Fellowshipping & Praise the Lord with Doc329 (22)

[doc329]

A message on happiness
What is Happiness?
​

As we read the first Psalm the writer does not attempt to define happiness; he illustrates it. He shows us that happiness is not our circumstances, it is in our selves.
Happiness concerns not primarily the externals of life but the condition of our spiritual health and the degree of our intimacy with God.

Happiness is a matter of outgoing interests. We must be interested in other people. To eat and drink may make one merry, but it is more fun if one eats and drinks with someone. Happiness is a product of relationships. No individual can attain real happiness alone. In our relationship with others, however, we must have their welfare in mind. To be happy we must consider the other person's right to be happy. No one can build his happiness on someone else's unhappiness.

The happiest people are those who are immersed in some great cause that they don't notice if they are happy or not. These are the people with singing hearts.
When you get to the heart of religion, you will find a song. True happiness is the most persuasive herald the gospel has in the world. Millions live unhappily because, while they have something to live on, they lack the supreme condition of a happy life, something to live for.

Happiness is a matter of Christian hope, of faith in the future. If we are to be happy, our lives must be pointed in the right direction. Deep down in our hearts we know that we are immortal. A philosopher once said,"We do not believe in immortally because we can prove it, we try to prove it because we believe in it." Everywhere and in every culture the faith in an eternal tomorrow exists.
The universal verdict of mankind is that this life is not all there is.

For the Christian the rainbow of a larger hope rims the horizon of eternity.
Matthew 5:6 -" Happy are those who are hungry and thirsty for goodness, for they will be fully satisfied."

Those who are hungry for pleasure become disenchanted and bored. Those who are hungry for possessions drop the keys to their safe deposit boxes when they die.
Those who lust for power, even if they gain it, are robbed of their scepters and shorn of their purple when the night comes.

But those who are hungry for goodness, will be fully satisfied - not once, but again and again as spiritual appetite returns. What a beautiful alternative to strengthen us as we walk on the road to a happy and fruitful Christian life.

 

[barb754]

Trust. It can't be half-hearted. Either it is full trust or it
is clouded with suspicion. So as we face the everyday challenges of
life, or as we look for answers for deep and difficult problems,
let's put our full trust in the LORD. Let's ask for his wisdom and
guidance as we make our choices so that our paths may be straight.
Let's give him praise for the good in our lives and seek his
blessing for the days ahead. Why? Because he longs to bless us with
life, both now, and forevermore.

 

[Starr71]

Trust. It can't be half-hearted. Either it is full trust or it
is clouded with suspicion. So as we face the everyday challenges of
life, or as we look for answers for deep and difficult problems,
let's put our full trust in the LORD. Let's ask for his wisdom and
guidance as we make our choices so that our paths may be straight.
Let's give him praise for the good in our lives and seek his
blessing for the days ahead. Why? Because he longs to bless us with
life, both now, and forevermore.

Amen, So true, excellent message Barb. Ran out of reps, Or you would have been zapped with some Christian love of reps.

Have yourself a wonderful night.
Your sister in Christ,
Starr

 

[Starr71]

Love and Forgiveness​

There are probably no two emotions common to human beings more closely related than love and forgiveness.
When these emotions are experienced together, they take on a certian unselfishness that is inexpressibly beautiful in its
manifestation.
Perhaps the main reason why the result of the expression of love and forgiveness is so winsome in a person is that it is the chief characteristic of God in His attitude toward man.
Love and forgiveness radiated from Jesus Christ constantly.

Amen

 

[doc329]

Love one another, even as I have loved you"
​

We need to learn that Christian love is not instinctive. It is not emotional, it is not a mere feeling, nor is Christian love automatic.
Christian love is an activity in which we are called upon to participate.
It is a lesson to be learned, and Jesus is the teacher,

Christian love is more than an emotion or a feeling. Christian love is an activity that follows a decision of commitment.

Let us look into the face of every person and see him or her as one for whom Jesus Christ died.
Let us look and see who needs the love that we can give because of the indwelling Christ
Let us look into the mirror and see for ourselves one for whom Jesus Christ died on the cross.

As we seek to love God supremely, let us decide to love ourselves properly and appropriately, and perhaps we will find it easier to be obedient to the commandment of our Lord when He said, "Love one another, even as I have loved you."

By so doing, we will find ourselves continually wearing the badge that indicates that we are true disciples of Jesus Christ [John13:34-35]

 

[doc329]

An Awesome God
The storms will come in each of our lives. They will cause all sorts of problems, unless we truly are founded on Christ and Him crucified. The grace and promise of God that we are destined for a better place will allow us to shine in the midst of the storm. Jesus Christ in our hearts will fill us with praise even during the very worst of storms.
We truly have an awesome God, who has shown us through nature that He has many facets. He is neither limited by our perception of Him, or by any other thing in this world.

 

[doc329]

Music Flows From the Soul
​

Some of the sweetest and most meaningful music we know today has come from those that have experienced the greatest sorrow. They could not explain it with words, so they expressed it with song. Music flows from the soul. There is mystery and meaning in music that could never be expressed in any other way. The oppressed will walk on in faith, singing. Their song is medicine for their wounds and relief for their suffering.

Singing can open the well of tears and pour out the contents of the soul. Poetry has been a blessing to all cultured people and singing has blessed the holy people of God.
Many have known the blessed experience of being made happy as they sang. Many times it is best to utter the dark feelings of this life in a song rather than uttering them to each other.
As we seek relief in our singing, we are drawn to worship. The things we just can’t understand will seem to vanish as we open our heart to God through our song.

 

[1Sam24:12]

Good morning, doc!

 

[linchen]

Brother DOC for a long time I have been away from this Forum.
You are the reason why I logged in again.

 

[linchen]

Music Flows From the Soul​

Some of the sweetest and most meaningful music we know today has come from those that have experienced the greatest sorrow. They could not explain it with words, so they expressed it with song. Music flows from the soul. There is mystery and meaning in music that could never be expressed in any other way. The oppressed will walk on in faith, singing. Their song is medicine for their wounds and relief for their suffering.

Singing can open the well of tears and pour out the contents of the soul. Poetry has been a blessing to all cultured people and singing has blessed the holy people of God.
Many have known the blessed experience of being made happy as they sang. Many times it is best to utter the dark feelings of this life in a song rather than uttering them to each other.
As we seek relief in our singing, we are drawn to worship. The things we just can’t understand will seem to vanish as we open our heart to God through our song.

Beautiful...

 

[doc329]

Glory of God
One cannot fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ for very long without His glory being reflected in his life. Such a person does not need to wear a badge proclaiming his virtues or his victorious life, these will be evident to others.

Can the glory of Christ be seen in those of us who have received Christ as Savior? No one should ever attempt to minister God's message without first spending time in God's presence. God's glory must shine, not ours.

Every day before you go out to meet the world, spend some time with God by reading His Word and talking to Him in prayer.

Spending time in His presence will bring the sunshine of heaven to your face, and others will observe this in you throughout the day.

 

[doc329]

Love is profound. I love the way I Corinthians 13: speaks of love:
as being as strong as death itself..it cannot be killed by time or disaster; it cannot be bought ... not even by the richest king!

It must be accepted as a gift from God and then shared within the guidelines that God provides: striving to make your love a reflection of the perfect love that comes from God himself.
There are so many types of love but the truest, purest,unconditional, most faithful love is that love of God and that is "agape"love.

 

[Starr71]

Brother DOC for a long time I have been away from this Forum.
You are the reason why I logged in again.

I agree with you. This brother is very encouraging. The Lord is surely using him to spread the Word.

 

[doc329]

Each believer needs to answer a searching question.
​

Are my eyes fixed on the single purpose of glorifying God? If so, the fires of self-ambition will be distinguished when a believer desires to gloryfy God above all else, be willing to do anything and to be anything so that the purpose of God can be accomplished.
It is good for a believer to ask himself if he is as concerned about seeing God's working through others, as he is about God's working through himself. The sin nature causes a person to want to be center stage.

We are all like this, so we must come to grips with this tendency. We become competitive in the Christian life and find it difficult to pray for Christians who are not part of our church, or our work.
In the body of Christ there should be no competing with each other. We are members of the same body [1 Corinthians12:12-13], and when one member suffers, we should all suffer with him. When one member is honored, we should all rejoice.

We need to spend some time in the Word and be alone with God until we are more concerned about His honor than our own. We do not need to worry about competition from other believers, our concern is only to glorify the Lord in all that we do.

When a Christian is more concerned about God's honor than about his own, God will take care of his worries about competition from fellow believers. It is much easier to say this than to really live it, but we must come to grips with this problem if we are going to have victory in our Christian lives.
We must be aware of the indwelling Christ and rely on Him to give us victory in these areas.

 

[doc329]

"Sumit yourself to God"

The word "submit" means to put yourself under God, under His care and power and strength; to yield to God, to His will, command, instructions, laws, behavior, and Word; to surrender yourself to God for Him to strengthen you so that you can do exactly what He says.
What this means is to focus your mind upon God and His Word immediately when temptation trikes. Turn away from the temptation, push it out of your mind and begin to think about God and go over and over His Word in your mind. Just begin to resist the devil by focusing your mind upon God and His Word.
Persevere in following God's command and in resisting the devil. When you do, the most wonderful thing will happen. The devil will flee and the temptation will be gone. We cannot even listen to the enemy's tempting offer--not even for a moment.
Picturing the temptation moves us a long way down the road to defecting and sinning against God. The only way to conquer temptation is to immediately submit ourselves to God and to immediately resist the devil and his temptation.
We may have to struggle. The images of the temptation may attack and attack us, but if we will attack back by rolling God's Word over and over in our minds, the temptation will flee.

 

[doc329]

Perhaps singing is not your talent, but each of us can find ways to proclaim the power of christ in our lives.
If God is really important in our lives, we should be excited to let the whole world know how we feel.
Praise God with your whole heart, and sing forth His glory always

 

[doc329]

Did you know that change is good, it helps you not become grace-potato Christians, helps you to adapt to new situations and to grow inside.
Christians go through some of the greatest changes.

First we are blind, dead sinners. Then we are made alive. Then we discover more of our sinfulness and God continues to change our hearts. God wants to make our hearts more like his.

Change can be quite good.
It challenges you by causing you to grow through the trials and tribulations of life. Change keeps you from getting bored.
Are you the same person you were 10 years ago? 5 years ago? 1 year ago?

Even though there are things that are contradictory, each has its place.
However, God Does not Change. Imaging what it would be like if God changed on us. What if one day he were nice and another day he was mean. Or what if he altered between merciful and judgmental?

I thank God that he is unchangeable.
That means you can count on Him to always be there and to do the right thing.
He wont' change His mind about you.

 

[doc329]

It is a mark of man's greatness, that he can go out and commune with nature, some commune with the great minds of the past and some with the present. There is no ending to whom you can commune with. But the grandest of them all is to commune with God.

Early morning is considered by most the best time to commune with God, before the daily chores begin.
In the evening is also a good time.Then we have rest; and we can retire from the stress and turmoil of the world, and in secrecy of our hearts commune with God. Here are some quieting thoughts for a time of trouble.
God rules over all. God is love. His love is holy, just, and good. It is well with all those who do his will. There may be clouds and darkness and there may be trouble; but God reigns, and his truth and mercy are spread out as wings, under which we can always find refuge.

We can look back. It is good to look back and remember God's loving-kindness. What he has done for us is not a cause of thankfulness; but of hope.
His acts as well as his promises does not change. Nothing eludes his eye, nothing can surprise his wisdom or baffle his powers.
There are times when he seems not to hear, but this is our infirmity.
The throne of grace stands ever accessible. If we ask we shall receive. We may be cast off and dishonored by men, but God will never forsake those who trust in him.

The future of the wicked is dark, but the future of the righteous is bright as the heavens shiny with countless stars.
Whatever happens!
Let us hold fast to God.

 

[Starr71]

Good morning everyone, 11 more days until we move. Please keep us in your prayers.

God bless you all richly. For I am blessed everytime I come to this thread. I can feel God's love here.

 

[doc329]

It is good to say, ''Thank You," to the Lord
Every morning tell him, thank you for your kindness,
and every evening rejoice in all his faithfulness
It is no wonder I sing praises unto the Lord.
I am glad and I sing for joy

O Lord, I will praise you with all my heart and tell
everyone about the marvelous things you do.
I will be glad, " Yes " filled with joy because of you.
I will sing your praises, O Lord, I will sing unto you