Follow Me!

Those were the words that were heard by a man named Abram. He wasn’t anybody special; he was one of three sons. He was nine generations removed from Noah and sixteen generations from Adam.

(I know this doesn’t sound very interesting but bear with me through this brief history lesson.)

What I need you to see is that God doesn’t give up on His plans. He is diligent, persistent, aggressive and determined. Love never fails!

Of all the people on earth God chose Noah and nine generations later He chose Abraham.

“The Lord said to Abram: ‘Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.  I will bless those who bless you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.’ 4-5 Abram was 75 years old when the Lord told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had acquired while in Haran.” Genesis 12:1-5 CEV

God is looking for those who will believe Him and obey. Noah obeyed and built an ark; Abram obeyed and left his homeland.

“Abraham had faith and obeyed God. He was told to go to the land that God had said would be his, and he left for a country he had never seen.  Because Abraham had faith, he lived as a stranger in the promised land. He lived there in a tent, and so did Isaac and Jacob, who were later given the same promise. 10 Abraham did this, because he was waiting for the eternal city God had planned and built.” Hebrews 11:8-10 CEV

If you read the story of Abram’s life, and I hope you will, you will see that he wasn’t perfect. He lied to the king of Egypt about his wife and there was family friction between he and his nephew Lot and still God used him. In fact, the Bible tells us that Abram was called the friend of God.

I like that.

My friends are near and dear to my heart. I treasure those relationships; God’s affection is so much greater than ours. Because men like Noah and Abram trusted God and were blessed by Him, we too share in those blessings.

“The Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith.  And so, you should understand that everyone who has faith is a child of Abraham.  Long ago the Scriptures said God would accept the Gentiles because of their faith. This is why God told Abraham the good news that all nations would be blessed because of him. This means everyone who has faith will share in the blessings given to Abraham because of his faith.” Galatians 3:6-9 CEV

Abraham has left us some important steps to follow on our journey to the cross. Following the path that God has planned for us will always bring blessings!

“I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13  You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you” Jeremiah 29:11-13 CEV

No Law Against It

By now I hope your garden is well planted. Seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control.

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. 24 And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 CEV

Planting God’s word in a heart of good soil is always an effort that brings good results.

“The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 23 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as 100 or 60 or 30 times what was planted.” Matthew 13:22-23 CEV

I hope you have written down our “seed” verses over the last several days. We need to keep them fresh in our memory so that our hearts continue to bear fruit – some 30, some 60 and some 100 times as much.

The Apostle Paul tells us that there is no law against these characteristics that Christ develops in our lives. But his message stirred up hatred, jealousy, and anger in the hearts of some who heard it. No one was ever arrested or maligned for doing good and righteous things. However, Paul was beaten and imprisoned for sharing God’s love by those who were convicted by his stand for Christ.

“God’s Spirit doesn’t make cowards out of us. The Spirit gives us power, love, and self-control. Don’t be ashamed to speak for our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, just because I am in jail for serving him. Use the power that comes from God and join with me in suffering for telling the good news.” II Timothy 1:7-8 CEV

Standing strong is the real test of the seed, or what God is developing in our lives. A tree withstands the storms of life. The rain, wind, lightning, hail, frost and snow. It stands resilient in the face of hardship. It’s rooted deep.

 But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.” Colossians 1:23 CEV

We must stand guard so that the weeds – the cares and anxieties of life – don’t choke out the seed.

 Always be glad because of the Lord! I will say it again: Be glad. Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.” Philippians 4:4-7 CEV

Paul wasn’t arrested because of the good he did. Jesus wasn’t crucified because of the miracles He performed and the compassion He showed. Persecution and death came because of the hatred in men’s hearts.

Will we be tested and face trials in our stand for Christ? Yes, yes we will. But just like Paul, Peter, John, James and Jesus our fruit will continue to produce as long as we don’t let weeds of bitterness and self-pity choke it out.

There is no law against God’s love.

Say What?

Oh boy! This morning we are going to open a big package of “self-control” seeds.

 “But the fruit… 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:23 NLV

One translation that I looked at today shows self-control as continence or self-restraint. Ruling over our own desires. So, let’s jump right in and get some seeds planted.

“O Lord, put a watch over my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 NLV

Our words can be devastating, harmful and destructive. Wrong eating habits can destroy our bodies the same way that wrong behavior can harm our souls.

“We all make many mistakes. If anyone does not make a mistake with his tongue by saying the wrong things, he is a perfect man. It shows he is able to make his body do what he wants it to do…The tongue is also a small part of the body, but it can speak big things. See how a very small fire can set many trees on fire. The tongue is a fire. It is full of wrong. It poisons the whole body. The tongue sets our whole lives on fire with a fire that comes from hell… With our tongue we give thanks to our Father in heaven. And with our tongue we speak bad words against men who are made like God. 10 Giving thanks and speaking bad words come from the same mouth. My Christian brothers, this is not right!” James 3:2-10 NLV

Not a lot of explanation is needed here. If we control our speech, we show maturity and restraint. If we don’t, it’s just not right.

 And keep Your servant from sinning by going my own way…14 Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in Your eyes, O Lord, my Rock and the One Who saves me.” Psalm 19:13-14 NLV

“The words of his mouth are sinful and false. He has stopped being wise and doing good. He plans wrong-doing upon his bed. He sets himself on a path that is not good. He does not hate what is bad.” Psalm 36:3-4 NLV

These two passages compare and contrast the life of someone with self-control and someone without it. Pleasing words, pleasing thoughts versus sinful and false words.

Jesus said that out of the abundance of our heart our mouth speaks. If we want to change what we say and how we say it, we need to change our hearts.

“Christian brothers, keep your minds thinking about whatever is true, whatever is respected, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever can be loved, and whatever is well thought of. If there is anything good and worth giving thanks for, think about these things.” Philippians 4:8 NLV

Speak the truth with love.

“Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head” Ephesians 4:15 CEV

 When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.” Colossians 4:6 ERV

Weeds of sarcasm and criticism must go. Destructive words that burn the heart must be quenched. When we have self-control, our words will be seasoned with love!

Seeds of Faith

 But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.” Galatians 5:22-23 MSG

I used our foundation verses from The Message translation this morning because the seeds we are planting today are the seeds of faithfulness and I like the way The Message describes it – loyal commitments.

Jesus said that the world will know that we are His followers by our love for one another. It takes loyal commitment to walk in love. That’s one of the biggest reasons that cause relationships to fall apart.

No commitment. No faithfulness.

Feelings get hurt, pride says I’m right and you’re wrong, we don’t agree and so we argue and relationships are severed.

Let’s get this straight right now – not one of us is always right, not one of us has the right opinion or fully represent truth in every situation. That is, no one but God and we aren’t Him!

“Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, Doesn’t have a swelled head, Doesn’t force itself on others, Isn’t always “me first,” Doesn’t fly off the handle, Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,” I Corinthians 13:4-6 MSG

Faithfulness: “Biblically, being faithful means being reliable, steady, and unwavering in your beliefs, actions, and commitments, especially in your relationship with God.” Faith – filled – action.

Jesus tells a story that I believe is a description of faithfulness and believe it or not, it’s about a seed.

“Finally, Jesus said: What is God’s kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world32 But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.” Mark 4:30-32 CEV

Jesus’ compares God’s kingdom to a seed. The smallest seed ever, planted in the ground, grows into a large tree, giving shelter to those around it.

God’s kingdom is a kingdom of His love and forgiveness. When that seed is planted in our hearts it will grow, it will stay planted and become an immovable force, giving shade and shelter to those around us. That’s seed results in faithfulness to God and to others.

Water it well and watch it grow!

For Goodness Sake

“But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do.” Galatians 5:22-24 ERV

I hope you took the opportunities you had yesterday to be kind. Today we will be planting seeds of goodness, which may look very similar to kindness but there is a distinct difference.

Kindness is something we do for others. Anyone can do random acts of kindness, but goodness is an attitude of the heart.

Goodness is a moral excellence.

“People who try hard to do good and be faithful will find life, goodness, and honor.” Proverbs 21:21 ERV

“God’s love will come together with his faithful people. Goodness and peace will greet them with a kiss. 11 People on earth will be loyal to God, and God in heaven will be good to them.” Psalm 85:10-11 ERV

There are several places in the Bible where goodness and fairness are linked together. Some refer to our actions toward others and some refer to God’s heart toward us.

“You must always be fair. You must not favor some people over other people. You must not take money to change your mind in judgment. Money blinds the eyes of wise people and changes what a good person will say. 20 Goodness and Fairness! You must try very hard to be good and fair all the time. Then you will live and keep the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Deuteronomy 16:19-21 ERV

“Lord, your faithful love reaches to the sky. Your faithfulness is as high as the clouds. Your goodness is higher than the highest mountains. Your fairness is deeper than the deepest ocean. Lord, you protect people and animals. 7Nothing is more precious than your loving kindness. All people can find protection close to you.” Psalm 36:5-7 ERV

Here the character of God is in full view – His faithful love, goodness, fairness and His kindness. Because God is love, His heart is good, His thoughts are fair and His actions are kind.

Jesus taught about this attitude of the heart.

 Every tree is known by the kind of fruit it produces. You won’t find figs on thorny weeds. And you can’t pick grapes from thornbushes! 45 Good people have good things saved in their hearts. That’s why they say good things. But those who are evil have hearts full of evil, and that’s why they say things that are evil. What people say with their mouths comes from what fills their hearts.

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but you don’t do what I say? 47 The people who come to me, who listen to my teachings and obey them—I will show you what they are like: 48 They are like a man building a house. He digs deep and builds his house on rock. The floods come, and the water crashes against the house. But the flood cannot move the house, because it was built well.” Luke 6:44-48 ERV

A good heart is one that is obedient and grounded on God’s word. A good heart will produce kind actions. Let’s all be good, for goodness’ sake!

Doing Good

“God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. 24 And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires.” Galatians 5:22-24 CEV

What does it mean to do good? Have you ever really thought about that? God’s Spirit makes us good and gives us the desire to do good.

Luke wrote in the books of Acts that Jesus went around doing good.

“God gave the Holy Spirit and power to Jesus from Nazareth. He was with Jesus, as he went around doing good and healing everyone who was under the power of the devil.” Acts 10:38 CEV

When He did good people were healed – physically, emotionally, and spiritually and they were freed from the power of the devil. Their lives were changed. He told sinners to go on their way and sin no more. People like Zacchaeus were changed from dishonest tax collectors to benevolent members of society. Prostitutes were changed from women of low reputation to women who served their communities with kindness. A salty, boisterous, braggadocious fisherman was changed to a powerful preacher of the good news of Jesus.

How? By the goodness of God.

“You surely don’t think much of God’s wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don’t you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?… God will reward each of us for what we have done. He will give eternal life to everyone who has patiently done what is good in the hope of receiving glory, honor, and life that lasts forever.” Romans 2:4,6&7 CEV

Doing good is life changing.

“The lifestyle of good people is like sunlight at dawn that keeps getting brighter until broad daylight.” Proverbs 4:18 CEV

“Whoever works to do good will find love and loyalty. It is a mistake to work at doing evil.” Proverbs 14:22 ERV

Christians, we who love God, should be a reflection of His character. God is good.

 Don’t get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don’t give up. 10 We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.” Galatians 6:9-10 CEV

“She must also be well-known for doing all sorts of good things, such as raising children, giving food to strangers, welcoming God’s people into her home, helping people in need, and always making herself useful.” I Timothy 5:10 CEV

Finally, I want you to see this prayer that the Apostle Paul prayed for the Christians that he was ministering to. It’s my prayer for all of us.

 I pray that your love will keep on growing and you will fully know and understand 10 how to make the right choices. Then you will still be pure and innocent when Christ returns. And until that day, 11 Jesus Christ will keep you busy doing good deeds that bring glory and praise to God.” Philippians 1:9-11 CEV

Each of these verses is a seed of goodness that we can plant in our lives. Each seed will produce a harvest and will bring glory to God.

Time to plant some seeds! Don’t grow weary!

Kindness For All

I have to ask – were you able to plant some seeds of patience yesterday? Make sure you water them each day so that they grow to be healthy and productive plants.

One way to keep them watered is by using the seeds we are planting today, the seeds of kindness.

 But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.” Galatians 5:22-23 ERV

Gestures of kindness are not forgotten.

When we were a young family, we were having a very hard time financially. We were a home of two working parents, we lived as economically frugal as possible and still we were unable to make ends meet.

We had friends who lived a good 30+ miles away and one Saturday morning they arrived at our door saying, “we were just in the neighborhood”. They proceeded to carry in bag after bag of groceries. They even had planned what we would have for lunch and stayed to make it with us and enjoy a day of swimming, friendship and encouragement.

This was an unforgettable kindness.

“I pray that the Lord will bless and protect you, 25 and that he will show you mercy and kindness. 26 May the Lord be good to you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-25 CEV

“Our Lord, you keep your word and do everything you say. 14 When someone stumbles or falls, you give a helping hand. 15 Everyone depends on you, and when the time is right, you provide them with food. 16 By your own hand you satisfy the desires of all who live. 17 Our Lord, everything you do is kind and thoughtful, 18 and you are near to everyone whose prayers are sincere.” Psalm 145:13-18 CEV

Kindness isn’t something that needs to be described. I think everyone understands what it means to be kind. However, it is something that needs to be planted and cultivated. If we don’t produce kindness, we will have a hard and calloused heart.

“Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, “When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?”

40 The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” Matthew 25:27-40 CEV

God takes our acts of kindness personally. He sees our actions as an outreach of his hands. When we are being kind and caring for “the least of these”, the unimportant ones, the forgotten ones, He sees it as a service to Him.

“Your kindness and love will always be with me each day of my life, and I will live forever in your house, Lord.” Psalm 23:6 CEV

The seeds of kindness that we plant not only grow in our hearts but it is seed that we can plant in the lives of others.

Instant Growth

Boy, is that an oxymoron! Growth is never instant and that’s exactly why it’s called growth.

 God’s Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, 23 gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways.” Galatians 5:22-23 CEV

Patience, Longsuffering, Endurance, not words we like to live.

“My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. You know you learn to endure by having your faith tested. But you must learn to endure everything, so you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.” James 1:2-4 CEV

Patience isn’t just the ability to wait; it’s waiting with character. It’s waiting with love, joy and peace. Impatient people wait – they just don’t do it well. When the Holy Spirit is working in our lives, while patience is growing, we will have daily opportunities to endure or to suffer long.

That slow cashier at the grocery store, the long line of traffic, the person trying to decide which orange juice to buy, getting through the admission process at the doctor’s office, standing in line at the post office, waiting on hold (I fail often with this one) are all opportunities – opportunities to endure.

While we’re waiting it’s a good time to plant more seed.

Love is patient and kind,” I Corinthians 13:4 CEV

These fruit of the Spirit we are planting are the fruit or character of God. We are called to imitate Him as little children imitate their parents.

“Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, ‘I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. ‘” Exodus 34:6

God, the Father, has been tremendously patient with us! The old English word for patient is long-suffering. Yes, He has suffered through our willfulness, our selfishness, our rebellion and disobedience. And in spite of all that He shows us great love and is completely trustworthy.

“God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient13  Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.” Colossians 3:12-13 CEV

Put up with each other – that’s a big calling! Patience is love in action. The Apostle Paul says it was God’s patience that brought him to salvation.

“Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. Christ showed his patience with me, the worst of all sinners. He wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in him and have eternal life.” I Timothy 1:15-16 ERV

“God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.” Romans 2:4 ERV

So, as we plant seeds of patience let’s look at the end result. As we grow, we will become mature, and we will be able to bring others to Christ by showing them the same patience He has shown us.

Peace Reigns

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

Today’s image is the International Peace Garden in North Dakota. I think everyone wants peace – peace in our soul, in our hearts, in our families and communities. There’s really only one way to peace, true peace, and that’s through trusting the power of God to be at work in our lives.

 Jesus said: “I have told you these things so that you can have peace in me. In this world you will have troubles. But be brave! I have defeated the world!” John 16:33 ERV

The Christian life is not free from struggles or difficult circumstances. All we have to do is look at Jesus’ time with His disciples to see that. They were ridiculed by the religious leaders; they faced mobs that sought to destroy them and then they dealt with physical storms as well.

“‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ 39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.” Mark 4:38-39 NKJV

“And what about the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That is like the people who hear the teaching but let worries about this life and love for money stop it from growing. So it does not produce a crop in their lives.” Matthew 13:22 ERV

Jesus does care! He doesn’t want us to perish; He doesn’t want us to be in turmoil, chaos or confusion. He doesn’t want the cares of this life or fear to choke out our peace.

“I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid.” John 14:27 ERV

“Suddenly many other angels came down from heaven and joined in praising God. They said: 14 “Praise God in heaven! Peace on earth to everyone who pleases God.” Luke 2:13-14 CEV

 You will keep the man in perfect peace whose mind is kept on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever. For the Lord God is a Rock that lasts forever.” Isaiah 26:3-4 NLV

Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” Philippians 4:6-7 ERV

 Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way.” Proverbs 3:5-6 ERV

Christ came into the world bringing peace on earth and good will from His Father. He left earth leaving us with His peace to overcome the attacks we would face. By trusting Him completely, by keeping our thoughts centered on Him, He will stand guard over our hearts and bring us perfect peace.

Because of Christ we have peace. These verses are seeds worth harvesting. Happy Planting!

Growing Joy

I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Where?

Down in my heart, down in my heart.

I’ve got joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.

Down in my heart to stay!

That’s a chorus I remember singing as a young girl in Sunday School. Little did I realize that the stories I was learning about Jesus and His love for me were planting seeds of joy in my heart.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

Joy: to experience great pleasure or delight REJOICE.

I can hear someone asking, “Kristi, do you expect me to be happy all the time? That’s just not possible.”

Let’s let the Bible answer that question.

“Be full of joy always because you belong to the Lord. Again I say, be full of joy!” Philippians 4:4 NLV

“Or the one who hates me will say, ‘I have power over him.’ And those who hate me will be happy when I am shaken. But I have trusted in Your loving-kindness. My heart will be full of joy because You will save me. I will sing to the Lord, because He has been good to me.” Psalm 134:4-6 NLV

“Our hope comes from God. May He fill you with joy and peace because of your trust in Him. May your hope grow stronger by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NLV

 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. See! I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people. 11 Today, One Who saves from the punishment of sin has been born in the city of David. He is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 NLV

“You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.” Psalm 16:11 NLV

 The Lord is my strength and my safe cover. My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. So my heart is full of joy. I will thank Him with my song. ” Psalm 28:7 NLV

We can be joy-full when people hate us or when they treat us badly. Joy is not predicated on our outward circumstances. It is a condition of the heart.

 For every tree is known by its own fruit. Men do not gather figs from thorns. They do not gather grapes from thistles. 45 Good comes from a good man because of the riches he has in his heart. Sin comes from a sinful man because of the sin he has in his heart. The mouth speaks of what the heart is full of.” Luke 6:44-45 NLV

When we plant seeds of joy because we belong to the Lord and dwell in His presence, our heart will produce joy no matter the circumstance.

I looked up the word joy in the NLV, New Living Version, this morning and found 444 verses on joy. That’s a lot of seed and it will produce a big harvest. Time to start planting.