Have you ever felt that way? Maybe during a time of loss, a sudden illness or a catastrophic event. It's as if life just sweeps in and knocks you off of your feet. I have certainly had those times.

During the last 9 months our family has been walking that road. We have suffered the loss of a job, a ministry and income, a debilitating illness, struggles in identity, the loss of a church family, and a time of really not knowing what the future would bring.

And yet God! Those three, three-lettered words may form a very small sentence; but they speak volumes about who holds my future.

I can honestly say with the Psalmist, "If God hadn't been there for me, I never would have made it." I love how he goes on to say, "The minute I said, "I'm slipping, I'm falling," your love, God, took hold and held me fast. " God hasn't waited a week, or a month or a year. The very minute I cry out to Him He responds with his love. For the last nine months He has held us fast. He has never let go.

As a loving Father, He consoles me, comforts me, and when necessary calms me down. He takes my eyes off of my situation and refocuses them solely on Him. Without fail, as my focus shifts - He brings joy to my soul once again.

Though the road has been long, the journey has brought me to a place of surrender that I have never been before. I have seen God provide security in insecure times. I have seen God provide peace in turbulent days. I have seen God bring hope into situations that seemed hopeless. And yet God!

Today I just wanted to Praise God and thank Him for this journey! If I had to choose only one word to describe Him, it would be Faithful!

Father, I'm deep in love with you and I'll follow you where ever you lead. Even the hard roads can be sweet when my gaze is upon you.

** Praise alert **

The insurance company approved Randy's Spinal Chord Stimulator today! In a matter of days, his suffering may be over. I praise God that He has answered in His time and that the results of this procedure are in His hands.

My sincerest thanks to all of you for your prayers over the last several months.

Joy, Joy, Joy

Do you remember as a child singing the song, "I've got the Joy in my Heart? It goes like this:

I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart - Where?
Down in my heart! Where?
Down in my heart!
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart- Where?
Down in my heart to stay

And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart
Down in my heart
And I'm so happy
So very happy
I've got the love of Jesus in my heart.

How can you sing a song like this and not get a smile on your face. For me it brings back some great memories of my childhood. I loved to sing my Sunday School songs wherever I went. In the bathtub, playing in my room, on the playground, it didn't matter. I loved to sing about Jesus.

The word joy is found in approximately 242 verses in the Bible. And yet look around. How many people do you really see who are living life joyfully? 1 Thessalonians 5:16 states it very plainly when it says, "Be joyful always". That's the whole verse - short, sweet and to the point. It's followed by another 2 word verse, "pray continually" which is undoubtedly the key to being able to live joyfully always.

I found an old devotion that my friend Daniella did some time ago. Here are a few of the things she shared. There are three types of people in our world, our community and yes, even in our churches. There are those who are:

• Joy Impaired – These people don’t realize that true joy can be theirs. They go through life focused on just getting by, just getting through the day with the least amount of trauma and drama possible. The Joy Impaired have no clue what they are missing.
• Joy Extinguishers – These people are just flat unhappy and set out to make sure everyone around them is just as unhappy as they are. They are on a seek-and-destroy mission and will set out to find you and crush your joy.
• Joy Carriers – These people have the ability to breathe life into you just by their very presence. Seeing them coming your direction brings a smile to your face and it lifts your spirits.

  Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing. James 1:2-4

How can you experience great joy in the midst of a trial (thank you for asking)? Here are three things that will help you experience true joy when the tough times come:

1. You must make a conscience decision to focus on God’s goodness. When times get tough, count your blessings. Write down 10 things you are thankful for. If the joy has not returned, write down 10 more. Take your focus off of the trial and place it on Him. Before long, a spring of joy will start bubbling up in your soul. He has promised to never leave us, but to lead us through the tough times. (Deuteronomy 31:6)
2. Reach out to bless others every chance you get. Be a Joy Carrier. Peter told a lame man, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." (Acts 3:6). The man left walking and leaping and praising God. Peter was ready to be a blessing to others. How about you?
3. Understand that joy produces strength, which is why it’s Satan’s number 1 target. Nehemiah 8:10b says “for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” If Satan can keep you focused on your trials, focused on your issues, focused on your circumstances - he can beat you down. It's like attaching weights around your neck and carrying them with you throughout your day. But taking you eyes off of the circumstances and placing them on the God who is "over your circumstances" will bring you joy and strengthen your faith.

So which one are you? Are you Joy Impaired? Are you a Joy Extinguisher? Are you the Joy Carrier who breathes life into a room? We all need to make the conscience decision to carry the Joy of the Lord with us wherever we go today. In doing so we will find strength, endurance, maturity and lack absolutely nothing.