Tag Archives: Toleration

Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Wisdom

Filled with Joy

Christmas ornament imprint the word joy

As Christmas approaches very quickly we often become to busy with shopping, cooking, parties, and family gatherings to realize the true joy within our lives. While spending time with loved ones important this season as it should be all the time, let’s take a deep look into the term joy. As you read this article of mine, list some of the struggles you are going through in life whether it be health, family, financial, or emotional, and see how you can apply joy to that particular situation.

 

Galatians chapter 5 discusses the nine fruits of the Spirit which help us walk in the Holy Spirit. The nine fruits of the Spirit are characteristics one should have that is a true follower of Christ. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”. Joy is happiness from the consistent promises of God within His word. We have joy when God gives us provisions according to His word. This can come from anything from a healing to a financial need that is supernaturally met. If you are a true born-again Christian then you already have one thing to be joyful for, and that is your salvation. Psalm 21:1 says, “O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!”.

 

So why should we always be joyful? Since joy is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit we must apply joy to our character. When we apply the fruits of the Spirit to our character, we are walking within the Spirit and not the flesh. Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”. You might be weak in one of the nine fruits of the Spirit if so turn to God to help you with your weakness. We must remember our strength comes from the Lord. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”.

 

So why must you apply joy even when going through a rough patch in life? First Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”. Notice the scriptures uses the word abound which has the following synonyms listed in the Webster’s dictionary: be plentiful, be abundant, be numerous, be full of, and overflow with. Also, Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”. The more time we spend rejoicing and in prayer, the less stressed out we will be. Spending time worrying is just wasting time that you could be praying. We are to continue our joy even in trials, and our perseverance during our trials will be dependent upon our joy. James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds”.

 

When we get distracted by things of the flesh we walk out of the Spirit. This can make our circumstances worse for us because when we walk by flesh and not Spirit it opens the door for the enemy to work. John 16:22 says, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”. While we will have our trials here on Earth, we must remember that if our hearts are right and if we are walking in the Spirit we have eternal life. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  The scripture of John 3:16 is one reason every believer should be filled with joy. Many secular views tell us that heaven will be a place of partying and a good time. This secular view is completely wrong and will hinder one from walking within the Spirit. Heaven will be a place of praise and worship to our creator. Romans 14:17 tells us, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”. I believe that God wants us to walk in the Spirit as much as possible when we are here on Earth so that we can rejoice in heaven.

 

I challenge you to be filled with joy during times of struggle and seek God for strength. By walking in the Spirit and not the flesh, we can expect to see more of God’s promises in our lives. Also by spending less time worrying, and more time in prayer, we will have more hope. As Christmas approaches quickly, be joyful for at least one thing, if not more, and that is the birth of our Savior.

 

Christianity, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

What You Tolerate, Will Dominate

chain links

What is it that you tolerate in your life? Do you tolerate bondage, depression, sickness, pain, or even poor circumstances? These are all things that are of our world, but are they of God? No, they are not of God. God made this world for us to enjoy our time on, to have a purpose and mission, however, this is a dark world full of sin. If we continue living lives by our flesh, we will be dominated. If we live our lives by Spirit we will have eternal life.

 

In John 3:3 Jesus said: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”. Further, in this same chapter, Jesus explains what born again means, along with differentiating flesh and Spirit. In reading verse six, Jesus said: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”. If you jump down to verse sixteen, Jesus said, “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”. So by being born again which makes us new of Spirit we have eternal life, through the one and only Son of God.

 

So in being born again, how are we to live our lives? Are we to live according to our flesh?  No, Paul said in Romans 8:12, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.”. Okay, you cannot live by flesh, so how must you live? If you read the next verse it says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”.So we are to live by our Spirit, our Spirit brings us closer to God in our personal relationship with him by being born again. By living in Spirit, God protects us because we are his children. This is supported in the next verse Paul wrote (Romans 8:14), “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”.

 

So how about if you are already born again and have a strong relationship with God, and down the road, you get struck by a horrible disease for which there is no cure, and you can only manage the symptoms for the rest of your life, what do you do? You might begin to question God, become depressed, and turn away from God. Sickness is not what God intended for anyone. There is no sickness or pain in heaven. But we live in a world of darkness, so we will encounter times of trouble in our lives. This is when we have to put our faith in God’s Word into action. If God’s Word promised us something, then we need to be steadfast, ask for it and believe we will receive it according to his will.

 

If you are dealing with an illness remember Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.”. Notice it uses ‘we are healed’. Not we might be, but we are healed. Having faith for healing is like planting a seed, you plant it and water it and make sure it can get sunlight where you plant it. Do you take your seed out of the ground and check on it? No, no farmer would do that. It is the same thing with faith, we often are led by how the flesh feels with our natural five senses, we forget we need to act in Spirit with our faith. James 2:17 says, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”.

 

We will encounter many challenges on earth even if we are born again. Remember Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,”. So we will encounter weapons, but according to God’s will, they will not prosper. We might go through a hard time, such as a disease, job loss, or bad circumstance but, we must remember God’s will for us in His Word and live our life to it. We must pray to expect with faith according to His Word. By going through trials in life, if we act in faith according to His will we will come out stronger in the end.

 

2 Corinthians 11:20 says, “You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.”. This talks about when one is the slave of another, but if you put this into perspective this is the same when you are a slave unto your sickness or poor circumstances. Should you tolerate your sickness? No, it is God’s will to heal you. Should you tolerate your poor circumstances? No, God has plans for you, not against you. This is a concept other preach on and is true, what you tolerate, dominates you. If you tolerate a sickness, instead of applying the healing scriptures of the Word to your life, it will dominate you. If you tolerate poor circumstances, instead of applying God’s Word regarding his plans for you, your poor circumstances will dominate you. We might have to change course at times to get on track with God during these times, but we should not tolerate times of trouble, we should turn to God and overtake the situation with our faith.  Even in the darkness of the world, remember Deuteronomy 31:6, “ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”.