Joy Today

Do you have a tune that goes round and round in your head? On the Eve of the NEW year, my "walking with Jesus" friend, let's consider Psalm 98:1-3:"O sing unto the LORD a NEW song <could that imply NEW harmony in some relationship? > Because The LORD has done marvellous things. HIS right hand and His Holy arm have gotten HIM the victory. The LORD has made known HIS salvation: HE has openly shown HIS righteousness in the sight of the heathen. HE has remembered HIS mercy and Truth to HIS people..." Are you, and I "up" for a NEW song to the Lord, for the NEW year? Let's give it a try...the Lord loves to hear from His people!!! We can say, Lord God Almighty, here comes my NEW song of praise for Your love, grace, mercy and Truth in my life. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notificatio...

NEW! Hi, my "walking with Jesus" friend, do you have anything NEW in your life? Yes, we are almost to the NEW year. There were 300+ religious laws the Old Testament Jews were supposed to follow. Along came Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and said:" A NEW commandment I give you, that you LOVE one another, in the same way as I have loved you <completely and consistently > that you love one another."(John 13:34) LOVE is: Patient. Kind. Courteous. Unselfish. Not rude. Not jealous. Not quick to anger. Is sad about wrongs. Rejoices in the truth. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things/ does not give up, no matter how tough the challenge. In fact, godly LOVE never fails.(Plse see 1 Corinthians 13) THAT is the kind of LOVE Jesus is talking about. Are you, and I, up to the challenge of living THAT kind of LOVE? How about a NEW resolve to live the quality of LOVE that Jesus exemplified. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit G...

Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend. Have you ever needed simply to turn around, and face the opposite direction in order to see something? In teaching us about the Way of the LORD, Jesus showed us to turn away from the practices of the world, the flesh and the devil, and "see" and follow what God requires. What attitudes and actions merit the blessing/the favor of God? Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:3-11, "Blessed are the humble in Spirit, for theirs IS the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. ...

We rejoice that the Lord announced the coming if His Son to save from the wrath of God by the atonement of His Son. Redeemed because Jesus took our place,/ paid for our sins, my "walking with Jesus" friend. Besides which, he would show himself to be:"...Wonderful. Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace..."(Isaiah 9:6) What is to be our response? God declares it to Isaiah, saying:" Arise! Shine! For your Light has come, And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people: BUT the LORD shall arise upon you, and His glory shall be seen upon you. And the Gentiles shall come to the Light, and Kings to the brightness of his rising...the Lord shall be unto you an everlasting Light, and God shall be your glory."(Isaiah 60:1-3 & 19b) Yes, we are called to stand up and shine, and to let the LORD be our glory. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit...

Christmas with its "Good tidings of GREAT JOY..." has brought its blessings to our hearts again this year, and we are grateful, my "walking with Jesus" friend. Isaiah had prophesied that God would send a Son. And God did!. God had instructed Isaiah to say the Son would be, "Wonderful..." And he was Wonderful: He feed the 5,000 (Matthew 14:15. Mark 6:41. Luke 9:12. John 6:5). God instructed Isaiah to say the Son would be a counsellor: In John 4:24, the Son counseled the woman at the well in Samaria:"God is Spirit. And those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth."(John 4:24) God told Isaiah to declare that the Son would be "Mighty God," and in John 11: 43-44, the Son called forth Lazarus from the grave, and gave him alive back to his sisters. The Son would also be:"Everlasting Father" and he was, saying:" I am the Resurrection and the Life, He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, an...

Rejoice evermore, "The GRACE of God that brings salvation has appeared..."(Titus 2:11) Yes, my " Walking with Jesus" friend," "God, who at various times and in diverse ways spoke to our ancestors by the prophets, HAS in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He has made the worlds. Who, being the brightness of the Glory of God, and the exact image of His person, and upholding all things by the power of His Word, when he had by himself wiped away our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on High...and Christ ever lives to make intercession for His people."(Hebrews 1:1-3, & 7:25b) May the brightness of the Glory of God in Christ light your way and mine into a NEW Year full of victory in Jesus, my friend. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like t...

LOVE. JOY. PEACE IN JESUS To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

God had everything in place, my "walking with Jesus" friend. Prophets had foretold the details of the coming of a Savior. Isaiah gave the message: "Prepare the way of the Lord..."( Isaiah 40:3) Then the appointed time came: In those days, a decree went out from the Roman Emperor that everyone was to be taxed by going to the city of their ancestors. So, Joseph went from Nazareth, to Bethlehem, the City of David, because he was a descendent of David, with his wife Mary. She was expecting the baby. And while they were there, the time came, and she birthed her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manager, because there was no room for them in the inn. And the angel of the LORD appeared to shepherds in the fields nearby..."I bring you great good news," the angel said, " For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. You will find the baby lying in a manager." Then the sky fil...

Our understanding of the love, grace and promises of God is strengthened as we embrace the excitement of the coming to earth of the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only He could EVER be and do all that Isaiah 9:6 & 7, proclaims: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulders, and His name shall be called: Wonderful. Counsellor. Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will accomplish this." Yes, my "walking with Jesus" friend, let us do as Isaiah 40:3, directs: "...prrpsre The way of the Lord, make straight in the desert [in the dry places of our life] a highway for our God... and the glory if the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see i...

God made it known, through the prophets that He would send a Savior, His son, to be born into a family of descendents of Abraham, born in Bethlehem And Isaiah 7:14, declares:" Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son. And He shall be Immanuel, meaning, 'God with you.' " Fulfillment of THAT prophecy is recorded in Matthew 1:18, "Now the birth of Jesus came about this way: when his mother, Mary, was engaged to Joseph, <of the ancestral family of David, in the genealogy of the defendants of Abraham, > before they came together, she was found with child by the Holy Spirit." And in Matthew 1:20&25, it is recorded:"...the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying, 'Joseph, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham, do not be afraid...she is with child be the Holy Spirit of God. So Joseph knew her not until she had brought forth her firstborn son: and called him Jesus." Prophe...

Prophets foretold the coming of Messiah/of the Redeemer. He would be born into a family of the defendants of Abraham. What would he be named? 500 years before Jesus was born, God declared to the prophet Isaiah how Messiah would appear: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given,..." Isaiah 9:6a. When a child to be born folks begin thinking about a name for the child, right? my "walking with Jesus" friend. Since the child to be born IS the Son of God, instructions about the name came from God: Matthew 1:21 tells us that an angel said that Mary "...shall bring forth a son, and you shall call his name JESUS: for He shall save his people from their sins." His name and his purpose. May we confess our sins, receive forgiveness through Christ and "walk in newness of life."(Romans 6:4) To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicate...

Yes, "In the beginning..." God, the Father and Jesus Christ, the only Son, were together. Then, when God saw that mankind inclined to sin/to act badly/ to make wrong choices, their dishonorable conduct angered and disappointed the Lord. God is holy. He desires His people to be holy, so they can be with Him in Eternity. So, He chose prophets to declare His counsel to His people. Did they listen and obey? Sometimes yes. And sometimes NO. SO, God sent His Son... to redeem His people from their sinful ways. The Son would be born into an earthly family .Ah, into WHICH family? Well, Abraham had proven himself faithful to God, full of believing, ready to trust the Lord. So God chose the descendents of Abraham to be the "host" family for His Son. That prophecy, recorded in Genesis 18:18,(probably written in about 1500BC) says:" ...Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and ALL the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him." BLESSED by the gift...

Wait a minute, Bethlehem is not the beginning of the story. The Gospel of John declares:" In the BEGINNING there was The Word [ the essence of/ and the expression of the thinking/ of the logic,] of God. The same was in the beginning WITH God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him [ in the Word] was Life; and the Life was The Light of men.*And the Light of that Life came shining into the darkness [of the lives of those who walked in sin]; And those in the darkness did not understand it." (John 1:1-5)And, in Proverbs 8:22 & following, the Son of God deckares:" The LIRD possessed Me IN THE VERY BEGINNING, before the earth was created...before the mountains were settled...When He prepared the heavens, I was there...when He gave the sea its instructions...when He appointed the foundations of the earth, I was with Him, as one existing with Him; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him...Now, therefore, lis...

He SAID he would come. And he did! Yes, we can count on "Uncle Mike"/ on certain people to keep their word. And, MOST OF ALL, we can count on God to keep His Word. When God, our Creator, saw that we human beings sometimes yield to temptation, make bad choices and get in a mess, God SAID He would send a Savior, a Redeemer. The times that God said He would send a Savior, are recorded in the Bible as prophecies: the for telling of a future event. The message of prophecy was given by God to prophets/ to men who were, let's say, were " tuned-in" to God/ were able to "catch His signal." In cel phone lingo, the prophets had 6 or 7 bars of reception in relation to God. As we Work our way toward Christmas, let's look at some of the prophecies about the coming of a Savior. At least 8 Old Testament prophets foretold the coming of the Christ/aka the Messiah. Where would Messiah be born? In 750 B.C the prophet Micah said: "But you, Bethlehem, though you ...

Yes, "If we ARE living by the Power of the Holy Spirit now, let us stick to the leading of the Holy Spirit in every part of our lives. We're choosing to live for the Lord, not for worldly honors, position or applause. We seek to please the LORD. (Galatians 5:24-26) And we choose to say, with the Psalm writer: "YOU, Lord, will show me the path of life, in Your Presence <and not anywhere else > there is FULNESS of JOY, at Your right hand, THAT is where there truly ARE real pleasures forevermore."(Psalm 16:11)Christmas is about God reaching down to man with the amazing invitation to walk WITH Him by walking with/following the path of Jesus Christ. May Christ dwell in your heart and mine, by Faith, my "walking with Jesus" friend. To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text message...

The FRUIT of the SPIRIT is generated in us by the Presence in us of the Holy Spirit of God. Please, come with me, my "walking with Jesus" friend, to the Gospel of John, chapters 14 and 16. Jesus is telling His disciples (and, by extension, He is telling us) that He is going away, back to His Heavenly Father, BUT, "not to worry," folks, because The Comforter, the Holy Spirit will be sent to you by the Lord. And the Holy Spirit will teach you all things, and bring to your minds all that I have taught you. The Holy Spirit will "guide you into all truth: He will not speak of Himself, whatever He hears from Me, He will speak, including that He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me..."(John 16:13-14) Oh, now we "see." The Holy Spirit, living in Me, produces the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT in my life, and THAT brings glory to God!!! Jesus directed us:" Let your light so SHINE before men that they may see your good works and GLORIFY YOUR FATHER...

MMS Received To respond to this text message, reply to this email or visit Google Voice. YOUR ACCOUNT HELP CENTER HELP FORUM This email was sent to you because you indicated that you'd like to receive email notifications for text messages. If you don't want to receive such emails in the future, please update your email notification settings . Google LLC 1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy Mountain View CA 94043 USA

A bright Good Morning, my "Walking with Jesus" friend. You, being very observant, my friend noticed that in Galatians 5:22, the description is of "The FRUIT" of the Spirit. Yes, all nine of those attributes are rolled into one "package." They all belong together. They all work together: When you live in LOVE, the result is JOY in your life. When you are full of JOY, there is PEACE in your heart, even whether or not there is peace in your surroundings. And when you have inner PEACE, you are PATIENT and KINDNESS is your "style." When you are KIND, you are full of GOODNESS, which promotes FAITHFULNESS/ loyalty. So you have not need to be rough, instead, your words and actions show the virtue of GENTLENESS. It all adds up to you living a life of SELF-CONTROL, showing "The FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT." The more time we spend with the Lord, in His Word, in Prayer, worship and Fellowship, the more evident it will become that the Lord is developing th...

Now comes the exciting part...we like answers! Right? My "walking with Jesus" friend. What happens WHEN we are careful to "Walk in/according to the wise, God-focused counsel of the Holy Spirit? Yes, WHEN the fruit of the Spirit is produced in our lives, everyone sees: Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. And Self-Control. (Galatians 5:22) Maybe, consider it a "check-list." We can ask ourselves: do my thoughts, words and actions showing these virtues? Do I need to "put in correction" anywhere? Do I need to invite the Holy Spirit to be closer? And get myself to listen more carefully to His counsel? Do I need to read the Word of God more? Pray more? Worship more? We are reminded that Jesus said:" I am the True vine...yes, I am the vine, and YOU are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit <of the Spirit > For, without Me, you can do nothing."( John 15:1a & 5) nothing of Ete...

In the mighty name of Jesus, may God bless you, my " walking with Jesus" friend. Being very direct with the Galatians, Paul continues, in chapter 5:16: "I advise you to obey ONLY the instructions of the Holy Spirit as to where to go and what to do. Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and you will avoid the temptations of the world, the flesh and the evil one. Our natural human desires are just the opposite of what God wants. You see that these two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us. We are never free from these opposing presures. But, we can learn to listen FIRST to the Holy Spirit and let the love of Christ control us. Let me remind you that evil thoughts will produce evil actions: impure thoughts, lustful pleasure, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, fighting, anger, swearing, jealousy, selfishness, envy, murder, drunkeness, wild parties and the like. Anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galat...

In the mighty name of Jesus, may God bless you, my " walking with Jesus" friend. Being very direct with the Galatians, Paul continues, in chapter 5:16: "I advise you to obey ONLY the instructions of the Holy Spirit as to where to go and what to do. Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and you will avoid the temptations of the world, the flesh and the evil one. Our natural human desires are just the opposite of what God wants. You see that these two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us. We are never free from these opposing presures. But, we can learn to listen FIRST to the Holy Spirit and let the love of Christ control us. Let me remind you that evil thoughts will produce evil actions: impure thoughts, lustful pleasure, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, fighting, anger, swearing, jealousy, selfishness, envy, murder, drunkeness, wild parties and the like. Anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galat...

In the mighty name of Jesus, may God bless you, my " walking with Jesus" friend. Being very direct with the Galatians, Paul continues, in chapter 5:16: "I advise you to obey ONLY the instructions of the Holy Spirit as to where to go and what to do. Follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and you will avoid the temptations of the world, the flesh and the evil one. Our natural human desires are just the opposite of what God wants. You see that these two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control over us. We are never free from these opposing presures. But, we can learn to listen FIRST to the Holy Spirit and let the love of Christ control us. Let me remind you that evil thoughts will produce evil actions: impure thoughts, lustful pleasure, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, fighting, anger, swearing, jealousy, selfishness, envy, murder, drunkeness, wild parties and the like. Anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Galat...

What KEYS to Christ-like conduct do we find in the fifth chapter of Galatians? Good Morning, my "walking with Jesus" friend. You're lookin' good and ready today. Prayed-up? Light on your way from the Word of the Lord? "Lord, Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a LIGHT unto my path."(Psalm 119:105)STAY in the grace of God, is Paul's urgent message to the Galatians. Do not let anyone persuade you to go backwards into rituals and requirements of the law. In fact, I pray that God will bring His judgement against those who have been trying to drag you backwards into the law. Christ opens the way, through Grace, for you to draw near to Him, brothers. How precious and wonderful is THAT!!! Rejoice in His Grace. Walk in His Spirit. Be controlled by the love of Christ. Your freedom is freedom to respond to the Spirit of God. Guard against thinking your freedom means you can do whatever the flesh desires. You are now responsible, under Christ to live like a child...

Do you have any keys, my "walking with Jesus" friend? A. Key to your home, your car, your mail box, a locker...What does that key do? Right, of course, it OPENS whatever it goes to. OK, are you ready? Applying that thought to our " walking around" in the Bible, a KEY Bble verse OPENS to us the meaning and power of he message God has for us. A KEY verse in Paul's letter to the Galatians is chapter 5, verse 1 (5:1) "STAND fast/firmly in the freedom wherewich Christ has made you free <free to walk in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, listening to the Holy Spirit for guidance > DO NOT get tangled up again <as you once were > by trying to follow a whole bunch of laws. Instead LIVE BY FAITH, the gift God has given you." Let's rejoice today to let this KEY verse instruct our thoughts, prayers and actions:"Stand fast therefore in the freedom with which Christ has made us free, and do not be tangled up again, in the law. (Galatians 5:1...