LOVE THE LORD: MEDITATION MONDAY AND GRATITUESDAY

(includes MEDITATION MONDAY)

This year, on this blog, our theme is J.O.Y.  This month, we looked at   "J" is for Jesus and His amazing agape / sacrificial love.  I am so grateful for His love and that He modeled it so clearly.

In February, on this blog, I'll focus on the "Y" of J.O.Y.   Out of gratitude to Jesus, love Yourself like Jesus does!   

Each year, I personally spend time in Christ's "Sermon on the Mount" - Matthew 5-7. It's hard to get past chapter 5 because of all the things Jesus shares about how the goal of a christian is to become like Him. 

 The last verse of chapter 5 is mind boggling, "Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. "

The word "perfect" in that verse translates to be like our word "mature". Want to be mature? The finished product? Like Jesus? Then, You and I need to be all those things that Jesus said before this summary verse.



We'll talk about it more tomorrow.  Today, with gratitude, let's  meditate on this: 

Do you love Yourself enough to mature to be like Jesus?  Let's prayerfully focus on "growing up in Him" for the month of February!

Love Jesus!

Love Yourself!

~Oh, the J.O.Y.~

  

LOVE THE LORD... SUNDAY IN THE SON...

LOVE THE LORD
as sung by Lincoln Brewster

Love the Lord your God
With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength (2x)

With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength
Love the Lord your God
With all your heart
With all your soul
With all your mind
And with all your strength

I will serve the Lord
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength (2x)

With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength
I will serve the Lord
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength

I will love You (I will love You)
I will praise You (I will praise You)
I will serve You, Lord (I will serve You)
I will trust You, Lord (I will trust You)

And with all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
With all my strength

I will love You Lord
With all my heart
With all my soul
With all my mind
And with all my strength (3x)

JESUS IS LOVE!

LOVE JESUS!

~OH, THE JOY!~

I LOVE THE LORD: TRANSFORMING THURSDAY AND FAMILY FELLOWSHIP FRIDAY...

Last week, I wrote the following:

In a christian family and in the church family, our goal is to grow up in the love of Christ or be "taken by the love of Christ". I love this scripture, Ephesians 4, that describes how this transformation happens:


"11 So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to EQUIP HIS PEOPLE for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE, WE WILL GROW to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up IN LOVE, as each part does its work."

I saw this picture on FB and I immediately thought of the transformation process we all must go through and how it relates to our role as wives and mothers.  I connected it back to last Thursdays post (above) and then I thought of two chapters later in Ephesians 6, where Paul says this:

 
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.


18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."

Life is a battle!   Jesus gives us His armor!

~LOVING JESUS~

 

~Oh, the J.O.Y.~

I LOVE THE LORD.... WOMEN IN THE WORD WEDNESDAY

I am so grateful for God's WORD who feeds us, whether it is through reading and meditating on any scripture or making the higher level connection of looking at Jesus, the WORD, and His role in the big picture.  It is all HIS-Story!

In January, we are focusing on the love that Jesus has for us and our love for Him.  The last few Wednesdays we have looked at several scriptures for possible memorization.  Here are two of the most important... we already looked at them in the Monday post:

Our God sees the little details of life, but He also sees the big picture. Our God is LOVE and He asks the same of us. When God came down and "dwelt among us" (John 1), He was the walking talking embodiment of LOVE. He asks me to be the same! In fact, He said it in the Old Testament and He said it in the New Testament:

• Deuteronomy 6:4-6 ^"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts."

• Matthew 22:36-38 ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. "

You can link back here to former Wednesday scriptures on this blog:  WOMEN IN THE WORD WEDNESDAY

Jesus loves me!

I love Jesus!

Oh, the J.O.Y!!!!

I LOVE THE LORD... GRATITUESDAY...

My greatest blessing?

Jesus Christ!

I love the LORD Jesus Christ!

~Oh, the JOY~

I LOVE THE LORD... MEDITATION MONDAY...

As I consider how much Jesus loves me, I must consider my love for Him.  Life is so hard!  It's easy to raise a fist to God and say, "Why?"  or  "You betrayed me!"  The TRUTH is that He does know the answer to "WHY?" and He does not betray. 

Our God sees the little details of life, but He also sees the big picture.  Our God is LOVE and He asks the same of us.  When God came down and "dwelt among us" (John 1), He was the walking talking embodiment of LOVE.  He asks me to be the same!  In fact, He said it in the Old Testament and He said it in the New Testament:

•   Deuteronomy 6:4-6   ^"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.⁵ L ove the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts."
• Matthew 22:36-38  ³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. "

What is this LOVE?  1 Corinthians 13 tells us:

"Love is patient,
love is kind.
love does not envy,
love does not boast,
love is not proud.

⁵ Love does not dishonor others,
love is not self-seeking,
love is not easily angered,
love keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷ Love always protects,
Love always trusts,
Love always hopes,
Love always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.
But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (wo)man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. "

I love You, LORD!

~Oh, the JOY~

I LOVE THE LORD...SUNDAY IN THE SON...

I LOVE THE LORD

as sung by Whitney Houston

I love the the LORD, He heard my cry
And pitied every groan, long as I, I live
And troubles rise, I hasten to His throne

[Chorus:]
Oh, I love the LORD
I sure do, surely do love the LORD
He heard, He heard my cry
And pitied every groan, yes He did
Every groan
Long as I live, long as I, I live
And troubles rise, troubles rise
I hasten to to to to to
I'll hasten, I'll hasten to His throne
I'll hasten to His throne hold on hold on
Tears are streaming down my eyes
I'll hasten, I'll hasten to His throne

Yes I will, I'll run
I know I can go to His throne
I know I can go, I know I can go
I'll hasten, I'm gonna run
I know I can go, I know I can go
I'll hasten, I'll hasten to His throne

See I can run, LORD you know I will
When there is nowhere to go I know I can go to You
I know I can run to You oh
I'll hasten, I'll hasten to His, His throne
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'll hasten, hasten to His throne
Surely gonna be here

LOVE JESUS!

~Oh, the J.O.Y.~

TAKEN BY LOVE... FAMILY FELLOWSHIP FRIDAY...

What a week of great challenge!  I don't know what I or others would do without the fellowship and love of God and His family. 

This week, has been one of great challenge in the midst of me hobbling with a cane because of a bum knee and my new semester beginning:

• different friends are grieving the loss of a father, sister, and grandfather
• friends are battling depression for multiple reasons
• a friend was rushed to the emergency room with great pain and signs of having a heart attack - we joined him there with his family
• my husband stopped by to see a friend, only to find this friend dead in his living room...

I have seen many tears and deep grief / pain responded to with great measures of LOVING-KINDNESS... LOVING SERVICE... LOVE...

I am TAKEN BY THE LOVE OF JESUS and how He works in and through my family and friends. 

~Oh, the J.O.Y.~

TAKEN BY LOVE... TRANSFORMING THURSDAY...

I begin each semester by sharing with my classes, at the university, that they are beginning the semester as a caterpillar and are on their way to becoming butterflies.  The struggle can be difficult.  Many butterflies take longer than others in their transformation process.  I have heard butterfly experts share that "rushing the process" can be detrimental to the final outcome.  Also, that often the greater the struggle, the more beautiful the butterfly at the end. 

For humans, it works much the same way, but it's a beautiful thing when the whole process is bathed in LOVE.  In a christian family and in the church family, our goal is to grow up in the love of Christ or be "taken by the love of Christ".

I love this scripture, Ephesians 4, that describes how this transformation happens:

11 So Christ Himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to EQUIP HIS PEOPLE for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE, WE WILL GROW to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up IN LOVE, as each part does its work.

~LOVE JESUS~

~Oh, the J.O.Y.~

TAKEN BY LOVE... WOMEN IN THE WORD WEDNESDAY...

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am convinced that
   neither death nor life,
   neither angels nor demons,
   neither the present nor the future,
      nor any powers,

  neither height nor depth,
  nor anything else in all creation,
    will be able to separate us from
       the love of God
       that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What does "the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" look like?

1 Corinthians 13 describes that love called "agape". 

⁴ "Love (Jesus) is patient,
love (Jesus) is kind. 
Love (Jesus) does not envy, 
love (Jesus) does not boast, 
love (Jesus) is not proud.

⁵ Love (Jesus) does not dishonor others,
love (Jesus) is not self-seeking, 
love (Jesus) is not easily angered, 
love (Jesus) keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶ Love (Jesus) does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷ Love (Jesus) always protects,
Love (Jesus) always trusts,
Love (Jesus) always hopes,
Love (Jesus) always perseveres.

⁸ Love (Jesus) never fails...

¹³ ...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love (Jesus).
But the greatest of these is love (Jesus). "


1 John 3:16

"This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us..."



Revelation 1:5-6

"...Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by His blood,
⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests
to serve His God and Father—
to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."


I invite you to choose one or more of the above scriptures to put to memory this month.

J is for Jesus!

Love is Jesus!

Jesus is love!

Jesus loves me!

~OH, THE JOY!~

TAKEN BY LOVE... GRATITUESDAY...

Jesus LOVED me enough to be JOYFUL in all circumstances.

Jesus LOVED me enough to PRAY for me.

Jesus LOVED me enough to give THANKS for me.

I saw a quote on FB that once again reminded me of Jesus' love:

  “Religion says: God will love us if we change.

The Gospel says: God’s love changes us.”

Thank You, God, for this amazing love!

I'm TAKEN BY LOVE!

~Oh, the J.O.Y.!~

TAKEN BY LOVE... MEDITATION MONDAY

You've read this on this blog multiple times: 

"When a mustard bottle gets squeezed mustard comes out.

When a ketchup bottle gets squeezed, ketchup comes out.

When a christian gets squeezed, Jesus Christ should come out."

Why is it then, that when things don't go as planned, when the stresses of the day become overwhelming, or when we just don't "FEEL" like it... our squeeze ends up  pushing out "garbage/sewage"?

Yesterday, in his sermon entitled DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY, my hubby repeated this statement several times: 

"When I am weak, then I am strong...

I don't want to get in the way of the Divine!" 

We read through the following scriptures: 

• 2 Corinthians 11:22-29
• Ephesians 6:10-12
• 1 Peter 2:18-3:16

He used all the above to get us to thinking / meditating on:

1. It's not about me!  It's about Christ living in and through me!
2. There is a battle going on!
3. I was called for a purpose.

 THE PURPOSE?  For the love of Christ to live in you/me (in spite of the battle) as we:

• LOVE J ESUS
• LOVE O THERS
• LOVE Y OURSELF

__________________

~Oh, the J.O.Y.~

TAKEN BY LOVE... SUNDAY IN THE SON...

TAKEN BY LOVE

as sung by Kutless

 

The world will fade away as I lift my hands
The King is worthy of praise, is the great I AM
The joy You've given rings out as I lift my voice
I'm captivated by Your ways, so I will worship You

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

All creation will bow to the risen King
All of heaven will shout and the earth will sing
The joy You've given rings out as I lift my voice
I'm captivated my Your ways so I will worship You

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken my heart
My heart, my heart

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken my heart
You've taken my heart
You've taken my heart
You've taken my heart

~OH, THE J.O.Y.~

TAKEN BY LOVE...

TESTIFY TO LOVE...

JESUS...

     You've likely seen this video. It's all over Facebook! I saw it for the first time on Wednesday. Wednesday evening it had about half a million viewings. By last night at 10 p.m., it had over 3,200,000 viewings and 500,000 comments. What? Yes! I don't agree with every statement the young man makes, yet his premise is so true. Jesus loves me! Jesus loves you!
.
     I sat for about 5 minutes after watching the video on Youtube: WHY I HATE RELIGION, BUT LOVE JESUS! The comments rolled in at about 1 per second. Nasty comments! Vile comments! Encouraging and loving comments! It hit me... this is what God sees ALL THE TIME. How patient can He be? Is it time for the King to return?

     I believe He is waiting for one more... five more... hundreds more... thousands more... to be added to the Family! He is waiting for one more... five more... hundreds more... thousands more... to BE TAKEN BY LOVE!

Our children need to be taught that "church" is not a place we go to... it is the people who are in love with Jesus.... His bride... who is TAKEN BY LOVE!

Taken by the love of Jesus!

Testify to the love of Jesus!

~OH, THE JOY!~

THE KING IS COMING... TAKEN BY LOVE...

TRANSFORMING THURSDAY

It was and is who Jesus is that drove Him and still drives Him to love you and me. 

JESUS  =  LOVE

1.

The song you hear playing on the playlist, TAKEN BY LOVE, uses these words sung by Kutless to tell us a little about His love:

The world will fade away as I lift my hands
The King is worthy of praise, is the great I AM
The joy You've given rings out as I lift my voice
I'm captivated by Your ways, so I will worship You

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

All creation will bow to the risen King
All of heaven will shout and the earth will sing
The joy You've given rings out as I lift my voice
I'm captivated my Your ways so I will worship You[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsty.com/kutless-taken-by-love-lyrics.html ]
You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken my heart
My heart, my heart

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken me by love
You've taken me by grace
You've taken me away, I can't resist
Because You've taken my heart

You've taken my heart
You've taken my heart
You've taken my heart
You've taken my heart

NOTE:  You may want to pause the playlist after listening to TAKEN BY LOVE.

2.

This week, on this blog, we've gone to 1 Corinthians 13 several times.  I paraphrase it here for your consideration.  As you read through it, determine which one of these traits of Jesus' love do you internally have the hardest time believing that He can do for you?

⁴ "Jesus' love for me is patient,
Jesus' love for me is kind.
Jesus' love for me does not envy,
Jesus' love for me does not boast,
Jesus' love for me is not proud.

⁵ Jesus love for me does not dishonor others,
Jesus love for me is not self-seeking,
Jesus love for me is not easily angered,
Jesus love for me keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶ Jesus love for me does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷ Jesus' love for me always protects,

Jesus' love for me always trusts,
Jesus' love for me always hopes,
Jesus' love for me always perseveres.

⁸ Jesus' love for me never fails...

¹³ ...And now these three remain: faith, hope and Jesus' love.
But the greatest of these is Jesus' love. "


3.
People are all different.  We express emotions differently.  We express our love differently.  Jesus showed us how to love in all ways.  He showed Himself to love on different ends of the continuum of personality:

• From Extroverted to Introverted
• From iNtuitive to Sensing
• From Thinking to Feeling
• From Perceiving to Judging

     As the Gospels show us the array of personalities that Jesus loved and led while He walked this earth,  I can only imagine all the Spirit leading and loving that it took to change Peter from the impetuous soul to the Spirit-led church leader.  I think of the love of Jesus that it took to change John from a "son of thunder" to the "apostle of love."  Wow!  There's hope for me!

      Join me today in taking this quick personality quiz.  Then, take a look at that "natural woman" the results show you to be.  You will come face to face with your personality extremes and you can begin talking to Jesus about how He is and wants to live and love through you in His kingdom.  I will begin posting tomorrow about how Jesus' love can shape and mold our unique characteristics for His glory.  Remember your 4 letter profile that you will get at the end of the quiz!

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes1.htm

J is for Jesus!

Love is Jesus!

Jesus is love!

Taken by love!

~OH, THE JOY!~

THE KING IS COMING... WOMEN IN THE WORD WEDNESDAY...

THE KING IS COMING

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am convinced that
   neither death nor life,
   neither angels nor demons,
   neither the present nor the future,
      nor any powers,

  neither height nor depth,
  nor anything else in all creation,
    will be able to separate us from
       the love of God
       that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What does "the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" look like?

1 Corinthians 13 describes that love called "agape". 

⁴ "Love (Jesus) is patient,
love (Jesus) is kind. 
Love (Jesus) does not envy, 
love (Jesus) does not boast, 
love (Jesus) is not proud.

⁵ Love (Jesus) does not dishonor others,
love (Jesus) is not self-seeking, 
love (Jesus) is not easily angered, 
love (Jesus) keeps no record of wrongs.

⁶ Love (Jesus) does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷ Love (Jesus) always protects,
Love (Jesus) always trusts,
Love (Jesus) always hopes,
Love (Jesus) always perseveres.

⁸ Love (Jesus) never fails...

¹³ ...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love (Jesus).
But the greatest of these is love (Jesus). "


1 John 3:16

"This is how we know what love is:
Jesus Christ laid down His life for us..."



Revelation 1:5-6

"...Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To Him who loves us
and has freed us from our sins by His blood,
⁶ and has made us to be a kingdom and priests
to serve His God and Father—
to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen."


I invite you to choose one or more of the above scriptures to put to memory this month.

J is for Jesus!

Love is Jesus!

Jesus is love!

Jesus loves me!

~OH, THE JOY!~

THE KING IS COMING... GRATITUESDAY...

I love the words to our theme song...

"The King is coming,
and He's coming for me!"

I'm thankful today that this KING, the Creator of the universe, who desires an eternal relationship with me is the God of LOVE.  When I read, as we did yesterday, from the book of John that Jesus is God and then in  1 John that God is LOVE it draws me to the chapter in the Bible called THE LOVE CHAPTER - 1 Corinthians 13. 

Since Jesus is God and God is Love, let's use THE LOVE CHAPTER to help us get to know Jesus.

⁴ "Love (Jesus) is patient,
love (Jesus) is kind.
It (Jesus) does not envy,
it (Jesus) does not boast,
it (Jesus) is not proud.


⁵ It (Jesus) does not dishonor others,
it (Jesus) is not self-seeking,
it (Jesus) is not easily angered,
it (Jesus) keeps no record of wrongs.


⁶ Love (Jesus) does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

⁷ It  (Jesus) always protects,
(Jesus) always trusts,
(Jesus) always hopes,
(Jesus) always perseveres.


⁸ Love (Jesus) never fails.

But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a (wo)man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love (Jesus). But the greatest of these is love (Jesus). "

J is for Jesus!

Grateful that:

Love is Jesus!

Jesus is love!

Jesus loves me!
I choose to love Jesus!


~OH, THE JOY!~

THE KING IS COMING... MEDITATION MONDAY...

Welcome to our new theme and a new year of transforming!  I have pondered and prayed about our new theme.  There are many things to consider when we are talking about eternal life for you, your family, and those who you come in contact with.  I'm planning on blogging in a similar, yet new fashion this year.  Join me in a year of J.O.Y.

I am a teacher at heart:  teacher for children, teacher for future teachers, teacher for women/moms... Maybe you remember singing this kids song in Bible class, Vacation Bible School, or church camp:  "

"J.O.Y.!  J.O.Y.! 

Happy as can be! 

Jesus first! 

Yourself last! 

And Others in between!"

This connects us to  "The Greatest Commandment".  I'd like to spend  this year exploring J.O.Y. in terms of the acrostic:

J is for Jesus
O is for Others
Y is for Yourself

You can see the "plan" for the year over on the right sidebar.

Let's begin with considering this timeline of verses from scripture:

Genesis 1:
²⁶ "Then GOD said, 'Let US make mankind in OUR image, in OUR likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.'”

John 1:
¹ In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with GOD, and the WORD was GOD.
² He was with GOD in the beginning.
³ Through HIM all things were made; without HIM nothing was made that has been made.
⁴ In HIM was LIFE, and that LIFE was the LIGHT of all mankind.
⁵ The LIGHT shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
⁶ There was a man sent from GOD whose name was John.
⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that LIGHT, so that through him all might believe.
⁸ He himself was not the LIGHT; he came only as a witness to the LIGHT.
⁹ The TRUE LIGHT that gives LIGHT to everyone was coming into the world.
¹⁰ HE was in the world, and though the world was made through HIM, the world did not recognize HIM.
¹¹ HE came to that which was HIS own, but HIS own did not receive HIM.
¹² Yet to all who did receive HIM, to those who believed in HIS name, HE gave the right to become children of GOD— ¹³ children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of GOD.
¹⁴ The WORD became flesh and made HIS dwelling among us. We have seen HIS glory, the glory of the one and only SON, who came from the FATHER, full of GRACE and TRUTH.


John 3:
 ¹⁶ "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."

 

1 John 3:

¹ See what great love the FATHER has lavished on us, that we should be called children of GOD! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know HIM.
² Dear friends, now we are children of GOD, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when CHRIST appears, we shall be like HIM, for we shall see HIM as HE is...

¹⁶ This is how we know what LOVE is: JESUS CHRIST laid down HIS life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the LOVE of GOD be in that person?
¹⁸ Dear children, let us not LOVE with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

1 John 4:
⁷ Dear friends, let us LOVE one another, for LOVE comes from GOD. Everyone who LOVEs has been born of GOD and knows GOD.
⁸ Whoever does not LOVE does not know GOD, because GOD IS LOVE.
⁹ This is how GOD showed HIS LOVE among us: HE sent HIS one and only SON into the world that we might live through HIM.
¹⁰ This is LOVE: not that we loved GOD, but that HE LOVEd us and sent HIS SON as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
¹¹ Dear friends, since GOD so LOVEd us, we also ought to LOVE one another.
¹² No one has ever seen GOD; but if we LOVE one another, GOD lives in us and HIS LOVE is made complete in us.
¹³ This is how we know that we live in HIM and HE in us: HE has given us of HIS SPIRIT.
¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the FATHER has sent HIS SON to be the SAVIOR of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that JESUS is the SON OF GOD, GOD lives in them and they in GOD.
¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the LOVE GOD has for us. GOD is LOVE. Whoever lives in LOVE lives in GOD, and GOD in them.
¹⁷ This is how LOVE is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like JESUS.
¹⁸ There is no fear in LOVE. But perfect LOVE drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in LOVE.
¹⁹ We LOVE because HE first loved us.
²⁰ Whoever claims to LOVE GOD yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not LOVE their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot LOVE God, whom they have not seen.
²¹ And HE has given us this command: Anyone who LOVES GOD must also LOVE their brother and sister.

Revelation 22:
¹² “Look, I am coming soon! MY reward is with ME, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.
¹³ I am the ALPHA and the OMEGA, the FIRST and the LAST, the BEGINNING and the END.
¹⁴ “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of LIFE and may go through the gates into the city.
¹⁵ Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
¹⁶ “I, JESUS, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the ROOT and the OFFSPRING OF DAVID, and the BRIGHT MORNING STAR.”

J is for Jesus!


Faith is Jesus!
I place my Faith in Jesus!


Hope is Jesus!
I place my Hope in Jesus!

Love is Jesus!
I choose to Love Jesus!

~OH, THE JOY!~

THE KING IS COMING...

SUNDAY

IN THE

SON

The King is Coming

(Bill Gaither)

The marketplace is empty,

no more traffic in the street

All the builder's tools are silent,

no more time to harvest wheat

Busy housewives cease their labor,

in the courtroom no debate

Work on earth has been suspended

as the King comes through the gate

Happy faces line the hallway,

those whose lives have been redeemed

Broken homes He has mended...

those from prison He has freed...

Little children and the aged

hand in hand stand all a-glow

Who were crippled, broken, ruined,

clad in garments white as snow

Chorus:

The King is coming, the King is coming

I just heard the trumpet sounding

and soon His face I'll see.

The King is coming, the King is coming

Praise God, He's coming for me

I can hear the chariot's rumble,

I can see the marching throng

And the fury of God's trumpet

spells the end of sin and wrong

Regal rolls are now unfolded,

heaven's grandstands all in place

Heaven's choir is now assembled,

start to sing 'Amazing Grace'

Repeat Chorus (x2)

Praise God,

He's coming for me...

for me...

for me...

~OH, THE JOY~