"Nevertheless"

Feeling down in the dumps?   Having a bad day? It's okay. Every one does. Christians, however, should have the ability to shake it off, kick it to the curb and get on with the business of living a joy filled life. Joy! The joy of the Lord is our strength. And that is no small thing. In the middle of turmoil, grief, relationship issues, financial problems. In the middle of life. It is our job and our calling to exhibit joy in all of these things. It is not our job to moan and groan about life and all that entails.   It is not our purpose to despair due to circumstance. It is the core value of our entire belief. That God can and does fill us with joy. "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."    (Hebrews 12:2   NASB) He endured that because He saw joy in the outcome. We can take joy in all circ

And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.” (Matthew 17: 20-21 NASB) You  can not experience the fullness of your relationship with God if you are holding out on Him.   He has so much to offer to His children. He holds nothing back from us.   He gave it all and He wants us to live in the complete and total freedom that being related to Him bestows on us. But we hold onto our 'stuff' like we can deal with it on our own.  Like He can't handle it. Like He doesn't

If you ask God to accept you as you are without giving up your sin, then you are also asking Him to change Heaven into a place just like earth where sin reigns. Fortunately, God is smarter than that. He is more just than that. He is too good for that and He loves us to much to allow that. Yes, God loves each and every one of us just like we are, but He also wants more for us. Everyone Jesus encountered made a choice. He told the woman who was to be stoned for adultery “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) He told the crippled man that He had healed: “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. (John 5:14-15) And then ... Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good