negativity

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Peace and Joy

John 14:27
“…Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…”
John 15:11
“…these things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full…”

In these verses above, Jesus tells us that His joy is in us when we keep His commandments to love one another and glorify the Father. He also tells us that if we believe in Him that we will prove it by our works. And through these works the Father will be glorified. Jesus also tells us where His joy comes from; it is in us when we “bear much fruit”(Jn 15:8). Don’t just say that you are a Christian, prove it! Not to God, because He already knows the condition of your heart. We are not saved by these works, but rather the world will see them and perhaps someone will be saved “because” of them. In this the Father is glorified and this is the joy of Jesus!
Do you say that you love Jesus, yet you walk around with the weight of the world on your shoulders?
Do you say that you love Jesus, yet you walk around negative and judgmental?
Do you tell the world that Jesus loves them and that He saved you, yet you go about playing the victim of this world and your circumstances?
I tell you this, THIS IS NOT THE JOY, LOVE, WORKS OR FRUITS OF JESUS!!!!!!!!!
What is this joy that Jesus speaks of? It is being of good cheer and having a gladness of heart. This is a dying and doubtful world, prove to them with your actions not your words that the God that you serve, the God that you tell them has saved you and will save them is a God that is of good cheer. Nobody is attracted to a person that is down and negative, nobody. So why would a world that is downcast already be attracted to a God whose followers are downcast and broken? They won’t be!
John 15:8 “By this my Father is glorified, THAT YOU BEAR MUCH FRUIT AND SO PROVE TO BE MY DISCIPLES!”
Now all you fellow women out there that have “born” a child naturally can attest that to “bear” anything is hard, painful work. Why should bearing fruit for God be any different?
I think the “church” has lost sight of this very important part of scripture. We have preached for so long that it is not your works that save you. As true as that is, we have taught it for so long that we are now a body that takes and never gives. We sit as a body and complain about this issue and that. We sit on high and pass down judgment upon this group and that group. We preach, but have no love! We are annoying gongs going off in this world! Turning people away from God rather than to Him!
Jesus gave us these commands to follow:
Love one another.
Glorify the Father.
We know that this means that we are to love everyone, not just the people that we want to. But I must say here, please do not be fooled into thinking that this love that Jesus tells us to have is the love that the world speaks of.  This love is “Agapo” NOT “Agape”! Agapo indicates a direction of the will and finding one’s joy in anything. (This is the translation from the Lexicon). It symbolizes God’s love for us, and our love for God. The Lexicon goes on to say that Agapo and NEVER Agape is used towards our enemies. (Agape means love with compassion.)
So what exactly does that mean for us in everyday life? It means that we choose to be good and decent and kind and hospitable to everyone and finding joy in it!
Why?
Because it glorifies the Father and that is the joy that Jesus promised to give you!
Jesus said He left His peace “with” us; that He gave His peace “to” us. What is this peace? It is rest and the end of strife. Look, I know that this world is tough and that you face trials and hardships every day. There are some days that are harder than others to stand at all, let alone stand “for” something. I know, I have lived it and still do. But this one thing I will tell you, this one thing that I know for sure….t

Your Light Must Shine

Your Light Must Shine (Photo credit: Fr. Stephen, MSC)

hat if I let God be the center of everything in my life; the good and the bad, THAT GOD WILL WIN EVERY SINGLE TIME!
Each time I am faced with life’s many twists and turns and I choose to turn the other cheek, I am taking a rest from the strife that threatens to bury me alive. Each time I choose to direct my free will to love (Agapo) I am showing the world my works, therefore I am bearing fruit. I am not a branch that will be cast into the fire. Every time that I make one of these conscious choices, every time that I choose to bear fruit and follow the commands of Jesus I bring glory to the Father. And in this glory comes the peace and the joy that Jesus promised me…
As always, God Bless you till  we meet again…

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