A new smile!

What are you caught up in? Jesus can lift you up and God with His Holy Spirit will be with you as you come and go. 

John 14 verses 15-21.

Jesus said to them, "If you love Me, obey Me; and I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter, and He will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit , the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive Him, for it is not looking for Him and does not recognize Him. But you do, for He lives with you now and someday shall be in you. No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm---I will come to you. In just a little while I will be gone from the world, but I will still be present with you. For I will live again---and you will too. When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. The one who obeys Me is the one who loves Me; and because he loves Me, My Father will love him; and I will too, and I will reveal Myself to him."

It does sound like a bit of a riddle, but really it is the truth which you have not seen or understood before. You know the truth now, because you have thought of Him in your times of trials and overwhelming concerns. It was that moment in your calling out to God that He came forward and brought life back into you. 

   God has always been with us and is seen in all things that are around us everyday. We have chosen to blank Him out and live the way we think is right. If you are one of the few who are able to let down your guard and believe for a moment that what has been said about God is true, then you are cutting your way through the doubt to reveal what has been there along. 

   You may have not ever put any thought towards God or Jesus at all. You have gone through life doing as you see fit, but that does not mean, you have not thought about Him today. In your time of feeling abandoned, empty and alone, you have come to think that maybe He could be real and today He may be there listening to your prayers. 

   You have gone a lifetime being brought up by others, guided along so that you learn right from wrong. You have a body that is growing and changing. You learn what to eat and what not to. You make choices and learn compassion. You have never put any thought into God as being the one who created you and made you as He wants you to be. 

   Why would you think about God? Does it really matter why you have thought about God? The fact is you have and He has touched you. Like a nudge from Him, He is letting you know that He has been there all along. You are astonished, awed and left thankful, filled with a gratitude that you have never felt before. 

   He has come forward and proven to you that He has heard your prayers and you are left to sort out what has just happened. It was not something you did, and you are totally aware that the only way you are thinking, and feeling is from something God has done. You feel joy and a new found energy. You want to step up and help. You are seeing things that you never saw before. You have become aware of love. God's love for you has come upon you and is shining through you in the glow of your new found understanding.

   Do others get what has just happened to you? Some may and others will not. With tender steps, you move forward, welcomed home and understanding your place in God's family. Jesus has revealed Himself to you and the Holy Spirit gives you the right words to speak, the right thoughts to have and the right actions that show you are God's child. 

   Even with your new found energy and gratefulness to God, your life still faces challenges. You are so thankful that in the midst of a trial, God is with you. You understand the things Jesus went through and how He shows you through the Holy Spirit God's amazing power and love for you. 

   Your family may not see as you do. Your neighbors and co-workers may not see as you do. The money grabbers still want back what they have given you and those closest too you push your buttons just as much as you push theirs. 

   God is a joy that we can hold onto. He has given us a righteous way to live and a promise of eternal life. With those, God shows us His love and the love we get to share with others. You will see the difference between your life before God and what it is like now that God is in your life. Remember the bullies, the drinking buddies, the harsh spoken words, the uncalled for thoughts and waking up to being in it all over again?

   Well no longer, you have begun to sing a new song. One that no longer wants those old ways but sees the joy Jesus has for God and more than that we see the Holy Spirit show us the right things to say and do, leaving us in awe as God smiles over us for choosing life with Him. 

   1 John chapter 4 says, "As we live with Christ, our love grows more perfect and complete; so we will not be ashamed and embarrassed at the day of judgement, but can face Him with confidence and joy, because He loves us and we love Him too." 

   1 John continues to talk about us having no fear of someone who loves us perfectly. God's love for us should eliminate all dread of what He might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what He might do to us, and shows that we are not fully convinced that He really does love us. Verse 19 says, "So you see, our love for Him comes as a result of His loving us first."  

   Wow! All this time lost to doing what I thought was a hard to control rollercoaster ride, when God was right there to ride with me, comfort me and show me the right way to enjoy life. And this will not be a short lived smile, it is forever. A permanent smile will be on your face, glowing in the way you act. 

   You will have bad days, you will be tempted and your desires will try to pull you away from Jesus, so that you do not see God. But because of what God has done for you, you will fight, you will turn away and you will have the right words to speak. You will stand out as His. 

   Mark chapter 13 says, "When you are arrested and stand trial, do not worry about what to say in your defense. Just say what God tells you to. Then you will not be speaking, but the Holy Spirit will."

   We are never free from our own temptations to fall back on our old natures. But by holding close to Jesus and knowing God as your Father, His Holy Spirit will dominate and be your armor against losing sight of God. 

   Thank You Father for Jesus. Thank you for Your saving grace and Your mercies. Without You, there is no You and we are left to face our troubles and trials on our own. 😊   

John chapter 10 verse 9.

Jesus said to them, "Yes, I am the Gate. Those who come in by way of the Gate will be saved and will and will go in and out and find green pastures.     

Romans chapter 12 verse 9-12.

Do not just pretend that you love others: really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good. Love each other with brotherly affection and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work but serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always. 

1 John chapter 4 verse 16. 

We know how much God loves us because we have felt His love and because we believe Him when He tells us that He loves us dearly. God is love, and anyone who lives in love is living with God and God is living in him.    

John chapter 21 verse 18.

Jesus said to Peter, "When you were young, you were able to do as you liked and go wherever you wanted to; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands and others will direct you and take you where you do not want to go." Jesus said to him, "Follow Me."