Living the Abundant and Joyful Life

By Gillis Killam –

This morning I felt frustrated as we are having a difficult time getting things packed up and ready to move out of our house which is for sale. My wife thought I was not doing my part fast enough. In the frustration of it all I didn’t seem to be very joyful. I found myself being snarky or snappy and not at all the joyful person God wants me to be. Then I looked at this scripture and was soundly rebuked by Paul the Apostle who wrote “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4 NIV).

The Lord wants us to be joyful “always,” not just when things are going well for us, but even in the times of trouble. It seems that Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians 4:2-3 were not very joyful either. They had a disagreement, and no doubt communication had broken down and this was not a joyful situation. Paul admonished other leaders to help these women to get along and be joyful.

James said, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4 NIV).

This takes an act of the will to consider trials and disappointments “pure joy,” when you don’t feel like it. But when we obey what God says, joy will come and fill our lives. An interesting verse says, “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Do everything without grumbling or arguing” (Philippians 2:13-14 NIV).

In this scripture Paul took great joy in his brothers and sisters in the Lord. He said, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!” (Philippians 4:1 NIV). The book of Philippians is called the epistle of joy and Paul wrote it in prison.

The Ultimate Transformer

By Susan Dollyhigh –

“Close your eyes and hold out your hands, Drew. I brought you a surprise.”

Three-year-old Drew did a little happy dance, squinched his face so tightly his eyes closed, and then stuck out his small arms.

I placed Super Grover in Drew’s hands, and stepped back. Drew opened his eyes and mouth at the same time, and just as quickly his mouth closed and his expression turned into a frown.

“What does it do, Nana?”

Before I could answer, Drew said, “It doesn’t do anyfing!”

Stuffed Super Grover was clearly a dud as far as Drew was concerned. He didn’t do one thing.

I soon understood Drew’s disappointment. He showed me his favorite new toys, Transformer Rescue Bots. Drew could transform them from robots into rescue vehicles. He had Chase, the police car, Heatwave, the fire engine, Blades, the rescue helicopter, Boulder, the bulldozer, and Optimus Prime, the leader who assigned underground missions designed to protect all mankind.

Super Grover…Rescue Bots… now even I could see that Super Grover was a dud.

Jesus stood in the synagogue and read, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He then declared, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”

The people in Jesus’ hometown had just been presented with the Ultimate Transformer, they just didn’t know it. They looked at Jesus, and thought he was a dud. They didn’t think He could do one thing, so they rejected Him, and drove Him out of town.

Throughout Jesus’ three years of ministry, He drove out evil spirits, healed the sick, fed thousands with only two fish and five loaves of bread, raised the dead, and transformed the lives of everyone who heard and believed. He even died on a cross to save us from our sins.

Two thousand years later, Jesus’ ministry continues. Jesus Christ took me, a broken, insecure little girl, and healed my heart so I could become the person He had created me to be. He freed me from bondage, and I was finally able to laugh, and play, and sing with pure joy and abandon. Jesus Christ transformed my life, and I’m so thankful that He did.

The Ultimate Transformer will heal your heart, and transform your life as well. Won’t you give Him your heart today?

“He went to His hometown and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him? Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?’ And
they were offended by Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household’ ” (Matthew 13:54-57 HCSB).

Quote: “All I know is this works. It’s not only worked for me, but I’ve seen it work for literally thousands and thousands of people. I have seen the transformation on people’s faces when they receive Christ. I’ve seen the glory come on them, the light.” Joyce Meyer.

The Ivy

By Hally Franz –

Finally, spring has arrived! After a long and snowy winter, it’s a joy to feel warm breezes through open windows, pluck a dewy tulip from the garden, smell heavy piles of freshly-mowed grass, and experience the sensation of poison ivy when moist bumps pop up on winter-white skin. Rewind!

Yes, spring has sprung, and with it a variety of wonderful long-awaited pleasures. However, we forget all about THE IVY in the dead of winter.

My son worked for a landscaper friend of ours in April. They mulched beds and pulled weeds, and Ivan ended up with a nasty case of poison ivy. He’s had bouts with the vicious weed before, but this was his worst case to date, attacking his underarm and moving from there.

We treated the areas with anti-itch creams and drying lotions, which provided a bit of relief. However, after a solid week of scratching and spreading we called the doctor. He prescribed the big guns, a steroid to take care of the rash. Once the recommended dosage was gone, the situation was much improved, but it still took several days for it to disappear.

Poison ivy attacks without us knowing it. Many times we don’t recognize it or even see it in our environment. Some can sit right on it and be unaffected. Others are highly allergic to it. It may be a few bumps for some, but, for others, it may linger for weeks. Poison ivy seems more potent at the time of year when we may be most vulnerable, after months spent mainly indoors.

The sins in the world can be a bit like this wicked weed. I think about my children as they grow, and I wonder how they will handle the bad things they encounter in daily life. Will they recognize ungodly people and behaviors in their schools and community? Will they resist them, or will they be tempted to follow? If they fall, and they will at times, do they have the skills needed to leave a sinful pattern and grow in their faith?

I hope they do. Parents all hope for this. Perhaps our best defense against the disease of sin is to inoculate our children with a healthy dose of Christian faith, teach them to make wise decisions based on His word, and encourage them to come to us when they need aid.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please guide me in the rearing of my children and the teaching of all children in my circle, so that I will share with them Your word always as the guide for surviving the challenges they will face as they grow.

“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (Psalm 25:9 NIV).

Yielding Your Right Away

By Diane Mayfield –

Once again, I find myself learning important lessons in this laboratory of life called the family. When I was a young mother, I knew children were God’s way of revealing my impurities and bringing me to my knees. But that was before adolescence. Those years were about running the race of endurance, perseverance, and prayer.

Now that my children are young adults, two married and one a parent, I think I imagined personal growth through my family was over for me. Well, I was wrong.

I just finished Beth Moore’s Bible Study on James. One of the lessons from that study was “ to yield your right away.” It’s all part of one of James’ major themes on proving to others that your faith matters, being a doer of the Word.

Picture the red and white yield sign on the frontage road helping to control traffic and prevent collisions. I’ve seen cars completely ignore those signs and I’ve been guilty of it too. If I think I can beat the other car, I’ll put my foot to the pedal and speed up.

That’s not Beth Moore’s idea of yielding the right away according to James. True to His way, God has given me several opportunities to learn this lesson. At 58, I still am not thrilled about growth opportunities. It’s just not natural. And I suspect that is the point.

My daughter and son-in-law came to town for a visit. It was suppose to be my Mother’s Day celebration with them. Prior to their arrival, my daughter and I had talked about plans for the weekend, both of us conferring together. Saturday the guys were going to play golf and the girls got to shop. We were having lunch at the club before that.

Lunch came and the plans shifted completely. After playing in a work golf tournament, my son-in-law was not sure he wanted to play golf, at least not eighteen holes. So after much discussion between the men, eighteen holes of golf changed to possibly nine later in the afternoon. Lunch was now at a local Mexican food place.

After lunch, we returned home and the guys are still discussing their plans. Suddenly golf was out and, consequently, so was shopping. My son-in-law wanted us all to hang out. I think he really wanted to be with his wife. Up popped that red and white yield sign.

I had a choice. By all rights, it was my Mother’s Day celebration. “Yield your right way,” the voice in my head said. When I saw that yield sign in my head and heard these words, “a sign of wisdom from God is to yield your right away,” I knew this was a God moment. I could choose to be a doer of the Word or just a reader of it. Praise God I did not put my pedal to the medal but yielded my rights away.

I’ve decided that’s what being an “in-law” is all about-yielding my right away. This is a new family member interrupting the “family system.” I can compete for control or yield, whether or not the yield sign is for me or not. In doing so, I prevent a collision, openly or behind closed doors. In doing that this time, we had a restful, relaxed afternoon watching a movie before going to dinner

It’s not natural for me this yielding. I take the lead in making plans. I look forward to experiencing what is planned. I learned though that those plans, being in the right, having it my way, means nothing in the light of being a doer of God’s Word.

“But the wisdom that comes from Heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and sincere” (James 3:17 NIV).

A Good Father

By Judy Davis –

June is the month to celebrate Father’s Day. Some of us have had good fathers here on earth and some of us not so good. My father was an alcoholic and he and my mother divorced when I was about 8 years old. My mother never remarried so I did not grow up knowing the love of a father.

Since receiving Christ into my heart at the age of 13, I have felt His love. I was in my thirties before I really started reading and studying the Bible and could understand it. This is when I started knowing God in a deeper way. Praise Him for He is the greatest father of all. Looking through my notes I found this piece about fathers:

What Makes a Father

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majestic of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle’s flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
And there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it–father
– Author Unknown

I can relate with this piece because my husband has been a wonderful father to our children. They have such a love and respect for him. He has always been there for his family.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You are Jehovah Jireh, our provider, Jehovah Rapha, our healer, and Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner. You are the one who guides us under the direction of your holy name. Thank you for watching over each day and protecting us in all circumstances.

“Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding” (Proverbs 4:1 NIV).

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